Last week we took a look at the first part of our series on Florida airfields built in the United States during World War 2. Today on Aces High we will finish that report.
As you know if you read last week’s installment, Florida was quite busy at the early stage of the war. Blessed with great weather and offering an opportunity to fly over water as well as other terrain, Florida was a popular place for the Air Force and Army to build airfields for training facilities.
Immediately after Pearl Harbor there was a flurry of activity all over the United States as training facilities were built in a rush. Dozens of flight centers showed up in Florida as pilots and flight crews needed a place to practice before heading off to Europe and the Pacific Theater.
Here is the second half of our list of Florida airfields:
- Avon Park AAF; now Avon Park Air Force Range
- Bartow AAF; now Bartow Municipal Airport
- Dale Mabry Field; now Campus of Tallahassee Community College
- Drew Field; now Tampa International Airport
- Brooksville AAF; now Florida Army National Guard Army Aviation Support Facility
- Drane Field/Lakeland AAF; now Lakeland Linder Regional Airport
- Winter Haven AAF; now Winter Haven’s Gilbert Airport
- Hillsborough AAF; now urbanized, part of which is Busch Gardens, Tampa
- Marianna AAF; now Marianna Municipal Airport
- MacDill Field; now MacDill Air Force Base
- Page Field/Fort Myers AAF; now Page Field
- Perry AAF; now Perry-Foley Airport
- Pinellas AAF; now Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater
Interestingly all of the airfields built during WWIi are still in operation except for the Hillsborough and Dale Mabry fields. With the possible exception of Alaska, almost all of the airfields built are still being used for commercial or military purposes, making them investments not only in the war effort but in the future as well.
Alaska was the obvious exception to this rule simply because of two reasons: today the world does not face war possibilities in cold weather, thus training in Alaska for combat simulation is not needed; secondly, the frigid temperatures of Alaska makes it not very cost-effective in maintaining airfields there.
Other than Alaska, though, the rest of the nation can see the effects of World War 2 in most of their cities.
Aces High is the flight simulation game that keeps improving and keeps looking for ways to challenge our flight sim players. Strap on your helmet and fly the skies with Aces High.
