Cross City Air Force Station is a former

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

facility, located east of

Cross City, Florida Cross City is a town in and the county seat of Dixie County, Florida, United States. The population was 1,728 at the 2010 census. Geography Cross City is located at (29.6806, –83.0897). According to the United States Census Bureau, the town ...

Overview

Originally a small civil airport, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

it was active as a training base for the

Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

and

Third Air Force The Third Air Force (Air Forces Europe) (3 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA). Its headquarters is Ramstein Air Base, Germany. It is responsible for all U.S. air forces in E ...

. Closed after the war and returned to civil control, in 1958 the

exercised a right of return and a portion of the airport became an

Air Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command (military formation), command of the United States Air Force, responsible for continental air defense. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air Defense Command, was est ...

ground interceptor radar site. Closed by the Air Force in 1970, the radars were turned over to the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

(FAA). Today it is part of the

Joint Surveillance System The Joint Surveillance System (JSS) is a joint United States Air Force and Federal Aviation Administration system for the atmospheric air defense of North America. It replaced the Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system in 1983. Overvie ...

(JSS), designated by

NORAD North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection ...

Eastern Air Defense Sector The Eastern Air Defense Sector (EADS) is a United States Air Force unit of Air Combat Command (ACC), permanently assigned to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). A joint, bi-national military organization, EADS is composed of U ...

(EADS) Ground Equipment Facility J-10.

History

World War II

The airport was opened as a public airport in April 1940. In August 1942, the facility was requisitioned by the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

, and construction began to convert the Civil Aeronautics Administration airport in Cross City to a dive bomber military training airfield. The construction included the addition of and improvements to buildings, taxiways, roads, and hard stands. Historical documents list three ranges at the Cross City AAF: a shoot-in-butt, a rifle range, and a skeet range. Known as Cross City Army Airfield, it was used as part of the Army Air Forces Center (AAF Center)'s combat simulation school in Central and Northern

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and as a unit training center by

Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics / Army Air Forces Tactical Center

Activated on 27 October 1942 as part of the

(AAFSAT), Cross City AAF was assigned as a sub-base of

Orlando Army Air Base Orlando Executive Airport is a public airport three miles (6 km) east of downtown Orlando, in Orange County, Florida. It is owned and operated by the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) and serves general aviation. Overview Orlando ...

, and came under the jurisdiction of the 50th Fighter Group stationed at Orlando. The 50th assigned the

305th Fighter Squadron 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

(Single Engine), flying

Bell P-39 Airacobra The Bell P-39 Airacobra is a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. The P-39 was used by the ...

aircraft, to the field on 21 October 1942 to fly training missions from Cross City. In 1943, the AAFSAT was renamed the

Army Air Forces Tactical Center The Army Air Forces Tactical Center was a major command and military training organization of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It trained cadres from newly formed units in combat operations under simulated field conditi ...

(AAFTC). In June 1943, the 305th Fighter Squadron was replaced by the AAFTC's

81st Fighter Squadron The 81st Fighter Squadron (81 FS) is a training squadron of the United States Air Force's Air Education and Training Command (AETC), stationed at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia. It is a Geographically Separate Unit of the 14th Operations Group, ...

(Single Engine), flying

P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...

s until 1 February 1944. In support of the training mission, the Horseshoe Point Auxiliary Airfield () was constructed and used by the school as an auxiliary and emergency landing airfield. No personnel were permanently assigned to Horseshoe Point.

Third Air Force

The AAFTC training mission ended in late June 1944, when Cross City was officially reassigned to

III Fighter Command The III Fighter Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was at MacDill Field, Florida. It was inactivated on 8 April 1946. History Background GHQ Air Force (GHQ,AF) had been established with two major combat ...

. With the transfer, Cross City was assigned to

and became a sub-base of

Alachua Army Airfield Alachua Army Airfield, was a World War II United States Army Air Force airfield, located northeast of Gainesville, Florida. History Construction of the Gainesville Municipal Airport began in April 1940 as a Works Project Administration (WPA) a ...

, near Gainesville, assigned to the Commando Squadron Fighter Training School. A different mission of sorts was ordered by III Fighter Command, the training of Air Commando fighter units for the

China Burma India Theater China Burma India Theater (CBI) was the United States military designation during World War II for the China and Southeast Asian or India–Burma (IBT) theaters. Operational command of Allied forces (including U.S. forces) in the CBI was officia ...

and the invasion of

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

. Cross City AAF was initially assigned squadrons of the 2d and 3d Air Commando Groups training with

North American P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter aircraft, fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team ...

fighters. However, it was decided by Third Air Force to consolidate the Commando fighter squadron training at Alachua AAF. Instead, the liaison squadrons of the 2d Air Commando Group were moved to Cross City AAF from

Lakeland Army Airfield Lakeland Army Airfield, was a World War II United States Army Air Force located 5.3 miles southwest of Lakeland, Florida. From 1960 to 2017 it was Lakeland Linder Regional Airport. In 2017 it was renamed Lakeland Linder International Airport. ...

in late June. Through the summer and early fall of 1944, six liaison squadrons were trained at the airfield. Equipped with Piper

L-4 Grasshopper The Piper J-3 Cub is an American light aircraft that was built between 1938 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. The aircraft has a simple, lightweight design which gives it good low-speed handling properties and short-field performance. The Cub is P ...

and Stinson

L-5 Sentinel The Stinson L-5 Sentinel is a World War II-era liaison aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces, U.S. Army Ground Forces, U.S. Marine Corps and the British Royal Air Force. It was produced by the Stinson Division of the Vultee Aircr ...

liaison planes and Noorduyn and Aeronca C-64 Norseman utility cargo aircraft, the pilots were schooled in low level flying, short field landings, tactical reconnaissance, and supply missions.

Closure

With the Air Commando units moving out at the end of 1944, the flying mission wound down at Cross City AAF and it was used as an auxiliary airfield of the

Air Technical Service Command The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

facilities at Alachua AAF. The airfield remained open, mostly seeing transient training aircraft from various training bases in Florida and South Georgia. The number of personnel was also reduced, being reassigned to other bases. In January 1945, Third Air Force sent down orders to close the facility, and it was placed on inactive status on 1 February 1945. Jurisdiction of the airfield was transferred to

(ATSC), whose mission was the transfer of any useful military equipment to other bases around the country. Under ATSC, buildings and equipment were sold and any useful military equipment was transferred to other military bases across the United States. The base was declared as surplus in 1946 and was turned over to the

War Assets Administration The War Assets Administration (WAA) was created to dispose of United States government-owned surplus material and property from World War II. The WAA was established in the Office for Emergency Management, effective March 25, 1946, by Executive Ord ...

(WAA) for disposal and return to civil use. After the war, the airfield was returned to civil control and the

Cross City Airport Cross City Airport is a county-owned, public-use airport located one nautical mile (2 km) east of the central business district of Cross City, a city in Dixie County, Florida, United States. It is included in the National Plan of ...

was re-established.

World War II units assigned

Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics / Army Air Forces Tactical Center *

, 21 October 1942 – 13 June 1943 (

P-39 Airacobra The Bell P-39 Airacobra is a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. The P-39 was used by the ...

) *

, 18 June 1943 – 1 February 1944 (

) Third Air Force * 1st Fighter Squadron (Commando), 12–21 June 1944 (

P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...

) *

2d Fighter Squadron (Commando) The 2d Fighter Squadron (Commando) is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the Tenth Air Force, based at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey. It was inactivated on 12 November 1945. History Lineage * Constituted 2d Fighter ...

, 9–21 June 1944 (P-51 Mustang) * 127th Liaison Squadron (Commando), 21 June-17 August 1944 * 155th Liaison Squadron (Commando), 21 June-17 August 1944 * 156th Liaison Squadron (Commando), 21 June-17 August 1944 * 157th Liaison Squadron (Commando), 19 August-6 October 1944 * 159th Liaison Squadron (Commando), 19 August-6 October 1944 * 160th Liaison Squadron (Commando), 19 August-6 October 1944

Air Defense Command / Aerospace Defense Command

In 1958, the United States Air Force exercised a reversal clause option for a portion of the former Cross City AAF under the post-World War II WAA action that transferred the former military airfield back to the city as a civilian airport. As a USAF installation, the new facility would not have a flying mission, but would be an air defense radar site under the operational control of the

(ADC). The portion of the field used by ADC was renamed Cross City Air Force Station. New military construction (MILCON) ensued, to include concrete structures for barracks, dining facilities, operations, administration, maintenance, and backup electrical power, as well as metal and masonry structures for radar antennas and associated systems. The 691st Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron (691 AC&WS) moved from

Dobbins AFB Dobbins Air Reserve Base or Dobbins ARB is a United States Air Force reserve air base located in Marietta, Georgia, a suburb about northwest of Atlanta. Originally known as Dobbins Air Force Base, it was named in honor of Captain Charles M. ...

, Georgia to Cross City AFS with an

AN/FPS-20 The AN/FPS-20 was a widely used L band early warning and ground-controlled interception radar system employed by the United States Air Force Air Defense Command, the NORAD Pinetree Line in Canada, the USAF CONAD in the continental United States, a ...

A search radar and a pair of

AN/FPS-6 The AN/FPS-6 Radar was a long-range height finding radar used by the United States Air Force's Air Defense Command. The AN/FPS-6 radar was introduced into service in the late 1950s and served as the principal height-finder radar for the United Stat ...

A height-finder radar sets on 1 July 1958 and the station initially functioned as a Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) and warning station. As a GCI station, the squadron's role was to guide interceptor aircraft toward unidentified intruders picked up on the unit's radar scopes. Alert fighter-interceptor aircraft under Cross City AFS control would typically sortie from

Tyndall AFB Tyndall Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base located east of Panama City, Florida. The base was named in honor of World War I pilot 1st Lt. Frank Benjamin Tyndall. The base operating unit and host wing is the 325th Fighter Wing (325 ...

, Florida or from the

Florida Air National Guard The Florida Air National Guard (FL ANG) is the aerial militia of the State of Florida. It is, along with the Florida Army National Guard (FL ARNG), an element of the Florida National Guard. It is also an element of the Air National Guard (ANG ...

's alert facility at Imeson Airport in Jacksonville, Florida. During 1959, Cross City AFS joined the

Semi Automatic Ground Environment The Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) was a system of large computers and associated networking equipment that coordinated data from many radar sites and processed it to produce a single unified image of the airspace over a wide area. S ...

(SAGE) system, feeding data to Direction Center DC-09 at

Gunter AFB Gunter Annex is a United States Air Force installation located in the North-northeast suburbs of Montgomery, Alabama. The base is named after former Montgomery mayor William Adams Gunter. Until 1992 it was known as Gunter Air Force Base or Gun ...

, Alabama. After joining, the squadron was re-designated as the 691st Radar Squadron (SAGE) on 1 October 1959. The radar squadron provided information 24/7/365 to the SAGE Direction Center where it was analyzed to determine range, direction altitude speed and whether or not aircraft were friendly or hostile. In 1962, the search radar was upgraded to an

AN/FPS-66 The AN/FPS-20 was a widely used L band early warning and ground-controlled interception radar system employed by the United States Air Force Air Defense Command, the NORAD Pinetree Line in Canada, the USAF CONAD in the continental United States, ...

radar, and then to an AN/FPS-66A in 1967. In addition to the general radar surveillance, Cross City AFS supported

CIM-10 Bomarc The Boeing CIM-10 BOMARC (Boeing Michigan Aeronautical Research Center) (IM-99 Weapon System prior to September 1962) was a supersonic ramjet powered long-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) used during the Cold War for the air defense of North ...

antiaircraft missile testing by the 4751st Air Defense Wing (Missile) and 4751st Air Defense Squadron (Missile) at Eglin AFB Auxiliary Field #9 (Hurlburt Field), Florida. In addition to the main facility, Cross City AFS also operated two

AN/FPS-14 The AN/FPS-14 was a medium-range search Radar used by the United States Air Force Air Defense Command. This medium-range search radar was designed and built by Bendix as a SAGE system gap-filler radar to provide low-altitude coverage. Operating i ...

Gap Filler sites: * Perry, Florida (TM-200A): * Bridgeboro, Georgia (TM-200B/TM-199B): On 1 April 1966, the

Montgomery Air Defense Sector The Southeast Air Defense Sector (SEADS), was a unit of the US Air Force located at Tyndall Air Force Base near Panama City, Florida. It provided air defense and surveillance of the southeastern region of the US. SEADS closed in winter 2005, ...

was replaced by the 32d Air Division, which was reactivated at Gunter AFB on that date. In 1968, Air Defense Command was renamed

Aerospace Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command of the United States Air Force, responsible for continental air defense. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air Defense Command, was established in 1946, briefly inac ...

(ADC), but all existing command relationships for the 691st Radar Squadron and Cross City AFS with the 32nd Air Division remained unchanged. In 1969, one AN/FPS-6 was removed and higher headquarters for the 691st and Cross City AFS shifted to the 20th Air Division at Tyndall AFB. The Air Force inactivated the 691st Radar Squadron on 30 September 1970 and closed the facility.USAFHRA Document 00463594
/ref> Today what was Cross City Air Force Station is now the

Florida Department of Corrections The Florida Department of Corrections operates state prisons in the U.S. state of Florida. It has its headquarters in Florida's capital of Tallahassee. The Florida Department of Corrections operates the third largest state prison system in the ...

Cross City Correctional Institution The Cross City Correctional Institution is a state prison for men located in Cross City, Dixie County, Florida, owned and operated by the Florida Department of Corrections The Florida Department of Corrections operates state prisons in the ...

. Access by the general public is not permitted. Many former Air Force buildings are now utilized by the prison while the radar site is still used as part of the

(JSS).

Post-War Air Force units and assignments

Units: * 691st Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, assigned 1 July 1958 : Activated 1 March 1958 at Dobbins AFB, Georgia (not equipped or manned) : Redesignated 691st Radar Squadron (SAGE), 1 October 1959 : Inactivated 30 September 1970 Assignments: * 35th Air Division, 1 December 1957 * 32d Air Division, 15 November 1958 *

, 1 November 1959 * 32d Air Division, 1 April 1966 * 20th Air Division, 19 November 1969 – 30 September 1970

References

* * Cornett, Lloyd H. and Johnson, Mildred W.,
A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization 1946 - 1980
', Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center, Peterson AFB, CO (1980). * Maurer, Maurer. (ed.),
Combat Squadrons of the Air Force
' Office of Air Force History, Washington, DC, 1969 (reprint 1982) . * Maurer, Maurer (ed.),
Air Force Combat Units of World War II
', Office of Air Force History, Washington, DC, 1961 (reprint 1983) . * Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). ''Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947–1977''. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. . * Shaw, Frederick J. (2004), ''Locating Air Force Base Sites History's Legacy'', Air Force History and Museums Program, United States Air Force, Washington, D.C., 2004. * Winkler, David F. & Webster, Julie L.,
Searching the Skies
', The Legacy of the United States Cold War Defense Radar Program, US Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratories, Champaign, IL (1997).
Information for Cross City AFS, FL

External links

* {{USAAF Training Bases World War II Installations of the United States Air Force in Florida 1940 establishments in Florida Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics Airfields Buildings and structures in Dixie County, Florida Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Florida Semi-Automatic Ground Environment sites Military airbases established in 1940 1969 disestablishments in Florida Military installations established in 1942 Military installations closed in 1969