Brookley Aeroplex
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| Location |
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| Coordinates | 30°38′40″N 88°03′52″W / 30.64436°N 88.06452°WCoordinates: 30°38′40″N 88°03′52″W / 30.64436°N 88.06452°W |
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Parent organization
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Mobile Airport Authority |
| Website | brookleyaeroplex |
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Formerly called
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Bates Field, Brookley Army Air Field, Brookley Air Force Base, Brookley Complex |
The Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley is an industrial complex and airport in Mobile, Alabama which lies adjacent to the western shore of Mobile Bay. It is owned and operated by the Mobile Airport Authority. It was known by a variety of names until being renamed in 2010 as the Brookley Aeroplex. In the fall of 2013, the Brookley Aeroplex was rebranded as the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley.
The aeroplex was first developed specifically for aviation with the establishment of Bates Field in 1929. The City of Mobile acquired the land from then Mayor of Mobile, Cecil F. Bates. Bates Field was Mobile's first municipal airport. The United States Army Air Corps purchased the airfield in 1938 and established the Brookley Army Air Field, later renamed Brookley Air Force Base in 1948. The name Bates Field was then reused for the new Mobile municipal airport located 10 miles (16 km) northwest of the Brookley site, known today as the Mobile Regional Airport. Brookley Army Air Field employed 17,000 civilians during World War II. After the end of the war, the Brookley base was used as an Air Materiel Command. The closure of the base was announced in 1964, with operations officially ceasing in June 1969. This left a civilian workforce of approximately 13,000 people, ten percent of the local workforce, without jobs. It represented the largest base closure in United States history up to that time.
The site was returned to the city after the base closure. The city established the Mobile Airport Authority in 1972 for advisement on how to manage Brookley. It was formally created as an independent authority by the Alabama Legislature in 1982, charged with the management of both Brookley and the Mobile Regional Airport. The site was renamed Brookley Complex at this time. A new terminal building was completed in 1986. Attempting to capitalize off the site's unique mix of road, rail, water, and air transportation, the authority began a campaign during the late 1980s to recruit the aviation and aerospace industries to Brookley. This mission has continued to the present.
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Wikipedia