Sewart Air Force Base Sewart Air Force Base ( 1941 – 1971 ) is a former United States Air Force base located in Smyrna , about 25 miles southeast of Nashville , Tennessee . During World War II , it was known as Smyrna Army Airfield . History . World War II . The War Department ordered the construction of a Bombardment Air Base near Nashville on 22 December 1941 , shortly after the US had entered World War II . A tract of land consisting of located off US Route 70 in Rutherford County , Tennessee near Smyrna , Tennessee , was selected and acquired by the United States Army Air Forces for use as an Army - Air Force Training Command Base . Six thousand workers erected 200 buildings and an airfield to accommodate the training needs of the Army Air Force . In January 1942 , Smyrna Army Airfield was assigned to the AAF Southeast Training Center with the Army Air Force Pilot School ( Specialized 4 - Engine ) activated ( phase 3 pilot training ) . In this phase , cadets flew B - 17 Flying Fortress and B - 24 Liberator heavy bombers . Pilots graduating this phase were sent on to group combat training with the Second Air Force . Graduates were commissioned as Flight Officer s ( Warrant Officers ) , and those who graduated at the top of their class were commissioned as Second Lieutenant s . On 8 January 1943 , the War Department constituted and activated the 76th Flying Training Wing ( Specialized 4 - Engine ) at Smyrna and assigned it to the AAF Eastern Flying Training Command . Throughout the war , numerous military personnel were stationed at Smyrna . At the end of hostilities , demobilization and defense reductions followed , resulting in the base being deactivated and placed in caretaker status in 1947 . However , the installation ' s inactivity was short - lived and the newly created United States Air Force re - activated the facility as Smyrna Air Force Base in 1948 . 314th Troop Carrier Wing . On 1 November 1948 , the 314th Troop Carrier Wing ( 314 TCW ) was formed at Smyrna AFB . The 314th Wing served as a primary troop carrier unit in the eastern United States , involved in joint airborne training with Army forces . Its personnel developed assault airlift operations and participated in aerial demonstrations , exercises , maneuvers , and joint operations . Transport Groups of the 314th : Squadrons of the 314th : Cargo aircraft used by the 314th : The 314th also hosted several helicopter squadrons : These units flew the CH - 21 Shawnee helicopter . Smyrna AFB flourished in the late 1940s and 1950s . In the aftermath of World War II , the US military renamed several military establishments in honor of fallen heroes , and the Department of Defense chose to name the Smyrna base after native Tennessean Allan J . Sewart , Jr . of Nashville . On 25 March 1950 , Sewart Air Force Base was officially dedicated in honor of this hero who died in a bombing mission over the Solomon Islands in November 1942 . Sewart AFB was the only operational C - 130 base in the United States in 1958 . On 7 January 1960 , seven ski - equipped C - 130 Hercules from Sewart ’ s 61st Troop Carrier Squadron flew via California , Hawaii , Canton , Fiji and New Zealand to support Operation Deep Freeze ’ 60 in Antarctica , during the summer months on the frozen continent . The mission was to supply the U . S . National Science Foundation by landing at two bases at the South Pole and Marie Byrd Land . Lt . Colonel Wilbert Turk , commander of the 61st , led the mission . Staging from Christchurch , New Zealand , the C - 130s flew 7 : 40 hours to McMurdo Sound , Antarctica , on 23 January to establish a record - breaking time previously held by a U . S . Navy R7V Super Constellation . The 114 pilots and support crew were quartered ten miles ( 16 km ) from the Ross Ice Shelf in order to be close to flight operations . The use of the ski - equipped aircraft , which took place during twelve days in the final weeks of the summer support season , was called a significant advance in Antarctic explorations since the aircraft were the first to be able to physically land supplies at the front door of the scientific bases . Previously , supply was accomplished only by parachute by means of U . S . Naval Globemaster aircraft , potentially losing or damaging the food , mail , building materials and delicate equipment . The C - 130s carried extra wingtip tanks to extend the flight capability of up to 600 extra miles . The 61st TCS returned to Sewart on 20 February after demonstrating that the ski - equipped C - 130s could be successfully employed as ground - landing delivery systems . In subsequent years , Antarctic Development Squadron SIX ( VXE - 6 ) of the U . S . Navy took over support of the scientific stations by means of specially modified , ski - equipped LC - 130F aircraft . Following the decommissioning of VXE - 6 , this mission was transferred to the 109th Airlift Wing of the New York Air National Guard which continues to perform polar support missions with the LC - 130H aircraft to this day . On 15 January 1966 the 314th Troop Carrier Wing was reassigned to Ching Chuan Kang Air Base ( CCK ) , Taiwan to support the Vietnam War . The 314th also maintained a large detachment of C - 130Es at Tuy Hoa Air Base , South Vietnam until 1970 . A placeholder unit , the 4413th Troop Carrier Wing was established at Sewart with the wing ' s departure . At Sewart , the 314th was awarded Air Force Outstanding Unit Award s for the periods of 11 January – 14 February 1955 , and 1 January 1960 – 31 December 1961 . 463d Troop Carrier Wing . On 15 January 1959 , the 463rd Troop Carrier Wing ( 463 TCW ) moved to Sewart AFB , being transferred from the closing Ardmore Air Force Base , Oklahoma . Along with the 314th , the two wings made up the 839th Air Division ( 839 AD ) . The 839 AD supported Tactical Air Command and US Strike Command deployments throughout the world , including back - to - back deployments to Lebanon and Taiwan in response to crisis situations on opposite sides of the world in the summer of 1958 . 463d wing crews were involved in numerous operations around the globe until the 463rd transferred to Pacific Air Forces to support the Vietnam War . C - 130 squadrons of the 463d at Sewart : In the late 1950s and early 1960s , the 774th TCS also included " The Four Horsemen , " a Tactical Air Command - sponsored C - 130 flight demonstration team utilizing four C - 130A aircraft . During September 1961 , the 463d supported the crisis in Berlin . Then , on 1 October 1962 , the wing was redesignated as the 463rd Troop Carrier Wing ( Assault ) . Immediately , the wing deployed to support the Cuban Missile Crisis ( October – November 1962 ) . The wing moved to Langley AFB , Virginia , on 1 July 1963 , later deploying to Mactan AB and Clark AB in the Philippines during 1965 to support the Vietnam War . A large detachment was established at Tan Son Nhut AB , South Vietnam , which flew transport missions until 31 December 1971 when the unit was deactivated . At Sewart , the 463d was awarded the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award for the period 15 December 1960 – 1 April 1961 . 64th Troop Carrier / Tactical Airlift Wing . With the departure of the 314th and 463d TCWs to PACAF , the 64th Troop Carrier Wing was activated at Sewart on 7 March 1966 , replacing the 4413th . On 1 May 1967 the unit was re - designated as the 64th Tactical Airlift Wing . The 64th initially performed global airlift and medical evacuation missions , including several deployments to South Vietnam and Thailand . However beginning in 1968 , its primary mission was providing C - 130 combat crew training for other units deploying to the Vietnam War . C - 130E squadrons of the 64th at Sewart : At Sewart , the 64th was awarded the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Combat " V " Device for the period 1 July 1966 – 30 June 1967 and ( without " V " device ) 1 June 1969 – 31 May 1971 . On 9 December 1965 the Department of Defense announced the closure of several military bases in the United States , including Sewart AFB . Closure activities continued for the next five years and on 9 March 1971 , the last C - 130 Hercules left one of the Sewart AFB runways . The 64th TCW was inactivated on 31 May 1971 and Sewart AFB was officially closed . Redevelopment . When the base was deactivated it was transferred to a civilian operation . Ownership of the base was transferred to the Army Corps of Engineers and ultimately to the Smyrna / Rutherford County Airport Authority . The bulk of the property vacated by the USAF was divided between three entities : 1 ) Rutherford County 2 ) State of Tennessee and 3 ) Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority . Rutherford County formed an Economic Development Committee composed of county commissioners , the county executive and the county mayors of the municipalities . This group was instrumental in the conversion of the property obtained from the Department of Defense to private industrial use . Some of the larger industries recruited included Better Built Aluminum , Cumberland Swan , and Square D . During the 1970s many new jobs were created , and as a result , Smyrna ' s population nearly tripled between 1970 and 1980 . The property received by the State of Tennessee has been utilized by the Tennessee Rehabilitation Center . A portion of the base , including some hangar and aircraft ramp space , was retained by the Corps of Engineers and licensed for use by the Tennessee Army National Guard . The Army National Guard established an Army Aviation Support Facility , currently operating 60 helicopters manned by approximately 300 full - time and 700 part - time military personnel , technically qualifying the airport as a joint civil - military airfield . Because of the Army National Guard presence , the airfield is also used as an Air National Guard outlying training field by C - 130 Hercules aircraft of the 118th Airlift Wing of the Tennessee Air National Guard at Nashville International Airport and C - 5 Galaxy aircraft of the 164th Airlift Wing of the Tennessee Air National Guard at Memphis International Airport . The land granted to the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority included the runways , hangars , clear zones and related aviation facilities . The airport property was held for nearly 20 years with few improvements . In 1990 , the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority agreed to relinquish control and transfer the airport to the newly formed Smyrna / Rutherford County Airport Authority .