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Williams Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force (USAF) base, located in Mesa, and about 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Phoenix, Arizona. It was active as a training base for both the United States Army Air Forces, as well as the USAF from 1941 until its closure in 1993. Williams was the leading pilot training facility of the USAF, supplying 25% of all pilots.
[edit] Current statusSince its closure most of the base has since been annexed as part of Mesa, Arizona. Some property was retained by the US government while other portions were conveyed and converted into the civilian Williams Gateway Airport which was later renamed Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport and an educational campus anchored by Arizona State University Polytechnic Campus and Chandler-Gilbert Community College. [edit] HistoryThe base was named in honor of Arizona native 1st Lt Charles Linton Williams (1898-1927). Lieutenant Williams died on 6 Jul 1927 when his Boeing PW-9A pursuit aircraft crashed near Fort DeRussy, Hawaii. The airfield was designated as Williams Air Force Base (WAFB) in January 1948. Previous names of the base were:
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[edit] Operational historyThe United States Army Air Forces broke ground for its Advance Flying School there on July 16, 1941. During the fifty-two years it was operational, the base graduated more pilots and instructors than any other base in the country and supplied twenty-five percent of the Air Force's pilots annually. Construction of the base started on 16 July 1941 and the initial construction was completed in December, making the base oprational, although the airfield was not ready for 4-engined aircraft until late 1943. During World War II, Williams Field was under the command of the 89th Army Air Force Base Unit, AAF West Coast Training Center. The training mission of the base 4-engined aircraft transtitonal training predominated during 1944-1945, but was changed to fighter pilot training in early 1945. During the 1950s, a fighter gunnery school was added in 1954, however the base's mission returned exclusively to undergraduate pilot training in 1961. The primary training aircraft used during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s were the Cessna T-37 "Tweet" and the Northrop T-38 Talon. Both trainers were two-seat, dual-engine jet aircraft. The undergraduate flight training program lasted just less than one full year and involved classroom, simulator, and aircraft training activities. Graduates were selected to remain as instructors, after an intensive training course, or went on to train in their primary weapon system aircraft. Students proceeded from the academic phase of classroom and simulator instruction around the six-week point of the program. The first flight was largely a 'demo' flight in the T-37 aircraft with the instructor orienting the student to the aircraft, the local training area, and some basic flight maneuvers. The approximately 4,127-acre (16.70 km2) base was closed 30 September 1993 as a result of BRAC 1991. The host unit, the 82d Flying Training Wing and its squadrons (96, 97, 98, and 99th FTS) were inactivated. [edit] See also[edit] References
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