Dalhart Army Air Base Dalhart Army Air Base is a former World War II military airfield complex near the city of Dalhart , Texas . It operated three training sites for the United States Army Air Forces from 1943 until 1945 . The majority of the namesake city of Dalhart , Texas lies in southern Dallam County , while those parts of Dalhart city south of 11th Street are actually in northern Hartley County , Texas . The main airfield of Dalhart Army Air Base was 3 . 4 miles southwest of the city , so it was located in Hartley County . Auxiliary # 1 ( Hartley Field ) was 10 . 2 miles west - southwest of the city , also in Hartley County . Auxiliary # 2 ( Dallam Field ) was located 5 . 5 miles east - northeast of the city in Dallam County . History . Origins . In the wake of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor , the Dalhart Texan newspaper began asking its readers what they could do to support America ’ s war effort . Three prominent men in Dalhart , Herman Steele , manager of the Dalhart Chamber of Commerce , along with Mayor Herbert Peeples and Elmer Elliot , manager of the DeSoto Hotel announced plans to petition the Army Air Corps to build a training base near the town . On Wednesday , 20 May 1942 , The Dalhart Texan reported they had been successful in bringing to Dalhart a new glider school . The official announcement came from Representative Eugene Worley ’ s office . Land for the airfield was purchased as a result of Dallam and Hartley Country issuing a bond in 1942 for the purchase of more than 3 , 000 acres of land southwest of Dalhart for an Army Air Corps training airfield . Construction proceeded on the new army airfield and Dalhart Army Airfield opened in May 1942 . While under construction the command ' s temporary headquarters operated from a tent city in Amarillo . During the summer of 1942 three runways were laid down along with a large parking ramp and taxiway system . Four large hangars along with support buildings , barracks a street network , electric , sewer and water lines were constructed . On 1 July 1942 , the still uncompleted was assigned to the Central Flying Training Command , being under the jurisdiction of the Army Air Forces Glider School . In September 1942 , Cadets began arriving for training at the school . Operations . Glider training was performed by the 14th Troop Carrier Squadron , which arrived on 9 October 1942 with C - 47 Skytrain s being used for tow planes . The 878th , 879th and 880th Glider Training Squadrons were established at the base , equipped with the new Waco CG - 4A " Hadrian " Glider . Cadets honed their skills , takeoff , and towed flight on a 350 ' nylon rope behind a C - 47 Skytrain tow plane . The pilots held their position with two gliders being double towed . Also gliders were prepared on the ground for being snatched by a tow aircraft flying overhead . Cadets also were trained in infantry skills , as they were expected to serve as combat soldiers after landing . In February 1943 , Dalhart was transferred to Second Air Force , which placed the base under the jurisdiction of II Bomber Command . The new mission of the base was to be B - 17 Flying Fortress and B - 24 Liberator Heavy Bomber aircrew replacement training . Graduated of the training would then be assigned to new combat groups or be sent directly to the European Theater of Operations ( ETO ) for assignment as replacements . On 21 February , the 46th Bombardment Training Wing was organized at the base . In March 1943 , the Glider School was transferred to South Plains Army Airfield near Lubbock . The 333d Bombardment Group became the Replacement Training Unit ( RTU ) . Cadets flew training missions over practice target areas in the Texas Panhandle . Along with the 333d , the Third Air Force 415th Bombardment Group trained medium bomber pilots in A - 20 Havoc , A - 26 Invader and B - 25 Mitchell medium Bombers . Fighter cadets were also trained in P - 39 Aircobra s and A - 24 Banshee Dive Bombers . The 415th utilized the Hartley ( # 1 ) and Dallum ( # 2 ) satellite airfields for training leaving the main base to the heavy four - engine bomber training . In March 1944 , the mission of Dalhart was again changed to B - 29 Superfortress training as crews were needed in the Pacific Theater for the strategic bombardment of Japan . Second Air Force took over control of the base directly , with the 16th Bombardment Training Wing taking over training from the 46th on 1 March 1944 . Along with the B - 29 training , Second Air Force also organized the 72d Fighter Wing at Dalhart , with the 347th Fighter Group and 507th Fighter Group s taking over the Hartley and Dallum airfields . The 347th trained P - 38 Lightning pilots and the 507th P - 47N Thunderbolt pilots in very long range escort missions to support XX Bomber Command B - 29 Superfortresses on strategic bombardment missions to the Japanese Home Islands . Several groups trained in B - 29s , one of which , the 393d Bomb Squadron , 504th Bombardment Group , was later selected by Colonel Paul W . Tibbets , Jr . , to serve as the core of an experimental unit . The 393d was the first and only squadron to fly missions with Atomic Bomb s and attack Hiroshima and Nagasaki , Japan in August 1945 . Closure . With the end of the war in September 1945 , Second Air Force training ended and Dalhart became a storage depot for surplus aircraft . Control transferred to Air Technical Service Command on 1 January 1945 . During 1946 all useful military equipment was transferred from the three airfields in the area and buildings were dismantled and sold . The airfield was transferred to the War Assets Administration and the property went to the city of Dalhart . Since that time , several of the remaining buildings have been used as the Dalhart Municipal Airport . Major units assigned . References for unit assignments : Auxiliary airfields . Hartley Field . Located about 8 miles west of Dalhart AAF , Hartley Field was built as one of two auxiliary fields for Dalhart . Built during 1942 , it was initially designated as " West Field " and had three 8 , 000 ' paved runways , with a large paved ramp and hangar on the east side . Hartley also had a substantial number of support buildings on a street grid to the east of the ramp . Hartley Field was initially used as an auxiliary field for the glider training school at Dalhart , then later taken over by Third Air Force for twin - engine medium bomber training by the 415th Bombardment Group . The 465th Bombardment Squadron operated A - 20 Havoc s and A - 26 Invader s from the airfield between March 1943 and April 1944 . When B - 29 training began at Dalhart in March 1944 , Hartley was taken over by the Second Air Force 72d Fighter Wing . The 347th Fighter Group began training P - 38 Lightning pilots from the field in August for long range escort missions of B - 29s in the Pacific . Training ended in January 1945 and it became an emergency landing field for B - 29s . With the end of the war , large numbers of surplus aircraft were stored on the airfield . Closed at the end of 1945 , eventually the buildings were sold off , although title remained with the Army and later United States Air Force . The entire facility was sold off at some point between 1949 and 1963 . Today , the several of the runways are largely intact along with a large parking ramp . Some buildings remain along with the walls of a hangar . Much of the land is grass prairie , with large numbers of broken up concrete foundations found in the former station area . The former street pattern is visible in aerial photography along with the locations of former buildings . The facility is in private hands behind a locked gate and is not accessible to the public . Dallam Field . Dallam Field is located about 9 miles northeast of Dalhart AAF , and was built in 1942 as one of two auxiliary fields for Dalhart . it was initially designated as " East Field " and had three 8 , 000 ' paved runways , with a large paved ramp and hangar on the east side . Dallam also had a substantial number of support buildings on a street grid to the east of the ramp . It ' s history is similar to Hartley Field , being an auxiliary glider airfield in 1942 , and used by the 415th Bombardment Group 521st Fighter - Bomber Squadron . The 521st performed initially A - 24 Banshee dive bomber training , then switched to P - 39 Aircobra fighter pilot replacement training later in 1943 . With Second Air Force taking over the field in December 1944 , the 507th Fighter Group used the field for P - 47N Thunderbolt escort pilot training for a few months until training ended at the end of April , 1945 . Dallum was used for storage and placed in an inactive state after the end of the war , although it apparently was used in some manner by the 3320th Technical Training Wing at Amarillo AFB during the Korean War and in the 1950s . It was closed sometime around 1963 and sold off . During the 1960s , it was reopened at " Miller Field Airport " ( FAA Code : 2E1 ) and was used for general aviation . The three main runways were removed and sold for hardcore during the 1970s , the majority of the airfield and station areas being sold off to agricultural interests . Miller Field Airport had one 6 , 500 ' runway ( 17 / 35 ) along with a fixed base operator providing fuel and general aviation repairs . It was listed as being owned by a Mr Delmer Miller in 1985 . In 2002 , the FAA showed Miller Field was active with four aircraft based at it . However , it was abandoned in the early 2000s and today the large concrete parking ramp remains , and a few abandoned buildings , in various states of disrepair . The former World War II hangar walls still stand . The former airport is still in use by crop dusters . Some concrete foundations and the remains of some wartime streets can sill be seen in aerial photography . What looks like a tree farm and a large number of agricultural vehicles and a large metal building are also located on the former station area .