Beauregard Regional Airport is a public use
airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...
in
Beauregard Parish
Beauregard Parish () is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 36,549. The parish seat and most populous municipality is DeRidder. The parish was formed on January 1, 1913.
Beauregard Paris ...
,
Louisiana
Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
,
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. It is owned by Beauregard Parish and is located three nautical miles (6 km) southwest of the
central business district
A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...
of
DeRidder, Louisiana
DeRidder is a city in, and the parish seat of, Beauregard Parish, Louisiana, Beauregard Parish, Louisiana, United States. A small portion of the city extends into Vernon Parish, Louisiana, Vernon Parish. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 c ...
.
The airport serves the
general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...
community, with no scheduled
commercial airline
An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in ...
service.
History
Origins
The present Beauregard Regional Airport has a long and colorful history, which began prior to its use as an airfield. The airport property includes most of what was once the Graybow community. In 1912 Graybow was an active community and the location of the Galloway Sawmill as well as the site of the
Grabow riot.
The sawmill had been built along the
Santa Fe Railroad
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996.
The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at variou ...
tracks with the planer mill on one side of the tracks and the big mill, commissary, and office on the other side of the tracks.
Two decades later the nation was experiencing the effects of the
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
. To counteract the unemployment caused by the depression, work projects were activated across the country. One such project was begun in 1934, west of DeRidder under the Auspices of the
Emergency Relief Authority which later became the WPA. This project in a stump littered field provided employment for about 400 men, who worked to clear what had once been a densely wooded region. They constructed two earthen runways on of land leased from the owner. The field was used very little. Barnstorming pilots would occasionally visit and offer rides for $2.00.
World War II
Interest in the military utilization of the airfield increased significantly in 1939 when war began in Europe. The United States needed a training ground for American troops. In the summer of 1940 and throughout 1941 the area was used for the "Louisiana Maneuvers".
The Beauregard Parish Police Jury bought the previously leased plus an additional for $11,000. An additional was later bought to make up . In February, 1941, the
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wo ...
visited the site urging that a proposed development be filed as a National Defense Project. The Police Jury and the City of DeRidder agreed to furnish the additional , plus sewage and water facilities, and to remove obstructions to air navigation. The cost to be $475,518.85 excluding labor. On 1 July 1941, a contract for Lease was signed between the Beauregard Parish Police Jury and the
United States Army Air Force
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 ...
for a military airfield to be built on the site.
An immediate construction program began to convert the civilian airport into a military airfield and support complex. Construction involved runways and airplane hangars, with three concrete runways, several taxiways and a large parking apron and a control tower. Several large hangars were also constructed. Buildings were ultimately utilitarian and quickly assembled. Most base buildings, not meant for long-term use, were constructed of temporary or semi-permanent materials. Although some hangars had steel frames and the occasional brick or tile brick building could be seen, most support buildings sat on concrete foundations but were of frame construction clad in little more than plywood and tarpaper. During the war years, the base had what was needed for the welfare of the men: a post exchange, library, chapel, finance building, orderly rooms, headquarters sub-depot, officers and enlisted men's clubs, hospital, theater, swimming pool, shooting range, bowling and billiards.
Just before Christmas 1941, the first troops arrived at the DeRidder Army Air Base. It housed anywhere from 3000 to 5000 troops at a time. The airfield was assigned to
Third Air Force
The Third Air Force (Air Forces Europe) (3 AF) is a Numbered Air Force, 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 ...
as a training airfield.
Initial training was performed by the
III Reconnaissance Command, for reconnaissance and observation units. Units assigned to the airfield were:
*
74th Reconnaissance Group, 10 April13 December 1942
*
77th Reconnaissance Group
The 77th Aeronautical Systems Wing (77 ASW) is an inactive United States Air Force unit, last assigned to the Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
Its World War II predecessor unit, the 77th Reconnaissance Group ...
, 25 July28 September 1942
In late 1942, the airfield was reassigned to
III Tactical Air Command which performed medium and light bomber tactical bomber training. Units assigned to DeRidder and the aircraft they trained on were:
*
321st Bombardment Group
The 321st Air Expeditionary Wing was a United States Air Force unit assigned United States Air Forces Central, the USAF component command of United States Central Command. The unit was reestablished on 1 November 2008 and was a nexus of all Coa ...
(Medium), 1 December 1942 – 31 January 1943
B-25 Mitchell
The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Brigadier General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served ...
*
312th Bombardment Group (Dive), 20 February13 April 1943
A-24 Banshee
*
417th Bombardment Group, 4 August10 December 1943
A-20 Havoc
The Douglas A-20 Havoc (company designation DB-7) is an American light bomber, attack aircraft, Intruder (air combat), night intruder, night fighter, and reconnaissance aircraft of World War II.
Designed to meet an Army Air Corps requirement for ...
*
409th Bombardment Group
4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is a square number, the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures.
Evolution of the H ...
, 10 December 1943 – 10 February 1944
A-20 Havoc
The Douglas A-20 Havoc (company designation DB-7) is an American light bomber, attack aircraft, Intruder (air combat), night intruder, night fighter, and reconnaissance aircraft of World War II.
Designed to meet an Army Air Corps requirement for ...
*
408th Fighter Group, 12 February26 March 1944
P-40 Warhawk
The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter-bomber that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry ...
on 31 March 1944, the II Tactical Air Division of III Tactical Air Command was assigned to DeRidder and conducted replacement training. Training ceased in February 1945 and the airfield was placed in reserve status. DeRidder Army Air Base was declared surplus on October 2, 1946 and transferred to
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 Or ...
on April 30, 1947.

The Beauregard Parish Police Jury assumed responsibility for the airport that year. On December 23, 1948 the government deeded the base to the Police Jury under the terms of the Surplus Property Act.
Current use
A requirement of the deed was that the property had to remain a public airport and all benefits of the property must be used to benefit the airport. In this case the federal government not only gave the parish an airport but also gave a means by which the airport could provide for its own financial self-support. Today the airport includes over and is financially self-supporting.
The airport continues to host military exercises which include parachute jumps by
Fort Johnson
Fort Polk, formerly Fort Johnson, is a United States Army installation located in Vernon Parish, Louisiana, Vernon Parish, Louisiana, about 10 miles (15 km) east of Leesville, Louisiana, Leesville and 30 miles (50 km) north of DeRid ...
personnel. Today it operates as the largest general aviation facility that is located in the state of Louisiana. The hangar area is essentially unchanged today except that the control tower has long since been removed and replaced by a metal light beacon tower.
The World War II hangar remains in use as the main hangar and terminal of the Beauregard Regional Airport. The concrete vault of the Army Air Base Finance Office is located adjacent to the hangar. The streets as laid out during World War II are still in use and several foundations of original buildings are still intact.
[Manning, Thomas A. (2005), ''History of Air Education and Training Command, 1942–2002''. Office of History and Research, Headquarters, AETC, Randolph AFB, Texas ]
Facilities and aircraft
Beauregard Regional Airport covers an area of at an
elevation
The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...
of 202 feet (62 m) above
mean sea level
A mean is a quantity representing the "center" of a collection of numbers and is intermediate to the extreme values of the set of numbers. There are several kinds of means (or "measures of central tendency") in mathematics, especially in statist ...
. It has two
runway
In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...
s: 14/32 is 4,218 by 60 feet (1,286 x 18 m) with an
asphalt
Asphalt most often refers to:
* Bitumen, also known as "liquid asphalt cement" or simply "asphalt", a viscous form of petroleum mainly used as a binder in asphalt concrete
* Asphalt concrete, a mixture of bitumen with coarse and fine aggregates, u ...
surface; 18/36 is 5,494 by 100 feet (1,675 x 30 m) with an asphalt/
concrete
Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...
surface.
For the 12-month period ending September 23, 2022, the airport had 14,400 aircraft operations, an average of 39 per day: 93%
general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...
and 7%
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...
. At that time there were 20 aircraft based at this airport: 18 single-
engine
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy.
Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ge ...
and 2 multi-engine.
See also
*
List of airports in Louisiana
This is a list of airports in Louisiana (a U.S. state), grouped by type and sorted by location. It contains all public-use and military airports in the state. Some private-use and former airports may be included where notable, such as airports t ...
*
Louisiana World War II Army Airfields
*
DeRidder USO Building
References
External links
*
{{USAAF 3d Air Force World War II
1934 establishments in Louisiana
Airports in Louisiana
Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Louisiana
Buildings and structures in Beauregard Parish, Louisiana