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.