Tonopah Air Force Base

 (1942-1948) - A United States Air Force Base first established in 1942 as Tonopah Army Air Field at Tonopah, Nye County, Nevada. Renamed Tonopah Air Force Base in 1948. Closed in 1948.

Pre World War II Activities
Three million acres of public domain land in Nevada was transferred from the U.S. Department of the Interior to the War Department in 1940. This land was set aside as the Tonopah Bombing and Gunnery Range (TB&GR). At the northwest edge of the range, near the town of Tonopah, construction began in 1941 on a U.S. Army airfield to conduct training at the range. The airfield was a part of the range until 1944 when it became the separate Tonopah Army Air Field (TAAF).

World War II


In July 1942 the first military personnel arrived at the new airfield. Initial training was in Bell P-39 Airacobras and 12 fighter squadrons were trained in 1943 for overseas combat.

In September 1943 the base was shut down for a $3 million dollar expansion project for Consolidated B-24 Liberator training. Construction was complete by the beginning of November 1943 and training activities resumed.

In the summer of 1944, a Field Test Unit of Wright Field's Special Weapons Branch tested guided glide bombs including television equipped versions. Models tested included the GB-4, GB-6 and GB-8 versions. These guided glide bombs were the predecessors of today's smart bombs.

At it's peak in October 1944, there were 66 B-24 training aircraft with 1,264 officers and 5,273 enlisted men assigned to the base. By March 1945 as the war wound down there were 437 officers, 3,707 enlisted men, and 184 civilians at the base.

Post World War II
On 23 Aug 1945, Tonopah AAF was placed on inactive status and all training classes were stopped. By 15 Sep 1945 just four aircraft remained at the airfield.

On 21 Mar 1946, Tonopah was a sub-base of Castle Field and transferred with Castle to Strategic Air Command by August 1946, with just a few assigned personnel. On 1 Oct 1946 jurisdiction was transferred to Clovis Army Air Field. In June 1947 Tonopah AAF was declared excess along with its 3 auxiliary areas.

U.S. Air Force
The United Sates Air Force (USAF) was formed as a separate branch of the military on 18 Sep 1947 under the National Security Act of 1947. The majority of the Army Air Force bases were transferred to the new USAF jurisdiction and became Air Force Bases. Tonopah Air Force Base was transferred to the U.S. Corps of Engineers on 21 Aug 1948 as surplus property. Parts of the former base were later turned over to the town of Tonopah as the Tonopah Municipal Airport.

Current Status
Now Tonopah Municipal Airport with scattered remnants of the former base buildings including several hangers and ammunition bunkers.The Central Nevada Museum in Tonopah has significant displays and archives concerning the Tonapah AAF.

See Also:
 * Closed Air Force Bases

Sources:
 * Henderson-Elder, Tracy and Myhrer, Keith, The History of the World War II Tonopah Army Air Field, Nevada, Nellis Air Force Base, 2010, 150 pages.

Links:
 * Wikipedia - Tonopah Air Force Base