Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields:

Southern Mississippi

© 2002, © 2010 by Paul Freeman. Revised 5/24/10.



Gulfport Dragway Airfield (revised 6/23/08) - Raby Field / Pascagoulga Airport (1st location) / Jackson County Airport (revised 5/24/10)

Pascagoulga Airport (2nd location) / Jackson County Airport (revised 5/24/10) - (Original) Picayune Municipal (revised 6/23/08)

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(Original) Picayune Municipal Airport (PCU), Picayune, MS

30.52 North / 89.71 West (Northeast of New Orleans, LA)

"Picayune Landing Field", as depicted on the 1958 USGS topo map (from the University of Alabama Map Library).



Picayune Municipal Airport was evidently built at some point between 1945-58,

as it was not depicted on the 1945 New Orleans Sectional Chart (courtesy of John Voss).

The earliest reference to the airfield which has been located was on the 1958 USGS topo map.

It depicted the "Picayune Landing Field" as having a single northeast/southwest paved runway,

with a ramp & a beacon at the northeast corner of the field.



The 1960 Jeppesen Airway Manual (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)

depicted Picayune Municipal as having a single 4,000' paved Runway 4/22,

along with a taxiway leading to a ramp on the northwest side of the runway with two buildings (hangars?).

 

The 1962 AOPA Airport Directory described the "City of Picayune" Airport

as having a single 4,000' concrete Runway 4/22.

 

The 1982 AOPA Airport Directory (courtesy of Ed Drury) described the "Picayune Pearl River County" Airport

as having a single 4,000' asphalt Runway 5/23,

and listed the operator as Ray's Flight Service.



The 1985 USGS topo map depicted Picayune Municipal Airport as having a single northeast/southwest runway.



As depicted in the 1996 USGS aerial photo,

Picayune Municipal consisted of a single paved 4,200' Runway 5/23,

which had a ramp with several hangars on the northeast corner of the field.

A total of at least 14 aircraft were visible outside in the above photo.

Another small hangar were situated on the south side of the runway.



David Sims recalled, “I was one of the last pilots to use this airfield.”



In 1999, a new & larger Picayune Municipal Airport was opened on the southeast side of the town,

and the original airfield was presumably closed at the same time.

The original airport was depicted as an abandoned airfield on the 2003 Sectional Chart.



David Sims reported in 2005, “The property is & has always been owned by the Picayune school district.

After it was closed, the airstrip was used by a company to store large metal structures.

It is currently being used by FEMA for victims of Hurricane Katrina.

FEMA has set up several trailers on the old airfield to serve as temporary housing for relief workers & survivors.”



A 2006 photo by Ron Jackson, looking northeast along the abandoned former Runway 5 at Picayune.

Note the closed-runway yellow “X” symbol still visible on the pavement.



A 2006 photo by Ron Jackson, looking west at the former hangars on the north side of the field at Picayune.



A circa 2006 aerial view looking west along the row of hangars & former runway of the original Picayune Municipal Airport.



The site of the original Picayune Municipal Airport is located southwest of the intersection of Palestine Road & Airport Road.

 

Thanks to Chris Kennedy for pointing out this airfield.

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Gulfport Dragway Airfield, West Gulfport, MS

30.41 North / 89.12 West (Northeast of New Orleans, LA)

“Landing Strip”, as depicted on the 1979 USGS topo map.

Photo of the airfield while in operation has not been located.



This airfield just west of the town of West Gulfport was evidently built at some point between 1945-79,

as no airfield at this location was yet depicted on the 1945 New Orleans Sectional Chart (courtesy of John Voss).

The earliest depiction of this airfield which has been located

was on the 1979 USGS topo map.

It depicted a single north/south runway, labeled simply as "Landing Field".



The name & history of the airfield at this location has not been determined.

It may have been built as a satellite field for Gulfport AAF, 3 miles east.



At some point after 1979, the runway was evidently reused as the Gulfport Dragway.



As seen in the 1996 USGS aerial photo,this facility consisted of a single paved 4,500' runway & a parallel taxiway.

It was definitely no longer usable as even an emergency landing site,

as a quarter mile of steel guard rails were built down the center of the dragstrip

beginning on the south end of the track.

There is a group of small buildings adjacent to the east side of the southern end of the runway.



A circa 2001-2005 USGS aerial view looking northwest at the dragway / former runway.



A circa 2006 aerial view looking north at the south end of the former runway at the Gulfport Dragway.

 

Thanks to Khesed for clarifying the status of this facility.

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Raby Field / Pascagoula Airport (1st location) / Jackson County Airport, Pascagoula, MS

30.38 North / 88.52 West (Southwest of Mobile, AL)

Raby Field, as depicted on the 1934 Navy Aviation Chart V-242 (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).



The Pascagoula Airport was originally located adjacent to the northeast side of the town.

The date of construction of the field is unknown.



The location of Raby Field, from the 1934 Navy Aviation Chart V-242 (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).

 

The layout of Raby Field, from the 1934 Navy Aviation Chart V-242 (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).

 

An aerial view looking southwest at Raby Field, from the 1934 Navy Aviation Chart V-242 (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).



The earliest reference to the field which has been located

was on the 1934 Navy Aviation Chart V-242 (courtesy of Chris Kennedy),

which depicted it under the airfield's original name, Raby Field.

Raby Field was described as consisting of a irregularly shaped sod landing area,

with the longest distance measuring 2,150'.

The field had no hangars or other facilities.



The Airport Directory Company's 1938 Airport Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)

described "Raby Auxiliary" Airport as being located 1 mile northeast of the center of the city,

and said that the field had a total of four 2,000' runways.

 

The field had been renamed Pascagoula Airport

by the time of the 1941 Regional Aeronautical Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy),

which depicted it as a commercial/municipal airport.

 

At some point between 1941-45, the original Pascagoula Airport had apparently been renamed Jackson County Airport,

and a new Pascagoula Airport had been built a mile to the east,

as depicted on the 1945 Mobile Sectional Chart (courtesy of John Voss).



The 1945 AAF Airfield Directory (courtesy of Scott Murdock) described the Jackson County Airport

as a 81 acre irregularly-shaped property containing 3 sod runways, the longest being the 2,146' north/south & east/west strips.

The field was said to have 2 hangars, the largest being a 100' x 80' brick & steel structure.

Jackson County Airport was described as being owned by Jackson County, and operated by private interests.



The original Pascagoula / Jackson County Airport was evidently closed at some point between 1945-49,

as only the new Pascagoula Airport was depicted on the 1949 Mobile Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy),

labeled as the Jackson County Airport.



The original Pascagoula Airport was no longer depicted on the 1970 USGS topo map.



As can be seen in the 1994 UAGS aerial photo,

the site has been redeveloped, and no recognizable remnants of the airfield appear to remain.



As it was depicted on the 1945 Mobile Sectional Chart,

the original location of the Jackson County Airport appears to have been located

southeast of the present-day intersection of Route 90 & Chicoh Street.

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Pascagoula Airport (2nd location) / Jackson County Airport (PGL), Pascagoula, MS

30.38 North / 88.49 West (Southwest of Mobile, AL)

A 4/27/43 aerial view looking north from the 1945 AAF Airfield Directory (courtesy of Scott Murdock)

depicted Pascagoula Municipal Airport as having 2 paved runways.



This airfield was apparently built at some point between 1941-43,

as it was not depicted on the 1941 Mobile Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).

The earliest depiction which has been found of the Pascagoula Municipal Airport at this location

was a 4/27/43 aerial view from the 1945 AAF Airfield Directory (courtesy of Scott Murdock).

It depicted the field as having 2 perpendicular paved runways with parallel taxiways.



The earliest aeronautical chart depiction which has been located of this airfield

was on the 1945 Mobile Sectional Chart (courtesy of John Voss).

It depicted "Pascagoula" as an auxiliary airfield.



The 1945 AAF Airfield Directory (courtesy of Scott Murdock) described the Pascagoula Municipal Airport

as a 660 acre square property containing 3 asphalt 4,500' runways, oriented north/south, northeast/southwest, and northwest/southeast.

The field was not said to have any hangars.

Pascagoula Municipal Airport was described as being owned by Jackson County, and operated by private interests.



At some point between 1945-49,

the new Pascagoula Airport apparently became renamed as Jackson County Airport,

after the original Pascagoula Airport was closed,

as that is how it was depicted on the 1949 Mobile Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).

 

The 1960 Jeppesen Airway Manual (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)

depicted the Jackson County Airport as having three 4,500' paved runways,

along with several buildings (hangars?) along the north side of the field.

 

The 1962 AOPA Airport Directory described the Jackson County Airport

as having three 4,500' bituminous runways: 18/36, 14/32, and 5/23.

The operator was listed as Robert Neal.



According to Scott Schuler, “This airport had scheduled airline service from Southern Airways

using Martin 404s, ending in the 1960s.

I have several items from Southern, including a route map, showing service there.

Southern, typical of that era, showed on the route maps little diagrams of the runway configurations of served airports.

An Official Airline Guide from November 1966 also shows service there with DC-3s

with non-stop service to Mobile, Gulfport, and Hattiesburg.”



What was by then known as the Jackson County Airport (in its second location),

as depicted on the 1964 Mobile Sectional Chart (courtesy of John Voss).



The 1980 USGS topo map depicted the Jackson County Airport as having 3 paved runways, taxiways,

and only 2 buildings (hangars?) on the north side of the field,

which was significantly less than the number of buildings depicted on the 1960 diagram.



In the 1982 AOPA Airport Directory (courtesy of Ed Drury), the runway configuration was still the same.

The operators was listed as General Aviation Corp., Gulf Coast Aircraft Sales, and Everon Air.

 

In a blatant example of pork-barrel politics,

Jackson County Airport was replaced at some point between 1982-98

by the brand-new "Trent Lott International Airport" just north of the city.

Jackson County Airport was presumably closed upon completion of the new airport.

 

In the 1994 USGS aerial photo,

the airfield was essentially still complete,

with all 3 runways still largely intact, and several hangars still standing north of the ramp.

 

The 1998 World Aeronautical Chart depicted the site of Jackson County Airport as an abandoned airfield.



At some point after the airport's abandonment, the property was redesignated as the Bayou Casotte Industrial Park.



The 1994 USGS aerial photo was annotated by Bret Kepner to show the configuration of the former airfield site as of 2005,

with a large chemical plant having been constructed over the former terminal area on the north side of the field.



Bret Kepner visited the site of the Pacagoula Airport in February 2005.

He reported: “A huge new chemical plant now occupies most of the northern end of the property

above the train tracks which were built across the oldest runway.

As can be seen. the surface is really, really bad.

There was no access to the other runways, which may or may not even be there, anyway.”



 A February 2005 photo by Bret Kepner looking north along former Runway 18/36, toward the new chemical plant.



A February 2005 photo by Bret Kepner looking south along former Runway 18/36, toward its intersection with former Runway 5/23.



As of 2007, a more-recent aerial photo shows that the majority of the former airport property has been covered by a surface-mining quarry,

filled with water.

Portions of several runways still remain intact on the west & north sides.

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