England Air Force Base England Air Force Base ( 1942 – 1992 ) is a former United States Air Force base in Louisiana , located Northwest of Alexandria and about Northwest of New Orleans . Originally known as Alexandria Army Air Base , on 23 June 1955 the facility was renamed England Air Force Base in honor of Lt Col John Brooke England ( 1923 – 1954 ) . The former base is now Alexandria International Airport . History . The base was opened on 21 October 1942 and during the Second World War performed Boeing B - 17 Flying Fortress aircrew training . It was placed on inactive status on September 23 , 1946 , although a small cadre of Army and Air Force personnel ( 331 Comps Squadron ) remained assigned to Alexandria Municipal Airport throughout the late 1940s . On 10 October 1950 , the United States Air Force reopened Alexandria Air Force Base during the Korean War . The station ' s primary mission was tactical fighter operations for Tactical Air Command . Its major operating units were : In October 1990 , the Base Realignment and Closure Commission decided that England Air Force Base would be closed by September 1992 . A drawdown of equipment and personnel began almost immediately . The 23d Fighter Wing ' s A - 10 aircraft were sent to other units , and EAFB was closed 15 December 1992 . During the period of its military use , Air Force units from England Air Force Base served in combat in World War II , the Vietnam War and Operation Desert Storm . Air Defense Command . Alexandria ( and later England ) AFB was base for Air Defense Command interceptor and radar units along the Gulf Coast . In 1959 , the 332d Fighter - Interceptor Squadron , assigned to the 32d Air Division stationed F - 102 Delta Dagger interceptors at the base between 1959 - 1960 . In addition to the fighter - interceptor squadron , England AFB part of the planned deployment by Air Defense Command of forty - four Mobile radar stations across the United States to support the permanent Radar network established during the Cold War for air defense of the United States . This deployment had been projected to be operational by mid - 1952 . Funding , constant site changes , construction , and equipment delivery delayed deployment . On 1 November 1954 the 653d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron began operations at Alexandria AFB with the activation of AN / MPS - 14 , AN / TPS - 1 D , and AN / TPS - 10 D radars . The site was designated as M - 125 , and initially the station functioned as a Ground - Control Intercept ( GCI ) and warning station . As a GCI station , the squadron ' s role was to guide interceptor aircraft toward unidentified intruders picked up on the unit ' s radar scopes . The AN / MPS - 14 continued to operate until site closure in 1963 . In 1958 the site was operating an AN / FPS - 20 search set . In addition to the main facility , Air Defense Command operated three AN / FPS - 18 Gap Filler sites : England AFB was a planned Semi Automatic Ground Environment ( SAGE ) Data Center ( DC ) location , for the also - planned Shreveport Air - Defense Sector ( ShADS ) . However , in March 1963 Air Defense Command ordered the site to close due to budget reductions and operations ceased on April 23 . The station was picked up by the Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA ) after the ADC shut down operations . The site is still in operations using the FPS - 20A , being known as Alexandria , Louisiana . Virtually all other parts of this old Air Force radar station have been removed . A golf course now occupies part of the old M - 125 site .