Trip Report: West Texas 2000
First published in 2000. Reformatted 2025.Saturday, 24 June 2000
An official function of the Atlas ICBM Historical Society was the impetus for this trip, which I then expanded to make the weekend even more productive. 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. Colorado City AF Auxiliary Field TX, PIN 2242, ILC EDPZ, 32-28, 100-55. Out of the starting gate at 0615. This is now the Colorado City Municipal Airport (TX50), and is a quaint little general aviation field. This road was a parallel taxiway.Building
Taxiway Avenger Auxiliary Field #1 TX, 32-29-50, 100-32-15. From there I turned around and headed to Roscoe. I found this former auxiliary to Avenger Field, now farmland.
General view Avenger Auxiliary Field #2 TX, 32-27-40, 100-38-15. This auxiliary is also now farmland.
General view Avenger Field TX, 32-28, 100-28. This former WWII contract flying school is still a municipal airport under the same name.
General view
Hangar Dyess Medical Storage Annex TX, ILC FPDT. While on Avenger Field, I had hoped to resolve the location of this former storage annex. This installation consisted of leased storage space in the side bays of hangar 4. I had no luck confirming which hangar had been called #4 back in the mid 1960s, though it may have been the one farthest to the west, at 32-27-57, 100-28-27.
Hangar Sweetwater AFS TX, PIN 3314, ILC WNWC, 32-27-49, 100-28-20. Located on part of Avenger Field, the radar site property is now used by Texas State Technical College. Still standing from the radar site are the operations building (camouflaged under brick veneer to match the newer buildings), recreation building, dining hall, and one dormitory. I was told the dormitory will be demolished soon. I also saw the foundation of the headquarters building, and the three tennis courts. The swimming pool had been demolished fairly recently.
Operations building
Recreation building
Dining facility
Dormitory
Dormitory
Building foundation
Swimming pool location Driving east took me to Dyess AFB where I had a billeting reservation. Checked in, stowed my gear, and headed south of town for the main event of the day. The purpose of this trip was an open house at Dyess AF Missile Site #6 TX, covered in the Dyess Missile Sites trip report. After the event, I returned to Dyess AFB for the night. I got to my room at 2115, tired and dusty. 15 hours of fun, covering 415 miles.
Sunday, 25 June 2000
Dempsey Army Heliport TX, 32-46-26, 98-16-21. My first objective of the day was a former Army site between Palo Pinto and Mineral Wells, used by the helicopter training program at Fort Wolters. Several hangars, a water tower and a control tower were visible from the highway. A faded sign indicates it is the Dempsey Strategic Storage Center, of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.General view
General view
Non-historic sign Mineral Wells TX, 32-47-45, 98-06-00. In Mineral Wells, I looked for the location of a WWII era airport that showed Army use in some airfield directories. It is now a complex of athletic fields for a school. (Note: This is completely separate from the municipal airport, also used in WWII and still in use).
General view Carswell Ammunition Storage Annex TX, ILC DDPK, 32-46-25, 97-31-10. Heading back into the Metroplex, I found a small munitions storage area. The signs were non-military and it was gated and locked.
View from road Carswell Communications Annex (Transmitter) #2 TX, PIN 3130, ILC DDPQ, 32-48-40, 097-24-55. This former communications site is now a city park. The roughly square parcel of land is now sliced in half diagonally by highway 820. Two vintage buildings are now marked as a senior citizens center.
Building
Building I arrived home at 1500, only covering 268 miles in 6 hours. Total miles for the weekend, 683. Updated January 26, 2025
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