Keystone Army Airfield, was a

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

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 ...

airfield, located north-northwest of

Keystone Heights, Florida Keystone Heights is a city located in southwestern Clay County, Florida, United States. The population of the city was 1,446 at the 2020 census. The city's name is derived from the state of Pennsylvania's nickname, the "Keystone State". History ...

History

The airport was constructed in 1942 as Crystal Lake Airfield, and was commissioned in December 1942 as Keystone Army Airfield (AAF) by the

. It was used as part of the Air University's

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 ...

(AAFSAT) tactical 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, a ...

. Kaystone AAF was assigned as 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.

Strategic Reconnaissance School

During the war, Keystone AAF was the home of the AAFSAT Strategic Reconnaissance School. The

432d Tactical Reconnaissance Group 43 may refer to: * 43 (number) * one of the years 43 BC, AD 43, 1943, 2043 * Licor 43, also known as "Cuarenta Y Tres" ("Forty-three" in Spanish) * George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States, nicknamed "Bush 43" to distinguish from his fa ...

was moved in early March 1943 from Alachua as the Operational Training Unit (OTU), although its component,

3d Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron 3-D, 3D, or 3d may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Relating to three-dimensionality * Three-dimensional space ** 3D computer graphics, computer graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data ** 3D film, a ...

was assigned to Keystone in January in an attached status from the AAFSAT Air Support Department. At Keystone, students flew the

F-3A Havoc The Douglas A-20 Havoc (company designation DB-7) is an American medium bomber, attack aircraft, night intruder, night fighter, and reconnaissance aircraft of World War II. Designed to meet an Army Air Corps requirement for a bomber, it was ...

(a version of the A-20 Havoc attack aircraft), and the P-39D-3 Reconnaissance version of the Airacobra fighter. The L-2 and L-3 Grasshopper light observation aircraft were also utilized. Pilots were trained in battlefield reconnaissance as well as long-range strategic reconnaissance photography, evasion techniques and other skills necessary for the unarmed combat reconnaissance missions to assist fighter, bombardment, and ground units. In November 1943, the 313th Fighter Squadron was moved from Alachua with

P-40 Warhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time an ...

s. The 313th was part of the AAFSAT 50th Fighter Group which trained single-engine pilots in combat maneuvers. Crowded conditions at Alachua and the phasedown of the photo-reconnaissance school at Keystone were the reasons necessitating the move of the 313th. The 313th FS was upgraded to

P-47D Thunderbolt The P-47 Thunderbolt was a World War II fighter aircraft built by Republic Aviation from 1941 to 1945. Early designs XP-47 (AP-10) In response to a USAAC requirement for a new fighter aircraft, Republic Aviation engineer Alexander Kartveli ...

s in July 1943. Phase-down of Keystone AAF began in late 1943 when the 432d was inactivated on 1 November 1943, and the 3d TRS was moved back to

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 Orlan ...

in early February 1944. The 313th FS was moved back to Orlando in January in preparation for its parent 50th Fighter Group being sent to the

European Theater of Operations The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a Theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It commanded Army Ground Fo ...

(ETO) as an operational fighter group under

Ninth Air Force The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint De ...

Closure

With the operational squadrons leaving, a caretaker unit was assigned and the flying mission at the airfield was reduced to the support of transient aircraft using Keystone for landings and cross-country flights. The number of personnel were reduced, being reassigned to other bases. In January 1945, AAFSAT 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

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 ...

(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 bases around the country. 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 Or ...

(WAA) for disposal and return to civil use. The City of Keystone Heights acquired the property from the federal government in 1947.

Major units assigned

432d Reconnaissance Group The 432nd Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Combat Command at Creech Air Force Base near Indian Springs, Nevada. It flies General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper and RQ-170 Sentinel Unmanned aerial vehicles. The group operates unmanned ...

, 1 March-1 November 1943 *

, 21 January 1943 – 3 February 1944 * 313th Fighter Squadron, 17 November 1943 – 28 January 1944

References

* * 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 DC, 2004.
World War II airfields database: Florida

AFHRA search Keystone Army Airfield

External links