Wendover Air Force Base Wendover Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base in Utah now known as Wendover Airport . During World War II it was a training base for B - 17 and B - 24 bomber crews . It was the training site of the 509th Composite Group , the B - 29 unit that dropped the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bomb s . In 2009 , a hangar at the base dubbed The Manhattan Project ' s Enola Gay Hangar was listed as one of the most endangered historic sites in the U . S . After the war , Wendover was used for training exercises , gunnery range and as a research facility . It was closed by the Air Force in 1969 , and the base was given to Wendover City in 1977 . Tooele County assumed ownership of the airport and base buildings in 1998 , and the County continues to operate the airfield as a public airport . A portion of the original bombing range is now the Utah Test and Training Range ( UTTR ) which is used extensively by the Air Force with live fire targets on the range . Origins . Wendover Air Force Base ' s history began in 1940 , when the United States Army began looking for additional bombing ranges . The area near the town of Wendover was well - suited to these needs ; the land was virtually uninhabited , had generally excellent flying weather , and the nearest large city ( Salt Lake City ) was away ( Wendover had around 100 citizens at the time ) . Though isolated , the area was served by the Western Pacific Railroad , and many of its citizens were employed by the railroad . Construction of the base and ranges began in September – November 1940 . The first military personnel arrived in August 1941 . Facilities were Spartan , with a few barracks , officer quarters , and a mess hall . There were also some warehouses , a theater , a medical facility , and a few other buildings located on the airfield . By the end of 1941 , Wendover airfield had been expanded with additional buildings and paved runways . Wendover Air Base became a subpost of Fort Douglas in Salt Lake City on 29 July 1941 . By that time a total of 1 , 822 , 000 acres ( 737 , 300 hectare ) had been acquired for the base and associated gunnery / bombing range . The gunnery range was 86 miles ( 138 km ) long and 18 – 36 miles ( 29 – 58 km ) wide . To provide water , a pipeline was run ( 1943 ) from a spring on Pilot Peak ( Nevada ) to the base . The first military contingent arrived on 12 August 1941 , to construct targets on the gunnery range . World War II . With the entrance of the United States into World War II , Wendover Field took on greater importance . For much of the war the Wendover AAF and the Alamogordo AAF ( in NM ) provided the Army Air Force ' s largest bombing and gunnery ranges . In March 1942 the Army Air Force activated Wendover Army Air Field and also assigned the research and development of guided missiles , pilotless aircraft , and remotely - controlled bombs to the site . The new base was supplied and serviced by the Ogden Air Depot at Hill Field . In April 1942 , the Wendover Sub - Depot was activated and assumed technical and administrative control of the field , under the Ogden Air Depot . The Wendover Sub - Depot was tasked to requisition , store , and issue all Army Air Forces property for organizations stationed at Wendover Field for training . By late 1943 there were some 2 , 000 civilian employees and 17 , 500 military personnel at Wendover . Construction at the base continued for most of the war , including three 8 , 100 ' paved runways , taxiways , a ramp , and seven hangars . By May 1945 the base consisted of 668 buildings , including a 300 - bed hospital , gymnasium , swimming pool , library , chapel , cafeteria , bowling alley , two movie theatres , and 361 housing units for married officers and civilians . South of the main airbase and runways , a facility was built for development of the technology necessary to drop the first atomic weapons . These buildings were known as the " Technical Site " , and were located as far as possible from the rest of the base for security and also for safety in the event of an accident . Today they are abandoned but still standing . Heavy Bombardment Group training . Wendover ' s mission was to train heavy bomb groups . The training of Boeing B - 17 Flying Fortress and Consolidated B - 24 Liberator groups began in April 1942 , with the arrival of the 306th Bomb Group flying B - 17s . From March 1942 through April 1944 Wendover AAF hosted twenty newly formed B - 17 and B - 24 groups during one phase of their group training . In March 1942 , heavy bomber training was a two - phase program , with each phase being six weeks . Later , the training was changed to a three - phase program , and each stage lasted four weeks . Wendover would do the second - phase training . At Wendover , these groups utilized the huge Wendover Bombing and Gunnery Range southeast of the airfield . 509th Composite Group . By late 1943 , Manhattan Project scientists were confident enough to direct the Army Air Forces to begin preparations for the atomic bomb ' s use against Germany and Japan . The AAF concluded that the Boeing B - 29 Superfortress aircraft would be the most suitable delivery vehicle in either theater of operations . In April 1944 , Gen . Henry H . Arnold selected Col . Paul Tibbets , to form and train a group to drop the device . Tibbets chose the remote Wendover Army Air Field over Great Bend , Kansas , and Mountain Home , Idaho , as the location for the Silverplate training program . The 509th ' s training was classified Top Secret ; therefore the desert isolation of Wendover Field was ideal . For a short time , beginning in May 1944 , Wendover field trained fighter groups . However , this was abruptly canceled in September 1944 . In September , Boeing B - 29 Superfortresses arrived on the field , as part of an operation code named " Silverplate " . They would begin preparations for the dropping of the world ' s first atom bomb . This operation required utmost secrecy . The base was given the code name " Kingman " and the activity to assemble , modify and flight test prototype bombs was named " Project W - 47 " . In September 1944 the 393d Bomb Squadron , nearing completion of its training as part of the 504th Bomb Group , was moved to Wendover . In November 1944 the 393rd was re - assigned directly to the Second Air Force and in December became the core of the new 509th Composite Group . As part of the buildup of the 509th , about 800 people stationed at the field , were transferred into the group and began training . Some of the other units transferred were the 390th Air Service Group , the 320th Troop Carrier Squadron ( the " Green Hornet Airlines " ) , the 1395th Military Police Company , and later the 1st Ordnance Squadron . In addition , qualified personnel throughout the military were filtered into the group . Security was so intense , that 400 FBI agents were involved to help maintain it . Personnel were instructed to talk with no one about their activities , not even among themselves . Those who did were immediately transferred from Wendover to other assignments , some as far away as Alaska . Most of the 509th Composite Group ' s training was done at Wendover . Crews were trained to drop one bomb with a high degree of precision , and to execute a sharp turn after dropping it in order to avoid the effects of the nuclear blast . These practice bombs were called " pumpkins " because some were painted orange , and because one of the two types being tested had a round shape . The 215th Base Unit ( Special ) continued constructing prototype atomic weapons ( without the nuclear material ) and drop testing them . Little was known about the flight characteristics of the prototype atom bomb designs and how the fusing mechanism would work . Much time and effort was spent to perfect the design of the prototype bombs , which were later called Fat Man and Little Boy . Much of the technical work was done outside the site but the prototype bombs were assembled there . Once assembled they were loaded into specially modified B - 29s and then dropped over Wendover ' s bombing ranges and elsewhere . The flight characteristics of the bomb would be noted , analyzed at a different location by scientists , and changes in design would be ordered . This continued until shortly before the weapons were deployed . The aircrews trained continuously for the classified mission until May . In late April 1945 , Colonel Tibbets declared the group combat ready and the ground echelon moved to its new home , North Field , Tinian , in the Marianas , on 29 May with the air echelon following on 11 June . JB - 2 Loon Testing . In early September 1944 , a detachment of the Special Weapons Branch , Wright Field , Ohio , arrived at Wendover with thirteen JB - 2 Loon flying bombs . The JB - 2 was a United States copy of the Nazi V - 1 flying bomb , which was reverse - engineered from malfunctioning wrecks of V - 1s recovered in England . The United States JB - 2 was different from the German V - 1 in only the smallest of dimensions . At Wendover AFB , a launch ramp was constructed for the JB - 2 , engineered from plans developed from aerial photographs of ramps used by the Germans in the Low Countries . In addition to the ground launch ramp , a B - 17 Flying Fortress was modified to be able to carry the jet bomb underneath a wing aand air launch it . Numerous tests were conducted and an initial production order was 1 , 000 units was made by the Army , with subsequent planned production of 1 , 000 per month . The fortunes of war in Europe in the spring of 1945 led to the decision to use the JB - 2 in the Pacific Theater , to be used as part of the planned invvasion of Japan ( Operation Downfall ) . The sudden end of the war in September 1945 , caused by the atomic bombs dropped by the 509th Composite Group , based only a few hundred feet away on the Wendover ramp , led to the curtailment of the JB - 2 program and the weapon was never used in combat . The remains of the launch site are visible in aerial imagery just to the south of the " Technical Site " buildings ( ) . However visitors can only see them from a distance since the site is on the grounds of the still - active bombing and gunnery range . Postwar use . The training of B - 29 aircrews and the testing of prototype atom bombs was the last major contribution of Wendover Field during World War II . After war ' s end , some crew training continued , but at a reduced level . For a while , B - 29s which had returned from the Marianas were flown to Wendover for storage . In the summer of 1946 the Ogden Air Technical Service Command assumed jurisdiction over all operations at Wendover Field except engineering and technical projects . Wendover played a key role in the postwar weapons development industry . Three areas were being developed . The first were further testing of the JB - 2 Loon flying bomb . The B - 17 Flying Fortress , obsolete as a combat aircraft , was being tested to fly remotely . Gliding bombs , based on captured technology from the wartime Henschel Hs 293 German radio - controlled glide bomb were being developed that could be controlled by radar or radio . The third consisted of bombs that could be controlled by the launching plane . The historic GAPA ( ground to air pilotless aircraft ) Boeing project resulted in the first supersonic flight of an American Air Force vehicle on 6 August 1946 . In March 1947 , the Air Proving Ground Command research programs were moved to Alamogordo Army Airfield , New Mexico . as a result , 1 , 200 personnel from Wendover Field were moved to New Mexico from Utah and were relocated to Alamogordo to conduct guided missile research projects . Three ongoing projects were transferred : Ground - to - Air Pilotless Aircraft ( GAPA ) , JB - 2 Loon flight testing , and ASM - A - 1 Tarzon gliding bomb . Transferred to the Strategic Air Command ( SAC ) in 1947 , Wendover was used by bombardment groups deploying on maneuvers . With the establishment of the U . S . Air Force as an independent service , the installation was renamed Wendover Air Force Base in 1947 , inactivated in 1949 and retained in a caretaker status . It was transferred to the Ogden Air Material Area at Hill AFB in 1950 and the range continued to be used for bombing and gunnery practice . Tactical Air Command ( TAC ) reactivated the base in 1954 and tactical units deployed there for exercises , utilizing the base for the next four years . TAC invested several million dollars renovating facilities . Wendover was transferred back to Ogden in 1958 and renamed Wendover Air Force Auxiliary Field , while the range was renamed Hill Air Force Range in 1960 . By 1965 the airfield was closed . The non - flying components were inactivated in 1969 and the entire facility was declared surplus in 1976 . In July 1975 the base was officially listed on the National Register of Historic Places . In 1977 the federal government deeded much of the airfield to the City of Wendover , including the runways , taxiways , flight line , former hospital complex and hangars . Some acres , including the radar site , were retained by the military . Beginning in 1980 the 4440th Tactical Fighter Training Group ( Red Flag ) , Nellis AFB , Nevada , used Wendover for exercises , but they were discontinued after 1986 . Current uses . Today this former Air Force Base is used as a civil airport , with an unusually long runway for such a facility ( there are two 8 , 000 ' long runways ) . The facility was turned over to the town of Wendover as a municipal airport , named Decker Field . Many of the buildings are leased for storage , and there is a daily charter flight ( using Boeing 737 jetliners ) into the airport carrying casino gambling charter passengers . A few General aviation aircraft are based at the field . Located at the west end of a corridor running between two restricted USAF gunnery ranges , the field is a convenient refueling and lunch stop for light planes traveling between Salt Lake City and Nevada or Northern California . Wendover is one of the most intact World War II training airfields . It is also one of the most historic . The airfield is very isolated in northwest Utah , sitting in the middle of a vast wasteland miles away from any major population center . It is probably for this reason , and the dry hot climate , that much of the airfield remains today . Still - extant facilities include the vast runway system , numerous ramps , taxiways , dispersal pads , and most of the original hangars ( including the " Enola Gay " B - 29 hangar ) . Most of the hospital complex and many barracks remain , as does a chow hall , chapel , swimming pool and many other World War II - era buildings . The control tower is still in use . A local group , " Historic Wendover Airfield " , is attempting to preserve the former base . Numerous films and television shows have been filmed using Wendover Field . One of these was the 1973 TV - movie " Birds of Prey , " in which stunt pilots flew and maneuvered helicopters inside one of the large hangars , possibly the first time this had been performed . In addition to a post - war military base backdrop for the 1996 film " Mulholland Falls " , Wendover Field also stood in for the exteriors of Area 51 in the 1996 film " Independence Day " . Several flying scenes for the 1997 movie " Con Air " were filmed at Wendover , using Fairchild C - 123K Providers , one of which was modified into a nonflying " prop " mounted on a bus chassis . Donated by the producers of the film , it now remains on the ramp as an attraction for visitors . The northeast / southwest runway ( 3 / 21 ) has been pulverized and was used for base course material for the new 8 / 26 runway . The old east / west runway ( 7 / 25 ) was used by USAF engineers training for runway demolition and repair and is unusable . A joint program with the Utah National Guard will attempt to turn this into an assault training landing strip for C - 130 and other aircraft . The mid - field east / west runway ( 8 / 26 ) is new , constructed in 1998 and is used as the main precision runway for the commercial Boeing 737 flights . The base is also host to the Wendover Residency unit of the Center for Land Use Interpretation , as well as several exhibition spaces and workshops that resident artists and researchers use . The Wendover airfield control tower is no longer in use . Visitors may ask permission to visit the now - empty tower cab for a panoramic view of the field . The base is also used by Civil Air Patrol as the home of Desert Hawk Encampment .