Air support base


An air support base were dozens of United States Army Air Forces military installations created near Continental United States camps/forts of the Army Ground Forces. The bases were developed as part of the "air support base development program" when National Guard observation squadrons inducted into federal service in 1940-1941 had insufficient facilities to conduct their training. In 1941 HQ USAAF had an Air Ground Support Section which had documented Air Support Base Requirements and on 1 December 1942, the AAF published the entire Station List for support bases.
Four support bases were each named for its army post, one base supported two army posts, and at least three army posts each had two support bases. Each airfield was either constructed or the "air support field" was leased from an existing owner. Air support bases were generally adjacent to the army post using additional federally-acquired land, but airfields were built on some of the large Army reservations, and the airbase was subsequently built adjacent Although planned as support bases, many of the bases were assigned other primary missions, e.g., for reconnaissance, bombardment, or other training, and a few of the airbases and posts became a single military facility, e.g., the post-war Cooke Air Force Base included both the former army airfield and the former army camp
In 1943, most of the air support bases transferred to 3rd Air Force when it gained the air support commands. Several of the air support bases that were inactivated after World War II were resurrected for Cold War operations.