Alliance Army Air Base

Alliance Army Air Base
Dates:  April 26, 1942 – November 20, 1945

        In the spring of 1942, the U.S. Army Air Force selected a site south of Alliance for an airfield primarily to serve as a training and manuever center for the Troop Carrier Command. Paratroopers, glider infantrymen and field artillery units were brought here for final training for overseas tactical missions. By midsummer, four 9,000 foot runways were completed for the training. The I Troop Carrier Command, 434th Troop Carrier Group commanded the airfield.  The 411th Army Air Force Base Unit commanded the support elements as part of Air Technical Service Command.  The airfield was home to as many as 14,000 paratroops in the area.  In addition to the USAAF units, the Army 326th Glider Infantry, 507th Parachute Infantry, and 878th Airborne Engineers trained at Alliance before deployment to the European Theater. In the summer of 1945, the 1st Troop Carrier Command trained for the proposed invasion of Japan.  Additional information about the Alliance Army Airbase is available.

A few of the items on display are three panels of a mural painted by one of the persons stationed in Alliance, chairs from the base theatre, maps of the base, and memorabilia from the dedication of the base.

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