Bushnell Army Airfield

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Bushnell Army Airfield
Army Air Forces Training Command - Patch.png
Part of Army Air Force Training Command
Sumter County, near Bushnell, Florida
Bushnell Army Airfield - Florida.jpg
1953 aerial photo
USA Florida location map.svg
Airplane silhouette.svg
Bushnell Army Airfield
Coordinates Bomber airstrip: 28°40′57″N082°05′24″W / 28.68250°N 82.09000°W / 28.68250; -82.09000 Coordinates: 28°40′57″N082°05′24″W / 28.68250°N 82.09000°W / 28.68250; -82.09000
Fighter Airstrip: 28°41′30″N082°03′51″W / 28.69167°N 82.06417°W / 28.69167; -82.06417
Type Army Airfield
Site information
Controlled by United States Army Air Forces
Site history
Built 1941-42
In use 1942-1945
Garrison information
Garrison Army Air Force Training Command

Bushnell Army Airfield is a former World War II United States Army Air Forces airfield located northeast of the intersection of Route 301 & Walker Avenue, one mile northeast of the town of Bushnell, Florida.

World War II 1939–1945 global war

World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.

United States Army Air Forces Aerial warfare branch of the United States army from 1941 to 1947

The United States Army Air Forces, informally known as the Air Force,or United States Army Air Force, was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army during and immediately after World War II (1939/41–1945), successor to the previous United States Army Air Corps and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force of today, one of the five uniformed military services. The AAF was a component of the United States Army, which in 1942 was divided functionally by executive order into three autonomous forces: the Army Ground Forces, the Services of Supply, and the Army Air Forces. Each of these forces had a commanding general who reported directly to the Army Chief of Staff.

Bushnell, Florida City in Florida, United States

Bushnell is a city in Sumter County, Florida, United States. The population was 2,050 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S Census estimates of 2005, the city had a population of 2,119. It is the county seat of Sumter County.

Contents

History

The airfield was acquired by lease from various owners beginning in 1940, and was constructed by the 841st Aviation Engineers Battalion in 1943. It was initially called a "T/O training field,supporting the main base of the Army Air Force School of Applied Tactics at Orlando Army Air Base.

Orlando Executive Airport airport in Orange County, Florida

Orlando Executive Airport is a public airport three miles (6 km) east of downtown Orlando, in Orange County, Florida. It is owned and operated by the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) and serves general aviation.

Bushnell had a 6,000-foot hard-surface runway and a 4,000-foot NNE/SSW steel plank landing mat runway but had no radio facilities, no gasoline, and no hangars. The 6,000-foot runway was known as the "bomber runway", while the 4,000-foot strip was known as the "fighter runway". An aircraft parking area was apparently located at the southwest end of the bomber runway.

Bushnell was used extensively in Chemical warfare trials. In 1943 the Dugway Proving Ground Mobile Chemical Warfare Service Unit arrived at Bushnell AAF to begin experiments on non-persistent chemical agents, setting up the Chemical Warfare Service Experimental Station. The airfield was used by the Dugway Proving Ground Mobile CWS Unit as a landing strip for the planes used in the field trials at Withlacoochee Bombing & Gunnery Range. Bushnell was also used by Boeing B-17s from Brooksville AAF, B-25 Mitchells from Montbrook AAF, P-47 Thunderbolts from Cross City AAF, P-38 Lightnings from Lakeland AAF, and B-26 Marauders from Drew Field near Tampa.

Chemical warfare type of warfare that involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons

Chemical warfare (CW) involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons. This type of warfare is distinct from nuclear warfare and biological warfare, which together make up NBC, the military acronym for nuclear, biological, and chemical, all of which are considered "weapons of mass destruction" (WMDs). None of these fall under the term conventional weapons which are primarily effective due to their destructive potential. In theory, with proper protective equipment, training, and decontamination measures, the primary effects of chemical weapons can be overcome. In practice, they continue to cause much suffering, as most victims are defenceless civilians. Many nations possess vast stockpiles of weaponized agents in preparation for wartime use. The threat and the perceived threat have become strategic tools in planning both measures and counter-measures.

Dugway Proving Ground US Army facility in Tooele County, Utah, United States

Dugway Proving Ground (DPG) is a U.S. Army facility established in 1942 to test biological and chemical weapons, located about 85 miles (140 km) southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah and 13 miles south of the 2,624 sq mi Utah Test and Training Range forming the largest overland special use airspace in the United States.

Withlacoochee Army Airfield

Withlacoochee Army Airfield and Withlacoochee Bombing & Gunnery Range, was a World War II United States Army Air Forces airfield, located 8.2 miles (13.2 km) east of Lacoochee, Florida. The airfield closed in 1945 and is now abandoned.

Closure

It was classed as a temporary field on standby basis in 1944, and was closed in 1945. Jurisdiction of the airfield was transferred to Air Technical Service Command (ATSC), whose mission was the transfer of any useful military equipment to other bases around the country. Under ATSC, the 20,000 steel mats which had made up the two runways at Bushnell were sold for scrap, but many found new life as miles of fences scattered across west-central Florida. The Bushnell AAF property was certified to the War Assets Administration (WAA) for disposal in 1946.

The War Assets Administration was established in the Office for Emergency Management, effective March 25, 1946, by EO 9689, January 31, 1946. American factories had produced massive amounts of weaponry during the World War II. Hundreds of thousands of tons of surplus military equipment, from mess kits to tanks, airplanes, machine guns, artillery, and even warships, were now being offered for sale as scrap by the War Assets Administration (WAA).

The lands reverted to the owners & most land was put back into agricultural use, and was never reused as a civilian airfield. The chemical warfare activities conducted at Bushnell in World War II have caused it to be the site of environmental cleanup investigations in 2001.

Today the areas of the two former airfields are still largely undeveloped, with some houses scattered around the area. The outline of the former fighter & bomber runways are still barely apparent in aerial photos. There does not appear to be any remains of any airfield buildings.

Environmental studies

In 1988, a property owner suffered chemical burns on his legs while digging a water well. Suspecting mustard gas, the Florida Department of Environmental Regulation and the United States Army began an investigation into the source of the contamination. Officials found aviation fuel that had been used for an experimental pump for bombers in the groundwater. In 1988, interested builders had to sign an affidavit affirming their knowledge of contaminated ground water. [1]

See also

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References

PD-icon.svg This article incorporates  public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/ .

  1. ↑ Oliver, Mike (May 30, 1988). "Army Chemical, Fuels Haunt Sumter Site". Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, Florida. pp. Local/State B1. Retrieved Mar 27, 2014– via NewsBank.
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