Atlanta Army Airfield Atlanta Army Airfield is a former United States Army Air Corps training facility that operated on the grounds of the present Hartsfield – Jackson Atlanta International Airport during World War II . History . With the fall of France in 1940 , the Army Air Corps began a massive expansion program . The quickest way to obtain additional airbases was to take over existing municipal airports where the runways were already in place . To provide a base for a reconnaissance squadron for the Second Army , the War Department and the Chief of the Air Corps approved the establishment of a base at Candler Field , just south of Atlanta , Georgia . Although the Air Force later regretted the decision to build at Atlanta due to the large amount of airline traffic , construction nevertheless began in late 1940 . On 30 November 1940 , the Army Air Corps activated Atlanta Army Airfield and assigned it to the Southeast Air District . It assigned the 30th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron to Atlanta , equipping it with Douglas O - 38 biplanes and later Stinson L - 1 s . The 128th Observation Squadron , a Georgia National Guard unit , activated on 1 May 1941 . One month later , the 4th Tow Target Squadron also activated . With a complement of 14 enlisted men and no aircraft or officers , the unit moved on to Hunter AAF in Savannah , Georgia one month later . In September 1941 , the 128th Observation Squadron transferred to Lawson AAF , at Fort Benning . The servicing of military aircraft soared . In 1940 , the base serviced 5 , 911 aircraft . In 1941 , the number almost doubled to 11 , 686 . During 1941 / 1942 , the Works Project Administration extended the existing runways at Candler Field as well as building two additional runways . During this period , the base took on the additional mission of the medical examination and processing of prospective aviation cadets . After the 30th Observation Squadron transferred to Tullahoma AAF , Tennessee in June 1942 , Atlanta was reassigned to the Air Technical Service Command under the control of Warner - Robins Air Depot Control Area . Its primary mission of servicing transient aircraft , with the Embry Riddle Company ( Overhaul Division ) being the prime contractor at the airfield . In 1942 the base serviced an average of 2 , 180 aircraft a month . The next year , the number jumped to 8 , 167 per month . To accomplish this task , the complement of enlisted men rose from 79 in 1940 to 556 in 1943 . According to figures compiled by the CAA , Atlanta was the busiest controlled airport in the United States during 1943 . The AAF established an Air Freight Terminal on 1 February 1944 . Six daily flights were scheduled with C - 47 aircraft to Dayton , Newark , Miami , San Antonio , and Salina , Kansas . Atlanta Army Airfield closed on 1 June 1946 and the military facilities were turned over to civil control on 25 June . After the war Air Force Reserve and Georgia Air National Guard units were formed at Marietta AAF , northwest of the city . Today , Atlanta ' s Candler Field is known as Hartsfield - Jackson Atlanta International Airport , and it is one of the world ' s biggest and busiest airports bearing no resemblance to the wartime facility . The only structures on airport property remaining from its military use during World War II are Delta Airline ' s original office and hangar still in use by the airline .