page_title: Kirtland Air Force Base
section_title: World War II
hierarchical_section_title: Kirtland Air Force Base / History / World War II
caption_attribution_description: English: Albuquerque Municipal Airport Feb 1939
context_page_description: Kirtland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in the southeast quadrant of the Albuquerque, New Mexico urban area, adjacent to the Albuquerque International Sunport. The base was named for the early Army aviator Col. Roy C. Kirtland. The military and the international airport share the same runways, making ABQ a joint civil-military airport.
  Kirtland AFB is the largest installation in Air Force Global Strike Command and sixth largest in the Air Force. The base occupies 51,558 acres and employs over 23,000 people, including more than 4,200 active duty and 1,000 Guard, plus 3,200 part-time Reserve personnel. In 2000, Kirtland AFB's economic impact on the City of Albuquerque was over $2.7 billion.
  Kirtland is the home of the Air Force Materiel Command's Nuclear Weapons Center. The NWC's responsibilities include acquisition, modernization and sustainment of nuclear system programs for both the Department of Defense and Department of Energy. The NWC is composed of two wings–the 377th Air Base Wing and 498th Nuclear Systems Wing–along with ten groups and 7 squadrons.
context_section_description: As of late 1939, Army and Navy pilots began using Oxnard Field for refueling and maintenance for a variety of military flights. Later that same year, the Army Air Corps leased 2,000 acres neighboring Albuquerque Airport, four miles west of Oxnard Field. The Army eventually condemned the Oxnard Field property for military use, with subsequent transfer to the federal government.
  Construction of Albuquerque Army Air Base began in January 1941 and was completed in August 1941. Albuquerque Army Air Base received its first military aircraft in March, and on 1 April 1941, a lone B-18 bomber, landed on the north–south runway. With the assignment of five pilots to the aircraft, the day marked the official opening of Albuquerque Army Air Base. The first buildings on the installation were simple wood-frame structures constructed quickly in order to fulfill the country's urgent need for trained pilots to fight the war.  Most of the buildings were Theater of Operations construction while some were of the Mobilization type. The Mobilization type buildings included the station hospital, theater, chapel, and Link training buildings.
  During World War II there were three levels of pilot training:
  Primary Flying School
  Basic Flying School
  Advanced Flying School (including Transition Training)
  The Albuquerque Army Air Base provided advanced flying training in "AT" (advanced trainer) trainer aircraft and transition training in combat-ready aircraft, primarily the B-17 Flying Fortress and the B-24 Liberator. In addition to pilot training, the Albuquerque Army Air Base provided bombardier training at its Advanced Flying School. During this period, the facility was under the Flying Training Command and the Air Training Command.
  In addition to the main airfield, several auxiliary airfields were used to support the flying school:
  Oxnard Airport (Original Albuquerque Airport)  35°02′23″N 106°33′36″W
  West Mesa Airport                   35°05′23″N 106°43′25″W
  Acomita CAA Intermediate Airfield   35°02′48″N 107°42′38″W
  Paddy Auxiliary Army Airfield       34°43′28″N 107°21′25″W
  Santa Fe Auxiliary Army Airfield35°37′01″N 106°05′21″W
  Socorro Auxiliary Army Airfield 34°01′30″N 106°54′13″W
caption: Albuquerque Municipal Airport, February 1939
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