Columbia Army Air Base Columbia Army Air Base was a World War II United States Army Air Forces base . It was primarily used for advanced combat training of B - 25 Mitchell medium bomber units and replacement pilots . It was used as a training base in early 1942 for Doolittle ' s Raiders . It was closed during the summer of 1945 , and turned over for civil use as the Columbia Metropolitan Airport . History . Origins . In 1940 the United States Army Air Corps indicated a need for the Lexington County Airport as part of the buildup of its forces after World War II began in Europe . The earliest recorded Air Corps use of the airport was when the 105th Observation Squadron began flying Douglas O - 38 and North American O - 47 light observation aircraft beginning on 24 September . In 1941 , the airport came under formal military control and an immediate construction program began to turn the civil airport into a military airfield . Construction involved runways and airplane hangars , with three concrete runways , several taxiways and a large parking apron and a control tower . Several large hangars were also constructed . Buildings were ultimately utilitarian and quickly assembled . Most base buildings , not meant for long - term use , were constructed of temporary or semi - permanent materials . Although some hangars had steel frames and the occasional brick or tile brick building could be seen , most support buildings sat on concrete foundations but were of frame construction clad in little more than plywood and tar paper . While under construction , the 65th Observation Group used the unfinished facilities at the airfield between 1 September and 1 December 1941 , flying a mixture O - 47s , O - 49 Vigilant and O - 52 Owl light observation planes as part of the " Carolina Maneuvers " in the Fall of 1941 performing reconnaissance and aerial photo duties . World War II . On 8 December 1941 , the Columbia Army Airbase was activated with Lt . Colonel Dashe W . Reeves as commander . It was assigned to Third Air Force , III Air Support Command . The 121st Observation Squadron was moved to the new air base from nearby Owens Field , replacing the 105th OS which was sent to Langley Field , Virginia and the Marine Corps airfield at Cherry Point North Carolina to fly antisubmarine patrols . The 121st OS , which had also been flying observation flights as part of the " Carolina Maneuvers " , began antisubmarine patrols over the Atlantic coast using O - 47s and L - 4 Grasshopper s . The 96th Air Base Squadron was initially assigned as the base host unit for ground support squadrons , being replaced by the 19th Air Base Group in February 1942 . The antisubmarine patrol mission was reassigned to Charleston AAF which was much better suited for it , as Charleston was located right on the Atlantic coast . Columbia Army Airfield ' s mission was changed become a training base for B - 25 Mitchell medium bomber aircrews . In addition to the main facility , Columbia AAB had jurisdiction over several satellite and auxiliary airfields in support of the bomber training mission : Doolitle Raiders . One of the earliest units to train at Columbia AAB was the 17th Bombardment Group , which arrived on 9 February 1942 . The squadrons of the 17th Bomb group came to Columbia AAB from Pendleton Field , Oregon to fly antisubmarine patrols off the east coast of the United States . When the group arrived in Columbia its combat crews were offered the opportunity to volunteer for an " extremely hazardous " but unspecified mission which ultimately turned out to be the famous Doolittle Raid on Japan . On 17 February , 24 full combat crews from amongst the group were detached from Eighth Air Force and transferred to Eglin Field , Florida where they received intensive training for three weeks in simulated carrier deck takeoffs , low - level and night flying , low altitude bombing , and over water navigation . Contrary to popular belief , the volunteers who made up the crews of the Doolittle Raid did not train for the Raid itself at Columbia . B - 25 Combat Crew Training . The 21st Bombardment Group became the B - 25 Operational training unit at Columbia on 21 April 1942 , until the unit was reassigned organizationally to Key Field , Mississippi on 22 May . The 21st was replaced by the 309th Bombardment Group , which exchanged designations with the 21st , being reassigned from Key Field . The 329th Bomb Group ( and its successor designations ) was the major operational training unit ( OTU ) at Columbia AAB during World War II , providing crew and replacement training in B - 25s until 1 May 1944 when the 309th was re - designated as the 329th Bombardment Group . It was subsequently re - designated as the 329th Army Air Force Base Replacement Unit on 1 August 1944 . Known B - 25 Groups that trained at Columbia AAB were : Beginning in 1943 , the 309th performed replacement training , rather than group training . On 1 October 1944 , Columbia AAB was reassigned to III Bomber Command , and the training units were again re - designated as the Columbia Combat Crew Training Depot ( Medium Bombardment ) . All sub - bases and satellite airfields were either reassigned or inactivated . On 1 February 1945 , Columbia was relieved from assignment to Third Air Force , and was transferred to First Air Force . The base unit was re - designated as the 129th Army Air Force Base Unit ( Combat Crew Training Station ) ( Light ) , and the mission was changed from training B - 25 crews to A - 26 Invader Light bombardment crews . The 319th Bombardment Group ( light ) arrived at Columbia on 28 February 1945 from Twelfth Air Force in Italy for conversion training from B - 25s to A - 26s . The group left for Okinawa on 27 April 1945 . Training at Columbia Army Air Base was phased down during the summer of 1945 . Several units arrived at the base from overseas to inactivate during September and October . It was inactivated on 30 November and returned to civil authorities , which converted it back to an airport , however , the 350th Bombardment Squadron was assigned to Columbia Metropolitan Airport on 16 July 1947 as part of the Air Force Reserve , but it was never equipped or manned . It was inactivated on 27 June 1949 Lake Murray B - 25 Bomber . On 19 September 2005 , a North American B - 25C Mitchell medium bomber ( 41 - 12634 ( c / n 82 - 5269 ) ) was recovered from Lake Murray , about fourteen miles northwest of Columbia Army Airfield . It crashed into Lake Murray on 4 April 1943 due to engine failure . All of its crewmen were able to abandon the plane and were picked up by local fishermen as the plane sank to the bottom in about 100 feet of water . The starboard engine was ripped off in the crash and landed elsewhere , but it was also recovered by divers in 2005 . During the war , Air Force records indicate that 23 B - 25s crashed into the lake during training missions , many at night with very with very inexperienced crews . Many of the airmen in these bombers were killed in these training accidents . The B - 25 recovered from the lake was later shipped to the Southern Museum of Flight , Birmingham , Alabama to undergo preservation ( not restoration ) . In December 2005 the front section went on display there .