Pinellas Army Airfield Pinellas Army Airfield , was a United States Army Air Forces installation during World War II , located 9 . 8 miles northwest of St . Petersburg , Florida . History . Constructed on the site of the Pinellas County Municipal Airport , construction of the airport at its present site started in March 1941 . It was established chiefly for the purpose of training newly graduated pilots the art of combat flying . It was activated on 9 April 1942 , being placed under the jurisdiction of Third Air Force , III Fighter Command , and was assigned to Sarasota Army Airfield as a sub - base . The first operational flying squadron assigned to Pinellas AAF was the 304th Fighter Squadron , arriving on 30 August 1942 . The 440th was equipped with P - 39 Aircobra s , and was assigned to the 337th Fighter Group at Sarasota AAF . During its first year of operations , the squadron also received some P - 43 Lancer s for the training mission . In April 1943 , the 440th Fighter Squadron was moved from Sarasota AAF and became a second training squadron at Pinellas AAF . With the arrival of the 440th , both squadrons were equipped with Curtiss P - 40 Warhawk s as trainers . As many as 1 , 500 Third Army Air Force trainees , could be found at this site at any one time . Trainees received practical experience in aerial combat maneuvering , air - to - air and air - to - ground gunnery , and dive bombing techniques . On 1 May 1944 , both the 304th and 440th Fighter Squadrons were inactivated as a result of the numbered training units in the Zone of the Interior ( ZI ) ( i . e . , Continental United States ) being re - designated in an administrative reorganization by HQ Army Air Force . They was replaced by the Pinellas Replacement Unit ( Fighter , Single - Engine ) , with the fighter squadrons being re - designated as " A " and " B " squadrons . Later in 1944 , the P - 40s were replaced by newer P - 51 Mustangs when they became available for training . On 1 October 1944 , Pinellas Army Airfield stood up as a fully operational III Fighter Command Base under the control of nearby Drew Army Airfield in Tampa . The mission of the base was expanded to include the III Fighter Command Gunnery School , the III Fighter Command Instructors School , and the III Fighter Command Rocket School . These new schools , in addition to the Fighter Replacement Unit , came under the command of the 341st Army Air Forces Base Unit . With the end of the European War in May 1945 , the pace of training replacement pilots slowed down during the summer months . On 24 June 1945 a hurricane hit the Tampa area and training was temporarily suspended , the aircraft being evacuated out of the area . The hurricane damaged some buildings but training was resumed in a few days . Over the Independence Day holiday in July 1945 , the base held its first open house , with thousands of local residents welcomed onto the base , seeing a display of fighter aircraft and other planes flown in from Third Air Force bases . Acrobatic displays of flying were performed . Closure . With the sudden Japanese surrender in early August 1945 , orders were received from III Fighter Command that training of replacement pilots was to end . Pilots already in training were allowed to complete their training , however no new trainees would arrive . By the end of August , the students were being reassigned to other bases and the number of base support personnel was being reduced at a rapid rate . In late September 1945 , Headquarters , Third Air Force sent orders to Pinellas AAF announcing that the base would be inactivated as of 30 November 1945 and be transferred to Air Technical Service Command in a standby status . Under ATSC , buildings and equipment were sold and any useful military equipment was transferred to other bases around the country . The base was declared as surplus in 1946 and was turned over to the War Assets Administration ( WAA ) for disposal and return to civil use . Current use . The airport was subsequently returned to Pinellas County . It was stipulated that the airport must continue be used as an airport for aviation purposes , and if not , that it be returned to the U . S . Government . Today , the airport is St . Petersburg - Clearwater International Airport , a joint civil - military commercial airport that is also home to Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater and a U . S . Army Reserve Army Aviation Support Facility . A plaque was dedicated at the St . Petersburg - Clearwater International Airport passenger terminal in 1994 by the P - 51 Fighter Pilots Association and Brigadier General James H . Howard , USAF ( Ret ) , the only European Theater fighter pilot to be awarded the Medal of Honor in World War II and the last wartime base commander of Pinellas Army Airfield .