Ardmore Army Air Field, later Ardmore Air Force base was an installation of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

and later Air Force. It was named after the nearby city of

Ardmore, Oklahoma Ardmore is the county seat of Carter County, Oklahoma, United States. According to the 2010 census, the city had a population of 24,283, with an estimated population of 24,698 in 2019. The Ardmore micropolitan statistical area had an estimate ...

but was actually located closer to the town of

Gene Autry, Oklahoma Gene Autry is a town in Carter County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 158 as of the 2010 census, up from 99 in 2000. It is part of the Ardmore, Oklahoma Micropolitan Statistical Area. History The town was originally named "Lou" by ...

. It was a military installation from 1942 to 1946 and again from 1953 to 1958. It is now home to the Ardmore Municipal Airport.

Second World War

First established as the Ardmore Army Air Field in 1942, the post was established to train airmen for war service. Initially the post served to train

military glider Military gliders (an offshoot of common Glider (sailplane), gliders) have been used by the militaries of various countries for carrying troops (glider infantry) and heavy equipment to a combat zone, mainly during the World War II, Second World Wa ...

pilots, under the supervision of

I Troop Carrier Command The I Troop Carrier Command is a disbanded United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Continental Air Forces, at Stout Field, Indiana, where it was disbanded in November 1945, and its resources transferred to IX Troop Carrier Com ...

, but later trained combat crews to fly the

Martin B-26 Marauder The Martin B-26 Marauder is an American twin-engined medium bomber that saw extensive service during World War II. The B-26 was built at two locations: Baltimore, Maryland, and Omaha, Nebraska, by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in th ...

and the

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theat ...

. All four squadrons of Lt. Colonel Thomas B. Hall's

394th Bombardment Group The 106th Rescue Wing (106th RQW) is a unit of the New York Air National Guard, stationed at Francis S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base, Westhampton Beach, New York. If activated to federal service, the Wing is gained by the United States Air F ...

(the 584th; 585th; 586th; and 587th) were briefly stationed at Ardmore AAF for five weeks in July-August 1943. The group was then moved again, on August 19, 1943, to

Kellogg Field Kellogg may refer to: People and organizations *Kellogg's, American multinational food-manufacturing company **Will Keith Kellogg, founder of the company **John Harvey Kellogg, his brother, inventor of cornflakes and medical practitioner *Kellog ...

, Battle Creek, Michigan. Later in the war, the post was also used to house German prisoners of war from June 1-November 1, 1945. The post was first operated as part of the

Second Air Force The Second Air Force (2 AF; ''2d Air Force'' in 1942) is a USAF numbered air force responsible for conducting basic military and technical training for Air Force enlisted members and non-flying officers. In World War II the CONUS unit defended ...

but was later transferred to the

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 ...

on April 12, 1943. This was followed by a designation of the post as a sub-field of Will Rogers Air Force Base in June 1943 and then a later transfer of the post back to being part of the

in August 1943.

Cold War, 1953-1958

The base was decommissioned in 1946 and used by

American Airlines American Airlines is a major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the largest airline in the world when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and revenue passenge ...

as a training facility until 1953 when the post was reactivated, this time named the "Ardmore Air Force Base." Units stationed at the post during some or all of this era included the: * 463d Troop Carrier Wing (Medium) * 16th Troop Carrier Squadron (Assault Fixed Wing) - (October 17, 1954 to July 8, 1955) * 309th Troop Carrier Group (Assault Fixed Wing) - (July 8, 1955-?) *

456th Troop Carrier Group The 456th Bombardment Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 14th Air Division of Strategic Air Command at Beale Air Force Base, California, where it was inactivated on 30 September 1975. The wing's pred ...

419th Troop Carrier Group 419th may refer to: *419th Fighter Wing, United States Air Force Reserve unit active with Tenth Air Force, based at Hill Air Force Base, Utah *419th Flight Test Squadron (419 FLTS), part of the 412th Test Wing based at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif ...

- (July 7, 1956-Sept. 1958) The first

Lockheed C-130A Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally design ...

put into active USAF service was at Ardmore Air Force Base when plane number 55-023 (named the "City of Ardmore") first went into service as part of the 463d Troop Carrier Wing on December 9, 1956, and later saw action in deployments to Europe, Africa, Japan, Okinawa, and Vietnam (where the plane was nearly destroyed) before finally being decommissioned and placed on static display at Linear Park at Dyess AFB in Abilene, Texas in 1989. Ardmore Air Force Base was closed in 1958. after which it became the Ardmore Municipal Airport.

Legacy

Today, the Department of Defense reports that there are five "medium risk" hazard sites at the former military installation.

References

{{OKMilitary Ardmore Installations of the United States Air Force in Oklahoma Buildings and structures in Carter County, Oklahoma 1942 establishments in Oklahoma Military installations closed in 1958