Buckingham Army Airfield
Former airfield in Lee County, Florida / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Buckingham Army Airfield is an inactive United States Army Air Forces base, approximately 10 miles east of Fort Myers, Florida. It was active during World War II as an Army Air Forces Training Command airfield. It was closed on 30 September 1945, prior to the establishment of the United States Air Force as an independent service two years later in 1947. Part of the airfield is now in the Wild Turkey Strand Preserve.[1]
Buckingham Army Airfield | |
---|---|
Part of Army Air Forces Training Command | |
Fort Myers, Florida | |
Coordinates | 26°38′36″N 81°42′37″W |
Site history | |
Built | 1942 |
Built by | United States Air Force |
In use | 1942–1945 |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Buckingham Army Airfield was a training base, established in 1942 under AAF Eastern Flying Training Command, and when active, was the largest airfield in the State of Florida.
Besides the gunnery students, Buckingham AAF was also the primary training center for gunnery instructors at the Army's other flexible gunnery schools, the term meaning that the aerial gunner had a flexible mount at the station or in the turret of the aircraft, rather than the fixed aerial gun of fighter aircraft.