Taylor Field, now an industrial park, was an airport and military airfield located near
Ocala, Florida
Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Florida, United States. Located in North Central Florida, the city's population was 63,591 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 56,315 at the 2010 census and making ...
. It was closed in 1962 and replaced by
Ocala International Airport-Jim Taylor Field.
History
Taylor Field opened about 1933 as a municipal airport near Ocala. The airport had 2 paved runways, with the longest being the 3,900' northeast/southwest strip. A paved taxiway led to a paved ramp on the north side of the field. It was named Taylor Field after the original donor of the property, James Taylor.
In November 1941, Taylor Field was turned into a basic (level 1) pilot training airfield 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 ...
. It was then assigned to USAAF Southeast Training Center (later Eastern Flying Training Command). It later contracted with Greenville Aviation School to conduct basic flying training.
Flying training was performed with
Fairchild PT-19
The Fairchild PT-19 (company designation Fairchild M62) is an American monoplane primary trainer aircraft that served with the United States Army Air Forces, Royal Air Force, RAF and Royal Canadian Air Force, RCAF during World War II. Design ...
s as the primary trainer. Also, it had several
PT-17 Stearman
The Stearman (Boeing) Model 75 is an American biplane formerly used as a military Trainer (aircraft), trainer aircraft, of which at least 10,626 were built in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s. Stearman Aircraft became a subsidiary o ...
s and a few
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 ...
s assigned. The flight school also operated two auxiliary airfields in the local area. Over 5,000 cadets received primary flight training at the airport during World War II.
On 8 September 1944, it was inactivated with the drawdown of AAFTC's pilot training program, was declared surplus, and returned to civil control as a public airport until being replaced and closed in 1962. Today, there is little evidence of its existence.((29.1726686, -82.1537900))
See also
*
Florida World War II Army Airfields
During World War II, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) established numerous airfields in Florida for antisubmarine defense in the western Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico and for training pilots and aircrews of USAAF fighters, attack planes, an ...
*
29th Flying Training Wing (World War II)
The 29th Flying Training Wing was a wing of the United States Army Air Forces. It was last assigned to the Western Flying Training Command, and was disbanded on 16 June 1946 at Napier Field, Alabama. The wing controlled World War II Phase One p ...
References
* Manning, Thomas A. (2005), ''History of Air Education and Training Command, 1942–2002''. Office of History and Research, Headquarters, AETC, Randolph AFB, Texas
* Shaw, Frederick J. (2004), ''Locating Air Force Base Sites, History’s Legacy'', Air Force History and Museums Program, United States Air Force, Washington DC.
{{USAAF Training Bases World War II
1933 establishments in Florida
USAAF Contract Flying School Airfields
Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Florida
Transportation buildings and structures in Marion County, Florida
Defunct airports in Florida
Airports established in 1933
Military installations closed in 1944
1962 disestablishments in Florida