Fairfax Field

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This article is about Military use of Fairfax Field, Kansas. For 1921-1985 civilian aeronautical operations af Fairfax Field, see
Kansas City Defense Area
.

Fairfax Field
Part of
1951-4:
FUDS - WRD (WWII weather station)[2]

Fairfax Field was a wartime (WWII) facility of the United States Army Air Forces and later, the United States Air Force. The installation was north of

modification center for North American B-25 Mitchell medium bomber production. Military use of the site continued as late as 1957 by the Strategic Air Command's 3903rd Radar Bomb Scoring Group
for bombing practice.

Kansas City[where?] military sites in Missouri

USGS mapped the "State Boundary" as a straight north-south line demarcating a small eastern portion of "Fairfax Airport" as being in Missouri.[5] By the end of 1942, Kansas City, Missouri, had a modification center--in addition to the Fairfax plant and modification center in Kansas.[6]
On 2 March 1945, Military Air Transport moved an air freight terminal to Fairfax from Kansas City, Missouri.

The USAF

Grandview Air Force Base was being completed, on 1 October 1952 Kansas City, Missouri, had CADF's Technical and Ground Training Division,[9] and the NSA's Special Study Group met on 1 August 1953 at "Headquarters, Central Air Defense Force, Kansas City, Missouri".[10]

Grandview Air Force Base
On 24 February 1954, HQ CADF moved to Grandview Air Force Base[11] outside the city limits, but the land was owned by the Kansas City, Missouri government (from whom the USAF leased the airport on 1 January 1952--the "USAF accepted responsibility for [the base's] land and buildings" in January 1953.[7]

Background

The airfield was first used in 1921 for an air meet and became the 1925 Sweeney Airport and the 1928

Fairfax Airport. A naval reserve air base was established at Fairfax Field in 1935[12]; a Navy squadron and a Marine squadron were established on 12 July.[13] In 1937 Fairfax acted as an "army reserve base" with Douglas O-46 observation planes,[14] and by 1938 the airport had four runways, including one 2,700 ft (820 m) long.[15] Fairfax's "U.S. Naval Reserve aviation base",[16] had a 30-day pre-flight training course in 1940.[17]

Navy Elimination Air Base

The "Marine Air Flight Program" established by 1 September 1940[3] at Fairfax's "Navy Elimination Air Base" (E-base) used "a physical and mental examination…ten hours of dual instruction…check rides and a fifteen-minute solo flight" for screening candidates[18] to become Naval Aviation Cadets.[19] A Fairfax "naval flying cadet… crashed into the Missouri River two miles northwest of the Fairfax air base" [sic] on 16 June 1942,[20] Fairfax's naval aviation training moved in July to the new United States Naval Aviation Reserve Base at Olathe about 20 miles away.[12] Fairfax still had "Barracks U.S. Navy" in 1946.[21]

1944 B-25 Mitchell assembly line in Air Force Plant NC: In 1953, the facility was the Buick-Oldsmobile-Pontiac Assembly Plant adjacent to Fairfax Field[22] and unveiled the assembly line for F-84F Thunderflash[clarification needed] fighters[22] (General Motors produced 599 F-84Fs at Fairfax.)

WWII B-25 production, training, and modifications

Survey work for

Chanute Field course. The 81st AAF Technical Training Detachment activated 22 February 1943 and designated, effective 30 August, to supervise apprentice crew chiefs at the Modification Center. January AAF policy was for each mechanic selected as a crew chief to be assigned an aircraft as it left the factory, review its modifications at the center, and deploy with it to the field unit. B-25 modifications only took a week until the B-25G gunship modifications for Pacific War anti-shipping missions, which took 2–3 months.[citation needed
] Peak enrollment was 296 mechanics on 27 June, and the apprenticeship program was abandoned (the detachment inactivated on 31 October 1943.)

WWII ferrying

Omaha (2 more daily flights were later added.) In October 1944, the modification center became an adjunct[clarification needed] to the final assembly line. On 9 November 1944 the 33d Group furnished plane and crew to fly Senator Harry S. Truman from Fairfax to Washington for ceremonies following his election as Vice-President, and in early 1945 the 33d controlled ten operating locations.[where?]. During the Fairfax transition to P-80 production, the 33d Ferrying Group was discontinued.[when?
]

WWII air freight

On 2 March 1945, Military Air Transport moved an air freight terminal to Fairfax from

564th Bombardment Squadron[specify
] on 6 January 1947 which sent 127 pilots to 1948 summer camp.

Kansas City Bomb Plot

Fairfax

SAC Bombing and Navigation Competition,[38] and the 1957 "Operation Longshot".[39][40][41] The Kansas City aiming point for the 1957 operation was "the base of the northeast corner of the Columbian Steel Tank Company"[42][41]: 1  at the corner of 12th/Liberty streets.[33][43] in the West Bottoms.[44] In 1959, SAC's simulated bomb runs on Kansas City were scored using a longer range radar at Missouri's Joplin Radar Bomb Scoring Site (10RBSS Det 2) to the south which had moved from Oklahoma's Hollis Radar Bomb Scoring Site
in July.

In October 1948, 37

442d Troop Carrier Wing moved to Naval Air Technical Training Center Olathe
.

Fairfax Municipal Airport

Fairfax's

Grandview Air Force Base in Missouri (Grandview's beneficial occupancy began 2 years later.)[48]: 88  In 1952 the squadron was renamed the 4676th Air Defense Group[49] which began flying F-86 Sabres
from Fairfax at the end of 1953.

In 1953, an F-94 crashed on attempting a return, killing the pilot and radar operator. From 18 December 1953 – 1 March 1954, the 326th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was assigned to Fairfax, and an F-84 crashed near the city's business district killing the pilot and three residents.[50]

On 1 September 1954,

Grandview Air Force Base near Kansas City, Missouri.[48]

References

  1. ^ Murdock, Scott D. (6 May 2003). "List of Air Force Plants".
  2. ^ War Dept, United States (29 June 1942). "The Weather Observer: June 29, 1942 - United States. War Department - Google Books". Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  3. ^
    ISBN 9781563111846
    . Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  4. ^
    ISBN 0-912799-38-2
    .
  5. ^ [USGS topographical map] (Map). map depicted at Airfields-Freeman.com. 1940. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  6. ^ Futrell, Robert F. (July 1947). Development of AAF Base Facilities in the United States: 1939-1945 (PDF) (Report). Vol. ARS-69: US Air Force Historical Study No 69 (Copy No. 2). Air Historical Office. p. 141. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 September 2012. Daggett, Calif.; Tucson, Ariz.; Love Field, Dallas, Tex.; Fairfax Airport, Kansas City, Kans.; Buffalo, N. Y..; Evansville, Ind.; Niagara Falls, N. Y.; Offutt Field, Omaha, Neb.; Standiford Field, Louisville, Ky.; Cheyenne, Wyo.; Vandalia, Ohio; St. Paul, Minn.; Denver, Colo.; Birmingham Ala.; Memphis, Tenn .; Tulsa, Okla.; and Kansas City, Mo.
  7. ^ a b Mueller (1982). "Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base". Air Force Bases as of 1982 (Report). p. 502.
  8. ^ "4602d AISS Unit History Sampler" (transcribed excerpts of Secret History of 4602D Air Intelligence Squadron). Cufon.org. Retrieved 9 October 2013. The 4602d Air Intelligence Service Squadron was activated and organized under authority of Air Defense Command General Order Number 20, dated 28 February 1952, at Peterson field [sic] [a sub-base of] Ent Air Force Base, Colorado Springs, Colorado with an authorized strength of thirty-four (34) officers and ninety-seven (97) airmen. Under this General Order, three flights, designated as Flights A, B and C were organized to be located at the three Defense Force Headquarters at Hamilton Air Force Base, California, at Kansas City, Missouri, and at Stewart Air Force Base, new York, respectively.
  9. ^ "Official Register of the United States - United States Civil Service Commission, United States. Bureau of the Census". 1952. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  10. ^ "National Security Agency (NSA) Historical Study: The National Security Agency Scientific Advisory Board 1952 – 1963, September 1965" (PDF). Governmentattic.org. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  11. ^ "title tbd". Retrieved 14 August 2014. HQ, Central Air Defense Force was established [at Grandview Air Force Base] on 2/24/54 NOTE: biographical webpage distinguished the 2 different Missouri sites for HQ CADF.
  12. ^ a b "Olathe Naval Air Station: Sailors on the Plains" (PDF). Album: Johnson County History Museum. XV (2). Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  13. ^ Hurt, R. Douglas (Autumn 1977). "Naval Air Stations in Kansas During World War II" (Tod Roberts transcription). Kansas Historical Quarterly. Retrieved 15 July 2013. (see also "U.S. Army and Air Force Wings Over Kansas," Kansas Historical Quarterly, v. 25, no. 2, (Summer, 1959), pp. 138-141)
  14. ^ "Air Pilots Thrill Crowd at Airport: Eleven Fliers From U. S. Army and Marine Reserve Base Put on Show" (Google news archive). Lawrence Journal-World. Lawrence, Kansas. 27 April 1937. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  15. ^ Airport Directory, Airport Directory Company, 1938 (cited by Freeman)
  16. ^ "Lawrence Journal-World - Google News Archive Search". Archived from the original on 16 October 2020.
  17. ^ Hammel, Eric. Aces at War (Google Books). Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  18. ISBN 9781890988074
    . Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  19. ^ "E. LUTHER Obituary - Fairfax, VA | The Washington Post". Legacy.com. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  20. The Milwaukee Journal. 17 June 1942. Retrieved 14 July 2013.[permanent dead link
    ]
  21. ^ map (Map). 7 November 1945. Retrieved 14 July 2013. Fairfax Industrial District, UPRR (map partially depicted online at Airfields-Freeman.com.)
  22. ^ a b "Air Force Unveils New Jet Fighter". Press Courier. 10 July 1953. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  23. ^ "Big Bomber Plant for City". Kansas City Times. 7 December 1940. (cited by Freeman and Macais)
  24. ^ Macias p. 247
  25. ^ Freeman, Paul (29 December 2012). "Sweeney Airport / Fairfax Airport / Fairfax Army Airfield (KCK), Kansas City, KS". Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields: Eastern Kansas. Airfields-Freeman.com. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  26. ^ "Air Force History Index". Airforcehistory.org. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  27. ISBN 9781609498269
    . Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  28. ^ "Fairfax Field". Wings Over Kansas. Topeka, Kansas State Historical Society. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  29. ^ "U. S. Army and Air Force Wings Over Kansas: Part II". Kansas Historical Quarterly. Vol. 25. 1959.
  30. ^ "ASN Aircraft accident Douglas C-47B-45-DK (DC-3) 45-1011 Kansas City-Fairfax Field, KS (KCK)". Aviation-safety.net. 15 September 1945. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  31. ^ "Kansas City-Fairfax Field, KS profile - Aviation Safety Network". Aviation-safety.net. 5 November 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  32. ^ Document Detail for IRISNUM= 00179924 (History of the 4101st Army Air Forces Base Unit) (Report). AFHRA.
  33. ^ a b "H-Bomb Dropped on 12th and Liberty". The Kansas City Times. NewsPaperArchive.com. 31 October 1957. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  34. ^ compare with New Orleans Radar Bomb Scoring Site and Dallas Bomb Plots
  35. ^ Hellickson, Gene, ed. (9 November 1983). Historical Summary: Radar Bomb Scoring, 1945–1983 (pdf) (Report). Office of History, 1st Combat Evaluation Group. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
  36. ^ "Arod L. Deas". StAugustine.com. 7 November 2007. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  37. ^ "Biggest Bomber Has Terrifying Power" (Google News archive). Miami Beach Morning Journal. 26 May 1963. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  38. ^ "7th WING OPERATIONS HISTORY, 1955-1958". Archived from the original on 6 October 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  39. ^ "bomber command | operation longshot | kansas city | 1957 | 1525 | Flight Archive". Flightglobal.com. 18 October 1957. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  40. ^ "90 SAC Planes to H-Bomb 3 Targets". The Milwaukee Sentinel. 31 October 1957. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 20 August 2014 – via Google News.
  41. ^ a b "Jet Armada To 'Bomb' Three Major U.S. Cities". Miami News. 30 October 1957. Retrieved 20 August 2014.[permanent dead link] (page 1 section of article)[permanent dead link]
  42. ^ "Chapter XIX - The Tanker Role". Archived from the original (DOC) on 21 August 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  43. ^ "The Kansas City Times from Kansas City, Missouri · Page 3". Newspapers.com. 31 October 1957. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  44. ^ "Missouri Valley Special Collections : Item Viewer". Kchistory.org. Archived from the original on 21 August 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  45. ^ "Air Force to Reopen Bases". The New York Times. 24 November 1948.
  46. ^ Macias, Richard (Winter 2005–2006). ""We All Had a Cause": Kansas City's Bomber Plant, 1941-1945" (PDF). Kansas History: A Journal of the Central Plains. 28: 244–261. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  47. ^ "River Cracks Dike, Swamps Industrial Area". The Pittsburgh Press. 14 July 1951. p. 1. Retrieved 15 July 2013 – via Google News Archive.
  48. ^
    Peterson Air Force Base: Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on 13 February 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
  49. ^ Duke University Alumni Register (Report). Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  50. ^ "Brand New Jet Crashes Homes". Record Eagle. Traverse City, Michigan. 8 July 1954. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
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