Hattiesburg Bobby L. Chain Municipal Airport: Difference between revisions
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==History== |
==History== |
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Hattiesburg Municipal Airport opened in April 1940. However, alarmed by the fall of France in 1940, Congress funded an increase in the strength of the [[United States Army Air Corps]] from 29 to 54 combat groups. The quickest way for the Air Corps to obtain additional bases was to utilize existing civil airports. The Air Corps signed an agreement to lease Hattiesburg Airport, but because of technicalities in the land transfer, construction did not begin until March 1941. |
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Once begun, a large construction program was needed to turn the civil airport into a military airfield. Construction involved runways and airplane hangars, with three concrete runways, several taxiways and a large parking apron and a control tower. Several large hangars were also constructed. Buildings were ultimately utilitarian and quickly assembled. Most base buildings, not meant for long-term use, were constructed of temporary or semi-permanent materials. Although some hangars had steel frames and the occasional brick or tile brick building could be seen, most support buildings sat on concrete foundations but were of frame construction clad in little more than plywood and tarpaper. On 8 December 1941, '''Hattiesburg Army Airfield''' was opened and assigned to the [[Third Air Force]]. |
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The first mission of the new airfield was antisubmarine patrols along the [[Gulf of Mexico]] coastline. in early June 1942, the [[21st Bombardment Group]] dispatched the [[313th Bombardment Squadron]] flying [[B-25 Mitchell]]s to the airfield. They was replace in late June by the [[113th Observation Squadron]] which flew light observation planes until the end of July. |
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The [[27th Bombardment Group]] (Light), flying [[A-20 Havoc]]s arrived at Hattiesburg in mid-August. The 27th was forming in the [[Philippines]] at the time of the [[Attack on Pearl Harbor]] and without any aircraft (they were diverted to [[Australia]]), the unit's ground echelon were pressed into infantry duty and were either killed or surrendered after the [[Battle of Bataan]]. It's pilots reformed the unit in Australia, but were badly mauled during the Battle of the Dutch East Indies. The entire unit was withdrawn and reformed in the United States. The reconstituted group trained at Hattiesburg until the end of October then were moved for final training before joining [[Twelfth Air Force]] in North Africa. |
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The 27th Bomb Group was the last combat unit to be stationed at Hattiesburg, as by early 1943, purpose-built Army Airfields designed for training large units had been built in the southeast and Hattiesburg AAF was reassigned to [[Air Technical Service Command]] to become a support airfield, performing maintenance on transient aircraft and also to support the Army training units at Camp Shelby. |
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In early 1945, military activities were phased down, and the Air Force put Hattiesburg on standby inactive status. Return to full civil control was made in April 1946. |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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Revision as of 23:06, 21 April 2009
Hattiesburg Bobby L Chain Municipal Airport | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Owner | Public | ||||||||||
| Operator | Hattiesburg, Mississippi | ||||||||||
| Serves | Hattiesburg, Mississippi | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 151 ft / 46 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 31°15′53.80″N 089°15′10.49″W / 31.2649444°N 89.2529139°W | ||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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Hattiesburg Bobby L Chain Municipal Airport (IATA: HBG, ICAO: KHBG) is a public airport located 4 miles southeast of Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The airport serves the general aviation community, with no scheduled commercial airline service.
History
Hattiesburg Municipal Airport opened in April 1940. However, alarmed by the fall of France in 1940, Congress funded an increase in the strength of the United States Army Air Corps from 29 to 54 combat groups. The quickest way for the Air Corps to obtain additional bases was to utilize existing civil airports. The Air Corps signed an agreement to lease Hattiesburg Airport, but because of technicalities in the land transfer, construction did not begin until March 1941.
Once begun, a large construction program was needed to turn the civil airport into a military airfield. Construction involved runways and airplane hangars, with three concrete runways, several taxiways and a large parking apron and a control tower. Several large hangars were also constructed. Buildings were ultimately utilitarian and quickly assembled. Most base buildings, not meant for long-term use, were constructed of temporary or semi-permanent materials. Although some hangars had steel frames and the occasional brick or tile brick building could be seen, most support buildings sat on concrete foundations but were of frame construction clad in little more than plywood and tarpaper. On 8 December 1941, Hattiesburg Army Airfield was opened and assigned to the Third Air Force.
The first mission of the new airfield was antisubmarine patrols along the Gulf of Mexico coastline. in early June 1942, the 21st Bombardment Group dispatched the 313th Bombardment Squadron flying B-25 Mitchells to the airfield. They was replace in late June by the 113th Observation Squadron which flew light observation planes until the end of July.
The 27th Bombardment Group (Light), flying A-20 Havocs arrived at Hattiesburg in mid-August. The 27th was forming in the Philippines at the time of the Attack on Pearl Harbor and without any aircraft (they were diverted to Australia), the unit's ground echelon were pressed into infantry duty and were either killed or surrendered after the Battle of Bataan. It's pilots reformed the unit in Australia, but were badly mauled during the Battle of the Dutch East Indies. The entire unit was withdrawn and reformed in the United States. The reconstituted group trained at Hattiesburg until the end of October then were moved for final training before joining Twelfth Air Force in North Africa.
The 27th Bomb Group was the last combat unit to be stationed at Hattiesburg, as by early 1943, purpose-built Army Airfields designed for training large units had been built in the southeast and Hattiesburg AAF was reassigned to Air Technical Service Command to become a support airfield, performing maintenance on transient aircraft and also to support the Army training units at Camp Shelby.
In early 1945, military activities were phased down, and the Air Force put Hattiesburg on standby inactive status. Return to full civil control was made in April 1946.
See also
References
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- Manning, Thomas A. (2005), History of Air Education and Training Command, 1942-2002. Office of History and Research, Headquarters, AETC, Randolph AFB, Texas ASIN: B000NYX3PC
External links
- Resources for this airport:
- AirNav airport information for KHBG
- ASN accident history for HBG
- FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
- NOAA/NWS weather observations: current, past three days
- SkyVector aeronautical chart for KHBG
- FAA current HBG delay information