KAAF version number 2

Still a version as previous posting... Except for the last paragraph, it points out the Kingman Airport and Industrial Park. This was used in the reunion guide for the 4th annual event.

Kingman Army Air Field

In the 1930s, the Army Air Corps was looking for a heavy bomber. Boeing Aircraft designed a heavy bomber known as Model 299. The Army Air Corps liked the idea of the Boeing prototype, so they ordered the preproduction of the XB-17 for testing. The XB-17 proved its worth as a heavy bomber, so the Army Air Corps began ordering the B-17. War was brewing in Europe, so the Army Air Corps wanted to be ready for war.

Around 1940, the U. S. Army Air Force needed a new base to train gunners for the B-17 Flying Fortress. This would be the sixth gunnery school set up in the United States. The new base was necessary to support all future missions of the B-17 in the European and Pacific Theaters. The school would be referred to as a “Flexible” gunnery training school for the B-17, it had gun turrets mounted in six positions of the aircraft. The gunner had to be proficient with all the guns on board the aircraft.

The search for a location for this school began in April 1941. Kingman, AZ was seen as one of the prime locations for a training site. When Major John C. Horton of the West Coast Flying Training Command Headquarters at Moffett Field, CA, made a visit to Kingman, he found that Kingman was the perfect place. The population was low, the valley floor level, and the land acquisition was easy and available at a reasonable price. This would enable the school to be in operation quickly.

In April 1942, the Army Air Force gave its preliminary ok for the construction of a school at Kingman, the cost of which was estimated at over $9 million. Final approval for construction was received on May 27 and Lt. Col. Harvey P. Huglin was selected as the first base commander. He came to Kingman and set-up temporary quarters in the old Harvey House in downtown Kingman, while the construction of the base was going on. The school’s construction took a little over two months to complete. On August 4, the Army Air Force Flexible Gunnery School at Kingman was officially activated. The first occupants and the initial key base organization were the 460^th Base Headquarters and Air Base Squadron which took up shop on December 1. On December 10, Col. George E. Henry became the new base commander. Around the same time, the following units were added: the 1120^th, 1121^st, 1122^nd, and 1123^rd Flexible Gunnery Training Squadrons, the 334^th Aviation SQ. (a segregated black sq.), and the 1100^th Guard SQ. (the military police). On December 28, a group of 13 AT-6s trainer aircraft was officially assigned to the base.

During construction, there were problems or the workers and military personnel. One problem was the lack of food delivery, which was overcome by the building of cafeterias. The housing problem was next because Kingman was a small town. As more housing units were constructed, the problem ease. Some of the younger construction workers wanted a union in the company but ended up getting drafted. There was a stop-work order on Davis Dam to help in the construction effort at the base.

Along with the construction of the main airstrips were five emergency fields. Site #1 was at Red Lake. Site #3 was 17 mi. northeast of the base. Site #5 was near Topock. Site # 6 is now the Lake Havasu City airport by the London Bridge. Site #7 was close to the Yucca Aerial Gunnery Range (which became Yucca sub-base).

After the opening of the base, Bugs Bunny was selected as the mascot with cooperation from Warner Brothers. Bugs helped in the war effort by being a morale booster for the troops training at the Kingman field. Bob Hope, The Three Stooges, Kay Kyser, and numerous USO shows came to the base to raise all the troops’ morale. The troops also made trips to the Grand Canyon for rest and relaxation. Bond drives were held on the base and in Kingman for the war effort.

The training of the new gunners was very intense. Each potential gunner worked his way up from shooting the BB guns to shotguns, and finally, to the actual guns on the B-17.

On May 3, 1943, a decision was made to change the name of the facility to the Kingman Army Air Field. The base continued to grow and change. In 1943, new squadrons were added and combined with existing squadrons, which led to new group formations. The 1120^th and 329^th combined with the 328^th and became known as the 328^th Flexible Gunnery Training Group. The 1122^nd, 537^th, and 538^th were combined to become the 1123^rd. The 1121^st became the 329^th. The 536^th was formed to take the overflow from the other filled groups.

The new additions to the base were the 760^th Flexible Gunnery Training Group, 1012^th Quartermasters PL, 31^st Altitude Sq. (training for high altitude), 684^th Army Band, 1^st Weather Sq., DET 25 of the 858^th Signal Service Co., DET 14 of the 909 QM Co., and 2053^rd Ordinance Co. In 1943, the Chinese Military sent gunners here, to be trained at the Kingman field.

The planes that were assigned or stopped in for maintenance and the following the AT-6, AT-11, & AT-23 (flight training and target towing), BT-18 (flight training), P-36 & P-39 (for maintenance), along with the B-17.

1944 was another year of great changes for the base. On April 22, the Kingman Army Air Field was consolidated and redesignated Army Air Force Base Unit 3018. Each of the units then present on base became sub-divisions of the new 3018^th. On June 15, Col Donald B. Phillips became the new base commander. 

The 3018^th was one of the top training schools in the U. S. in 1944. The gunners completed in “Shoot Outs”; with other schools and most often took top honors. This tough training, both mental and physical, gave the gunners, their best chance to survive in air combat over the skies of Europe and the Pacific. 

There were two mishaps which took the lives of the some of the Kingman field personnel. First, on January 2, a B-17 passing over McClellan Field, CA. in bad weather, disintegrated in mid-air, killing 13, 11 of which were from Kingman. The second was on the evening of January 6, a bus loaded with gunnery students was crossing the train tracks when a train struck the bus, killing 28 men. This accident leads to the building of the underpass, which is still in use today.

With war ending, 1945 was the base’s final year for operation as a gunnery school. Command of the base changed again as Col. Walter L. Wheeler took command of April 1. Kingman Army Air Field was temporarily inactivated on June 30. Col. Lance Call came in as the base commander to deactivate the base. 

In the last quarter of the year, the 3018^th became the 4184^th, as the base operations were slowing down. On September 27, Lt. Col. James L. Meadows took over as base commander. Then on November 24, Lt. Col. John J. Ratigan took over as the base commander for the rest of the year and beginning of the new year. 

At midnight on February 25, 1946, Kingman Army Air Field no longer existed as a gunnery school, it was officially inactivated. As the sun came up on February 26, the base had a new purpose and had become Storage Depot 41.

Unlike many o the airbases which contributed to America’s continued freedom, it still exists today as the Kingman Airport and Industrial Park. An integral part of the community and its economic development. Some of the original structures still exist and are being restored and used today as a silent reminder of that great time in America’s history and the role that Kingman and Mohave County played.

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