James Connally Air Force Base Waco Army Airfield | |
---|---|
Part of Tactical Air Command | |
Waco, Texas | |
Coordinates | 31°38′16″N97°04′45″W / 31.63778°N 97.07917°W |
Type | Air Base |
Site information | |
Controlled by | United States Air Force |
Site history | |
Built | 1941 |
In use | 1941-1966 |
Garrison information | |
Garrison | Tactical Air Command |
James Connally Air Force Base was a United States Air Force base located north of Waco, Texas. After its closure in 1968, the airport reopened as TSTC Waco Airport.
The airport opened May 5, 1942 as Waco Army Air Field and was the headquarters of the Army Air Force Central Instructors' School during World War II. It was deactivated after the war in 1945 but was reactivated in 1948 as a pilot training base under the Air Training Command.
Waco Field was renamed for Colonel James T. Connally who had been killed in Japan in 1945. The airport was initially called Connally Air Force Base but the name evolved to also include his first name.
In 1951, pilot training was discontinued and replaced with academic and flight training for navigators, radar operators, and bombardiers, with particular emphasis for those officers slated for eventual assignment to Strategic Air Command's B-36 Peacemaker and its ever-increasing fleet of B-47 Stratojets.
Pilot training returned in 1953 and an advanced jet pilot training organization with T-33 Shooting Stars was established in addition to navigator training in TB-25 Mitchells.
In January 1958, the base became a support facility when the USAF located headquarters of Twelfth Air Force (12 AF) in nearby Waco TX. The Headquarters complex was located near 25th Street and Windsor Ave. No remains of the buildings are present today.
In 1965, the Air Force began sharing the base with the State of Texas, the latter having established the James Connally Technical Institute (JCTI) of Texas A&M University. which would eventually become the main campus and headquarters of Texas State Technical Institute (TSTI).
In 1966, Convair / General Dynamics also established a modification center at the base to modify B-58 Hustler bombers.
The 602d Tactical Control Group was established at the base on 1 March 1966, but moved within two months to Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas.
In 1968, as part of a nationwide reduction in air force bases and naval air stations to stay within congressional funding limits while continuing to prosecute the war in Vietnam, James Connally AFB was closed. All navigator training consolidated at Mather Air Force Base, California, and 12th Air Force relocated to Bergstrom Air Force Base in Austin, Texas. At this point, the facility was conveyed to the State of Texas by the General Services Administration (GSA). The airport and the base facilities were used as a technical school while General Dynamics remained as a tenant performing modification work on various military aircraft. The General Dynamics facility later ceased operation.
From January 2001 through January 2009, the former airfield of James Connally AFB was used by Air Force One when US President George W. Bush visited his Prairie Chapel Ranch, also known as the Western White House, in Crawford, Texas.
In 1984, ElectroSpace Systems Inc. (ESI) constructed a new hangar at the airport for aircraft modification that opened in 1985. In 1987, Chrysler bought ESI and the facility was later named Chrysler Technologies Airborne Systems or CTAS. Chrysler subsequently sold the operation to Raytheon in 1996 which renamed the facility Raytheon Aircraft Integration Systems. In 2002, Raytheon sold the facility to L-3 Communications and it is currently known as L-3 Communications Platform Integration Division (PID). [1]
In 1991, TSTI was renamed Texas State Technical College (TSTC).
Laughlin Air Force Base is a facility of the United States Air Force located east of Del Rio, Texas.
Randolph Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located at Universal City, Texas.
Sheppard Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located five miles (8.0 km) north of the central business district of Wichita Falls, in Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the largest training base and most diversified in Air Education and Training Command. The base is named in honor of Texas Senator John Morris Sheppard, a supporter of military preparations before World War II.
Mather Air Force Base was a United States Air Force Base, which was closed in 1993 pursuant to a post-Cold War BRAC decision. It was located 12 miles (19 km) east of Sacramento, on the south side of U.S. Route 50 in Sacramento County, California. Mather Field was one of 32 Air Service training camps established after the United States entry into World War I in April 1917.
Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth includes Carswell Field, a military airbase located 5 nautical miles west of the central business district of Fort Worth, in Tarrant County, Texas, United States. This military airfield is operated by the United States Navy Reserve. It is located in the cities of Fort Worth, Westworth Village, and White Settlement in the western part of the Fort Worth urban area.
Waco Regional Airport is five miles northwest of Waco, in McLennan County, Texas. It is owned by the City of Waco.
Carswell Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force (USAF) base, located northwest of Fort Worth, Texas. For most of its operational lifetime, the base's mission was to train and support heavy strategic bombing groups and wings.
Pinal Airpark, also known as Pinal County Airpark, is a non-towered, county-owned, public-use airport located 8 miles northwest of the central business district of Marana, in Pinal County, Arizona, United States. Silverbell Army Heliport is co-located with Pinal Airpark. The heliport is a private-use military facility operated by the Arizona Army National Guard.
The Air Training Command (ATC) is a former United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command designation. It was headquartered at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, but was initially formed at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. It was re-designated as Air Education and Training Command (AETC) following a merger with Air University (AU) on 1 July 1993.
TSTC Waco Airport is a public use airport located eight nautical miles northeast of the central business district of Waco, a city in McLennan County, Texas, United States. Before 1968, it was known as James Connally Air Force Base. The airport is owned by Texas State Technical College. It is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2021–2025, which categorized it as a general aviation facility.
The 340th Flying Training Group is a reserve component of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the Twenty-Second Air Force of Air Force Reserve Command, at Randolph Air Force Base, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas. The group is the headquarters for reserve flying training squadrons that are associate squadrons of Air Education and Training Command flying training squadrons.
Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base is a joint installation shared by various active component and reserve component military units, as well as aircraft flight operations of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) under the aegis of the nearby Johnson Space Center. The host wing for the installation is the Texas Air National Guard's 147th Attack Wing. Opened in 1917, Ellington Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the United States entry into World War I. It is named for First Lieutenant Eric Ellington, a U.S. Army aviator who was killed in a plane crash in San Diego, California in 1913.
Yucca Army Airfield is a former military airfield located about 1 mile (1.6 km) west of Yucca, in Mohave County, Arizona, United States. It is on the east side of Interstate 40, 25 miles (40 km) south of Kingman. It is now used as a private facility owned by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles named Chrysler Arizona Proving Grounds.
During World War II, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) established numerous airfields in California for training pilots and aircrews of USAAF fighters and bombers.
Camp Gary was the United States military installation that was redeveloped into the San Marcos Municipal Airport and the Gary Job Corps Center, the largest in the nation.
Greenville Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base in Greenville, Mississippi. It was closed as a military installation in December 1966 and redeveloped into Mid-Delta Regional Airport.
Hicks Field is a former World War I military airfield, located 5.6 miles (9.0 km) North-northwest of Saginaw, Texas. It operated as a training field for the Air Service, United States Army between 1917 until 1920. It was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the United States entry into World War I in April 1917.
Gulfport Combat Readiness Training Center is a United States Air Force training center, located at Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport, Mississippi. It is located 5 miles (8.0 km) north-northeast of Gulfport, Mississippi.
Webb Air Force Base, previously named Big Spring Air Force Base, was a United States Air Force facility of the Air Training Command that operated from 1951 to 1977 in West Texas within the current city limits of Big Spring. Webb AFB was a major undergraduate pilot training (UPT) facility for the Air Force, and by 1969, almost 9,000 pilots had been trained at Webb. The last operational wing at Webb AFB was the 78th Flying Training Wing.
Harlingen Air Force Base, originally Harlingen Army Airfield, is a former United States Air Force (USAF) base in northeast Harlingen, Texas. After the base closed, the field was redeveloped into Valley International Airport.
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency