Trip Report: Alabama Revisited
First published in 2000. Reformatted 2025. For family reasons, I needed to spend some time in northern Alabama. Here is a summary of the sights I saw on the way there, in my free time, and on the return trip. Just a reminder PIN means Permanent Installation Number and ILC means Installation Location Code; I include these for Air Force properties when I know them.Friday, 10 November 2000
This was a long day with few targets. The locations I visited are kind of out of the way, and I wasn't likely to be passing through the vicinity by chance. So, I took a wide detour to include them on this trip. Cleveland Municipal Airport MS, 33-45-30, 90-45-00. This airport continues in operation today, FAA code RNV. During WWII Cleveland School of Aviation operated an AAF contract flying school here. I didn't see any obvious AAF remains.General view Bobo Communications Site GWEN 863 MS, ILC BXAG. Marked with U.S. Govt signs, this is one of many GWEN sites the USAF inactivated in about 1999.
General view
General view
Tower Fletcher Field MS, 34-17-30, 90-30-30. Another WWII contract flying school, this one operated by Clarksdale School of Aviation. This airport is also still operational, FAA code CKM. This long hangar, operations building, and 184-foot demountable hangar were part of the AAF school.
Hangar
Hangar
Operations building
184-foot demountable hangar
184-foot demountable hangar
184-foot demountable hangar
General view featuring beacon Made a quick visit to Columbus AFB, hoping to get a billeting room, but they were full up. Headed south into the town of Columbus and got a cheap room at an expensive price.
Saturday, 11 November 2000
Marion County Airport AL, ILC PFXK, 34-07, 88-00. Located near Hamilton, this airport served (on a joint-use basis, evidently) as an auxiliary field by Columbus AFB from 1969 to 1981. The tower looks decidedly out of place on this small municipal airport, so I suspect it may have been brought in by the USAF.Control tower
Control tower and building Hackleburg Communications Site GWEN 868 AL, ILC JVVM. Next stop was another communications site. Like the Bobo site, this one served until about 1999.
Tower
General view
Equipment shelters
Guy support I ended my day in Scottsboro.
Sunday, 12 November 2000
Camp Sibert AAFld AL, 33-58-30, 86-05-20. Next stop was the Gadsden Municipal Airport (GAD), and I did not see any signs of former AAF use.General view Martin ANG Station AL, ILC PJFS. Adjacent to the airport sits this communications unit.
General view Gadsden Air Force Station AL, PIN 1747, 33-58-20, 85-56-15. This is now an industrial park, home to various users. During WWII, this was known as AAF Specialized Depot #829. It was inactivated in 1961.
General view
General view
General view
Warehouse
Warehouse
Warehouse with rail access
Warehouse with rail access
Warehouse and loading dock Anniston AFB AL, 33-34, 86-04. The former base is now the Talladega Municipal Airport (ASN) and Talladega Motor Speedway. The racetrack is built on top of the runways--if you ever see an aerial shot of this racetrack, notice the paved strips that cut across the infield. Most of the AAF/USAF buildings have been demolished. This large hangar and this water tower remain, and you can see some of the ramp area between the hangar and the racetrack berms.
General view
Building foundations
Elevated water storage tank
Hangar
Hangar
Airfield pavement
Airfield pavement
Airfield pavement
Tuesday, 14 November 2000
Flintstone AFS GA, PIN 3282, 34-57-25, 85-22-55. The twisting, climbing roads leading up Lookout Mountain reminded me of Germany. The housing area is in good shape. The rest of the former radar station is pretty well demolished. The foundation of the operations building remains. Operated by the 867th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron from about 1956 to 1960, this was site SM-165 in the long-range radar network.Stairs
Building foundation Lovell Field TN, ILC NTEA, 35-01-55, 85-12-01. The Chattanooga Airport (CHA) is home to an Air National Guard unit.
Building and F-101 display aircraft
Wednesday, 15 November 2000
Manchester Intermediate Field TN, 35-27, 86-01. This was stop 16-A on the Atlanta (AG) to Nashville (NA) airway back in the 1930s and 1940s. The only physical clue I found was Old Airport Road. I took a photo looking roughly north at the cited location. WWII airfield directories list this field as having Army use.General view Sewart AFB TN, 36-00, 86-31. This is now Smyrna Airport (MQY), home to a mix of general aviation and Army National Guard aviation. Several hangars, a fire station, the control tower, and some barracks look vintage USAF. A museum sits among the older buildings. Other brick dormitories are used by the Tennessee Rehabilitation Center. This field was known as Smyrna AAFld during WWII. It was redesignated Smyrna AFB in 1948, then Sewart AFB in 1950. It closed about 1970.
Hangar and control tower
Hangars
Fire station and hangar
Control tower and hangar
Barracks
Museum display and buildings
Museum display and hangars Berry Field TN, ILC VJLG. This is now Nashville International Airport (BNA). A few hangars stand that may date from Air Force use. The southern end of the field is home to a Tennessee Air National Guard airlift wing. An RF-84F pulls guard duty by the main gate. This field was used by Air Transport Command during WWII, then Air Defense Command briefly in the early 1950s. It has been home to an Air National Guard mission since 1952.
Hangar
Hangar Joelton AFS TN, PIN 3291, ILC LUYH, 36-20-15, 86-51-35. Operated by the 799th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron from about 1956 to 1960, this was long range radar site SM-145. The FAA still operates an ARSR-1E radar on the west end of the former station. Several Air Force buildings, and the station flagpole, still stand. The bulk of the station belongs to State of Tennessee, Department of Environment & Conservation, Nashville Field Operations. The housing area is also state property and off-limits to tourists.
General view
General view
General view
General view
General view
General view
General view Arnold AFB TN, ILC ANZY. The signs refer to it as Arnold Engineering Development Center, perhaps an indication that local commanders chose not to ride the redesignation merry-go-round (Air Force Station, Air Force Base, Air Station, etc.) and focused their signage on the mission. I don't blame them! An F-105 sits outside the main gate. I didn't see much of the installation, but I did stock up on film and batteries at the BX.
F-105 display aircraft
Friday, 17 November 2000
Delhi Gap Filler Annex LA, 32-19-41, 91-33-24. I had a fix on the location from GSA disposal documents, so finding the access road was no problem. There were no fences or gates, so I went up the road to the site. The perimeter fence is gone, as is the building. The foundation is extant, with some of the floor tiles still in place. Concrete footers for the radar tower remain next to, and west of, the building foundation.Access road
Building foundation
Building foundation
Fence post
Radar tower footer Updated January 26, 2025
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