In 1955 Amarillo AFB was selected for SAC B-52 operations. The
city of Amarillo bought 2,750 acres of land, which was deeded to
the Air Force for airfield expansion. During the next four years,
large concrete runway, base housing and support buildings were
constructed and expanded to accommodate an air wing of the
Strategic Air Command. By 1958 the base encompassed 5,454 acres.
The DOD improvements included over 700 support buildings, 500
housing units, sewage treatment facilities, landfill, ordnance
storage facility, roads, runways, taxiways, rifle range, skeet
range, boundary and security fences, and several recreational
facilities.
The base was redesignated Amarillo Technical Training Center in
1959, when the 4128th Strategic Air Wing concluded a joint-tenancy
agreement with Air Training Command. The 4128th Strategic Wing
inactivated on 01 February 1963, and was succeeded by the 461st
Strategic Wing (Heavy), which remained at Amarillo AFB until it
inactivated on 25 March 1968.
A dispersal program by 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale AFB included
deployment of Detachment 2 to Amarillo Air Terminal (formerly
Amarillo AFB) and Detachment 3 to Clinton-Sherman Industrial Air
Park (formerly Clinton-Sherman AFB). Both detachments were active
from around 1969 until 30 March 1975 when they were
inactivated.
Amarillo Army Air Field was activated in April 1942 and formally
named an army air field in May 1942. It was eleven miles east of
Amarillo on a 1,523-acre tract of land adjacent to English Field, a
commercial airfield serving the Panhandle. In 1929 Harold English
opened English Field on the site of the present Amarillo
International Airport, and the next year airlines shifted their
operations to English Field. In 1941 the city of Amarillo bought
English Field and began constructing paved runways and ramps.
Amarillo Army Air Base was established in 1942 on the east
portion of English Field. Technical and flying training was
conducted here during World War II. The field, one of the largest
installations in the Western Technical Training Command, was
established for training of air crew and ground mechanics to
service B-17 aircraft. From 1943 to 1945 basic training and special
courses of instruction were conducted. The school was later
designated to train technicians for B-29 aircraft in addition to
the B-17 technical training. Flying operations were also
inaugurated. The field was closed on 15 September 1946, its
buildings were converted to peacetime uses or destroyed, and the
base was returned to the city of Amarillo.
The base was reactivated as Amarillo Air Force Base in March
1951 and became the first air force all-jet mechanic-training base.
By 1952 the program reached a planned maximum of 3,500 students.
Mechanic training continued throughout 1953 and 1954 and included a
course on the B-47 jet bomber. The base was declared a permanent
installation in 1954. Four new courses were added a year later, and
the number of students climbed to about 5,000. When the two-phase
system of basic training began in 1956, Amarillo Air Force Base was
selected as one of the bases to administer the technical second
phase. The base continued to grow in the late 1950s, and a
missile-training department was established.
By May 1960 Amarillo was the site of all Air Training Command
resident training in administrative, procurement, and supply
fields; it continued to train thousands of jet aircraft mechanics,
jet engine mechanics, and air-frame repairmen.
By 1964 the United States Department of Defense had decided to
close the base. Largely because of a meningitis outbreak at
Lackland AFB, in February 1966 the Air Force diverted incoming
recruits to Amarillo, a base scheduled to close in July 1968.
Lackland sent a sizable cadre of permanent party personnel to
Amarillo to assist. It was not until the latter part of March that
Lackland was back to normal. However, due to the influx of trainees
for the Vietnam buildup, Amarillo continued basic military training
until November 1968. The last class was graduated on 11 December
1968.
The base was deactivated on 31 December 1968. Extreme security
was associated with the SAC base and its closure was performed
under the most careful security conditions. The US Government
reserved the right to recapture and reuse the property in time of a
national emergency. Following closure, US Government agencies owned
approximately 175 acres, including the 274 acres owned by the
Department of the Army.
In 1967 the center's facilities covered 5,273 acres and had
about 16,300 assigned personnel. The closing damaged the economy of
Amarillo. The Air Force Base closure resulted in a population
decrease in the area of around 11,000 people from 1960 to 1970.
Strong leadership helped the City survive and thrive after the Air
Base closing. The 1970s were a period of recovery for Amarillo, and
population and development grew during the decade.
Disposition of the Air Force Base began in 1963 and continued
into 1970. A total of 5,454 acres was reported excess to Government
Services Administration (GSA) on 19 November 1964 (5,026 purchase
fee acres and 428 easement acres). Property disposition occurred as
follows: 231 easement acres to the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific
Railroad 15 purchase fee acres to Potter County Consolidated School
District No. 3 by Deed Without Warranty; 0.26 easement acres to the
City of Amarillo by Quitclaim deed: 2,000 acres (1,988 purchase fee
acres and 12 easement acres) to the City of Amarillo by Indenture;
158 acres (49 purchase fee acres and 109 easement acres) to the
Federal Aviation Administration by transfer agreement; 18 purchase
fee acres to the US Department of Commerce Environmental Science
Service Administration, Weather Bureau, by transfer 26 purchase fee
acres to the Federal Aviation Administration by transfer: 1,050
purchase fee acres to the City of Amarillo, 1,559 purchase fee
acres to the State of Texas by Deed Without Warranty: 76 easement
acres to the City of Amarillo, 47 purchase fee acres to Melville
Meyers by Deed Without Warranty and 274 purchase fee acres to the
Department of the Army by the Department of the Air Force
transferred by memo.
Current ownership is now divided among the City of Amarillo, the
State of Texas, and the US Government. The City of Amarillo owns
the airfield structures (runways, hangars, fuel storage), most of
which is being utilized for Amarillo International Airport. They
also own and operate the deep water wells and the sewage treatment
facilities. The State of Texas owns the area which includes the
barracks, areas around the family housing complex, and training
areas. The State of Texas, in turn, leases these facilities to the
Texas State Technical Institute (TSTI) (barracks and training
areas). The US Government owns portions of the facility used by the
Federal Aviation Administration and the Texas National Guard.
Another part of the base was used for the Amarillo Air Terminal,
which opened on 17 May 1971. The existing terminal building is
located on the 43-acre concrete ramp previously used for Air Force
B-52 aircraft parking. In 1976 Amarillo Air Terminal was renamed
Amarillo International Airport, and in 1978 the Concorde supersonic
airliner made its first landing at Amarillo during a Braniff
Airways demonstration flight.
June 2007 a cache was placed near one of the entrances to what
was Amarillo AFB, located on Jackrabbit Road. This cache started
with some nuts and bolts, a ball, some bling, footprints and a
bulldozer. It is a 1 gallon plastic jar camoed.