Hillsborough Army Air Field

Last updated
Hillsborough Army Airfield
Us army air corps shield.svg
Part of Army Air Force Training Command
Tampa, Florida
Hillsborough Army Airfield - FL 15 Jan 1948.jpg
15 January 1948 photo
USA Florida location map.svg
Airplane silhouette.svg
Hillsborough AAF
Coordinates 28°02′50″N082°25′06″W / 28.04722°N 82.41833°W / 28.04722; -82.41833 Coordinates: 28°02′50″N082°25′06″W / 28.04722°N 82.41833°W / 28.04722; -82.41833
TypeArmy Airfield
Site information
Controlled by United States Army Air Forces
Site history
Built1943
In use1943-1945
Garrison information
GarrisonArmy Air Force Training Command

Hillsborough Army Airfield is a former World War II United States Army Air Forces airfield which was located about 7 miles north of downtown Tampa, Florida, near Temple Terrace, Florida. After World War II it served as a civilian airport called Henderson Hillsborough International Airport for several years until it closed.

Contents

History

P-51B-1-NA 43-12252 42d Fighter Squadron (Single Engine). Hillsborough Army Airfield, Florida 17 April 1944 P-51B 42d Fighter Squadron Hillsborough Army Airfield FL 1944.jpg
P-51B-1-NA 43-12252 42d Fighter Squadron (Single Engine). Hillsborough Army Airfield, Florida 17 April 1944

Hillsborough AAF was built by the United States Army Air Forces about 1943 and its primary mission was to be an auxiliary airfield for both Drew and MacDill Army Airfields. It was assigned to the Third Air Force, III Fighter Command. Hillsborough Army Airfield had three runways (NE/SW, NW/SE & E/W) of about 5,200' in length and several hangars along the west side of the airfield.

The initial mission of Hillsborough was as a support and training overflow airfield; also being used for emergency landings of students assigned to the main bases. It also operated a school for administrative training of junior officers. The 42d Fighter Squadron was assigned to Hillsborough on 10 May 1943, equipped with P-51 Mustangs. The 42d was detached from Bartow Army Airfield. With advanced combat fighter pilot training being moved out of Drew Field, it was moved to Hillsborough. The base normally had about 28 airplanes at the field at one time.

In an administrative reorganization by HQ Army Air Force, on 1 May 1944, numbered training units in the Zone of the Interior (ZI) (Continental United States) were re-designated as "Army Air Force Base Units". The 42d was re-designated as "Section T, 343d Army Air Forces Base Unit Replacement Training Unit, Fighter. In June 1944, two more squadrons of P-51s were assigned, "S" and "FT".

On 10 May 1945, training was ended at the base, and the 343d AAFBU was discontinued. Personnel and equipment were reassigned to IV Fighter Command, 473d AAFBU and transferred to Porterville Army Airfield, California. The base was officially closed on 23 May and transferred to Air Technical Service Command for disposal.

After World War II, Hillsborough was reused as a civilian airport, known as Henderson Airport, however it was closed in the late 1950s.

The University of South Florida campus began construction in 1957 on a site adjacent to the north side of Henderson Airport, and the Busch Gardens theme park was opened in 1959 just south of the airport. The surviving runways are used as a driver training area by Busch Gardens to instruct new drivers on some of their vehicles.

Today the airfield is all but unrecognizable in the urbanized area of Tampa, however the center of the airport, with two cris-crossing runways in an X shape, is visible from satellite images. The Tampa Bay regional headquarters of the Florida Department of Transportation building is located on the site of the northeastern runway. Mel's Hot Dogs, a popular Tampa eatery, states on its website that it occupies the last remaining structure from the World War II army air base. [1]

Mel's Hot Dogs is the last surviving structure of the Hillsborough Army Air Field in Tampa, Florida Mel's Hot Dogs- Hillsborough Army Air Field.jpg
Mel's Hot Dogs is the last surviving structure of the Hillsborough Army Air Field in Tampa, Florida

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orlando Executive Airport</span> 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salinas Municipal Airport</span> Municipal airport in Salinas, California, United States

Salinas Municipal Airport is an airport in Monterey County, California, United States, three miles (4.8 km) southeast of Downtown Salinas. It is included in the 2017–21 National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems as a regional general aviation airport. It had 1,800 enplanements in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waycross–Ware County Airport</span> Airport in near Waycross, Georgia

Waycross–Ware County Airport is four miles northwest of Waycross, in Ware County, Georgia. It is owned by the City of Waycross and Ware County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brooksville–Tampa Bay Regional Airport</span> Airport in near Brooksville, Florida

Brooksville–Tampa Bay Regional Airport, formerly known as Hernando County Airport, is a joint civil-military public airport located 6 nautical miles (11 km) southwest of the central business district of Brooksville, a city in Hernando County, Florida, United States. It is owned by Hernando County and is 45 miles (72 km) north of Tampa. While having consistent growth in its traffic rate, it does not yet serve the public through commercial airlines, but it does have charter and executive service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perry–Foley Airport</span> Airport in Taylor County, Florida

Perry–Foley Airport is a public-use airport located 3 miles (4.8 km) south of the central business district of the city of Perry in Taylor County, Florida, United States. The airport is publicly owned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imeson Field</span> Airport in Jacksonville, FL, US, closed in 1968

Imeson Field, also known as Jacksonville Imeson Airport, was the airport serving Jacksonville, Florida, from 1927 until its closing in 1968. It was known as Jacksonville Municipal Airport prior to World War II, Jacksonville Army Airfield when the United States Army Air Forces controlled the facility during World War II, and at its closing the airport was Jacksonville – Thomas Cole Imeson Municipal Airport.

During World War II, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) established numerous airfields in Idaho for training pilots and aircrews of USAAF fighters and bombers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">338th Bombardment Group</span> Military unit

The 338th Bombardment Group is a disbanded United States Air Force unit. It was last active with Continental Air Command at O'Hare International Airport, Illinois on 27 June 1949. It was first activated during World War II as the 338th Fighter Group and served primarily as a training unit until it was disbanded in 1944. The group was reconstituted in the reserves in 1947, but was inactivated when military spending was reduced in 1949.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">42nd Flying Training Squadron</span> Military unit

The 42d Flying Training Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit, last assigned to Air Training Command at Columbus AFB, Mississippi, where it was inactivated on 15 December 1991.

Vernam Field is a former World War II United States Army Air Forces airfield located in Clarendon Parish, 34.3 miles (55.2 km) west-southwest of Kingston, Jamaica. The airfield was renamed Vernam Air Force Base by the newly formed United States Air Force in 1948, but was closed in 1949.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lakeland Army Air Field</span>

Lakeland Army Airfield, was a World War II United States Army Air Force located 5.3 miles southwest of Lakeland, Florida. From 1960 to 2017 it was Lakeland Linder Regional Airport. In 2017 it was renamed Lakeland Linder International Airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dale Mabry Army Airfield</span>

Dale Mabry Army Airfield, was a World War II United States Army Air Force located at the Dale Mabry Field airport in Tallahassee, Florida. The military airfield closed in 1946 and the airport was returned to civil use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alachua Army Air Field</span>

Alachua Army Airfield, was a World War II United States Army Air Force airfield, located 4.2 miles (6.8 km) northeast of Gainesville, Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cross City Air Force Station</span> Former United States Air Force facility

Cross City Air Force Station is a former United States Air Force facility, located 1.6 miles (2.6 km) east of Cross City, Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pinellas Army Air Field</span>

Pinellas Army Airfield, was a United States Army Air Forces installation during World War II, located 9.8 miles northwest of St. Petersburg, Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dole–Jura Airport</span> Airport in Jura, France

Dole–Jura Airport, also known as Dole–Besançon–Dijon Airport, is an airport serving Dole, a commune in the Jura department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. The airport is located 7 km (4 NM) southwest of Dole, and southeast of Tavaux. It was formerly known as Dole–Tavaux Airport. The airport is used for general aviation, and for a few commercial airline services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bangor Air National Guard Base</span> United States Air National Guard base

Bangor Air National Guard Base is a United States Air National Guard base. Created in 1927 as the commercial Godfrey Field, the airfield was taken over by the U.S. Army just before World War II and renamed Godfrey Army Airfield and later Dow Army Airfield. It became Dow Air Force Base in 1947, when the newly formed U.S. Air Force took over many Army air assets. In 1968, the base was sold to the city of Bangor, Maine, to become Bangor International Airport but has since continued to host Maine Air National Guard units under a lease agreement with the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Wayne Air National Guard Base</span> United States Air National Guard base at Fort Wayne International Airport, Indiana, USA

Fort Wayne Air National Guard Base is a United States Air Force base, located at Fort Wayne International Airport, Indiana. It is located 7.6 miles (12.2 km) south-southwest of Fort Wayne, Indiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kissimmee Army Airfield</span>

Kissimmee Army Airfield, was a United States Army Air Forces airfield during World War II, located 1.8 miles (2.9 km) west of Kissimmee, Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Page Field Army Airfield</span> Former United States Army Air Forces base

Page Field Army Airfield is an inactive United States Army Air Forces base, approximately 4 miles south of Fort Myers, Florida. It was active during World War II as a Third Air Force training airfield. It was closed on 30 September 1945, two years prior to the establishment of the United States Air Force as an independent service.

References

PD-icon.svg This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

  1. "Home". melshotdogs.com.