Independence Army Airfield Independence Army Airfield was a World War II training base of the United States Army Air Forces Central Flying Training Command ( CFTC ) . It is currently the city - owned Independence Municipal Airport . History . In January 1941 the Independence Chamber of Commerce , resolved to sell the citizens of the Kansas community the idea of a municipal airport . On 26 June 1941 , after six months of effective " selling " , the city commission decided to ask the voters to approve a $ 100 , 000 bond issue for financing work on the airport . The citizens approved by a vote of 1 , 219 to 173 on 1 August 1941 . A short time later the city commission entered into contract with Paulette and White , consulting engineers from Topeka , to survey potential sites for the field . Several locations were considered before any selection was made . The site chosen was in Montgomery county , six miles southwest of Independence . Early in 1942 the government indicated it was interested in acquiring the site for an Army Air Corps airfield . During April and May civic leaders met with government officials in a series of conferences . Army Engineers made surveys from 8 to 11 April . About six weeks later , on 23 May 1942 , the Army officially notified Independence City Government that it would purchase approximately 1 , 433 acres . The contract for planning and supervising the construction of the airfield was awarded to Black and Veatch , architectural engineers from Kansas City , Missouri . Work began on 6 June 1942 , when Ottinger Brothers of Oklahoma City moved in with a labor crew and began grading operations . Shortly thereafter , work began on the drainage and sewerage systems . During the summer the Missouri Pacific Railroad constructed a spur to the site . In August work began on runways and buildings . Three concrete runways were constructed , aligned 5500x150 ( N / S ) , 5500x150 ( NE / SW ) , 5500x150 ( NW / SW ) . Each runway had a ten - inch gravel base placed in layers on a six - inch compacted earth subbase , and surfaced with one and one - half - inch asphalt cement ; the service strip ( 80 feet wide ) was a six - inch concrete slab , thickened to nine inches at the expansion and construction joints . three taxiways , 50 feet wide , completed the runway system . Fronting on the field , three squadron hangars , 120 by 80 feet , were built with a parking apron a mile long and 450 feet wide . ' During the fall of 1942 clearing and grading operations began at four locations that had been selected for auxiliary fields . The four sites were located 8 to 20 miles from the main field . The auxiliaries were located at : Work progressed satisfactorily throughout the winter despite interruptions caused by heavy rains and sub - zero temperatures . By January 1943 three concrete runways 5 , 000 feet in length had been constructed . Electric , gas and water lines also had been completed and sufficient troop housing was available . 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 . Where before there had been only open farm land , this new city now contained about 200 buildings , with pot - bellied coal stoves for heating . The major construction work , which cost more than $ 8 , 000 , 000 , ended in May 1943 . Basic Flying School . Independence Army Airfield was activated as a Basic Flying School on 12 October 1942 , under the 32d Flying Training Wing ( Basic ) , Perrin Army Airfield , Texas . However , the personnel to operate the base did not begin arriving until December 1942 . Basic flying training began when 152 cadets arrived for the first class on 26 January 1943 . The trainer used at Independence AAF was the North American BT - 14 Yale , with some Vultee BT - 13 Valiant s as well . Some of the classes that arrived later had as many as 345 students . The cadets , who had completed primary flying training , received a nine - week course that was divided into flying training and classroom instruction . Flight training consisted of several subjects that included , takeoffs and landings , aerobatics , cross - country navigation , and night flying . Ground school involved navigation , meteorology , radio communications , and aircraft recognition . Normally ground school was given between flying lessons . Sometimes it was done in the very early AM or after the evening meal . Typically the day would start with Reveille at 6 : 15 AM , followed by breakfast at 6 : 30 . Flying would begin at 7 : 45 AM . If a student was not scheduled to fly he would be in ground school , drill , or involved in required athletics . Sometimes it was necessary to schedule Sunday flying when inclement weather prevented flying during the week . Normal flying periods were one hour , except cross - country flights . Usually cross - country flights took place between Independence and Claremore , Oklahoma , and Neosho , Joplin , and Nevada , Missouri . Others were flown between Independence , Chanute , and Fort Scott , Kansas . In May 1944 , flying training ended at nearby Coffeyville Army Airfield , and students in training who had not yet graduated were moved to Independence . Most were in Basic flying training , but some advanced twin - engine Cessna UC - 78 Bobcats were also flown up from Coffeyville along with some AT - 6 Texan s . Basic flying training at Independence continued until January 1945 . Nineteen classes , totaling 4 , 933 students , graduated from the school . The last class completed training on 29 January 1945 . Aircraft storage base . The termination of flying training at Independence resulted in the reassignment of personnel and equipment . Flying personnel were reassigned to airfields in Kansas and Texas during February and March . The BT - 13 ' s and BT - 14 ' s were moved to airfields in Georgia , Oklahoma , and Missouri . On 15 March Independence Army Airfield was placed on a standby basis . On 11 April 1945 , however , the Army announced that the airfield would be used to store aircraft not needed in the war effort as a Class II storage depot . This classification was for aircraft being placed in an operational reserve state that could be flown out within 7 days . Jurisdiction was transferred to Air Technical Service Command , and during the next two months civilian employment on the field jumped from 44 to 505 and military personnel increased from 2 to 272 . Aircraft began arriving on 13 April 1945 . At first , bomber aircraft ( B - 17 Flying Fortress ; B - 24 Liberator heavy bombers and B - 25 Mitchell medium bombers ) were prepared for storage and kept at Independence . These were primarily older training aircraft used in the United States . With the war ended in October 1945 , however , all of the B - 24 and B - 17 aircraft were re - classified as class IV ( surplus ) and moved to Kingman AAF , Arizona for recycling . At the same time P - 47 Thunderbolt s and AT - 6 Texan trainers began arriving for long - term Type C extended storage . During a period of two and a half years the aircraft stored at Independence included 1 , 542 P - 47 ' s , 1 , 118 AT - 6 ' s , 72 B - 25 ' s , 401 B - 24 ' s , and 260 B - 17 ' s . Closure . In the fall of 1947 Air Technical Service Command consolidated its storage depots and all of the stored aircraft were moved from Independence to RFC Walnut Ridge , Arkansas for sale or recycling . Military personnel were transferred to other bases effective 11 December 1947 . Four days later Independence Army Airfield , which had been listed as surplus , was turned over to the Army ' s District Engineer , Seventh Service Command at Omaha , Nebraska who assumed jurisdiction over the field , pending disposition . Excess buildings and demilitarized equipment were sold or transferred to other bases . Some were torn down and sales were held for scrap lumber of torn down buildings , fence posts , barbed wire and other items which no longer had a useful need . Current status . The War Assets Administration eventually turned the air base over to local government officials . Since then the installation has been operated by the city of Independence as its municipal airport . The SW / NE runway is used today by the airport , and the main E / W taxiway . About half of the parking apron is maintained and used by Cessna Aircraft , where the facility assembles , paints , installs the interior and delivers several of the single engine piston models produced by Cessna : the 172 Skyhawk , the 182 Skylane and the 206 Stationair . The plant also produces the Citation Mustang . The Independence facility consists of five buildings on campus : the main assembly plant , the sand and fill building , the paint facility , the Flight building and the new Customer Center . The remainder of the former airfield runways and taxiways remain , although unused . The ground station consists of streets remaining along with the outline of the base parade ground and headquarters . The Independence Airport Industrial Park consists of companies which have built new structures on it , but generally it is unused and vacant .