Wagner Field
| Wagner Field Eglin Air Force Base Auxiliary Field #1 |
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| Located near: Valparaiso, Florida | |
2006 USGS airphoto
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 Wagner Field
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| Coordinates | 30°40′12″N 086°21′00″W / 30.67000°N 86.35000°WCoordinates: 30°40′12″N 086°21′00″W / 30.67000°N 86.35000°W |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by |
 United States Air ForceEglin Air Force Base |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1941 |
| In use | 1941-1971 |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Wagner Field, (Formerly: Eglin Air Force Auxiliary Field #1), is a component of Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. It is located northeast of the main base, 13.9 miles northeast of Valparaiso, Florida.
The site is notable as the training location for the Doolittle Raiders in early 1942, and the test location for the Credible Sport YMC-130H STOL 1980 Iranian Hostage rescue attempt aircraft.
With the onset of World War II, the Eglin Field military reservation was greatly expanded when the Choctawhatchee National Forest was turned over to the War Department by the U.S. Forestry Service on 18 October 1940, and a series of auxiliary airfields were constructed from January 1941. Work on Auxiliary Field 1, consisting of a triangular set of runways, began 27 November 1940. $800,000 was allocated for the grading and paving of fields 1, 3, 5, and 6 on 24 April 1941.
Auxiliary Field 1 was subsequently named Wagner Field for Major Walter J. Wagner, USAAF, former commanding officer for the 1st Proving Ground, Eglin Field, who was killed 10 October 1943 in the crash of AT-6C-NT Texan, AAF Ser. No. 41-32187, c/n 88-9677, at Eglin Auxiliary Field 2.
In March 1942, Field 1 was utilized for training by the Doolittle Raiders in preparation for their raid on Japan. A close examination of imagery of the runways still showing markings from 1942 on the surface laid down by United States Navy personnel in early 1942 delineating distances used for simulating a World War II aircraft carrier flight deck. This provided the B-25 Mitchell pilots training in short-distance takeoffs which was needed in order to conduct the raid on Japan.
North of the airfield several wooden buildings were constructed as barracks and administrative offices. These were used by the Doolittle personnel during their training. Afterwards, the buildings were closed and sealed. About 1955, the buildings were cleaned out and presumably torn down due to their deteriorated state. It was recorded that inside the buildings remained an orderly room that contained numerous orders, records and notes, some signed by Doolittle. Unfortunately these records were not preserved.
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Wikipedia