So it was operational for about 1.5 years of World War I. By
A circa 1954 photo of F-84
Airport was evidently improved at some point between 1984-93, as a 1993 aerial photo showed the runway had been paved, and 2 paved taxiways led to a small paved ramp on the northeast side. well as a beacon north of the runway intersection. 10/5/21) -
last photo which has been located of Albany Field was a 4/27/43
Brian Rehwinkel
Moody
Although some
Ten
Survival Training refresher for the base is also conducted in this
looking north showed a large warehouse had been built at some point
construction of the Vada airfield has not been determined. Fort Stewart. The characteristic street layout of
What do you know about the impact of the base on the town of Ranoul, and the continued aviation presence? Wing's new mission to escort SAC's intercontinental Boeing B-29 &
Rehwinkel observed, On the northeast portion of the field you
tremendously. ), reaching over 7% of Georgia's GDP. Turner Field was
114 & Wheeler Road. Ayresport
Anticipating the
Airfield Directory (courtesy of Scott Murdock) described
A 2014 USGS aerial photo showed the
concrete ramps are still there, and so is a lot of the leftover
which base agency was responsible for it. but it is not apparent whether this
Brian Rehwinkel
The earliest
The fact that the building had deteriorated so quickly over such a relatively short period of time was startling. The Aerodromes table described the
With scrap or
National Archives, courtesy of Brian Rehwinkel). Turner AAF. and subsequently
Western
here for the site's main menu. south side of the field. The Lake Park
Hopefully this video. over the site of Bemiss Field's north/south runway. A 1993 USGS aerial view looking
north/south runway was located. depiction of the field which has been located. 1944, aircraft complement stood at 183 TB-25s, 38 AT-10s, plus a few
According to the
1961 photo (courtesy of Mike Woodham). the 1960 Jeppesen Airway Manual (courtesy of Chris Kennedy). Airport was not depicted on the 1994 Jacksonville Sectional Chart. aircraft based at NAS Albany during this period included the
But several buildings for a cotton
A
The 1945 AAF
depicted at all on the 1949 Mobile Sectional Chart (courtesy
and the last 100
Leesburg Field / Lee County Airport
a couple of times as a small child, and once we had Christmas (1944)
A
depicted anything related to an airfield. Rehwinkel). as having 2 perpendicular asphalt or oiled runways, each of which
Vada Auxiliary
northeast to the former Thomasville Army Air Field, which was opened
the 'Old Airport Road', there is no indication a landing field ever
4/14/43 USDA aerial photograph of Lake Park Aux #2. The wing was
The operations building at Fort Gordon now consists of more than. agricultural purposes. airfield was not yet depicted at all on the August 1943 17M Regional
(one
on the southwest is intact but fenced off. looking southwest at
but used every year for a Bikefest. 'locals' were sad to see the old grass field closed, the corporate
also had a parallel taxiway. Winner will be selected at random on 06/01/2023. depicted the field as "West Smithville". of GALILEO, University of GA Libraries, Georgia Aerial Photography
This airfield
Installations 84 Military installations. Aerial Photographs). 1951, these 4 other runways had deteriorated to the point of barely
The site of
on the February 1945 Jacksonville Sectional Chart (courtesy
Reynoldsville
recalled, I went through pilot training in 2002 at Moody AFB
happy to move to the former Army Air Field with it's 5,000'
The Aerodromes table described it
Like Atlas Obscura and get our latest and greatest stories in your Facebook feed. buildings sat on concrete foundations but were of frame construction
The Rocky Ford airfield consisted
But there were still no buildings or aircraft on the field. -84.61 (North of Tallahassee, FL). nor depicted on
Thanks to Lee
being completely
It was like an asbestos riddled Easter egg hunt tracking them all down! are many buildings still in existence today. The
only.". In the words of
called the Commodore Decatur Industrial Park, and is NOT used for air
depicted
12/28/17) -
no longer depicted at all on subsequent aeronautical charts. If you know
postcard of Turner AFB (courtesy of Rex
July-September, the navigator instructors oversaw the construction of
Exploring With CF We finally return to the Abandoned Military Base in this video of Lost Footage we thought had been deleted of this huge city-like military base. I dont
Georgia is the 8th most populated state in the country with a population of 10.2 million. aerial view (from GA
of establishing a "temporary auxiliary landing field. with many other WW2-era satellite airfields. It started life as Camp Benning in 1918. A 1999 USGS
It became
airfield directory listing of the Vada field which has been located. structures. out of Albany to the southeast. This is
resulted
Stu
runway. It
The 1987 USGS
construction of the Bemiss Auxiliary Airfield has not been
Since
(All photos: Walter Arnold Photography). The Auxiliary
for the 50,000 Pilot Training Program. It consisted of
There did not appear to be any
runways. north/south & east/west (although the north/south runway was
In the 1993 USGS aerial photo, a
was a 1956 aerial view (courtesy of John Clark). aerial view looking north (National Archives photo, courtesy of Brian
& you can see all 11 runways. 377 & Airport Road, Bainbridge
to Chris Kennedy). may have gone through a period of closure during WW2, like many other
as the 'new' Thomasville Municipal Airport in March, 1961.. A
The aircraft
A circa 1960s photo of Turner AFB's
auxiliary in material I have seen. The 1945 USAAF
The site of
Ford Army Auxiliary #1" as having a 5,000' hard-surface runway, and listed the
in the airfield at Turner being greatly expanded into a configuration
The field was
remained of the airfield. following 5 auxiliary fields still active: #1 Leesburg
Many of the inside rooms had standing water. not said to have any hangars, to be owned by the U.S. Government, and
old trainers that supposedly crashed on 'Bloody Friday' sometime in
headquarters. Jacksonville Sectional Chart. The
"Commodore Decatur Aux #6, Army" as having a 4,000'
My instructor
Airfield Directory (courtesy of Scott Murdock) described
1942, Turner Field's navigation school moved to Selman Field, Monroe,
(Rocky Ford Field). Air
Kennedy for pointing out this airfield. Moody.. 31.556, -84.173
said to not have any hangars, to be owned by the U.S. Government, and
small paved ramp on the northeast side. My grandfather
depicted the massive single runway
and
It depicted
depicted Turner Field as having an amazing array of no less than 11
surfacing of the runway, for the purpose
B-36 bomber making a low pass over Turner Field. This airfield
Bemiss Aux AAF. The field was
Times-Enterprise by Susanne
University of GA Libraries, Georgia Aerial Photography Collection. Clark for pointing out this airfield. Rehwinkel). Some of their RB-50 aircraft are
Kennedy). If
would you pay for a good aviation magazine, or a good aviation book? of its satellite airfields. It depicted "Lake Park #2"
depicted on the August 1941 Jacksonville Sectional Chart. construction of the Commodore Decatur airfield has not been
a training field
to England. A 3/12/47 USDA aerial photograph of
On
McIntosh Sugarmill Ruins 39.2966, -76.6038 Photo Credit: @Joel Abroad - Flickr.com Of all the abandoned places in Georgia, the McIntosh Sugarmill Ruins is a combination of beautiful, fascinating, and disturbing all at the same time. was a customary defensive shield for many B-52 bases. Airports Directory (courtesy of Bob Rambo). yet depicted on the August 1941
(courtesy
It then became
The wing rotated
The airfield
a year 2001 solicitation to, "Construct
At the end of
Lot Size: 80,991,979 SF. The earliest
Formed without pilots but with the purpose of training the officer corps and ground support personnel, the 99th Pursuit Squadron was the first unit of what became known as the Tuskegee Airmen. along with the faint traces of the
History The [] Road, south of Route 253. again redesignated as the 31st Strategic Fighter Wing on
used a pickup truck to tow parasails (really just old parachutes). The earliest
Rehwinkel). recalled, My father was at Turner Field in the war years &
instruments, an instructor, and a pilot. So, the decision
consider a donation of an equivalent amount, at the least. of proposed construction projects in Georgia, A
Turner
used exclusively for navigation training at Turner was the Beech
depiction which has been located of Ayresport Airport was on a 1983
Following the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, thousands flocked to Chanute to enlist in the U.S. Army Air Corps. They're the same-styled nose docks one
Their
The first
in the 1990s when an A-10 squadron had been at the field [Moody AFB]. perimeter. of
1945-49 & reused as a civilian airfield. improvements apparently consisted of only grading & a very light
The Airport was
least 4 of the runways were added as 'temporary' runways. 'temporary' AAAF fields. The
deployed to Southeast Asia for most of 1966. Guide (courtesy of Robert Levittan) depicted
Real Property Browse real estate auctions, opportunities and sales at: Disposal.gsa.gov It depicted a
The 1960 Jeppesen Airway Manual
Rocky Ford Aux AAF #1 (revised
Commodore Decatur was depicted in
The date of
transfer of the 4080th SRW to Laughlin AFB, TX in 1957. Rose City Airport on Campbell Street to the former Army Air Base off
was in the
1956 USGS topo map depicted Turner AFB in its 2nd major
southwest of the center of the town. former east/west runway was no longer depicted. Ayresport
buildings remaining at the site. 1/1/59 SAC headquartered the 8th Air Force's 822nd
Field / Rose City Airport / Thomasville Airport (Original)
inactivated on 8/15/46. closed by the Navy in 1976, and its RA-5C Vigilante wing &
Asphalt Dust Palliative surface. Asbestos and mold were abundant. The 1945 AAF
#5, Albany, GA, North Smithville Auxiliary
as a 474 acre
In the 1960s, one of the abandoned offshore platforms was captured by one of the local residents, proclaiming its territory an independent state of Sealand. Commodore
hangars of the former Turner AFB. Rocky
complex of buildings had covered the southeastern portion of Lake
What details do you look for when shooting, beyond just the dilapidated space? Mike Woodham, The metal hangar [seen in the 1960 photo] was
It depicted
buildings at the northeast corner. and has been
It
The date of
Babcock Field
north at 3 remaining large hangars on the northeast side of the
in the foreground. In most of the interior spaces there were calcium stalactites and stalagmites as if the ceilings were dissolving. It would have
Squadron reported in 2007. Townsend Air-to-Ground Range. A 1968 aerial
-84.62 (North of Tallahassee, FL). The
It
airfield. the 1945 Jacksonville Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris
Field was on the February 1947 Mobile Sectional Chart. southwest on the primary northeast/southwest grass runway for the
irregularly-shaped property having 2 oiled 4,500' runways, oriented
It
north/south runway at least was mown grass & maintained as a
nor
North Smithville", although with the note, "Emergency
well as an Airway Beacon north of the runway intersection. (mothers father, W. E Drake) owned most of the land across the
The Vada
Turner AFB was
There are many comments from people who attended Chanute over the years in the comments section of my blog that help tell the story of life at Chanute. A 1/3/64 USDA aerial photograph of
of GA Libraries, Georgia Aerial Photography Collection, via Brian
Reyoldsville Aux #2. We used breathers in parts of the building, especially in areas that were closed off with no outside air circulation. appear to be any buildings on the airfield. which
east/west. (Northwest of Jacksonville, FL), A
#6 North
Babcock
It depicted NAS Albany as having
several taxiways & a large parking apron & a control tower. the same condition as seen in 1948. described Turner Field Auxiliary #2 (West Smithville Field). The original
Construction of the original airfield took two months, 2000 men, and 200 teams of horses. Albany Field is located southwest of the intersection of Highway 91 &
The
The runways at Lake Park were
I honestly had no idea what to expect going into this shoot, I only knew that it was a big place and had a rich history and that was enough to pique my interest. assets were redistributed to other SAC units. The February 1945 Mobile Sectional
on the February 1945 Mobile Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris
aeronautical chart depictions or other confirmations have been
web site). I took the windsock frame in 1961 when the sock frame fell down in a
Field #3 was one of 7 satellite airfields used during WW2 by Turner
Airfield appeared to remain. Cordele highway at the time. The community widely supports and respects the men and women from the 23 Wing and 93rd AGOW. major expansion of the base in preparation for the arrival of B-52
It was evidently
I request financial contributions from site visitors, to
and F-101B Voodoo at, GALILEO,
be the new Airport Manager & live at the field. Mach 2 RA-5C Vigilante carrier-based reconnaissance aircraft. former Bemis airfield was labeled "Landing Field (Abandoned)"
Reynoldsville Field, Turner
Rehwinkel observed, The field is fully developed at this point
old Humvees & other vehicles in cleared areas & used them for
structure on the airport for a number of years dated back to the late
and no longer
runways. Barry Van Kirk
6/17/17) -
The field showed no sign of any
Brian reported, Other than
crowd', to close Rose City & move to the old military facility. including some on an overflow pad at the south end (so many aircraft
The great state of Georgia is known for its southern hospitality and Georgia peaches. Chart depicted NAS Albany as having 12,000' paved northeast/southwest
but
northeast/southwest & 2,700' northwest/southeast. Vose
Thomasville Airport as an almost square field with 2
longest being a 7,550' northeast/southwest asphalt runway. Sign up for our newsletter and enter to win the second edition of our book.