Air Force Bases Active Air Force Bases Within The United States Of America On 17 September 1982

In April 1917, as the United States entered World War I, the Aviation Section of the U.S. Army Signal corps had only a handful of usable flying fields. This number quickly grew exceeding 40 by the end of the war. By the end of 1943, these fields had grown to an astounding peak of 783- 345 main bases, 116 subbases, and 322 auxiliary fields - a number not including the many depots and ranges. This manuscript details 89 bases in a statistical format, which their histories - a topic of particular interest both inside and outside the Air Force.

As the US Navy recovered from the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor, the aircraft carrier earned a place alongside the battleship, and the Navy grew its air force. Pilots were needed as fast as American industry could build airplanes, and Indiana became the home of a naval air-training center. After fascism's defeat with the end of World War II, a potentially more deadly Cold War brought the need for a deterrent force capable of surviving a nuclear attack and then completely destroying the enemy. A vital part of that force moved into the old Hoosier Navy Base in 1954. For more than three decades, Bunker Hill and Grissom airmen stood on the forward wall of America's freedom. Images of Aviation: Bunker Hill and Grissom Air Force Base tells their story through an amazing collection of declassified US Air Force photographs.