Turner Air Force Base
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| Turner Air Force Base
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| Part of Tactical Air Command (TAC) Strategic Air Command (SAC) |
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| Located near Albany, Georgia | |
 3 January 1964
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| Type | Air Force Base |
| Coordinates | |
| Built | 1942 |
| In use | 1942-1967 |
| Controlled by | United States Air Force |
| Garrison | 31st Fighter Wing (1947-1950,1953-1959) (TAC) 31st Fighter-Escort Wing (1950-1953) (SAC) 4080th Strategic Wing (1957) 4138th Strategic Wing (1957-1963) 484th Bombardment Wing (1963-1967) |
Turner Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base near Albany, Georgia.
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[edit] Origins
Turner Army Air Field was built in 1942 as an Army Air Corps training field. It was initially operated as a school for navigators. It later offered elementary & advanced training in twin engine craft. The precise airfield configuration of Turner AAF during World War II is unknown, but later photos appear to indicate that the World War II-era airfield had at least four paved runways.
Turner was also used during World War II to train French aircrews.
During World War II, Turner AAF had the following satellite airfields:
- Leesburg Auxiliary #1 (8.5 miles NE of Leesburg)
- West Smithville Auxiliary #2 (4.5 miles SW of Smithville)
- West Leesburg Auxiliary #3 (2.5 miles SW of Leesburg)
- North Smithville Auxiliary #6 (3.5 miles NE of Smithville)
- Cordele Auxiliary #7 (1.5 miles NE of Cordele)
- Vidalia-Lyons Auxiliary #8 (3 miles SE of Vidalia)
- Tifton Auxiliary #9 (2 miles SE of Tifton)
[edit] Tactical Air Command
Turner AAF was closed after World War II, but then reopened in 1947 (shortly thereafter being renamed Turner Air Force Base) and assigned to the Tactical Air Command's Ninth Air Force and the 31st Fighter Wing.
[edit] Strategic Air Command
It became the home of the Strategic Air Command's 4080th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing in 1957 resulting in extensive expansion of the primary runway & other facilities. Upon transfer of the 4080 SRW to Laughlin AFB, TX in 1957, SAC established the 4138th Strategic Wing as the primary entity at Turner, operating B-52D Stratofortress and KC-135A Startotanker aircraft. On 1 Feb 1963, the 4138 SW was inactivated and all subordinate squadrons and B-52D and KC-135A aircraft assets transferred to the newly-established 484th Bombardment Wing (Heavy). The 484 BW continued to maintain CONUS-based strategic nuclear alert responsibilities at Turner through the 1960s and deployed to Southeast Asia for most of 1966. The 484 BW was inactivated on 25 Mar 1967 in preparation for transfer of Turner AFB to the U.S. Navy, and its aircraft assets were redistributed to other SAC units. [1]
During the 1950s, Turner was the first base to operate the F-84G fighter & RB-57D reconnaissance aircraft. The 1958 major expansion in preparation for the arrival of B-52 bombers resulted in the airfield at Turner being greatly expanded into a configuration that was typical of a SAC B-52 base: a single 12,000' runway with a parallel taxiway and a huge ramp area.
One of the most significant aspects of the SAC expansion at Turner was the nearby installation of a ring of U.S. Army Nike Hercules surface-to-air missiles, which was a customary defensive shield for many B-52 bases.
The Nikes were installed in two nearby off-base installations and were armed with nuclear warheads.
[edit] Naval Air Station Albany
Turner was closed by the Air Force in 1967 and was turned over to the U. S. Navy. It then became Naval Air Station Albany and housed ten squadrons of the Navy's Reconnaissance Attack Wing ONE operating the Mach 2 RA-5C Vigilante carier-based reconnaissance aircraft, the wing and squadrons relocating during 1967-1968 from the then-closing NAS Sanford, FL. Additional Navy aircraft based at NAS Albany during this period included the TA-4F/TA-4J Skyhawk II and and the TA-3B Skywarrior.
[edit] Closure And Redevelopment
Turner was closed by the Navy in 1976 and its RA-5C Vigilante wing and squadrons transferred to NAS Key West, FL. At the time of its closure, the NAS Albany airfield consisted of a single runway (12,050' long x 300' wide), taxiways, a large ramp area, and numerous hangars & buildings.
After its closure by the Navy, Turner was briefly reused for civil flying, with the nearby Ayres aircraft manufacturing company using the field to train pilots for their crop-duster aircraft.
Following its closure, the site was actively marketed for economic redevelopment by the local government. They were rewarded by the selection in 1978 of the Turner AFB site by the Miller Brewing Company, which built an extensive brewery operation at the location, almost completely obliterating any trace of the former huge airfield facilities.
A large part of the base still exists. The brewery took the site from the runways east, but most of the base is still intact, including much of the signage along with many guard and utility shacks around the perimeter. Western concrete ramps are still there, and as is much of the leftover hardware. The original perimeter chainlink fence is still up, and there are still signs warning against photography without permission of the commander.
[edit] Notes
- ^ [1] Turner AFB info @ strategic-air-command.com as retrieved November 11, 2007.
[edit] External links
- History Of Turner AFB - Written By Miller Brewing Company - Excellent and Lengthy.
- SAC Bases: Turner Air Force Base
- Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields - Turner AFB
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