Lubbock Air Force Base
| Reese Air Force Base Lubbock Air Force Base Lubbock Army Airfield  |
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|---|---|
| Part of Air Training Command (ATC) | |
| Lubbock County, near Lubbock, Texas | |
2006 USGS airphoto
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 Reese AFB
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| Coordinates | 33°35′33″N 102°02′10″W / 33.59250°N 102.03611°WCoordinates: 33°35′33″N 102°02′10″W / 33.59250°N 102.03611°W |
| Type | Air Force Base |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by | United States Air Force |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1941 |
| In use | 1941-1997 |
| Garrison information | |
| Garrison | Air Training Command |
| Occupants | 64th Flying Training Wing (1 October 1972 - 30 September 1997) |
Reese Air Force Base (IATA: REE, FAA LID: 8XS8) was a base of the United States Air Force located 6 mi west of Lubbock, Texas, about 225 mi WNW of Fort Worth. The base's primary mission throughout its existence was pilot training.
The base was closed 30 September 1997 after being selected for closure by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission in 1995 and is now a research and business park called Reese Technology Center.
Construction of the Air Corps Advanced Flying School began in August 1941 on land located about 10 miles (15 km) west of the city of Lubbock. Designed for training large numbers of flying cadets, Lubbock Field consisted of three 6,500' asphalt runways arranged in a triangular (N/S, NE/SW, E/W) pattern. It also controlled several auxiliary landing fields:
The school name changed to the Lubbock Army Flying School before the first class of aviation cadets reported. Construction continued for over two years of base facilities, being finally completed in mid-1944.
The Army Air Corps Advanced Flying School opened in early 1942, with flying commencing from the new airfield on 8 February 1942. The official dedication of the base took place on 21 June 1942. The first group of Aviation Cadets (class 42-0) reported on 25 February 1942 and graduated as single-engine pilots on 29 April 1942.
During World War II, the school used AT-7, AT-9, AT-l0, AT-17, and T -6 aircraft to train 7,008 pilots. Most of the graduates went on to fly multi-engined bombers, fighters, and other aircraft in every theater of the war.
Late in 1943 a vast expansion in instrument pilot training resulted in an increased need for instructors in that area. The existing instructors school at Bryan AAF Texas, was not able to take on the additional load, so on 4 February 1944, Lubbock Field, formally became the site of a second AAF Instructors School (Instrument Pilot), although the first class of instructors had already begun training on 10 January. This was made possible by the simultaneous termination of the advanced two-engine program at Lubbock. In late November, the two schools transferred to Barksdale Field, Louisiana.
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Wikipedia