PAAF - Pratt Army Airfield

PAAF - Pratt Army Airfield. . , In early 1941, before the Pearl Harbor attack, the U.S. Military began plans to expand land and air strength due to brewing world tensions. In August 1942, the War Department authorized money for a military installation to be built at Pratt KS USA. Army Air Fields were established on the Kansas prairies at: Pratt, Great Bend, Salina, Herrington, and Walker Field near Hays. These new air bases provided the longer runways required by the B-29 and served as staging areas to form and train B-29 crews. In September 1942, the construction of Pratt Army Air Field began. The Pratt Army Air Field was located about 3 miles north of the City of Pratt, and covered over 4 square miles of area. In February 1943, Pratt Army Air Field (known as P-A-A-F or "PAAF" by the locals) was designated as a full-fledged Army Airbase for crew training, and had its official dedication on May 2, 1943. The mission of Pratt Army Air Field was to process and equip for overseas duty, the various bombardment wings formed and trained for the B-29 Superfortress. The Air Field featured , Three 8,000 foot long runways, Five Hangers which could house B-29s, 72 Barracks with a capacity of 3,060 enlisted men, Eight Officers Quarters housing 522 Officers, A Machine Shop to replace or repair aircraft parts, several Base Operations buildings, and the Base Headquarters. There were over 100 discrete functional offices on the base. The site had many other buildings and facilities similar to those of a small city. , Copyright © 2015 B-29 Museum Inc. , Funded in part by the Recreational Trails Program administered by the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism , Sign by Lowen Sign, Hutchinson, KS.