Hesler-Noble Field: Difference between revisions

Hesler-Noble Field Airport
Hesler-Noble Field Airport
	IATA: LUL; ICAO: KLUL;
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Public
Operator	Laurel, Mississippi
Serves	Laurel, Mississippi
Elevation AMSL	238 ft / 72 m
Coordinates	31°40′22.90″N 089°10′22.10″W / 31.6730278°N 89.1728056°W
Runways

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Revision as of 14:53, 22 April 2009

Hesler-Noble Field Airport (IATA: LUL, ICAO: KLUL) is a public airport located 3 miles southwest of Laurel, Mississippi. The airport serves the general aviation community, with no scheduled commercial airline service.

History

Laurel Airport was first opened in April, 1940, having been constructed by the Works Project Administration, providing commercial airline service to the area.

Alarmed by the fall of France in June 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 Laurel Airport, but because of technicalities in the land transfer, construction did not begin until mid 1942.

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 18 December 1942, Laurel Army Airfield was opened and assigned to the Third Air Force. The 473d Base Headquarters and Air Base Squadron was the host unit at the airfield

Initially, the mission of the new Air Force field was to fly antisubmarine patrols over the Gulf of Mexico, with the 69th Observation Group flying light aircraft (O-38, O-46, O-47) from November 1942 until March 1943.

In Mid-1943, Laurel AAF's mission changed to training medium and light bomber crews (B-25 Mitchell, A-20 Havoc) as well as photo reconnaissance units for deployment overseas. Known units that trained at the airfield were:

71st Reconnaissance Group, 31 Mar-24 Sep 1943
416th Bombardment Group, Nov 1943-1Jan 1944
410th Bombardment Group, Jan-8 Feb 1944

In early 1944, a phase down of training activity was began, and plans were made to convert Laurel AAF into a specialized storage facility and most activities at the airfield were moved to Jackson Army Airfield. Large numbers of aircraft were sent to Laurel, both from other training bases, and later from returning overseas units after the War.

Excess aircraft were sent to reclamation facilities after being processed at Laurel. The airfield was placed on inactive status 31 May 1946 and returned to civil control.

Hesler-Noble Field Airport returned to being a civil airport until the early 1970s, when commercial airline service was shifted to Hattiesburg-Laurel Regional Airport in May 1974. Since then it has served the general aviation community.

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 KLUL
- ASN accident history for LUL
- FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
- NOAA/NWS weather observations: current, past three days
- SkyVector aeronautical chart for KLUL
- FAA current LUL delay information

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 ==History==
+Laurel Airport was first opened in April, 1940, having been constructed by the [[Works Project Administration]], providing commercial airline service to the area.
+Alarmed by the [[fall of France]] in June 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 Laurel Airport, but because of technicalities in the land transfer, construction did not begin until mid 1942.
+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 18 December 1942, '''Laurel Army Airfield''' was opened and assigned to the [[Third Air Force]].  The 473d Base Headquarters and Air Base Squadron was the host unit at the airfield
+Initially, the mission of the new Air Force field was to fly antisubmarine patrols over the Gulf of Mexico, with the 69th Observation Group flying light aircraft (O-38, O-46, O-47) from November 1942 until March 1943.
+In Mid-1943, Laurel AAF's mission changed to training medium and light bomber crews (B-25 Mitchell, A-20 Havoc) as well as photo reconnaissance units for deployment overseas.   Known units that trained at the airfield were:
+* [[71st Reconnaissance Group]], 31 Mar-24 Sep 1943
+* [[416th Bombardment Group]], Nov 1943-1Jan 1944
+* [[410th Bombardment Group]], Jan-8 Feb 1944
+In early 1944, a phase down of training activity was began, and plans were made to convert Laurel AAF into a specialized storage facility and most activities at the airfield were moved to Jackson Army Airfield.  Large numbers of aircraft were sent to Laurel, both from other training bases, and later from returning overseas units after the War.
+Excess aircraft were sent to reclamation facilities after being processed at Laurel.   The airfield was placed on inactive status 31 May 1946 and returned to civil control.
+Hesler-Noble Field Airport returned to being a civil airport until the early 1970s, when commercial airline service was shifted to [[Hattiesburg-Laurel Regional Airport]] in May 1974.   Since then it has served the general aviation community.
 ==See also==