Cairns Army Airfield Cairns Army Airfield is a military airport forming a part of Fort Rucker , in Dale County , Alabama , USA . It is owned by the United States Army . The airfield is south of the town of Daleville , which sits between it and the main post . History . In September 1942 , south of Daleville were acquired for the construction of an airfield to support the training camp . It was a training airfield as part of the United States Army Air Forces Third Air Force during World War II , then placed on inactive status with the war ' s end . Needing a location to shoot all takeoffs and landings for the 1949 film " Twelve O ' Clock High " , including the spectacular B - 17 Flying Fortress belly - landing sequence early in the film , director Henry King selected Ozark since its dark runways more closely matched wartime bases in England as opposed to the light - colored runways at nearby Eglin Air Force Base , Florida , the primary shoot location . Since the field had been allowed to overgrow during its inactive status , it was also an ideal location for the character Harvey Stovall to post - war reminisce about his World War II service ( which is seen at the beginning of the film ) before the crew mowed and dressed the field to start the rest of shooting . Released by the U . S . Air Force as excess , the field was subsequently acquired by the U . S . Army as part of the Fort Rucker complex in 1952 . It was known as Ozark Army Air Field until January 1959 , when the name was changed to Cairns Army Air Field , named for U . S . Army Major General Bogardus Snowden " Bugs " Cairns , who was killed instantly when his H - 13 Sioux helicopter crashed minutes after take off in dense woods northwest of the Fort Rucker , Alabama headquarters on 9 December 1958 . He was en route to Matteson Range to observe a firepower rehearsal in preparation for a full - scale armed helicopter display . He was commander of the Aviation Center and Commandant of the Aviation School . Current use . Fort Rucker is the Home of Army Aviation , where all of the Army ' s Aviators as well as many international and civilian personnel begin their rotary - wing flight training . Cairns is the busiest airfield in the Army , training large numbers of Army aviators both day and night with an average annual traffic count of approximately 240 , 000 movements . The Aviation Training Brigade consists of five battalions that conduct flight training at Fort Rucker at three training sites . 1st Battalion , 223d Aviation Regiment , Cairns Army Airfield and Knox Army Heliport conducts flight training in the CH - 47 , C - 12 and conducts the Maintenance Test Pilot Courses , it also provides evaluations of flight training for contractors . Facilities . Cairns AAF has two asphalt paved runways : 6 / 24 is 4 , 546 by 150 feet ( 1 , 386 x 46 m ) and 18 / 36 is 5 , 025 by 150 feet ( 1 , 532 x 46 m ) . In 2012 the controllers handled 245 , 000 aircraft movements without incident . In an average day tower operators handle 800 to 1 , 000 movements . What makes Cairns unique is the density in which it operates . The airfield may be launching 70 to 120 aircraft in the morning and afternoon , and then 50 or 60 at night for training .