Marine Corps Air Station Eagle Mountain Lake

Coordinates: 32°58′39″N 97°29′32″W / 32.97750°N 97.49222°W / 32.97750; -97.49222
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

MCAS Eagle Mountain Lake
A 1943 matchbook cover from MCAS Eagle Mountain Lake when the USMC glider program was still active.
Summary
Airport typeMilitary
LocationPecan Acres, Texas
Coordinates32°58′39″N 97°29′32″W / 32.97750°N 97.49222°W / 32.97750; -97.49222
Map
Marine Corps Airs Station Eagle Mountain Lake is located in Texas
Marine Corps Airs Station Eagle Mountain Lake
Marine Corps Airs Station Eagle Mountain Lake
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
17L/35R 6,000 1,829 Concrete
12L/30R 3,000 914 Concrete
Marine Corps Air Station Eagle Mountain Lake
Pecan Acres, Texas
TypeMilitary air station
Site information
Controlled byUSMC
Site history
Built1 December 1942 - December 1946
In use1942 - 1946

Marine Corps Air Station Eagle Mountain Lake (MCAS Eagle Mountain Lake) was a

Naval Air Station Dallas. After the war, it was used by various branches of the military before being sold to a private owner in the 1970s. Today, the airfield is a private airport run by the Kenneth Copeland Ministry as Kenneth Copeland Airport.[1]

History

World War II

In 1942, 2,931 acres (11.9 km2) of former ranch land were purchased on the eastern shore of Eagle Mountain Lake so the Marine Corps could set up glider operations. Construction of the base began on 24 July 1942. Marine Glider Group 71 (MLG-71) and Marine Glider Squadron 711 (VML-711) under the command of Colonel Vernon M. Guymon arrived at the base in November 1942 and the station was officially commissioned on 1 December 1942.[2]

In May 1943, the Marine Corps cancelled its glider program

remote control aircraft until 1944 when they were moved to Traverse City, Michigan.[1]

On 1 April 1944, the air station reverted to Marine Corps control by the authorization of CNO Dispatch 31TWX1715. The Air Station's next higher echelon command was

F7F Tigercat.[1]

28 February 1945 saw the arrival of VMF(N)-544 to MCAS Eagle Mountain Lake[4] and it was also during this time that the air station reached its maximum utilization with a total of 121 aircraft on board.[1]

Post World War II use

On 28 February 1946 the air station went into caretaker status on the authority of Aviation Planning Directive 27-NN-46. Subsequently, the field became an Outlying Landing Field of

televangelist Kenneth Copeland, and a new hangar had been built on the site of the original World War II-era structure.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Freeman, Paul. "Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields:85/60Texas - Northwestern Fort Worth area". Eagle Mountain Lake Marine Corps Air Station (4TA2), Pecan Acres, TX.
  2. ^
    ISBN 0-9643388-2-3
    .
  3. ^ McKillop, Jack. "Piper NLP, Piper NE Grasshopper". www.microworks.net.
  4. ^ a b c d e *Sherrod, Robert (1952). History of Marine Corps Aviation in World War II. Washington, D.C.: Combat Forces Press.
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