Bergstrom Air Force Base
| Bergstrom Air Force Base Del Valle/Bergstrom Army Airfield  
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| Part of Strategic Air Command/Tactical Air Command | |
| Austin, Texas | |
Aerial view of Bergstrom Air Force Base
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 Bergstrom AFB
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| Coordinates | 30°11′40″N 097°40′12″W / 30.19444°N 97.67000°W |
| Type | Air Force Base |
| Site information | |
| Owner | City of Austin, Texas |
| Condition | Civil Airport |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1942 |
| In use | 1942–1993 |
Bergstrom Air Force Base (1942–1993) was a United States Air Force base located seven miles (11 km) southeast of downtown Austin, Texas. It was activated during World War II as a troop carrier training airfield, and was a front-line Strategic Air Command (SAC) base during the Cold War. In its later years, it was transferred to the Tactical Air Command (TAC) and became a major base for the U.S. Air Force's RF-4C reconnaissance fighter fleet. At the time of its closure, it was assigned to the Air Combat Command (ACC). The airfield was then converted for civilian use, with Austin-Bergstrom International Airport beginning passenger flights in 1999.
Del Valle Airfield (aka Del Valle Army Air Base) was activated on 19 September 1942 on 3,000 acres (12 km²) leased from the City of Austin. The lease agreement stipulated that the land would revert to the city if the government abandoned it.
The name of the base was changed to Bergstrom Army Airfield (AAF) on 3 March 1943, in honor of Captain John August Earl Bergstrom, a reservist in the 19th Bombardment Group, who was killed at Clark Field, Philippines during the Japanese invasion of the United States on 8 December 1941 (the same day as the Pearl Harbor Attack, but across the dateline). He was the first Austinite killed in World War II. The base was again renamed Bergstrom Field on 11 November 1943.
With the establishment of the United States Air Force in September 1947, the name of Bergstrom again changed to Bergstrom Air Force Base on 24 June 1948.
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