Hawkins Field (airport)

Hawkins Field (former Jackson Army Airfield)
AMSL		341 ft / 104 m
Coordinates	32°20′05″N 90°13′21″W / 32.33472°N 90.22250°W / 32.33472; -90.22250
Map
HKS Show map of Mississippi HKS Show map of the United States
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 16/34 5,387 1,642 Asphalt 11/29 3,431 1,046 Concrete
Statistics (2024)
Aircraft operations (year ending 3/27/2024) 20,778 Based aircraft 70
Sources: Airport website,[1] FAA[2]

C-47 aircraft and 183rd Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron RB-26

aircraft at Hawkins Field, 1962, with World War II era control tower, hangar, and buildings

Hawkins Field (IATA: HKS^[3], ICAO: KHKS, FAA LID: HKS) is a joint civil-military public airport in Jackson, Mississippi.^[2] It is owned by the City of Jackson^[2] and operated by the Jackson Municipal Airport Authority. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 called it a general aviation facility.^[4]

History

Aviation in Jackson began in 1928 with the purchase of 151 acres of pasture land in the City of Jackson known then as Davis Stock Farm for $53,500. Davis Field, Jackson's first airport, was dedicated November 9, 1928. Delta Air Lines made its first flight that year beginning in Dallas landing in Jackson and other cities en route to Atlanta.^[5]

In 1936, the

(CCC) invested $62,150 to improve the airport with a terminal building and paving of an apron. In 1941, the airfield was named Hawkins Field after A.F. Hawkins, a city commissioner with an interest in aviation.

World War II

In May 1941, the Dutch

units in the southeast United States; however, operation of the school and flight training were done by civilians.

In June 1941, Hawkins Field was redesignated Jackson Army Airfield. It activated on May 1, 1942, and was used by the

took over Hawkins Field, a massive military construction program was initiated to expand the civil airport. Construction was rapid given the emergency wartime conditions and within three months the post was to be in full operation. The airfield had four concrete runways 3,317 by 150 feet (1,011 m × 46 m) NNE/SSW, 3,310 by 150 feet (1,009 m × 46 m) NNW/SSE, 4,825 by 150 feet (1,471 m × 46 m) NW/SE, 5,400 by 150 feet (1,646 m × 46 m) NNW/SSE; asphalt on first two runways and concrete the others. The runways were laid out on an "A" layout, with one extended length main runway, and two short secondary runways connected to the apron. Auxiliary airfields to support the training activities at the base were:

• Augustine Field 32°26′19″N 90°06′11″W / 32.43861°N 90.10306°W / 32.43861; -90.10306 (Augustine Field)
• Lime Prairie 32°18′16″N 90°24′36″W / 32.30444°N 90.41000°W / 32.30444; -90.41000 (Lime Field)

In addition to the airfield, the building of a large support base with several hundred buildings, numerous streets, and a utility network was carried out with barracks, various administrative buildings, maintenance shops and hangars. The station facility consisted of a large number of buildings based on standardized military plans and architectural drawings of the period, with the buildings designed to be the "cheapest, temporary character with structural stability only sufficient to meet the needs of the service which the structure is intended to fulfill during the period of its contemplated war use" was underway. To conserve critical materials, most facilities were constructed of wood, concrete, brick, gypsum board and concrete asbestos. Metal was sparsely used. The station and its buildings, together with complete water, sewer, electric and gas utilities, was designed to be nearly self-sufficient, with not only hangars, but barracks, warehouses, hospitals, dental clinics, dining halls, and maintenance shops were needed. There were libraries, social clubs for officers and enlisted men, and stores to buy living necessities.

The Netherlands pilots operated from the facility as a separate entity until January 1942 when the Army Air Forces Southeast Training Center took over the base and the Dutch pilots began training under the auspices of 74th Flying Training Wing at

, Alabama. The 35th Base Headquarters and Air Base Squadron was responsible for the operation of the non-flying elements of the base. Operational training squadrons were:

• 735th Basic Flying Training Squadron (Vultee
  BT-13 Valiant
  )
• 736th Single-Engine Flying Training Squadron (North American T-6 Texan)
• 737th Twin-Engine Flying Training Squadron (
  B-25 Mitchell
  )

On July 1, 1944, Jackson Army Air Base was transferred to the

to Jackson. The Netherlands aviators left in May 1945, and flight training was closed down in October.

training center (2588th Air Force Reserve Training Unit) until March 31, 1949, when the United States Air Force excessed Hawkins Field and returned it to civil control.

Postwar use

It was not until 1949 that Hawkins was again classified as a civil airfield. In 1963, the City began work to annex land in Rankin County, Mississippi, to build a new airport for jets (Hawkins' longest runway was 5383 feet). Allen C. Thompson Field, or Jackson Municipal Airport, (now known as

) opened later that year, one of the first airports with parallel runways, versus the cross wind intersecting runways at the airport it replaced. With the opening of Jackson Municipal Airport, Hawkins Field became a general aviation airport.

The

Mississippi Air National Guard

The United States Air Force returned in the summer of 1953 when the Mississippi Air National Guard began utilizing certain facilities of Hawkins Field.

What is known today as the

initially leased 64 acres of land in Rankin County to the City of Jackson for the new Air National Guard complex and construction of the present base began on April 15, 1961.

On July 1, 1962 the Lockheed

Jackson International Airport

in Rankin County.

Mississippi Army National Guard

The

Facilities

Hawkins Field covers 602 acres (244 ha) at an elevation of 341 feet (104 m). It has two active runways: 16/34 is 5,387 by 150 feet (1,642 x 46 m) asphalt; 11/29 is 3,431 by 150 feet (1,046 x 46 m) concrete.^[2] Two additional runways from the World War II era are closed.

In the year ending March 27, 2024, the airport had 20,778 aircraft operations or an average of 57 per day: 71% general aviation, 20% military, and 9% air taxi. 70 aircraft were then based at the airport: 35 single-engine, 13 multi-engine, 19 military, and 3 jet.^[2]

Incidents

On November 13, 2012, a

In Media

Jackson Army Air Base was the name of an abandoned military installation in the 1978 film Capricorn One, the premise of which was a government conspiracy and hoax of a crewed space mission to Mars. But unlike the present day Hawkins Field, the film version of the base was located in Texas.

See also

• List of airports in Mississippi
• Mississippi World War II Army Airfields
• 28th Flying Training Wing (World War II)

References

Other sources

External links

• Hawkins Field, official site
• Jackson Municipal Airport Authority
• FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective June 13, 2024
• FAA Terminal Procedures for HKS, effective June 13, 2024
• Resources for this airport:
  • FAA airport information for HKS
  • AirNav airport information for KHKS
  • ASN accident history for HKS
  • FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
  • NOAA/NWS weather observations: current, past three days
  • SkyVector aeronautical chart, Terminal Procedures