Kingman Army Airfield

Kingman Army Airfield
Name	Kingman Army Airfield
Location	Mohave County, Arizona
Coordinates	35°16′N 113°58′W
Country	United States
Type	Army Airfield
Used	1942–1945
Owner	United States Army Air Forces
Controlledby	Fourth Air Force

Kingman Army Airfield was a World War II United States Army Air Forces training base located near Kingman, Arizona in Mohave County, Arizona. Constructed rapidly after the Attack on Pearl Harbor, the airfield served as a major training and maintenance center supporting aerial operations across the United States Army Air Forces western training command structure. The installation became notable for its size, specialization in gunnery and maintenance training, and its postwar conversion into civilian and industrial uses.

History

Construction of the airfield began in 1942 following directives from the United States War Department and planning coordination with the Fourth Air Force and Air Corps Flying Training Command. Federal acquisition of land and contracting involved companies tied to the Works Progress Administration-era construction surge and private engineering firms experienced from projects like the Hoover Dam corridor. The station was activated to meet the urgent need for aerial gunnery instruction prompted by combat losses in the European Theater of Operations and Pacific Theater of Operations. Throughout 1943–1944 the base expanded with barracks, firing ranges, and maintenance depots to accommodate thousands of cadets from Army Air Forces Training Command pipelines and crews processed through the Army Air Forces Replacement Training Unit system.

Facilities and Infrastructure

Kingman’s layout included multiple hard-surfaced runways, extensive taxiways, and dispersed revetments modeled after installations such as Nellis Field and March Field. Support facilities included a large gunnery range complex patterned on Moffett Field ranges, munitions storage echoing standards at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, and depot workshops akin to those at Omaha Ordnance Depot. The base housed mess halls, a hospital, recreation buildings, chapels, and administrative headquarters comparable to Kirtland Field standards. Rail spurs connected the field to the Santa Fe Railway mainline for delivery of aircraft, spare parts, and ammunition, mirroring logistics used by Kelly Field and Wright Field depots. Utilities were installed to support millions of gallons of fuel storage modeled on Blythe Army Air Field tank farms.

Training Operations

Training programs emphasized aerial gunnery, flexible gunnery, bombardier familiarization, and ground crew maintenance, linked to curricula developed by Air University research and instruction from veterans of the Battle of Britain and instructors rotated from Ellington Field and Key Field. The base hosted aerial gunnery schools that used towed targets and specialized target sleeves similar to tactics from the Army Air Forces Gunnery School (Tucson). Live-fire ranges and aerial target towing operations were coordinated with nearby training ranges used by units deploying to the Aleutian Islands campaign and North African campaign. Ground instruction included aircraft armament systems, engine overhaul procedures influenced by practices at McCook Field, and ordnance handling taught in line with doctrine from the Armament Laboratories.

Aircraft and Units Assigned

Kingman processed and hosted a variety of aircraft types serving as gunnery and maintenance trainers, including models like the Bell P-39 Airacobra, Lockheed P-38 Lightning, North American B-25 Mitchell, and Consolidated B-24 Liberator. Training squadrons and service groups rotated through the field, many originating from Army Air Forces Base Units numbering schemes and temporary attachments from Fourth Air Force wings. Unit functions ranged from flexible gunnery squadrons to service depot detachments tasked with aircraft reclamation, reflecting practices similar to units at Kingman Airport (current). The airfield’s maintenance depots were structured to process damaged aircraft returned from theaters, paralleling reclamation work performed at Ogden Air Depot.

Postwar Transition and Closure

Following the Surrender of Japan and the rapid demobilization of United States Armed Forces in 1945, Kingman Army Airfield’s mission diminished and the site entered a wind-down phase, echoing closures at Brownwood Army Airfield and other wartime bases. Excess property disposal followed procedures administered by the War Assets Administration and interior land transfers coordinated with the Bureau of Reclamation and county authorities. Large-scale scrapping of surplus aircraft occurred in situ, comparable to salvage operations at Kingman Airport (aircraft boneyard) and items were auctioned to private firms and salvage companies akin to transactions seen around the Pacific Southwest Railway region.

Current Use and Preservation

Postwar conversion repurposed much of the former airfield for civilian aviation, light industry, and municipal infrastructure, with parts of the site incorporated into Kingman Airport (Arizona) and industrial parks linked to the Bahia de Kino corridor of commerce. Historic preservation efforts have sought to document remaining features including runway pavements, foundations, and munitions bunkers; these efforts involve local historical societies, the Arizona Historical Society, and volunteers connected to national preservation networks such as the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Archaeological surveys and veterans’ oral histories have contributed to interpretive displays and heritage registries maintained in Mohave County Museum collections, while some former training ranges and revetments remain visible in aerial imagery and on-site tours.

Category:United States Army Air Forces airfields in Arizona Category:World War II airfields in the United States