Pinellas Army Air Field

For the civil airport, see St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport.

Pinellas Army Airfield

Part of Third Air Force
Located near: St. Petersburg, Florida

Pinellas Army Airfield – 1951

Pinellas Army Airfield

Coordinates| 27°54′34″N 082°41′17″W﻿ / ﻿27.90944°N 82.68806°W﻿ / 27.90944; -82.68806Coordinates: 27°54′34″N 082°41′17″W﻿ / ﻿27.90944°N 82.68806°W﻿ / 27.90944; -82.68806
Site history
In use| 1942–1945

Pinellas Army Airfield, was a United States Army Air Forces installation during World War II, located 9.8 miles northwest of St. Petersburg, Florida.

## Contents

* 1 History
* 1.1 Closure
* 1.2 Current use
* 1.3 Major units assigned
* 2 See also
* 3 References
* 4 External links

## History[edit]

Constructed on the site of the Pinellas County Municipal Airport, construction of the airport at its present site started in March 1941. It was established chiefly for the purpose of training newly graduated pilots the art of combat flying. It was activated on 9 April 1942, being placed under the jurisdiction of Third Air Force, III Fighter Command, and was assigned to Sarasota Army Airfield as a sub-base.

The first operational flying squadron assigned to Pinellas AAF was the 304th Fighter Squadron, arriving on 30 August 1942. The 440th was equipped with P-39 Airacobras, and was assigned to the 337th Fighter Group at Sarasota AAF. During its first year of operations, the squadron also received some P-43 Lancers for the training mission. In April 1943, the 440th Fighter Squadron was moved from Sarasota AAF and became a second training squadron at Pinellas AAF. With the arrival of the 440th, both squadrons were equipped with Curtiss P-40 Warhawks as trainers. As many as 1,500 Third Army Air Force trainees, could be found at this site at any one time.

Trainees received practical experience in aerial combat maneuvering, air-to-air and air-to-ground gunnery, and dive bombing techniques. On 1 May 1944, both the 304th and 440th Fighter Squadrons were inactivated as a result of the numbered training units in the Zone of the Interior (ZI) (i.e., Continental United States) being re-designated in an administrative reorganization by HQ Army Air Force. They was replaced by the Pinellas Replacement Unit (Fighter, Single-Engine), with the fighter squadrons being re-designated as "A" and "B" squadrons. Later in 1944, the P-40s were replaced by newer P-51 Mustangs when they became available for training.

On 1 October 1944, Pinellas Army Airfield stood up as a fully operational III Fighter Command Base under the control of nearby Drew Army Airfield in Tampa. The mission of the base was expanded to include the III Fighter Command Gunnery School, the III Fighter Command Instructors School, and the III Fighter Command Rocket School. These new schools, in addition to the Fighter Replacement Unit, came under the command of the 341st Army Air Forces Base Unit.

With the end of the European War in May 1945, the pace of training replacement pilots slowed down during the summer months. On 24 June 1945 a hurricane hit the Tampa area and training was temporarily suspended, the aircraft being evacuated out of the area. The hurricane damaged some buildings but training was resumed in a few days. Over the Independence Day holiday in July 1945, the base held its first open house, with thousands of local residents welcomed onto the base, seeing a display of fighter aircraft and other planes flown in from Third Air Force bases. Acrobatic displays of flying were performed.

### Closure[edit]

With the sudden Japanese surrender in early August 1945, orders were received from III Fighter Command that training of replacement pilots was to end. Pilots already in training were allowed to complete their training, however no new trainees would arrive. By the end of August, the students were being reassigned to other bases and the number of base support personnel was being reduced at a rapid rate.

In late September 1945, Headquarters, Third Air Force sent orders to Pinellas AAF announcing that the base would be inactivated as of 30 November 1945 and be transferred to Air Technical Service Command in a standby status. Under ATSC, buildings and equipment were sold and any useful military equipment was transferred to other bases around the country. The base was declared as surplus in 1946 and was turned over to the War Assets Administration (WAA) for disposal and return to civil use.

### Current use[edit]

The airport was subsequently returned to Pinellas County. It was stipulated that the airport must continue be used as an airport for aviation purposes, and if not, that it be returned to the U.S. Government. Today, the airport is St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport, a joint civil-military commercial airport that is also home to Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater and a U.S. Army Reserve Army Aviation Support Facility.

A plaque was dedicated at the St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport passenger terminal in 1994 by the P-51 Fighter Pilots Association and Brigadier General James H. Howard, USAF (Ret), the only European Theater fighter pilot to be awarded the Medal of Honor in World War II and the last wartime base commander of Pinellas Army Airfield.

### Major units assigned[edit]

* 304th Fighter Squadron, 30 August 1942 – 1 May 1944
* 440th Fighter Squadron, 15 April 1943 – 1 May 1944
* Pinellas Replacement Training Unit (Fighter, Single Engine), 1 May 1944 – 30 September 1945
* III Fighter Command Rocket School, 1 December 1944 – 30 September 1945
* 77th Troop Carrier Squadron, 18 August 1956 – 16 November 1957 (Not equipped)

## See also[edit]

* World War II portal

* Florida World War II Army Airfields

## References[edit]

This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

* Maurer, Maurer (ed.). Combat Squadrons of the Air Force: World War II. Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1982 ISBN 0-405-12194-6.
* Maurer, Maurer (ed.), Air Force Combat Units of World War II, History and Insignia, USAF Historical Division, Washington, DC, 1961 (reprint 1983) ISBN 0-89201-092-4
* Shaw, Frederick J. (2004), Locating Air Force Base Sites History's Legacy, Air Force History and Museums Program, United States Air Force, Washington DC, 2004.
* World War II airfields database: Florida
* AFHRA Search Pinellas Army Airfield

## External links[edit]

* v
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United States Army Air Forces Third Air Force in World War II

Units|

| Commands|

* II Air Support Command
* III Air Support Command
* III Bomber Command
* III Fighter Command
* III Reconnaissance Command
* III Tactical Air Command

|

Divisions|

* III Tactical Air Division

Wings|

* 8th Fighter Wing
* 9th Fighter Wing
* 40th Bombardment Wing

Groups|

| Air Commando|

* 2nd Air Commando
* 3rd Air Commando

|

Bombardment|

* 3rd Bombardment
* 12th Bombardment
* 17th Bombardment
* 21st Bombardment
* 29th Bombardment
* 30th Bombardment Group
* 38th Bombardment
* 44th Bombardment
* 46th Bombardment
* 47th Bombardment
* 85th Bombardment
* 88th Bombardment
* 90th Bombardment
* 91st Bombardment
* 92nd Bombardment
* 93rd Bombardment
* 94th Bombardment
* 95th Bombardment
* 97th Bombardment
* 98th Bombardment
* 99th Bombardment
* 100th Bombardment
* 309th Bombardment
* 310th Bombardment
* 312th Bombardment
* 319th Bombardment
* 320th Bombardment
* 321st Bombardment
* 322d Bombardment
* 323d Bombardment
* 335th Bombardment
* 336th Bombardment
* 340th Bombardment
* 344th Bombardment
* 345th Bombardment
* 386th Bombardment
* 387th Bombardment
* 391st Bombardment
* 394th Bombardment
* 396th Bombardment
* 397th Bombardment
* 409th Bombardment
* 410th Bombardment
* 411th Bombardment
* 416th Bombardment
* 417th Bombardment
* 418th Bombardment
* 451st Bombardment
* 454th Bombardment
* 463rd Bombardment
* 483rd Bombardment
* 488th Bombardment

Fighter|

* 20th Fighter
* 31st Fighter
* 49th Fighter
* 50th Fighter
* 53rd Fighter
* 54th Fighter
* 56th Fighter
* 59th Fighter
* 79th Fighter
* 80th Fighter
* 81st Fighter
* 84th Fighter
* 85th Fighter
* 311th Fighter
* 332nd Fighter
* 337th Fighter
* 338th Fighter
* 339th Fighter
* 361st Fighter
* 369th Fighter
* 372nd Fighter
* 404th Fighter
* 405th Fighter
* 408th Fighter
* 414th Fighter
* 506th Fighter

Fighter-Bomber|

* 27th Fighter-Bomber
* 48th Fighter-Bomber
* 86th Fighter-Bomber
* 406th Fighter-Bomber
* 407th Fighter-Bomber

Reconnaissance|

* 2d Reconnaissance
* 9th Reconnaissance
* 10th Reconnaissance
* 26th Reconnaissance
* 65th Reconnaissance
* 67th Reconnaissance
* 68th Reconnaissance
* 69th Reconnaissance
* 70th Reconnaissance
* 75th Reconnaissance
* 77th Reconnaissance
* 423d Reconnaissance
* 424th Reconnaissance
* 426th Reconnaissance

* United States Army Air Forces

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