Keesler Air Force Base

Keesler Air Force Base (1941-Active) - A United States Air Force Base first established in 1941 as Army Air Corps Station No. 8 at Biloxi, Harrison County, Mississippi. Named for 2d Lt Samuel R. Keesler, Jr., of Greenwood, Mississippi who died of wounds during World War I while serving in France as an aerial observer. On 25 August 1941, Army Air Corps Station No. 8 was officially designated as Keesler Army Airfield. Renamed Keesler Air Force Base on 13 January 1948. Also known as Keesler Field. Active military installation. Last Remaining WWII Style Barracks at Keesler. Keesler Troops Marching to Class Across the Flightline. Keesler Main Gate Sign in 2004. Establishment (Text adapted from USAF Fact Sheet) On 6 Mar 1941, the War Department officially notified Mayor Braun that Biloxi had been selected as the site of an Army Airfield to be used for a technical training school. The War Department activated Army Air Corps Station No. 8, Aviation Mechanics School, Biloxi, Mississippi, on 12 Jun 1941. Congress initially appropriated $6 million for construction and $2 million for equipment. By the time the War Department allocated the funds in April 1941, the projected cost had risen to $9.6 million. On 14 Jun 1941, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded Newton, Glenn, and Knost Construction Company and J. A. Jones Construction Company contracts totaling $10 million to build Biloxi's technical training school. WWII Training Technical training school personnel began arriving at Keesler Field in mid-July 1941, primarily from Chanute Field, Illinois. The new academic buildings were still under construction when the Airplane and Engine Mechanics School opened. Basic Branch students received instruction in five barracks buildings; Instructor Branch students were assigned to temporary classrooms set up in commandeered circus tents. In mid-1942 the Army Air Forces directed Keesler to focus upon the training of mechanics for B-24 Liberator heavy bombers. The school received its first B-24 in late September 1942. Six more arrived shortly thereafter, and specialized B-24 maintenance training began on 19 Oct 1942. The rapid buildup of heavy bomber units overseas demanded additional aircrew, and Keesler was tasked to assist in the spring of 1944. A B-24 Copilot School began operation in July, and its curriculum was expanded to include B-32 copilot training in October. The need for B-24 crews had also diminished, and Keesler stopped training B-24 copilots two months later. Post World War II In late May 1947, the AAF announced plans to move its Radar School from Boca Raton, Florida, to Keesler. The Radar School officially arrived on 14 Nov 1947, making Keesler responsible for operating the two largest military technical schools in the United States. The Airplane and Engine Mechanics School and the Radar School were consolidated on 1 Apr 1948. In September 1947, the United States Air Force became an independent branch of the armed services. Keesler Field was officially redesignated as Keesler Air Force base on 13 Jan 1948. In early 1949, Air Training Command decided that Keesler should focus its efforts on teaching radar, radio, and electronics maintenance and repair. To make room, the airplane and engine mechanics courses had to be moved elsewhere. Especially since the Air Force also planned to transfer the Radio Operations School to Keesler from Scott AFB, Illinois. In addition to training radio operators, Keesler was to begin teaching air traffic service technicians; aircraft approach controllers, ground radar mechanics, and radar repairman/ground controlled approach specialists. The last mechanics training courses had moved to Sheppard AFB, Texas, by November, and it was at this point in the base's history that Keesler became known as the "Electronics Training Center of the Air Force." Cold War Allee Hall, Electronics Fundamentals Classrooms since the 1950s. Wolfe Hall, Electronics Fundamentals and Sets Classrooms since the 1950s. Building 2901 Housed two complete FST-2 sets and provided SAGE System training for FST-2 maintenance repair technicians in the 1950s and 60s. Now the Keesler NCO Academy. Bryan Hall, Computer and Automated Systems Classrooms since the 1960s. Keesler Medical Center. Shaw House, Bachelor and Unaccompanied Officer Quarters. Maltby Hall at Keesler Annex. Provided C-E Officer Training Classrooms. Later Served as Engineering Installation Squadron (EIS) Facility. In August 1950, Keesler embarked on a major rebuilding program and the first phase of this project called for the construction of a new electronics laboratory, barracks, and a dining hall for a total cost of $14 million. In 1951, Congress appropriated an additional $44 million to complete Keesler's reconstruction. Plans included four two-story academic buildings (later named Allee, Dolan, Thomson, and Wolfe Halls), a 352-bed hospital, modern family housing units, and a three-story dormitory complex dubbed "the triangle" because of its distinctive layout. Since August 1948, the 3380th Technical Training Wing had controlled all base activities. On 1 Jan 1959 Air Training Command redesignated the wing as Headquarters, Keesler Technical Training Center (KTTC). At the same time, the training group was redesignated as the 3380th Technical School, USAF, and all of its subordinate student squadrons were renamed school squadrons. By 1960 the school at Keesler had earned a solid reputation for high technology training, offering courses in radar, communications, and electronics. Keesler remained the largest training base within ATC throughout the 1970s, and it continued to stay on the cutting edge of electronics technology, instructing students in new systems such as the worldwide military command and control system and the 407L radar system. The school was the country's main supplier of electronics technicians. Keesler's student load dropped to an all-time low after the Vietnam War ended, and Air Force officials responded to changing social conditions by reexamining the school's teaching functions. As a result, Air Training Command inactivated the USAF School of Applied Aerospace Sciences on 1 Apr 1977 and replaced it with the 3300th Technical Training Wing. Two weapon systems training programs gained attention during the early l980s. One was the airborne warning and control system (employed aboard the E-3A Sentry aircraft), and the other was the BGM-109 ground-launched cruise missile. Keesler's air traffic control program also garnered its share of publicity - especially after the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization walked off the job in August 1981. When President Ronald Reagan fired the strikers, it was Keesler-trained military air traffic controllers who stepped in to keep the nation's airways flowing smoothly. Driven by deep defense budget cuts and the resulting closures of Chanute AFB, Illinois, and Lowry AFB, Colorado, the first course transfers arrived in 1990, as Keesler acquired Chanute's weather forecasting courses. Lowry's metrology and precision maintenance electronics laboratory (PMEL) training program followed in 1992-1993. A major change occurred on 1 Jul 1993, when Keesler Training Center inactivated, and its lineage and honors retired. On the same day, the 81st Tactical Fighter Wing, formerly located at RAF Bentwaters, United Kingdom, was redesignated the 81st Training Wing and concurrently activated to serve as Keesler's host organization. At the same time, HQ USAF redesignated Air Training Command as Air Education and Training Command (AETC), and the command activated Second Air Force and stationed it at Keesler. Its mission was to oversee all technical training conducted within AETC. Current Status Currently, the 81 TRW at Keesler AFB is one of the largest technical training wings in the United States Air Force and continues to trained thousands of airmen, and hundreds of Air Force officers as well as military members from the Navy, Army, Marines, Coast Guard and allied nations. The 81 TRW now trains civilian and military members in specialized skills ranging from avionics maintenance, comptroller, radio and radar systems maintenance, communications electronics, computer systems, air traffic control, weather, personnel, command and control systems. {"selectable":false,"width":"500"} Location: Biloxi, Harrison County, Mississippi. Maps & Images Lat: 30.41139 Long: -88.92361 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 33' See Also: Active Air Force Bases Sources: USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Database Entry: 2512253 Links: Keesler AFB Fact Sheet - History Official Website Wikipedia - Keesler AFB Visited: 1957-2018