page_title: Pyote Air Force Base
hierarchical_section_title: Pyote Air Force Base
caption_attribution_description: English: In remembrance of those who served in the 381st bomb group (H) B-17 and 432nd air service group Ridgewell, Essex, England Activated Deactivated 1 January 1943 28 August 1945
context_page_description: Pyote Air Force Base was a World War II United States Army Air Forces training airbase. It was on 2,745 acres a mile from the town of Pyote, Texas on Interstate 20, twenty miles west of Monahans and just south of U.S. Highway 80, 230 miles east of El Paso.
  It was nicknamed "Rattlesnake Bomber Base" for the numerous rattlesnake dens that were uncovered during its construction.
  At the height of its use in 1944, the base had over 6,000 officers and enlisted men either permanently assigned or temporarily attached. In addition, there were hundreds of civilians that came from all over the United States to work on the base.
  After World War II, thousands of reserve aircraft were stored there, one of which was the B-29 "Enola Gay".
  Today, most of the base is gone. Other than the concrete runways, taxiways and ramp, virtually nothing remains that would tell the casual observer that this was once a major training center responsible for turning out highly trained flying crews. In later years. the West Texas State School was situated on the site; it was closed in 2010. Located on I-20 at exit 66.
context_section_description: Pyote Air Force Base was a World War II United States Army Air Forces training airbase. It was on 2,745 acres (1,111 ha) a mile from the town of Pyote, Texas on Interstate 20, twenty miles west of Monahans and just south of U.S. Highway 80, 230 miles (370 km) east of El Paso.
  It was nicknamed "Rattlesnake Bomber Base" for the numerous rattlesnake dens that were uncovered during its construction.
  At the height of its use in 1944, the base had over 6,000 officers and enlisted men either permanently assigned or temporarily attached. In addition, there were hundreds of civilians that came from all over the United States to work on the base.
  After World War II, thousands of reserve aircraft were stored there, one of which was the B-29 "Enola Gay".
  Today, most of the base is gone.  Other than the concrete runways, taxiways and ramp, virtually nothing remains that would tell the casual observer that this was once a major training center responsible for turning out highly trained flying crews. In later years. the West Texas State School was situated on the site; it was closed in 2010. Located on I-20 at exit 66.
caption: Tribute to the first squadrons who trained at Rattlesnake Bomber Base
exif: {}