Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields:
Northwestern Utah
© 2002, © 2008 by Paul Freeman. Revised 6/7/08.
Locomotive Springs Intermediate Field (revised 4/5/04) - Low Flight Strip (revised 6/21/05)
Wendover AFB (revised 6/7/08)
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Locomotive Springs Intermediate Field, Locomotive Springs, UT
41.71 North / 112.92 West (Northwest of Salt Lake City, UT)
Locomotive Springs Intermediate Field, as depicted on a May 1930 Airway Map (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
Photo of the airfield while open has not been located.
Locomotive Springs was one of the Department of Commerce's network of Intermediate Fields,
which were constructed in the 1920s & 1930s along airways between major cities.
They were intended for emergency use by commercial aircraft.
The date of construction of the Locomotive Springs Intermediate Field has not been determined.
The earliest reference to the field which has been located
was on a May 1930 Airway Map (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
A 1933 Department of Commerce Airport Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
described Locomotive Springs as Site 7 along the Salt Lake - El Paso Airway.
It was described as consisting of a 2,000' x 1,900' rectangular sod field,
with boundary & approach lights, and a rotating beacon.
Locomotive Springs was still depicted as an active airfield
on the July 1940 Salt Lake City Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
As commercial aircraft became more reliable & longer ranged in the 1940s,
many of the more remote Intermediate Fields in the Department of Commerce's network became superfluous,
and this was most likely the case with Locomotive Springs.
It was evidently closed at some point between 1940-44,
as it was not listed in the April 1944 US Army/Navy Directory of Airfields (courtesy of Ken Mercer),
and it was not depicted on the February 1945 Salt Lake City Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy).
USGS topo map 1969.
Post-WW2 USGS sectional charts continued to depict the 2 runways at Locomotive Springs,
but the field was labeled simply as "Landing Strips",
which usually indicates that it was no longer an active airfield.
The 1969 USGS topo map depicted the field as having a 2,000' northwest/southeast runway
and a shorter north/south runway.
As seen in the 1993 USGS aerial photo,
the desert landscape has preserved the 2 runways at Locomotive Springs remarkably well,
more than 60 years after they were evidently constructed.
There was no sign of any buildings having been at the site.
The Locomotive Springs airfield is located southeast of the intersection of Locomotive Road & Salt Wells Road.
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40.79 North / 113.2 West (West of Salt Lake City, UT)
Low Flight Strip, as depicted on the 1945 Salt Lake Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
Photo of the airfield while open has not been located.
This was one of the many Flight Strips which were built by the USAAF
during WW2 for the emergency use of military aircraft.
The Low Flight Strip was listed on a 1943 table of 2nd Air Force Flight Strips (courtesy of John Voss),
which indicated that construction of the strip was completed in 1943.
The strip was described as consisting of a 7,130' paved runway,
with a total graded length of 9,130'.
Low Flight Strip was an auxiliary field of either Wendover AAF or Salt Lake AAF during WWII (according to Keith Wood).
It consisted of a single north/south runway, which was built on top of a dirt road which led north from US Highway 40.
According to Keith Wood, “Apparently they started using the road for liaison planes,
then widened it for larger planes before finally diverting the road past the western side of the runway & paving the airstrip.”
It was depicted as "Low FS" on the September 1949 Great Salt Lake World Aeronautical Chart (courtesy of Donald Felton).
The 1955 & 1965 Salt Lake City Sectional Charts (according to Chris Kennedy)
depicted it as "Low FS AF", and described it as having a 7,100' hard-surface runway.
It is not known whether the Low Flight Strip was ever reused as a civilian airfield.
Low Flight Strip, as depicted on the 1965 Salt Lake Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The Low Flight Strip was apparently closed at some point after 1965.
In the 1993 USGS aerial photo, the runway was remarkably well preserved,
considering that it was built nearly 60 years ago.
The paved runway surface had apparently been extended at some point after the runway's initial construction,
as the length of the runway pavement is 9,300' in the 1993 aerial photo.
There was also what appeared to be a small square paved ramp area,
along the west side of the northern end of the runway.
There did not appear to be any trace of any buildings at the site.
This field was not depicted at all (not even as an abandoned airfield)
on either recent USGS topo maps or 2002 aeronautical charts.
This seems quite strange, for a 9,300' paved runway!
A road now passes down the center of the runway of the Flight Strip.
This road runs between Interstate 80 (4 miles to the south)
and the Grassy Mountain toxic-waste facility which sits adjacent to the Flight Strip to the northwest.
This complex also is not depicted on USGS topo maps.
A 2005 photo by Keith Wood, looking north along the remains of the runway pavement at Low.
“Digging down a couple of inches through the sand covering, I hit solid pavement -
except in the center, which was pretty much pulverized by years of heavy trucks driving over it (thus to preserve the main road).”
Keith Wood visited the site of Low Flight Strip in 2005.
He reported: “The paved runway is now covered by several inches of sand,
which was done sometimes in the desert to preserve the blacktop when a field was abandoned.
This field is at the edge of restricted airspace, used for low-level training from Hill AFB,
and it's possible that it was expected to be used again.
I found no sign of ground facilities, ramp, tiedowns, etc - just the windsock & the runway.
Less than 2 minutes after I stopped on the road to start shooting, I had a van pulling up to ask what I was up to.
When I told the driver I was only shooting photos of the airstrip,
he asked if I meant to shoot the bombing range a couple of miles up the road.
He didn't know about the airstrip, and looked at the windsock pole as if finally figuring out what it was for!”
A 2005 photo by Keith Wood, looking east from the road at the windsock pole which remains erect Low.
A 2005 photo by Keith Wood of the remains of a large, illuminated wind sock pole near the south end of the strip.
Power lines followed the current road, but there was no trace of wires to the windsock.
“Scraps of heavy orange canvas litter the ground around the post.
The metal frame from the windsock is now a nest for some large bird, so it could be said that flight operations continue.”
A 2005 photo by Keith Wood of the remains of the light bulb which presumably sat on top of the windsock pole.
“A minor mystery is that the red dome on the top light of the windsock was made of plastic, which makes it post-WWII -
indicating some use after the war!”
Low Flight Strip is located 4 miles north of Interstate 80, 6 miles northeast of Knolls, UT.
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Wendover AFB (ENV), Wendover, UT
40.72 North / 114 West (West of Salt Lake City, UT)
A 1943 Army plan of Wendover AAF, courtesy of John Voss.
According to Lou Thole's "Forgotten Fields of America", Volume III,
Wendover's history began in 1940, when the Army began looking for additional bombing ranges,
and Wendover was selected, as it was remote, and offered wide open spaces.
As of 1940, the Wendover airfield consisted of a gravel runway & a few buildings.
By 1941, the field had been expanded, with paved runways & additional buildings.
Wendover was officially recognized as a separate military base in 1942.
It supported the huge (1,822,200 acre) Wendover Bombing & Gunnery Range southeast of the airfield,
and also served as a B-17 & B-24 heavy bombardment training base.
In 1942, Wendover's 1st bomber aircraft (B-17s) arrived.
As depicted on a 1943 2nd Air Force General Layout Plan (courtesy of John Voss),
the airfield at Wendover consisted of three 8,100' paved runways, taxiways,
a 300,000 square foot ramp, six hangars, an "igloo magazine area" south of the airfield,
and a cantonment area with hundreds of buildings situated on a street grid north of the airfield.
Loading a practice "Fat Man" atomic bomb on a B-29.
Wendover was the training site of the 509th Composite Group,
the B-29 unit which dropped the Hiroshima & Nagasaki atomic bombs.
Wendover was chosen for this mission because of its isolation & the need for security.
A large "Technical Site" was built on the south side of the airfield,
where the first & second atomic bombs were assembled.
A detachment of the Special Weapons Branch, Wright Field, Ohio,
arrived at Wendover in 1944 with the mission of evaluating
captured & experimental rocket systems,
including the German V-1 "buzz bomb" & guided glide bombs.
Numerous tests were conducted, including the JB-2, a copy of the German V-1,
which was tested at a site just south of Wendover's Technical Site.
Keith Wood noted, “The JB-2 'Doodle Bug' cruise missile (called the 'Loon' by the Navy)
was an American-made copy of the German V-1 'Buzz Bomb',
reverse-engineered by Republic Aviation (airframe) & Ford Aerospace (pulsejet engine)
based on inspections of V-1 wreckage in England.
The JB-2 was flight-tested less than 4 months after the first V-1 attack on England,
which was an incredible feat of aviation development!
Ironically, the JB-2 was built to be used in the invasion of Japan -
an invasion which was prevented by the atomic bombs assembled only a few hundred feet from this ramp.”
After the end of WW2, Wendover was used for a while to store B-29 bombers.
Keith Wood noted, “After the war, German V-1s were tested from this site to compare performance with the American copies.”
Wendover was transferred to the Strategic Air Command in 1947
& was used by bombardment groups deploying on maneuvers.
Wendover Air Force Base, renamed in 1947, was inactivated in 1949.
However, Wendover AFB was still depicted as an active airfield
on the September 1949 Great Salt Lake World Aeronautical Chart (courtesy of Donald Felton).
It was depicted as having a 8,100' hard-surface runway.
Wendover AFB was transferred to the Ogden Air Material Area in 1950.
The range continued to be utilized for bombing & gunnery practice.
Tactical Air Command reactivated the base in 1954 & tactical units deployed there for exercises.
TAC utilized the base for the next 4 years & spent several million dollars renovating facilities.
Wendover was transferred again back to the Ogden Air Material Area on January 1, 1958
and renamed Wendover Air Force Auxiliary Field on January 31, 1958.
A 1958 aerial view (courtesy of Rex Ricks) looking northeast at Wendover's ramp,
showing the large number of hangars.
A September 1959 aerial view (courtesy of Rex Ricks)
looking north at the nose-dock hangars used by Wendover's 28th Logistic Support Squadron & 4677th Defense System Evaluation Squadron.
Wendover's range was renamed Hill Air Force Range in 1960.
The Wendover airfield had apparently been closed at some point prior to 1965,
as "Wendover AF Aux" was labeled "(Closed)" on the 1965 Salt Lake Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The base was reportedly inactivated in 1969.
Wendover AF Aux was declared surplus in 1976
and most of the field was turned over to the town of Wendover
as a municipal airport, named Decker Field.
Beginning in 1980 the 4440th Tactical Fighter Training Group (Red Flag), Nellis AFB, Nevada,
used the field for exercises, but they were discontinued after 1986.
An undated photo from the Historic American Buildings Survey,
looking northwest at Wendover's abandoned control tower (Building 429).
An undated photo from the Historic American Buildings Survey,
looking northwest at Wendover's abandoned Maintenance Field Hangar (Building 1831).
An undated photo from the Historic American Buildings Survey
of the interior of Wendover's abandoned Maintenance Field Hangar (Building 1831).
An undated photo from the Historic American Buildings Survey,
looking northwest at Wendover's former Squadron Hangar (Building 821).
An undated photo from the Historic American Buildings Survey
of the interior of Wendover's former Squadron Hangar (Building 821).
An undated photo from the Historic American Buildings Survey
of one of the abandoned weapons bunkers of Wendover's former "War Reserve Strategic Storage".
A 1996 photo by Lou Thole (author of the book "Forgotten Fields of America")
of the former "Enola Gay Hangar" at Wendover.
Recent aerial view of Wendover.
A recent view of the ramp & remaining hangars at Wendover.
A recent view of Wendover's Hangar 5.
Today this former Air Force Base is still used as a civil airport,
yet for such a huge facility (the longest runway is 9,900' long),
it is all but abandoned, as only 11 aircraft are still based on the field.
Still-extant facilities include 3 paved runways, numerous ramps, taxiways,
dispersal pads, all of the original hangars (including the "Enola Gay" B-29 hangar),
and 75 other WW2-era buildings.
Several flying scenes for the 1997 movie "Con Air" were filmed at Wendover, using a Fairchild C-123K Provider.
A non-profit group, Historic Wendover Airfield, is attempting to restore the historic elements of the field.
A 2003 photo by Don Barrett of the abandoned control tower & other buildings at Wendover.
"What looked to be an old administrative building [on the right] had some activity going on inside,
which appeared to be a wedding.
There was a hand-painted sign on one end that described the building as a night club.
From the looks of things, this was not a formally recognized use of the building."
A 2003 photo by Don Barrett of the abandoned barracks at Wendover.
"An old section of barracks, many with doors open, filled with trash, old mattresses, etc."
A 2003 photo by Don Barrett of the abandoned & fenced-off pool at Wendover.
"Somehow this abandoned pool at what was probably a service member's club
seemed to capture the essence of the place -
the only spot of color, and even it is empty & fenced off."
Don Barrett visited Wendover in 2003.
"The base is as is currently described on the web page, but much more depressing.
There is clearly a small & active municipal field there,
but the structures from the airbase are deteriorating badly
with apparently squatters having taken over some of the old barracks,
and the hangars & other facilities are continuing to fall apart."
"There are regular problems in Wendover due to conflicts with West Wendover, NV.
West Wendover is a booming gaming resort
while Wendover is getting increasingly poor
and appears to be becoming the residence of the poor service staff that work in the casinos.
This probably accounts for why preservation activities (of what could be an interesting tourist site)
are making no headway."
A 2003 Army Corps of Engineers diagram of the former boundaries of the Wendover Range (green)
and the UT Test & Training Range South (purple).
A local observer noted, “The county keeps trying to make Wendover Field pay off,
because it is the only thing on the Utah side of the state line which has no counterpart on the other side.
The motels in Wendover can't compete with the casino hotels a block to the west.
The other major businesses are 2 pawn shops, 2 or 3 gas stations, a small market and a Mexican restaurant.
The population is becoming more and more Hispanic, mostly workers at the salt plant or the casinos.
As far as making Wendover Field pay off, the county keeps really blowing it.
One of the hangars is used for salt storage,
but when someone was exploring using that hangar for an aviation operation,
the county set the rent too high (considering the remote location of the airport),
plus they demanded a million dollars in insurance.
That, combined with the cost of cleanup & repair,
drove the company to another airport, closer to Salt Lake City & in a different county.”
A local observer noted, “Their next brilliant move was to set their big annual airshow
on the same weekend as the Reno Air Races in 2004.
That not only dried up the audience & show participants,
but it also closed the field to planes which might have fueled on the way to Reno.
They learned their lesson for 2005, but the screwup the year before
took Wendover off the radar for a lot of people, and this will take a while to rebuild.”
A 2005 photo © by Jeff Miller (used by permission) of Wendover's operations building & control tower.
A 2005 photo © by Jeff Miller (used by permission) of the Fairchild C-123K Provider used for filming sequences of the movie Con-Air at Wendover.
A local observer noted, “The C-123 is actually a fuselage mounted on a bus chassis!
They would spin the props & drive the thing around shooting their scenes.
After the filming was done, the company more or less abandoned it.
I don't know what the status is now, whether they donated it or the airport just decided that it was abandoned,
but visitors now can go into the plane and look around, after they get permission to go onto the ramp.”
A 2005 photo © by Jeff Miller (used by permission) of a Casino Express Boeing 737-282/Adv at Wendover, missing its left engine.
A local observer noted in 2006 that “The northeast/southwest runway is pretty much gone.
It was used by USAF engineers training for runway demolition & repair.
The east/west runway is new, put in only a couple of years ago in hopes of drawing commercial service.
The field belongs to Tooele County.
Wendover is 100 miles from the county seat & 85 miles from the nearest town in the county.
The town was just a stop on US Highway 40 where it met the state line
and US 93, a market, and a couple of motels & gas stations, before the Air Corps arrived.
All of the town's growth was driven by the AAF
(in fact, much of the town shows the unmistakeable stamp of military construction),
and when the Air Force Base closed in the late 1960s the town's economy all but died.
If not for the casinos across the state line (West Wendover NV), the whole area would be pretty much abandoned.”
A January 2006 photo by Keith Wood of a historical sign at the site of Wendover's former Hangar 835 & Fire Station.
A local observer noted in 2006, “Continuing what appears to be a campaign of killing off Wendover,
the county has neglected or demolished nearly every building of historical significance.
Signs (courtesy of the Wendover Historical Society) show where some of these buildings once stood, but it's really kind of sad.
Deteriorating, abandoned barracks remain by the dozens, but the major buildings are long gone.”
A January 2006 photo by by Keith Wood of “The 'Enola Gay hangar' once used by the 509th Composite Group.
The hangar continues to rust, apparently not maintained since the Air Force moved out nearly 40 years ago.
A local observer noted in 2006, “Bob Hope called the place 'Leftover Field' when he appeared there during WWII,
and now there are only leftovers of Leftover.”
A local observer noted in 2006, “All of the areas of significance regarding the atomic bomb are closed off, kept away from the public.
'Aviation safety issues' prevent tours from visiting the various parts of the base,
though there are only about 10 flight operations there per day.
Aside from the signs mentioned above,
the only way that anyone would know about the field's history
is from a tiny museum located in the smallest room of the Operations Building.”
A January 2006 photo by Keith Wood of the remains of the Wendover launch site (south of the airfield)
used for testing the JB-2 "Buzz Bomb" cruise missile.
A local observer noted in 2006, “Buzz Bomb debris can still be found east & north of this site.”
See also: http://www.onlineutah.com/wendoverairfieldhistory.shtml
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