Alachua Army Airfield Alachua Army Airfield , was a World War II United States Army Air Force airfield , located northeast of Gainesville , Florida . History . Construction of the Gainesville Municipal Airport began in April 1940 as a Works Project Administration ( WPA ) and , by 1941 construction was taken over by the Army Corps of Engineers as part of the expansion of defense forces in the United States prior to World War II . The site was taken over by the United States Army Air Forces , with the airport being designated as Alachua Army Airfield . It began operations within months of the December 7 , 1941 , Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor . On 2 March 1942 , the Gainesville City Council established the name of the airfield as the John R . Alison Airport . John R . Alison was a local citizen and graduate of the University of Florida who served with valor and distinction in World War II . He was selected to serve as an observer in England and later served in Russia training Russian flyers . Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics . Initially assigned to Air Technical Service Command as a maintenance and supply support airfield , in 1943 , it was transferred to the Air University Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics ( AAFSAT ) tactical combat simulation school . Headquartered at Orlando AAB , AAFSAT ' s function was to train cadres from newly formed units in combat operations under simulated field conditions as the cores around which new combat groups would be formed . AAFSAT operated several units from the airfield , including Dive Bombers , light attack bombers and observation aircraft . Later , the 50th Fighter Group arrived in November 1943 with P - 47s and P - 51 fighters , engaging in mock combat missions over the skies of Florida . Through the joint efforts of the City Commission and the Federal Government , a Service Center opened in Gainesville July 1943 for dances and other recreation for the soldiers . Civic - minded citizens formed a Girls Service Club and the Masonic Lodge provided dormitory space for servicemen . Third Air Force . The Air University training mission ended in late June 1944 , when Alachua was officially reassigned to III Fighter Command . With the transfer , Alachua was assigned to Third Air Force . A different mission of sorts was ordered by III Fighter Command , the training of Air Commando fighter units for the China Burma India Theater and the invasion of Burma . Air Commando units were formed to be part of the invasion force to operate from captured Japanese airfields behind the main battle lines in India . Parachutists would be dropped on enemy held fields , and quickly the Allies would fly in fighter and transport units to operate from those fields . As the battle moved further east , the commandos would jump ahead and establish new bases . In each case the pattern had been the same : spot open spaces from the air , send in glider - borne engineers and equipment to hack an airstrip from the brush , and within a matter of hours , fly in troops to harass the enemy and his lines of communication with P - 51 Mustang fighter and B - 25 medium bomber units . The 3d Air Commando Group arrived for training in late June 1944 after being formed and organized at Drew and Lakeland Army Airfield . Four P - 51 Mustang fighter squadrons trained at Alachua from June though October . In addition , a Commando Troop Carrier Squadron with C - 47s was trained at the airfield . Closure . With the Air Commando units moving out at the end of 1944 , the maintenance mission of Technical Service command was the primary mission of the base . The airfield remained open ; mostly seeing transient training aircraft from various training bases in Florida and South Georgia . The number of personnel were reduced , being reassigned to other bases , and with the end of the European War , in mid - May 1945 orders were received from Third Air Force that Alachua Army Airfield would be closed . During the summer , buildings and equipment were sold with any useful military equipment being transferred to other bases around the country . The airfield was declared surplus in September 1945 and turned over to the Army Corps of Engineers on October 1 , 1946 . The War Assets Administration deeded the facility to the city of Gainesville in 1948 as a civil airport . The airfield was deeded to the city of Gainesville in 1948 . At that time , the field was known as the John R . Alison Airport and also as the Gainesville Municipal Airport . Major units assigned . Air Forces School of Applied Tactics III Fighter Command