Marfa Army Airfield
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Marfa Army Airfield (AKA: Presidio County Airport) is an abandoned airfield located in the high desert of West Texas, about 200 miles southeast of El Paso.
Contents |
[edit] History
Marfa Army Air Field began in 1942, when the War Department selected the Marfa, Texas area as a site for training United States Army Air Corps pilots.
The first cadets arrived on December 5, 1942, and entered flight training two days later. Members of this class completed their courses by February 12, 1943, and received their silver wings. A class completed training each month until the final graduation in May 1945.
In June 1945 Marfa Army Air Field became a redeployment center for the Troop Carrier Command, with some 2,400 men to be sent there to train with the 437th Troop Carrier Groups C-46 and C-47 aircraft.
The end of World War II halted these plans. More than 500 veterans from various squadrons arrived at the base for redeployment or discharge.
On 31 December 1945 Marfa Army Air Field was closed. It was retained in an inactive status until January 31, 1947 when the base was transferred to the Army District Engineering Corps at Albuquerque, NM for disposition.
Marfa was used as a civil general aviation airport after the war until the 1960s, after which it was abandoned and is now disused.
[edit] See Also
[edit] References
- Thole, Lou (1999), Forgotten Fields of America : World War II Bases and Training, Then and Now - Vol. 2. Publisher: Pictorial Histories Pub, ISBN 1575100517
- Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields: Marfa Army Airfield / Presidio County Airport, Marfa, TX
[edit] External Links
- Marfa Army Airfield is at coordinates Coordinates:
