Bethel Air Base | |||||||||||||||||||
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Summary | |||||||||||||||||||
Airport type | Military | ||||||||||||||||||
Owner | United States Army | ||||||||||||||||||
Location | Bethel, Alaska | ||||||||||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 129 ft / 39 m | ||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 60°46′43″N 161°50′14″W / 60.77861°N 161.83722°WCoordinates: 60°46′43″N 161°50′14″W / 60.77861°N 161.83722°W | ||||||||||||||||||
Map | |||||||||||||||||||
Location of airport in Alaska | |||||||||||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||||||||||
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Source: Federal Aviation Administration
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Bethel Air Base is a former United States Army airfield located three nautical miles (6 km) southwest of the central business district of Bethel, a city in the Bethel Census Area of the U.S. state of Alaska.
Construction began September 21, 1941, and the airfield was activated July 4, 1942. It was used by Air Transport Command as auxiliary airfield for Lend-Lease aircraft being flown to Siberia. The facility was transferred to Eleventh Air Force, then to Alaskan Air Command in 1945; it became the joint-use Bethel Airport. It was used for construction of AC&W Bethel Air Force Station in the mid-1950s. Full jurisdiction was turned over to Alaska Government in 1958.