Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields:
Texas - Lubbock area
© 2002, © 2007 by Paul Freeman. Revised 10/6/07.
Howard County Municipal (revised 11/7/04) - Lamesa Field – Lubbock AAF / Reese AFB (revised 10/6/07)
Reese AF Aux (revised 5/26/05) - Rhodes Airport / Shallowater Airport (revised 11/10/04)
U & S Flying Service Airfield / Hamilton Field (revised 11/7/04)
____________________________________________________
Rhodes Airport / Shallowater Airport, Shallowater, TX
33.68 North / 102.01 West (Northwest of Lubbock, TX)
Rhodes Airport, as depicted on the August 1960 Estacado Plain World Aeronautical Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
Photo of the airfield while open has not been located.
This former general aviation airport was evidently established at some point between 1958-60,
as no airfield at this location was yet depicted
on the February 1958 Estacado Plain World Aeronautical Chart (according to Chris Kennedy).
The earliest depiction of Rhodes Airport which has been located
was on the August 1960 Estacado Plain World Aeronautical Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It depicted Rhodes as having a 2,500' unpaved runway.
The 1960 Jeppesen Airway Manual (according to Chris Kennedy) described Rhodes
as having 2 unpaved runways, with the longest being 2,500'.
At some point between 1960-62, the field was evidently renamed "Shallowater" Airport,
as that is how it was labeled on the August 1962 Dallas Sectional Chart (courtesy of David Brooks).
It depicted Shallowater as having a 2,800' unpaved runway.
Shallowater apparently gained a paved runway at some point between 1962-68,
as the July 1968 Dallas Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
depicted the field as having a single 2,400' east/west paved runway.
The 1971 Flight Guide (courtesy of David Brooks)
depicted Shallowater as having a 2,450' paved Runway 8/26,
along with 2 unpaved runways (3,050' Runway 14/32 & 2,051' Runway 17/35).
Three buildings were depicted on the southeast corner of the field.
The 1977 Flight Guide (courtesy of David Brooks)
showed that the northwestern corner of Shallowater Airport had been 'chopped off' at some point between 1971-77,
shortening the length of Runway 14/32 to 2,700'.
The 1983 TX Airport Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
depicted Shallowater as having a single 2,450' asphalt Runway 8/26
along with a 2,630' dirt Runway 12/30 & a 1,850' dirt Runway 17/35.
A ramp on the southeast corner of the field had 2 long hangars & three smaller buildings.
The manager was listed as Gary McMillian.
The June 1985 Albuquerque Sectional Chart (courtesy of David Brooks)
still depicted Shallowater as a public-use airport.
The status of Shallowater Airport evidently changed to a private airfield at some point between 1985-91,
as that is how it was depicted on the May 1991 Albuquerque Sectional Chart (courtesy of David Brooks).
The field was depicted as having a 2,400' paved runway.
Shallowater Airport was evidently closed (for reasons unknown) at some point between 1991-94,
as it was no longer depicted at all on the November 1994 Albuquerque Sectional Chart (according to David Brooks).
As seen in the 1996 USGS aerial photo,
Shallowater Airport's runways & hangars were still intact.
Within the next 6 years much of the traces of the 2 former unpaved runways at Shallowater Airport had been erased,
as seen in the March 2002 USGS aerial photo.
The paved east/west runway still remained,
as did the hangars at the southeast corner of the the former airport.
Shallowater Airport is located southwest of the intersection of Route 84 & Avenue E.
____________________________________________________
U & S Flying Service Airfield / Hamilton Field, Big Spring, TX
32.27 North / 101.47 West (Southeast of Lubbock, TX)
The "U & S" Flying Service Airfield, as depicted on the March 1945 Dallas Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
Photo of the airfield while open has not been located.
This former general aviation airport was evidently constructed at some point between 1942-44,
as it no airfield at this location was yet depicted on the September 1942 Dallas Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The earliest reference to this field which has been located
was in the April 1944 Army/Navy Directory of Airfields (courtesy of Joe Bensen).
It described the "U & S Flying Service" Airfield as being located 1.5 miles north of Big Spring,
and the field was said to have a 2,700' unpaved runway.
The airfield was evidently renamed "Hamilton Field" at some point between 1944-54,
as that is how it was labeled on the August 1954 Dallas Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It was depicted as having a 3,200' unpaved runway.
The 1962 AOPA Airport Directory described Hamilton Field
as having a 2,700' asphalt Runway 18/36 & a 1,850' graded Runway 9/27.
The operator was listed as Hamilton Flying Service.
Hamilton Field, as depicted on the December 1962 Estacado Plain World Aeronautical Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
By the time of the 1963 TX Airport Directory (courtesy of Steve Cruse),
Runway 18/36 had been lengthened to a 3,140' asphalt strip, but the crosswind runway had been abandoned.
The office, fuel island, and 3 hangars were just north of the west end of the former Runway 9/27.
Ominously, though, the end was in sight for this little airport,
as the 1963 Directory depicted a "New Highway Right-Of-Way, No construction this date"
passing along the southern portion of Ruwnay 18/36.
This would eventually become Interstate 20, and would spell the end of the airport.
Hamilton Field was evidently closed at some point between 1963-75,
as the Interstate was depicted on the 1975 USGS topo map, but not the airport.
As of the 1996 USGS aerial photo, the remains of both runways were still very much apparent,
as well as the former airport entrance road, which heads west away from the former runway intersection.
The middle portion the remains of Runway 18/36 was apparently being reused as a road,
along which what appeared to be several mobile homes were situated.
The site of Hamilton Field is located northeast of the intersection of Interstate 20 & Route 350.
____________________________________________________
Howard County Municipal Airport, Big Spring, TX
32.31 North / 101.44 West (Southeast of Lubbock, TX)
Howard County Airport, as depicted on the December 1962 Estacado Plain World Aeronautical Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
Photo of the airfield while open has not been located.
The Howard County Airport was evidently established at some point between 1954-62,
as no airfield was yet depicted at this location on the August 1954 Dallas Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The earliest reference to the Howard County Airport which has been located
was in the 1962 AOPA Airport Directory.
It described Howard County as having 2 paved runways, and listed the operator as Big Spring Aircraft Inc.
The 1963 TX Airport Directory (courtesy of Steve Cruse)
described Howard County Airport as having 2 asphalt runways: 5,500' Runway 16/34 & 3,500' Runway 6/24.
According to Scott Murdock, the Air Force based T-41s from Webb AFB at Howard County,
and conducted the T-41 phase of training here.
John Wiley recalled, “We used Howard County for our T-41 training in 1967.
I was in Class 69-04, the Dust Devils, and we flew our first UPT sorties out of Howard County.
It was run by a company the USAF had hired
and with the exception of a few instructors, all were civilians.
We lost more than a few guys in the first 6 weeks flying the 'washing machine'.”
“When I arrived on December 7,1967 we landed in a Trans-Texas Convair with turboprops.
It was cold as hell & before we had hit the ground,
the crew had shut down the Convair, turned off all the switches & were GONE.
I was standing there with my new uniform, my garrison hat & a brand new set of brown bars.
I got a ride to Webb & spent the first night in the BOQ.
My instructor was a guy named Major Hamela, great guy & good aviator.
Our class had a couple of Iranians, a few Saudi & 2 Marines
along with a mixture of philosophy, theology, engineering, English lit, music & business majors.
We graduated in December 1968, and by March, we had lost our first guy, one of the Marines in an A-4.
It would not be the last.”
The date of the end of the Air Force's use of Howard County has not been determined.
Howard County Airport was still shown as an active airfield
on the 1978 DFW Sectional Chart (courtesy of Ray Brindle).
Howard County Municipal Airport apparently closed at an unknown date (between 1978-85),
after the much larger nearby Webb AFB closed in 1977, becoming Big Spring Airport.
Howard County was apparently closed prior to 1985,
as it is not included among active airports in the 1985 TX Airpport Directory.
USGS aerial photo 1996.
A 2002 photo by Scott Murdock of a hangar with attached control tower at Howard Municipal.
As of 2002, the airport property is mostly abandoned,
with some usage by a few industrial businesses & some RC model airplane activity.
The airfield at Howard County consists of 2 runways (the largest is 5,500' long),
taxiways, a ramp & several hangars,
all of which remain intact as of 2002.
As of 2002, the southernmost hangar still had an attached control tower,
most likely installed by the USAF during their operations at Howard in the 1970s.
The red & white greenhouse structure looks very much like Ground Controlled Approach facilities
at other Air Force auxiliary fields.
Appropriately enough, the airport site is located at the end of Airport Road,
south of Old Airport Road (Route 26),
four miles northeast of Big Spring.
____________________________________________________
Lubbock Army Airfield / Reese AFB, Lubbock TX
33.62 North / 102.06 West
The Lubbock Army Flying School in 1942.
According to The Handbook of TX Online,
this base was built in 1941 on 2,000 acres that were offered by the City of Lubbock.
Cotton fields & grassland gave way to a huge military installation when construction began on August 22, 1941.
Initial construction of the base only took 5 months,
and Lubbock Field officially opened on January 22, 1942.
It was originally known as the Lubbock Army Air Corps Advanced Flying School.
It offered primary flight training to cadets & instrument training for pilots.
The base was renamed to the Lubbock Army Flying School in early 1943,
and then to Lubbock Army Airfield later that year.
Aircraft flown from the base during WW2 included the T-6 Texan, AT-17 Bobcat, and AT-9 Jeep.
During WW2, Lubbock AAF had a total of 5 satellite airfields:
West Aux #1 (24 miles west of Lubbock), of which no trace has been identified,
South Aux #2 (16 miles SW of Lubbock),
North Aux #3 (12 miles NW of Reese AFB), of which no trace has been identified,
Opdyke Aux #4 (4 miles east of Opdyke), of which no trace has been identified,
and Abernathy Aux (5 miles ENE of Abernathy, still reused as Abernathy Municipal Airport).
The base was closed at the end of 1945, after graduating 7,009 pilots.
In the post-WW2 years, the base was reportedly used as a meeting place for National Guard, Air Reserve, and Naval Reserve units.
Lubbock was reactivated by the Air Force in 1949 as a multiengine pilot-training base.
It was named Lubbock Air Force Base, until being renamed Reese Air Force Base in late 1949.
The main aircraft used at Reese during this period was the TB-25 Mitchell bomber,
which was used to train student officers & aviation cadets.
The AT-6 Texan was also used starting in 1949 to augment multi-engine pilot training.
The last AT-6 training mission took place at Lubbock on May 19, 1953.
The TB-25 was used at Reese until the base was converted to single-engine jet training in 1959.
The last TB-25 to fly at Reese was placed on static display at the main entrance to the base.
The T-33, a single-engine jet, was the only training aircraft at Reese from January 1959 until the T-37 arrived in March 1961.
The supersonic T-38 was used at Reese starting in 1963
to permit qualification of pilots for quicker transition to larger & faster aircraft.
From March 1965 to June 1973, a military version of the Cessna 172, the T-41 , was used at Reese.
Reese AFB, as depicted on the 1966 Roswell Sectional Chart (courtesy of John Voss).
Reese began using the first Operational Instrument Flight Simulator in August 1977.
The base became a focal point for national media in 1979
when the Crown Prince Of Iran began his military flight training at Reese.
His residence in the South Plains was cut short several months later, however, with the deposition of his father, The Shah Of Iran.
The Crown Prince, as a security measure, was returned to his homeland under cover of night.
Reese AFB was also home to the very first female USAF pilot trainees in the late 1970s.
The T-1A Jayhawk, the first new training aircraft to be added to the U.S. Air Force inventory in 30 years,
arrived at Reese on 18 January 1992.
An undated photo of a T-37, T-1, and T-38 in front of a Reese hangar.
During its last decade (the 1990s), Reese conducted Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training,
using a complement of 200 aircraft (the T-37, T-38, and T-1).
In 1995 the Base Realignment And Closure Commission designated Reese for closure, to be carried out in another 2 years.
A May 17, 1996 DOD photo by Bill Allen of a naval student's preflight check
in a T-1A Operational Flight Trainer (flight simulator) at Reese AFB.
A June 20, 1996 DOD photo by Bill Allen of the exterior of a T-37 Operational Flight Trainer (flight simulator) inside a Reese AFB highbay.
The 1996 USGS aerial photo depicted the base was still active,
with large numbers of T-38s on the ramp.
T-37 jet trainers overfly a ramp filled with T-38s, while Reese was still active.
Reese was closed in 1997 as part of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission process.
In its history, Reese had trained a total of 25,349 pilots.
At the time of its closure, the base consisted of a total of 3,000 acres, with some 700 buildings.
The airfield consists of 3 North/South runways (the largest is 10,500' long),
along with large ramp areas & numerous large hangars.
The remains of 2 other crosswind runways also still exist.
Ulrich Neumann recalled, “I am a glider pilot
and was part of what may have been the last aviation-related activity of the former Reese AFB.
In 2002, the Sports-Class & 18m-Class National Contest was held at Reese AFB.
A total of around 80 gliders competed over a 2 week period.
It was an unforgettable experience, since most of us had never flown off such a huge airfield.
We used to main runway to stage the gliders in a single file on the left side of the runway
and still had plenty room for the tow-planes to land on the right side.
For landing, we used the 'short' runway closer to the ramp & the operations building.
Our daily briefings took place in the theater complex & one of the banquets was held in the fire station.
The entire compound looked like it had just been abandoned.”
A 2002 USGS aerial photo, taken after the closure of the base.
Not a single aircraft appears anywhere on the huge airfield - a sad sight.
The local government is redeveloping Reese for civilian businesses,
as the Reese Technology Center.
It now has a variety of tenants, including the Texas Tech University,
a police training center, and South Plains College.
As of 2004, the airfield is listed as Reese Airpark (8XS8),
a private airfield owned by the Lubbock Reese Development Authority.
See also: Lou Thole's "Forgotten Fields of America", Volume III.
____________________________________________________
Terry County Air Force Auxiliary Airfield / Reese Air Force Auxiliary Airfield, Sundown TX
33.38 North / 102.44 West (Southwest of Lubbock, TX)
"Terry Co AF Aux", as depicted on the 1966 Roswell Sectional Chart (courtesy of John Voss).
This airfield was originally used during WW2 as one of 5 satellite airfields for Lubbock AAF (later renamed Reese AFB),
which conducted primary & instrument flight training.
During WW2 it was known as Lubbock Auxiliary Army Airfield #2, or South Field.
Unlike most WW-2 era satellite fields, this one was retained in service by the Air Force following the end of the war.
A 2,826 square foot storage building was constructed in 1960.
At some point between 1945-66,
the primary runway was significantly lengthened to support jet training at nearby Reese AFB.
It was labeled "Terry Co AF Aux" on the 1966 Roswell Sectional Chart (courtesy of John Voss),
and was shown as having a single 8,900' paved runway.
Dick Belle recalled, "I was a student at Reese in 1968-69.
We practiced visual approaches in the T-37 at Terry County. It was known as 'FIZZLE'.
I remember very clearly the radio call us neophyte pilots had to make as soon as we departed Reese on our way to Terry County:
'RUM-DUM, BLUE CHIP 42, WOOLFURTH FOR FIZZLE'.
Translation: Rum-dum was a flight following operation at Reese, Blue Chip the call sign,
Woolfurth was a little West Texas town, and Fizzle was Terry County Aux.
It was quite a mouthful to blurt out while hanging on for dear life to our first jet.
Once you could say that & fly at the same time, you knew you were on the right track."
It was labeled "Terry County Auxiliary Airfield" on the 1973 & 1983 USGS topo maps.
A 2,942 square foot fire station was built in 1990.
The airfield was still labeled "Terry County Auxiliary Airfield" on the 1991 USGS topo map.
USGS photo 1996, while the field was still open.
The Reese Auxiliary Airfield was presumably closed when Reese AFB itself closed in 1997, if not before.
At the time of its closure, the airfield consisted of one maintained runway (1/35, 8,900' long)
and a parallel taxiway.
In the above 1996 aerial photo, the remains of a possible additional SE/NW runway
were still visible at the north end of the primary runway.
At some point between 1996-2002,
the former airfield was taken over & reused as a drag racing track,
the Dolca Motorplex (thanks to Mike Bell for pointing this out).
Phil Cornell (the General Manager of the Ed Moseley AutoMall, a primary sponsor of the new drag strip)
provided the following details about the airfield:
"When Reese closed a local crop duster in Levelland bought it [the auxiliary airfield]
so he wouldn't have to ferry loads all the way from Levelland to the Brownfield area to spray.
As you can tell, it was a lot more facility than any FLEET of crop dusters would need.
He was just landing on the taxiway, which is nicer than most small airports around here.
A friend of his saw it one day & mentioned that it would be a good drag strip.
I'm not sure of the exact specs but I believe the first half mile of it is concrete,
36 inches deep & 150 feet wide.
No civilian could afford to build that today.
So, because of the construction it is a very fast drag strip that needs virtually no maintenance."
Ulrich Neumann recalled, “In 2002, the Sports-Class & 18m-Class National Contest was held at Reese AFB.
A total of around 80 gliders competed over a 2 week period.
One day, I didn't make it home due to a thunderstorm between me & Reese AFB.
I had no choice but to land at the Terry County Auxiliary Airfield.
The runway was in bad shape with weeds growing out of the seams,
but fortunately, a glider does not require a whole lot of space to land.
The field was used by the crop dusting operation.
They were flying a huge turbine-powered agricultural plane (Turbo-Thrush?) off the taxiway.”
The former Reese Auxiliary Airfield was being offered for sale on Ebay in 2005.
The 520 acre property (including the runway, taxiway, former fire station, and storage building) was listed for $1 million.
The runway was described in the sale listing as being 8,900' x 150’, plus 1,000’ overrun extension on both north & south ends.
Approximately 2,800' on the south end is paved concrete
and approximately 1,000' on the north end is paved concrete for the touchdown areas,
the center section is paved asphalt for the run-out distance,
total surface area includes 181,667 square yards.
The taxiway was described as paved asphalt with some aircraft parking area
and includes 71,217 square yards of surface area.
The former fire station (currently used as a shop / office building is 2,942 square feet,
and the storage building is 2,826 square feet.
____________________________________________________
32.85 North / 101.92 West (South of Lubbock, TX)
USGS aerial photo 1991.
Photo of the airfield while open has not been located.
Lamesa Field was located 9 miles northeast of the town of Lamesa, TX.
It was established in 1942 AAF contract flying school.
The John Wilson Glider School provided elementary & advanced glider training to Army aviation cadets
of the 28th Army Air Forces Glider Training Detachment until its deactivation in 1943.
In that year, the 3rd Army Air Forces Liaison Training Detachment was moved from Plainview to Lamesa,
with liaison pilot training provided by Clent Breedlove Aerial Services.
Liaison pilot training ended at Lamesa in 1944,
at which point the field was presumably closed.
For at least a few years after WW2,
the airfield served as Lamesa Municipal Airport,
until replaced (at some point between 1944-63) by the current Lamesa Municipal Airport (8 miles south).
The former airfield configuration of Lamesa Field is unknown.
No runways are discernable in the above 1991 aerial photo;
the airfield area (presumed to the east of the hangar) has reverted to farmland.
There were originally 2 hangars at the field.
The airfield isn't depicted at all on the 1968, 1974 or 1985 USGS topo maps.
It was not depicted at all (even as an abandoned airfield) on the 1978 DFW Sectional Chart (courtesy of Ray Brindle).
A 2002 photo by Scott Mudock looking northwest at the only remaining hangar at Lamesa.
The site of Lamesa Field is located west of Glider Road (how appropriate!),
two miles north of Route 87.
Thanks to Scott Murdock for locating this field.
See also: The Handbook of Texas Online.
____________________________________________________