Military
Sheppard AFB, Texas
Sheppard AFB has been providing top-notch instruction in a diverse array of Air Force specialties for more than half a century.
Though the mission has changed several times, Sheppard has always been in the training business since it was officially opened as an active Army Air Corps base in October 1941.
Sheppard Field was first conceived November 29, 1940, when Maj. Gen. Rush B. Lincoln, commandant of U.S. Army Air Corps Technical Schools, surveyed sites around the city of Wichita Falls for a proposed training school.
J.S. Bridwell, a Wichita Falls cattleman, offered 300 acres just south of Kell Field to the government for one dollar. The school plans were officially approved by the Army Air Corps in February 1941.
Thus Sheppard Field began as a World War II Army Air Corps training center when representatives of the War Department and the city of Wichita Falls entered into a lease agreement. The lease gave the government the right to build and operate a military installation adjacent to the Wichita Falls Municipal Airport, and granted the government the right to full use of the airport’s land, runways, and facilities.
Official dedication of the field was October 17, 1941, following the arrival of the first military members June 14. The field was named for the late Senator Morris E. Sheppard, former chairman of the Senate Military affairs Committee. Facilities were completed sufficiently to allow the first class of 22 aviation mechanics to enter training that October; the class graduated February 23, 1942.
During World War II, Sheppard conducted basic training, and it also trained glider mechanics, technical and flying training instructors and B-29 engineers. In addition to the basic flying training, the base also provided advanced pilot training for ground officers, and helicopter pilot training.
The Field reached its peak strength of 46,340 people while serving as a separation center for troops being discharged following World War II from September through November 1945.
Sheppard Field was deactivated August 31, 1946 and declared surplus to the War Department’s needs; it was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Corps of Engineers April 30, 1947.
Control and accountability for Sheppard Field was transferred to the Department of the Air Force August 1, 1948. It was reactivated August 15, 1948, to supplement Lackland AFB, Texas, as a basic-training center and was renamed Sheppard AFB.
Basic training was