Amarillo Air Force Base
| Amarillo Air Force Base Amarillo Army Airfield  
|
|
|---|---|
| Part of Strategic Air Command/Air Training Command | |
| Amarillo, Texas | |
USGS 2006 Aerial Photo
|
|
 Amarillo AFB
|
|
| Coordinates | 35°13′10″N 101°42′21″W / 35.21944°N 101.70583°WCoordinates: 35°13′10″N 101°42′21″W / 35.21944°N 101.70583°W |
| Type | Air Force Base |
| Site information | |
| Owner | City of Amarillo, Texas |
| Condition | Civil Airport |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1942 |
| Built by | United States Army Air Forces |
| In use | 1942–1968 |
Amarillo Air Force Base, originally Amarillo Army Air Field is a former United States Air Force base located in Potter County, Texas, approximately 6 miles (10 km) East of downtown Amarillo within the easternmost city limits. The City of Amarillo is located on the boundary of Potter and Randall Counties in the High Plains of the Texas Panhandle.
The base was activated in April 1942 and formally named an army air field in May. It was eleven miles (18 km) east of Amarillo on a 1,523 acres (6 km²) tract of land adjacent to English Field, a commercial airfield serving the Panhandle. Col Edward C. Black, the first commanding officer, arrived in April 1942 with the first cadre of troops. Construction was only half completed when the first classes were begun in September 1942.
The field, one of the largest installations in the Western Technical Training Command, was established for training of air crew and ground mechanics to service B-17 Flying Fortress aircraft. The technical training was conducted by the 29th Technical School Group.
The base consisted of wooden buildings that were built quickly. There were seven large buildings used for training, about 20 warehouses, approximately 600 one-story barracks which consisted of wooden frames wrapped with tarpaper, several mess halls, a hospital complex and other buildings for various support functions. In addition, there were several motion picture theaters, post exchanges, chapels, athletic fields and motor pools. Troops were divided into four shifts, and training took place 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The frenetic pace resulted in thousands of mechanics graduated.
Basic military training was also conducted at Amarillo beginning in the spring of 1943. This required the construction of several obstacle corses, a rifle range and additional barracks and drill fields. In 1944, the technical school curriculum was changed to train technicians and flight engineers for B-29 aircraft in addition to the B-17 technical training.
...
Wikipedia