Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields:
Southern
Wisconsin© 2002, © 2004 by
Paul Freeman. Revised 12/18/04.
Bong AFB (revised 11/29/03) - Dodgeville Municipal Airport (revised 10/11/03)
Maitland Airport (revised 3/27/04) - Platteville Airport (revised 12/18/04) - Rainbow Airport (added 7/3/04)
____________________________________________________
(Original) Platteville Airport (C46), Platteville, WI
42.67 North / 90.5 West (West of Milwaukee, WI)
The original Platteville Airport, as depicted on the June 1962 Dubuque Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The original airport for the town of Platteville was located 4 miles south of the town.
The date of construction of the original Platteville Airport has not been determined.
The earliest depiction of the field which has been located
was on the June 1962 Dubuque Sectional Chart
(courtesy of Chris Kennedy).It described Platteville Airport as having a 2,000' unpaved runway.
The 1962 AOPA Airport Directory described Platteville Airport as having a single 2,000' sod Runway 9/27,
and listed the operator as William Nodorft.
The 1971 Flight Guide (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
depicted the original Platteville Airport as having a 2,200' unpaved Runway 9/27,
along with a 2,000' unpaved Runway 1/19 (which was labeled as being for "Emergency only".
A few small buildings were depicted on the northeast & southeast sides of the field.
The May 1971 Chicago Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
depicted the original Platteville Airport as having a 1,700' unpaved runway.
It also depicted the new Plateville Municipal Airport,
which had been constructed a few miles to the northeast.
Platteville's primary east/west runway had apparently been paved at some point between 1971-80,
as the 1980 Flight Guide (courtesy of Chris Kennedy) depicted the field as having a 2,200' paved Runway 9/27,
along with a 1,500' unpaved Runway 1/19.
A parachute drop zone was depicted on the northwest side of the field,
anda few small buildings were depicted on the northeast & southeast sides of the field.
The 1982 AOPA Airports USA directory
(courtesy of Ed Drury)described Platteville as having a 2,200' asphalt Runway 9/27 & a 1,550' turf Runway 1/19.
The operators were listed as Nodorft Aviation & Wizzard Radio.
The 1984 USGS topo map depicted Platteville Airport as having a single east/west runway.
In the 1995 USGS aerial photo, Platteville Airport appeared to still be open,
as the runway was not marked with any form of closed runway "X" markings.
The crosswind grass runway was quite noticeable in this picture.
Two hangars & several other smaller buildings were clustered around the eastern end of the runway.
The original Platteville Airport was closed by 1998,
as the 1998 World Aeronautical Chart only depicted the new Platteville Airport (a few miles to the east),
not the original field.
A June 2004 aerial photo by Robbie Culver, looking south at the abandoned former Platteville Airport,
which is still completely intact.
Several vehicles appeared to be parked on the east end of the paved runway, which was otherwise intact.
The former grass crosswind runway also remained intact, and the hangars also remained standing.
Rainbow Airport was located southeast of the intersection of Ryan Road South 76th Street.
Thanks to Robbie Culver for pointing out this airfield.
____________________________________________________
Rainbow Airport (Y78), Franklin, WI
42.86 North / 88.01 West (Southwest of Milwaukee, WI)
An aerial view looking north at Rainbow Airport
from the 1960 Sky Eye Wisconsin Airport Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The date of construction of this former general aviation airport has not been determined.
The earliest depiction of the field which has been located
was in the 1960 Sky Eye Wisconsin Airport Directory
(courtesy of Chris Kennedy).It described Rainbow Airport as having a total of 4 sod runways,
with the longest being the 2,300' north/south & east/west strips.
The 1970 Milwaukee Sectional Chart (courtesy of John Voss)
depicted Rainbow Airport as having a 2,600' unpaved runway.
Rainbow Airport apparently gained a paved runway at some point between 1970-82,
as the 1982 AOPA Airport Directory
(courtesy of Ed Drury) described the fieldas having a 2,125' asphalt Runway 9/27 & a 1,975' turf Runway 18/36.
The operator was listed as Rainbow Airport Inc. (a Cessna dealer).
The 1987 USGS topo map depicted the paved Runway 9/27, as well as two grass runways.
According to Andrew Pyzyk, Rainbow Airport was closed (for reasons unknown) in 1996.
Andrew Pyzyk reported in 2003, "I passed the site about a year ago and noticed one remaining building."
In the above 1998 USGS aerial photo, the abandoned paved runway at Rainbow was still in very good condition,
with several closed-runway "X" symbols visible along its length.
The airport was still completely intact,
with what appeared to be several hangars remaining on the west side of the property.
Rainbow Airport was located southeast of the intersection of Ryan Road South 76th Street..
____________________________________________________
Dodgeville Municipal Airport (55C), Dodgeville, WI
43 North / 90.14 West (West of Madison, WI)
What was then known as the "Governer Dodge-Quinn" Airport,
as depicted on the 1967 Milwaukee Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
Photo of the airport while open has not been located.
The Dodgeville Municipal Airport was apparently built at some point between May-December 1967,
as it was not depicted on the May 1967 Milwaukee Sectional Chart
(according to Chris Kennedy).By the time of the December 1967 Milwaukee Sectional Chart
(courtesy of Chris Kennedy),it had appeared on the chart, labeled "Governer Dodge-Quinn".
It was described as having a 2,800' unpaved runway.
It was apparently renamed Dodgeville (and gained a paved runway) at some point within the next three years,
as the May 1970 Milwaukee Sectional Chart
(courtesy of John Voss)described Dodgeville as having a single 2,800' paved runway.
"Dodgeville Airport" was described in the 1971 Flight Guide
(according to Chris Kennedy)as having a single 2,800' hard-surface Runway 12/30.
USGS topo map 1980.
The 1982 AOPA Airport Directory
(courtesy of Ed Drury)described Dodgeville Municipal Airport in the same manner.
The most remarkable aspect of the Dodgeville Airport is its resident Boeing C-97G,
which serves as a static display at the Don Q Inn which sits adjacent to the south side of the airport.
Dodgeville's C-97G was built in 1952, and it has logged a total of 10,068 hours of flight.
This particular C-97G was used to film two commercials for the Mercury Cougar in 1975,
and Farrah Fawcett's autograph appears on the lower fuselage.
It was purchased in 1977 from a bankrupt company in Long Beach, CA.
Registered as N227AR, the C-97G was flown into the comparatively tiny 2,800' runway at Dodgeville in 1977.
Each main landing gear was three feet outside the edge of the runway, creating a large cloud of dust.
Upon touchdown, the plane was put into reverse thrust & the brakes applied to maximum,
stopping the C-97G just in the nick of time.
According to Dick Phillips (retired Northwest Airlines),
"The C-97G was flown into the field by Dick Schmidt.
He was an Air Force Reserve C-97 pilot & a Captain for Air Wisconsin.
I knew him quite well when I worked for Air Wisconsin back in the 1960s & 1970s."
Ron Plante recalled, "I first saw the plane back in 1986-87.
I'm certain the airport was open at that time."
Dodgeville was still listed as an active airport in the 1987 Flight Guide
(according to Chris Kennedy).
The Dodgeville Airport apparently closed (for reasons unknown) at some point between 1987-98,
as it was no longer depicted at all (not even as an abandoned airfield)
on the 1998 World Aeronautical Chart.
In the above 2000 aerial photo, the runway was clearly marked with closed "X" symbols,
but the airfield was otherwise not redeveloped.
A paved ramp still exists along the south side of the runway,
and there appears to be at least one hangar still standing on the western edge of the ramp.
Note the C-97G parked at the southeast corner.
A series of photos taken 2003 by Ron Plante of the C-97G which sits in front of the Don Q Inn,
adjacent to the south side of the former Dodgeville Municipal Airport.
Ron Plante reported in 2003, "I went again yesterday to confirm the plane is still there but the airport is closed.
I went inside the C-97G again, and sadly it is not in good shape.
The plane is in front of the no longer glamorous Don Q Inn & Hotel."
He reported that the land of the former airport "now appears to be agricultural."
____________________________________________________
Maitland Airport, Milwaukee, WI
43.03 North / 87.9 West (East of Downtown Milwaukee, WI)
This undated photo appeared in "Airport Operation & Management", by Charles Zweng, 1947,
with the caption, "Downtown Milwaukee landing strip opened in Milwaukee by Lange Aviation,
operator of adjacent Milwaukee Seadrome."
This landing strip was located along the banks of the Milwaukee Bay,
near the present-day intersection of East Chicago Street & Interstate 794.
The date of construction of the airfield is unknown.
The earliest reference to the field which has been located
was in the 1934 Department of Commerce Airfield Directory
(according to Chris Kennedy).It listed an "Air Marine Terminal" as being located "on lake front, 3,000' north of harbor entrance,
on east side of business section of city, near C & N W depot."
The airfield was said to consist of a 1,000' north/south earth field,
within which was a single 900' macadam runway.
The 1947 book "Airport Operation & Management"
depicted a "Downtown Milwaukee landing strip opened in Milwaukee by Lange Aviation,
operator of adjacent Milwaukee Seadrome."
A "Maitland" Airport at this location was depicted on the 1948 Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
and was described as having a 2,900' hard-surface runway.
"Maitland" Airport was depicted in the same fashion on the 1949 Milwaukee Sectional Chart
(courtesy of Donald Felton).
Maitland Airport was apparently closed (for reasons unknown) at some point after 1949.
The property of the former Maitland Airport was reused in the 1950s
as the location of the Army's M-20 Nike missile launch site,
one of several Nike batteries which provided anti-aircraft defense for the city of Milwaukee.
Rick Gerou recalled, "I do know that what was Maitland Airport became, at least in the late 1950's - late 1960's
a Nike missile base (M-20) for the defense of the Milwaukee/Chicago area.
I have three vivid memories of visiting family in Milwaukee: 1) The Railroad Yards,
2) The Ships, and, 3) those Missiles - which I once got to see elevated.
I believe the area was decommissioned in the late 1960's
before the final phase out of the Nike Hercules system.
No airfield at the site of Maitland Airport was depicted
on the May 1970 Milwaukee Sectional Chart
(courtesy of John Voss).
The 1971 USGS topo map still labeled the site "US Military Reservation",
with two roads in the same location as the runway shown in the above aerial photo.
In the above circa 2000 aerial photo, the site of the former Maitland Airport had been redeveloped as a park,
although the road sharing the runway alignment is still perceptible.
Richard Rajchel reported in 2003 that the site of the former airport is currently "the
Summerfest grounds.Nearly all summer there are festivals there, including Summerfest,
which is one of the largest music festivals anywhere."
____________________________________________________
Richard Bong AFB, Burlington, WI
42.63 North / 88.15 West (Southwest of Milwaukee, WI)
Aerial view of the Bong runway, circa 2000.
According to Scott Murdock, this property was originally known to the Air Force as the Kansasville Area.
It was redesignated Richard Bong Air Force Base on December 1, 1955,
and was intended to be an Air Defense Command interceptor base.
According to
GlobalSecurity, the planned base was named after Richard Ira Bong,a Wisconsin native eventually became the leading American Ace of all time.
The Air Force chose the Bong AFB location
to defend Chicago & Milwaukee from Soviet bombers.
As part of the effort by Strategic Air Command to disperse the strategic bomber force,
SAC assumed jurisdiction, control, and accountability of Bong from ADC on June 5, 1957.
The base was assigned to the Eighth Air Force,
and SAC's 4040th Air Base Squadron was assigned as the base housekeeping unit on August 1, 1958.
The base & the squadron were transferred to Second Air Force on January 1, 1959.
SAC may have intended to station B-58 Hustler supersonic bombers at the base.
By 1959, a massive runway (15/31, 12,900' long) had been graded & the subsurface prepared,
and a few buildings had been constructed.
However, construction was suddenly halted on October 2 1959,
a mere three days before concrete was to be poured along the huge runway,
and the base was declared excess on August 23, 1960.
Secretary of the Air Force James Douglas explained that
"Finally we realized that by 1961-62 when Bong would be ready,
we would have several other medium bomber bases empty of squadrons & we really don't need Bong."
Thus Bong AFB was abandoned before ever being placed into service.
During the 1960's, the aborted AFB property was used
as a training site for Special Forces units headed for Viet Nam.
The site was depicted as "Aband arpt"
on the May 1970 Milwaukee Sectional Chart
(courtesy of John Voss).
In 1974 the state bought the 4,515-acre property of the former AFB,
and it became the
Richard Bong State Recreation Area, the state's first recreation area.
A recent map of the former runway area at the Bong State Recreation Area.
Among many activities conducted at the park,
the area of the huge aborted runway is used for flying
hang gliders & ultralight aircraft.
The runway area of the former Bong AFB. Photo by Scott Murdock, 2003.
Scott Murdock visited the site of Bong AFB in 2003.
"I was pleased to see that the state maintained the name of the property,
and that they describe the base & its namesake in their visitor pamphlet.
In fact, the signs refers to the runway area as - the runway!
I was able to drive the length of the park road that now sits on the intended parallel taxiway.
On a different day I might have walked on the intended runway,
but I arrived during a special pheasant hunt.
Not being a participating hunter,
I had to stay on the paved road & out of the runway area."
____________________________________________________