Strother Army Airfield Strother Army Airfield was a World War II training base of the United States Army Air Forces Central Flying Training Command ( CFTC ) , and later II Fighter Command . It is currently the city - owned Strother Field . History . Strother Army Air Field was a joint enterprise of the proximate cities of Winfield and Arkansas City to build a municipal airport which evolved , by the force of events , into construction of an Army airfield dedicated to basic flying training . At a joint meeting on 6 February 1941 the two city commissions approved construction of an airport comprising some 240 acres with a 100 x 100 - foot hangar . Authority to issue bonds had already been granted by the Kansas legislature . During the course of 1941 the Federal government ' s interest in this site for the establishment of an Army flying school became known . A site selection board of officers met at Arkansas City , 11 April 1942 , and inspected the proposed airport site . In its report three days later , the board approved the proposed site . On the same day of the board meeting , 11 April , the two cities passed a resolution committing the municipalities to obtain approximately 1 , 400 acres of land to be leased to the Federal government at the rate of one dollar per year , and renewable yearly for 25 years . Construction . The airfield is located midway between Arkansas City and Winfield , in Cowley county on U . S . Highway 77 . The entire field comprised some 1 , 386 acres . Construction of the airfield began on 16 May 1942 . Four asphalt runways , 5 , 500 , 4 , 000 , and two of 5 , 840 feet in length and all 150 feet wide , were built . Permanent type run - way lights were installed . Connecting these were four taxiways , three of asphalt and one of concrete , two of which were 700 feet in length , another 3 , 500 feet , and the fourth 1 , 600 feet . Three were 50 feet wide , one 100 feet . In addition , there were four auxiliary fields , which building operations began at the same time . Storage facilities included three AAF and four Quartermaster buildings . All were of wood frame construction , with cement floors . Two instructional buildings , totaling 15 , 550 square feet with a total student capacity of 550 , were erected . In addition , six Link Trainer buildings were provided , with a total capacity of 34 . Under the general category of recreational and welfare facilities , day rooms , an officers ' club and a service club , theater , chapel , post exchange , bowling alley , gymnasium , swimming pool , and a library were built . Housing was built to accommodate a total of 4 , 404 officers and men , while the hospital was designed for a normal bed capacity of 141 . Although fuel was readily available locally , a gasoline capacity of 210 , 216 gallons was provided , and an oil storage capacity of 36 , 000 gallons . Basic Flying School . The airfield was named Strother Field , named after Capt . Donald Root Strother , who was killed over Java on 13 February 1942 while serving with the 7th Bombardment Group in the Dutch East Indies Campaign commanding a squadron of B - 17 Flying Fortress es . He was the first Army Air Force pilot from Cowley County to be killed in World War II . Captain Strother was born October 26 , 1911 , in Winfield . He attended the Winfield schools and Southwestern College , and in 1934 became a cadet in the army air corps . Later he served two years as a civilian air line pilot . In 1938 Strother re - entered the Air Corps . The field was dedicated January 1943 by Kansas Governor Schoppel , local officials and the Strother Field Commander . During the ceremony which included a military and aerial review , The Distinguished Service Cross and Purple Heart were presented to Captain Strother ’ s three year old son , Colbert The Basic Flying School at Strother Field was officially activated on 14 November 1942 under the jurisdiction of the 32d Flying Training Wing ( Basic ) , Perrin Army Airfield , Texas as part of Central Flying Training Command ( CFTC ) . Units activated at the airfield were the 108th Guard Squadron ; 448th Base Headquarters and Air Base Squadron ; 332d Aviation Squadron ; 1082d , 1083d , and 1084th Basic Training Flying Squadrons . The voracious demand for fighter pilots necessitated a very early inauguration of training on 14 or 15 December 1942 with the arrival of the first class of cadets from Fort Sumner Army Airfield , New Mexico and Majors Army Airfield , Texas . At that time , the runways had not been completed and planes were forced to operate from the parking ramp only . A most hazardous situation . Training consisted principally of 70 hours pilot training . Like most new training bases in this period , the greatest initial problem was a scarcity of training aircraft . Training was inaugurated with a ratio of one plane to six students . The Vultee BT - 13 Valiant was the principal aircraft used for basic flight training . The 14 months between 1 January 1943 and 1 March 1944 were to bring to Strother Field , including those who arrived in the middle of December 1942 and those who remained after 1 March 1944 , 14 classes of students . With the graduation of Class 44 - G on 23 May , Strother Field had accomplished its mission as a basic pilot school of the Central Flying Training Command . This was the 16th class to take basic training at Strother . Tactical Fighter Training . On 1 June 1944 the basic flying training function at Strother ceased , and the field was taken over by the II Fighter Command , Second Air Force . Most of the permanent personnel of the old basic flying school were transferred within the Training Command , and the Second Air Force brought in its own personnel to man the base . Ground personnel were assigned to the 269th Army Air Forces Base Unit ( Fighter Pilot Training Station ) . The chief problem facing the new command was transition from a basic flying training station to a tactical training station . For a full year Strother Field functioned as a fighter pilot combat crew training school flying principally P - 47 Thunderbolt single - engine fighters . At the peak of operation there were approximately 3 , 400 Air Force personnel and 400 civilian employees at the field . Inactivation . With the end of the war in sight , official orders were received on 27 July 1945 providing for the inactivation of the base by 15 August . Consequently , on 30 July a total reduction of force , both military and civilian , was begun . One by one the various units of operation were closed during the first 15 days of August . Flying training ended officially on 8 August , although in fact it had ceased four days before . By 15 August orders had been complied with in full , save for such minor modifications as were authorized by higher headquarters to meet existing needs . Strother Field was placed on a standby status and assigned to Pratt Army Airfield as an auxiliary field . It served as a satellite for only a few months , for Pratt itself was inactivated in December 1945 , and Strother was placed in an unmanned , inactive , standby status . Strother Air Force Base . With the establishment of the United States Air Force in September 1947 , the name of Strother was changed on 13 January 1948 to Strother Air Force Base . However , no further activity took place at Strother until about July 1948 . At that time it assumed a housing function for a reserve composite squadron , Tenth Air Force , Continental Air Command . Sometime during 1949 or the first half of 1950 it ceased to perform even this function . By March 1952 it was housing the 9721st Volunteer Air Reserve Training Squadron . But between November 1953 and September 1954 this activity was removed , and up to March 1958 Strother Field was not used in any Air Force capacity . A transfer agreement was drawn up between representatives of Oklahoma City Air Materiel Area , the District Engineer , Seventh Service Command at Omaha , Nebraska who assumed jurisdiction over the base , pending disposition . Excess buildings and demilitarized equipment were sold or transferred to other bases . Current status . The General Services Administration eventually turned the air base over to local government officials . Since then the installation has been operated jointly by the cities of Arkansas City and Winfield , Kansas as their municipal airport . The N / S runway remains in use for the civil airport , the other two either being removed or inactive along with the supporting taxiways . About half of the parking apron remains , some of it being used by the Strother Field Airport , the remainder in an abandoned and deteriorated state ; much of it having vegetation growing in the concrete expansion joints . Two , possibly three wartime hangars remain in use , albeit for non - aviation purposes . The station has been redeveloped into " Strother Field Industrial Park " , It has many light industrial and commercial businesses and uses the wartime street grid .