Big Spring Mc Mahon-Wrinkle Airport

Infobox Airport
name = Big Spring Mc Mahon-Wrinkle Airport
nativename =
nativename-a =
nativename-r =


image-width =
caption =
IATA = KBPG
ICAO = Public
type = City of Big Spring, Texas
owner =
operator = 2,573
city-served =
location =
elevation-f = 784.3
elevation-m =
coordinates = Coord|32|12|45.4|N|101|31|17.9|W|type:airport_region:US|display=inline,title
website =
metric-elev =
metric-rwy =
r1-number = 17/35
r1-length-f = 8,802
r1-length-m = 2,683
r1-surface = Asphalt
r2-number = 6/24
r2-length-f = 4,601
r2-length-m = 1,402
r2-surface = Asphalt
stat-year =
stat1-header =
stat1-data =
stat2-header =
stat2-data =
footnotes =

Big Spring Mc Mahon-Wrinkle Airport Airport codes|BPG|KBPG is a commercial airport located 2 miles SW of Big Spring, Texas.

It is owned and operated by the city of Big Spring, Texas.

History

World War II

The airport was opened in 1942 as Big Spring Army Airfield and was used by the United States Army Air Forces as a World War II bombardier training base. The first class of cadets arrived for training in September 1942, and aircrews continued to be trained there until the surrender of Japan, when the cadets who agreed to remain in postwar service were transferred to Midland.

The base was declared surplus and reverted to city control in 1945, serving as the Big Spring Municipal Airport for six years.

Webb Air Force Base

As a result of the Korean War, and the need for trained pilots, the airfield was reopened on October 1, 1951. The base was renamed Webb Air Force Base in 1952 to memorialize Lt. James L. Webb, a Big Spring native and World War II combat pilot, who was killed off the Japanese coast in 1949.

The 3560th Pilot Training Wing (later redesignated the Seventy-eighth Flying Training Wing) was stationed at the base, and instruction of the first class began in April 1952. The base population soon passed the 2,000 mark. By the end of 1968 almost 9,000 pilots had been trained at Webb.

In 1956 the 331st Fighter Interceptor Squadron was transferred to Webb from Stewart Air Force Base in New York to defend the southern United States border on air intercept missions. In March 1967 the 331st was redesignated the 4760th Combat Crew Training Squadron and charged with training Jordanian Air Force students. It was inactivated when the Jordanians were recalled because of the war with Israel in the summer of 1967.

Webb was also the site of annual summer training for ROTC (Reserve Officers' Training Corps) cadets throughout the 1950s and most of the 1960s.

In 1977 the end of the Vietnam War meant a decrease in the need for Air Force pilots. Webb was formally deactivated, and the property it had occupied was turned over to the Big Spring Industrial Park.

Current Uses

The area currently serves as the general aviation airport for the City of Big Spring. In addition, three units of the Big Spring Correctional Center (a federal prison privately operated by Cornell Companies) are located on the base grounds (as well as FCI Big Spring, which is a separate facility and operated directly by the Bureau of Prisons).

See also

* Texas World War II Army Airfields

References

* [http://www.airnav.com/airport/KBPG AirNav.Com - Big Spring Mc Mahon-Wrinkle Airport Airport (KBPG]
* Thole, Lou (1999), Forgotten Fields of America : World War II Bases and Training, Then and Now - Vol. 2. Publisher: Pictorial Histories Pub, ISBN 1575100517

External links

* [http://www.hangar25airmuseum.com/main/index.asp Former Webb AFB website] (Includes expanded history of the AFB)