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 The first documented military airfield in North Carolina was Pope Field in 1919. As it became clear that some sort of war was inevitable, the U.S. War Department began considering setting up training contracts with civilian companies in 1940. The War Department launched a massive airfield construction campaign in 1941 all across the nation. |
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The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers operated the Asheville & Hendersonville Airport from 1943-1947, providing air transportation for their communications and weather headquarters. During this time, federal funds were acquired to build a total of three 4,000 foot paved runways, a control tower and a fire station. |
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Currituck County Airport was built by the United States Army Air Force about 1942, and was known as Barco Flight Strip. It was an emergency landing airfield for military aircraft on training flights. It was closed after World War II and was turned over to the state of North Carolina by the War Assets Administration (WAA). The airstrip consisted of a concrete runway 4,000 feet long by 150 feet wide. |
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Camp Davis was originally built in 1940 as an Army anti-aircraft artillery training facility. It was an expansive facility, consisting of more than 3,000 buildings on 45,538 acres, with access provided by newly-built railroad spurs leading into the camp. A list of airfields used by the U.S. Government indicated that usage of “Hollyridge AAF” ended on 8/31/45, and the property was transferred to the U.S. Navy. The site was used by the Navy for the development & testing of early surface-to-air missiles until it was dismantled in the late 1940s. In 1954, the U.S. Marine Corps took out a new lease for approximately 955 acres on the former Camp Davis airfields & surrounding land from International Paper Company. See Marine Corps Out Lying Field Camp Davis below. |
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The United States Army Air Force took control of Charlotte Municipal Airport and established Charlotte Army Air Base in early 1941, which was renamed Morris Field shortly following the attack on Pearl Harbor. The U.S. military invested more than $5 million in airfield improvements by the time the facility was returned to the city of Charlotte in 1946. The airfield was used by the Third Air Force for anti-submarine patrols and training. |
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Co-existent with Charlotte Douglas International Airport. Its host unit, the 145th Airlift Wing (145 AW) of the North Carolina Air National Guard, is located in a military cantonment area on the east side of the airport. As an Air National Guard organization within the U.S. Air Force, the federal mission of the 145 AW is theater airlift and it is operationally gained by the Air Mobility Command (AMC). |
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The 1945 AAF Airfield Directory described Concord Airport as a 100 acre cross-shaped property having two clay runways, measuring 1,920' northwest/southeast and 1,800' northeast/southwest. The field was said to have three hangars, the largest being a 80' x 44' wood & metal structure. |
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The Elizabeth City Regional Airport opened in 1972 and is shared with and owned by the U.S. Coast Guard. The military portion of the facility operates HC-130J Hercules and MH-60T Jayhawk aircraft. USCG owns and operates all runways and a majority of the taxiways. The Pasquotank County Airport Authority owns and operates the FBO, civilian terminal, and associated taxiways. |
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(was Huffman Field) |
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After the outbreak of WW-II, the federal government took over the old Burlington Rayon Plant on North Church Street, and moved Fairchild Aircraft Company into it to begin production of a twin-engine training plane, the Fairchild AT-21 Gunner. The factory was located directly across the street from Huffman Field, which the U.S. Army had taken over in 1942 & renamed to Fairchild Field, displacing civilian aircraft operations to a location near Alamance. The first AT-21 was completed at Burlington in 1943. It was only built for a little over a year and then Fairchild vacated the facility in 1944. Fairchild Field continued in operation after WW-II as a civil airport, with a single paved northeast/southwest runway. The 1962 AOPA Airport Directory described Fairchild Field as having a single 3,500' asphalt Runway 4/22, and listed the operator as Alamance Aviation Service, Inc. Fairchild Field closed by 1968. |
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In late December 1940, Camp Davis Army Air Field (above) was built several miles to the north in Onslow County as an Army anti-aircraft artillery training facility. The Fort Fisher property was used as the main target range for Camp Davis and the installation was given the name Fort Fisher Army Air Field. In 1944, the anti-aircraft training facility was transferred to another base and Camp Davis and Fort Fisher AAF were closed. At the time of its closure, Fort Fisher AAF had grown to include an 80-seat cafeteria, a 350-bed hospital and dental clinic, and covered an area of several hundred acres. |
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Hertford |
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Per AirNav - activated 5/2006. Owned and operated by Harvey Point Defense Testing Activity, Department of Defense (DoD). |
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From 1942 to 1945, Knollwood Airport was leased to the U. S. Army Air Corps and was used as the Knollwood Army Auxiliary Air Field. In 1945, the airport became the Pinehurst-Southern Pines Airport. |
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Maxton |
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Per AirNav - activated 5/1943. The airfield was constructed for the United States Army Air Force during World War II. It was the world's largest Waco CG-4A glider pilot training base from 1942 until 1945. At it peak 10,000 men were stationed at this facility. When the base closed in 1945, DoD gave the airport and its remaining facilities to the towns of Laurinburg and Maxton |
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In the 1940s, the US Army Air Corps assumed control of the civilian Lindley Field for the duration of WW-II. The airport was a hub for the Overseas Replacement Depot (ORD), a refueling station, and a training site for fighter and bomber pilots. The Army built a second steel hangar and a control tower. The Army Air Corps lengthened the runways and built a new passenger terminal. |
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Richmond |
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Originally named Camp Hoffman, on February 8, 1943, General Order Number 6 renamed the facility Camp Mackall in honor of Private John Thomas (Tommy) Mackall. Historian Stephen E. Ambrose described the camp as a "marvel of wartime construction," having been converted from 62,000 acres of wilderness to a camp "with 65 miles of paved roads, a 1,200-bed hospital, five movie theaters, six huge beer gardens, a complete all-weather airfield with three 5,000-foot runways, and 1,750 buildings" in just four months. Camp Mackall is the current location of initial qualification training for the U.S. Army Special Forces. |
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Per AirNav - activated 6/1943. On May 20, 1942, the facility was commissioned Cunningham Field, named in honor of the Marine Corps' first aviator, Lieutenant Colonel Alfred A. Cunningham. The completed facility was later renamed Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, after a local post office situated among cherry trees. As of January 2019, currently home to the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing. They provide the aviation combat element for the II Marine Expeditionary Force. |
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Per AirNav - activated 6/1943. The airport was originally constructed during World War II by the United States Navy as Marine Corps Air Station Edenton. In this role, it hosted Marine Operational Training Group 81 (MOTG-81) and its subordinate squadrons. MOTG-81 trained pilots, aircrewmen and ground crews on the land-based PBJ-1 medium bomber, a U.S. Navy / U.S. Marine Corps variant of the U.S. Army Air Forces' B-25 Mitchell bomber that was operated by Marine bombing squadrons, primarily in the Pacific theater. In 1946, it was renamed to Naval Auxiliary Air Station Edenton. |
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(McCutcheon Field) |
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Per AirNav - activated 8/1944. The location was placed under the command of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune and received its first squadron, VMSB-331 from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point on March 9, 1943. From mid-1943 through August 1944, Marine bombing squadrons VMB-433, VMB-443 and VMB-612 operating the land-based PBJ Mitchell bomber were stationed there. As WW-II came to an end, MCAAF Camp Lejeune was closed and reverted to caretaker status as an outlying airfield of MCAS Cherry Point. In 1951, the installation was reactivated and became Marine Corps Air Facility Peterfield Point, Camp Lejeune. Only one year later the name was changed again, this time to Marine Corps Air Facility New River. July 1954 marked the arrival of the first operational Marine Aircraft Group, MAG-26, which was transferred from MCAS Cherry Point. The area faced another major name change in 1968, where it was recommissioned as Marine Corps Air Station (Helicopter) New River, marking its growth from a small training area to a major operational airfield. In 1972, the airfield was named McCutcheon Field for General Keith B. McCutcheon, one of the fathers of Marine Corps helicopter aviation. This Air Station was the first Marine Corps base with the new MV-22 Osprey. Near Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, it shares some facilities with Camp Geiger.Owned and operated by the U.S. Navy. |
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Kinston Air Base, Stallings Air Base |
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Kinston Regional Jetport originally was built in 1944 by the U. S. Navy. It opened in October as a United States Marine Corps flying training airfield. Naval Aviation Cadets received V-5 flight training along with basic flying indoctrination at the airfield until the facility was closed on 31 October 1945. As a result of the Cold War and the expansion of the U. S. Air Force, Kinston Air Base was re-opened on 17 October 1950 by the USAF Air Training Command, as a contract flying training school with T-34 Mentor, T-6 Texan and T-28 Trojan aircraft. In May 1952, the Air Force renamed Kinston Airfield as Stallings Air Base. The base was formally inactivated on 27 November 1957. |
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Per AirNav - activated 6/1943. During WW-II, Bogue was used almost exclusively by the U. S. Marine Corps for VMSB dive-bomber squadron training. Equipped with the SBD Dauntless, the first squadron, VMSB-331, moved to Bogue from MCAS New River in 1943 followed by Marine Aircraft Group 33 (MAG-33) later that year. As of January 2019, Marine Corps Auxiliary Field (MCALF) Bogue is maintained by the Marine Wing Support Group (MWSG-27) and is used by the 2nd Marine Air Wing (MAW) to practice expeditionary airfield procedures. MCALF Bogue is one of only two places in the U.S. where AV-8B Harriers can practice field carrier landings in realistic conditions. |
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This small airfield on the property of Camp Lejune is one of 31 Expeditionary Airfields operated by the Marine Corps. It was built between 1970-82, as the airfield is not depicted at all on the 1970 USGS topo map. A 5/2/82 USGS aerial view depicted Blue Bird as having a single paved Runway 13/31. In 1998, the Blue Bird EAF was rebuilt by members of the "Untouchables," Marine Wing Support Squadron 272. TLZ Blue Bird is a vertical/short takeoff & landing (VSTOL) site used by helicopter and AV-8 Harrier pilots for combat mission training. The airfield at Blue Bird consists of a single 1,700' runway, composed of hundreds of interlocking aluminum mats. A taxiway leads a 96' square vertical takeoff and landing pad. |
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As a satellite airfield for MCAS Cherry Point, the U.S. Navy acquired 1,470 acres of land in early 1942 near the town of Atlantic in Carteret County, NC, and construction commenced later that year. Atlantic was commissioned as a Marine Corps Auxiliary Airfield in 1943, but plenty of evidence exists to show it operational in 1942. A total complement of 36 aircraft was present on the base in 1943 - 35 SBDs and one J2F Duck amphibian. A hangar was completed in late 1943, as well as barracks, workshops & other buildings. In 1944 a detachment of Air Warning Squadron AWS-16 arrived, as well as VMSB-934 with new Curtiss SB2C Helldivers. The airfield was apparently abandoned at some point between 1956-65, as it was labeled "OLF Atlantic (Navy) (Closed)" on the 1965 Norfolk Sectional Chart. However, it was reported in 2007, “MCOLF Atlantic is the Mid-Atlantic Electronic Warfare Range. We have about 65 people here. I work in the Supply Department." |
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Was Camp Davis Army Air Field (above). In 1954, the Marine Corps took out a new lease for approximately 955 acres on the former Camp Davis airfields and surrounding land from International Paper Company. In recent years, the Marine Corps has used Camp Davis as a Marine Corps Outlying Landing Field (MCOLF) for helicopter units based at nearby Marine Corps Air Station New River. Runway 18/36 was re-surfaced with concrete in 1997. |
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On August 8, 1941, the U.S. Marine Corps leased what became an outlying field of Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point and named it OLF Camp Mitchell. In the beginning of 1942, the Army Air Force used the field for anti-submarine patrols. The field was later closed for seven months during 1942 while two hard surface runways and a runway lighting system were installed. The first Marine aviation units began to arrive at the field in February 1943. Among the units to train at the field during the war was Marine Aircraft Group 34 and fighter squadrons VMF-324 and VMF-511. In January 1944, plans were announced to expand the field. However, these plans were abandoned because the Marine Corps acquired surplus Army fields. |
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The Greenville Airport was leased by the United States Navy on May 1, 1942, to be an outlying field of Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point. The field was underutilized until November 30, 1942, when it was announced that it would be upgraded by the Civil Aeronautics Administration. The first Marine Corps flying squadrons to arrive were scout bombing squadrons VMSB-343 and VMSB-344 in January 1944. July saw the arrival of fighter squadrons VMF-913 and VMF-914 and October brought the photo reconnaissance squadrons VMD-354 and VMD-954. During the war, MCOLF Greenville was the busiest of MCAS Cherry Point's outlying fields. In 1945, it was returned to the local government and became Pitt-Greenville Municipal Airport. |
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Per AirNav - activated 6/1943. Oak Grove was opened in 1943 as an Outlying Landing Field for adjacent MCAS Cherry Point. The 1st squadron to come aboard was VMF-321, and the base was commissioned as a Marine Corps Auxiliary Air Field in 1943. The September 1943 Norfolk Sectional Chart identified the field as "Oak Grove (Navy)." The 1945 AAF Airfield Directory described “Pollocksville MCAAF” as a 1,068 acre triangular property containing three asphalt 4,000' runways. The field was said to have a single hangar with a 78' x 20' door. The 1982 USGS topo map depicted “Oak Grove Airfield” as having three paved runways, taxiways, a ramp, and four small buildings. A 1993 USGS aerial view looking south showed MCOLF Oak Grove to have three paved 4,000' runways (18/36, 5/23 & 9/27), taxiways, and a ramp at the northeast corner. |
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The U.S. Navy started the construction of the Weeksville Lighter Than Air (LTA) air station on August 6, 1941, and completed construction in 1942. Naval Air Station Weeksville was operational from 1941 to 1957. NAS Weeksville's airships played a vital role in German U-boat spotting during WW-II, helping to minimize losses to east coast shipping. The last Navy blimp departed Weeksville in 1946. In 1947, Weeksville became an operational blimp base again, with the arrival of four new blimps. During the Korean War, Weeksville was used for extensive anti-submarine warfare (ASW) blimp operations, hosting a fixed-wing Carrier Air Group, and hosting ASW helicopter squadrons. Budget cuts to the Navy's LTA program in the mid-1950s resulted in the closure of NAS Weeksville as an active naval installation in 1957, when it was decommissioned. In 1959, the facility was used for design testing of communications satellites as part of NASA's Project Echo. In 1966, the decommissioned Weeksville facility was sold to Westinghouse, for use in their blimp operations. In 1989, Westinghouse transferred its blimp operations to TCOM, which subsequently built commercial airships at Weeksville which have operated as "Bud One," "Fuji," and "Met Life." |
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Was Marine Corps Air Station Edenton (above). It was operationally administered by Marine Air Base Squadron 14 (MABS-14), hosting Marine Corps fighter squadrons flying the F9F-2 Panther and attack squadrons flying the AD-4B and AD-5 Skyraider during the Korean War and early years of the Cold War. NAAS Edenton was decommissioned in 1960 and turned over to the local government for conversion to a civilian airport - became Northeastern Regional Airport. |
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Harvey Point was built in 1942 as a Navy seaplane training base. Courthouse records indicate that in November 1942 the U.S. Navy purchased the point, roughly 1,200 acres, for $41,751. The Navy then constructed an air station on the property for use during WW-II, and commissioned it as Naval Auxiliary Air Station Harvey Point. During WW-II, NAAS Harvey Point was used as a PBM Mariner seaplane base. After the war, NAAS Harvey Point was decommissioned in 1946 and remained deactivated until 1958 when the Navy announced that Harvey Point would serve as the testing grounds for the new Martin P6M Seamaster, an experimental jet-powered long-range seaplane bomber. The project was cancelled in August 1959 when the Navy determined the aircraft wasn't successful enough for it to continue providing support for the program. Then, in 1961, the Navy returned to the property, and announced that the property was closed to the public; it has remained that way ever since. |
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Started out as Dare County Airport. Per AirNav - activated 9/1943. A public airport was under construction at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, which prompted the U.S. Navy to abandon its plans to construct a Naval Auxiliary Air Station at Cape Hatteras, and instead focus on this airport, on Roanoke Island, which had a similar runway configuration. The Naval Auxiliary Air Station Manteo (NAAS Manteo) was completed by the Navy and commissioned on March 3, 1943. NAAS Manteo was shared by the Civil Air Patrol and the U.S. Navy. As a naval air installation, NAAS Manteo and was used for special training of squadrons of F4F Wildcats, F6F Hellcats, SB2C Helldivers, TBM and TBF Avengers, PBY Catalinas and F4U Corsairs. The Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard conducted anti-submarine patrols from the airfield until the field was placed in caretaker status December 15, 1945. In 1947, NAAS Manteo was dis-established and control of the airfield was returned to Dare County. In 1983, it was taken over by the Dare County Airport Authority, which owns and operates the Dare County Regional Airport. |
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Point of Marsh was originally built as a satellite airfield for Cherry Point during WW-II, when PV-1 Venturas and PV-2 Harpoons were used in the anti-submarine role. It was also a training field for pilots to learn how to land on less-than-ideal surfaces, similar to the rough airfields then in use in the Pacific Theater, and as an emergency landing field for pilots low on gas. Unclear if this airfield is still in use. |
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(was Pope Air Force Base) (was Pope Army Air Field) |
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The War Department officially established Pope Field in 1919 at Camp Bragg, and it ranks as one of the oldest installations in the Air Force. It is named after 1st Lt. Harley Halbert Pope who was killed on January 7, 1919, when the Curtiss JN-4 Jenny he was flying crashed into the Cape Fear River. On March 1, 2011, Pope Air Force Base was absorbed into Fort Bragg, becoming Pope Field once again. Also, owned and operated by the U.S. Army once again. |
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At some point between 1950-72, a small airfield was established on the island's north shore. The precise purpose of the airfield has not been determined. The earliest depiction which has been located of Portmouth Island Airfield was on the 1972 USGS topo map. It depicted a northeast/southwest clearing of one runway, but did not label the airfield. It was apparently used to bring hunters and other sportsmen to the island in its better days. |
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Durham |
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While under construction, the original RDU was taken over in 1942 by the federal government for use during WW-II. The base was designated Raleigh-Durham Army Air Field in January of 1943 with barracks and three runways becoming operational on May 1, 1943. The base served as a training facility for the Army Air Corps until Jan. 1, 1948. |
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(was Seymour Johnson Army Air Field) |
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The base was activated on June 12, 1942, as Headquarters, Technical School, Army Air Forces Technical Training Command. Seymour Johnson Field was de-activated in May 1946. On April 1, 1956, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base was reactivated as a Tactical Air Command base. Three months later, the 83rd Fighter-Day Wing was assigned to the base as the primary unit. The 4th Fighter Wing replaced the 83rd on Dec. 8, 1957. Since reopening, the base has been home to B-52 bombers, KC-10 and KC-135 tankers from Strategic Air Command and F-4 and F-16 fighters from the Michigan Air National Guard. |
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(at Ft. Bragg) |
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As part of Exercise Test Drop in August 1952, the 406th Engineer Brigade constructed an airfield in the vicinity of Smith Lake on land acquired by Fort Bragg. The field was originally known as Smith Lake Airfield. In June 1952 the 6th Transportation Company (Helicopter) arrived with 21 Sikorsky H-19C Chickasaw, and two Bell H-13 Sioux helicopters; it deployed to Korea in December 1952 as the first combat helicopter company. Simmons is home to 203 aircraf, which include UH-60 Blackhawk Helicopters, AH-64 Apache Attack Helicopters, and CH-47 Chinook Helicopters. Simmons Army Airfield supports combat training and rapid contingency deployments of Fort Bragg’s airborne and special operations communities. |
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Stanly County Airport co-exists with this regional training site for the North Carolina Air National Guard. The 235th Air Traffic Control Squadron (235 ATCS) operates the control tower at the airport. Also located at the airport's Air National Guard Station are the 118th Air Support Operations Squadron (118 ASOS), 156th Weather Flight (156 WF) and the 263d Combat Communications Squadron (263 CCS). Runway 4R/22L was frequently used as an assault strip by the C-130s of the North Carolina Air National Guard's 145th Airlift Wing (145 AW) based in Charlotte; that unit is now transitioning to the C-17 Globemaster III. |
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On December 8th, 1941, the Army Air Corps moved onto the civilian Bluethenthal Field and remained for the duration of the war. At its height, the airport offered a complete bomber command station and facility support including a hospital and administrative offices. After the war, the federal government declared Bluethenthal Field surplus property, and under the Surplus Property Act of 1944 the facility was deeded to the county at no cost to New Hanover County. During World War II, the airfield was used by the U. S. Army Air Force Third Air Force for anti-submarine patrols and training using P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft. The Army expanded the airfield with three new 7,000-foot runways. |
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