Heavier-than-air flying machines, operated by young, inexperienced pilots (and even seasoned veterans), are subject to mechanical failure, unfavorable weather conditions, and human error-even before they arrive in an overseas combat zone, where the dangers quickly multiply. Their story, however, has gone largely unknown, their sacrifices unrecognized.Īs everyone knows, flight involves risk. Army Air Forces, Navy, and Marine personnel during World War II. Tragically, there were far too many such accidents that took the lives of thousands of U.S. Everyone on board was killed.Ī freak accident? Yes.
Realizing that he had overshot the runway, the pilot attempted to pull up but slammed into a tree. The pilot was beginning his landing approach into the Indianapolis municipal airport but a heavy fog shrouded the runway. Navy C-47 Skytrain with five men aboard was en route from Naval Air Station, Olathe, Kansas, to Columbus, Ohio. The base changed hands multiple times throughout World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, and has been operated by the Iowa National Guard since 1968.It was Christmas Day, 1944.
P-51 pilots on the apron at Sioux City Army Air Base, circa 1945. Mechanics working on a B-17 at the Sioux City Army Air Base, 1944.ĭwarfed by the heavy bombers described above, the base also hosted the popular and versatile P-51 Mustang, pictured below, which was used in a variety of roles such as an escort for larger planes, a combat fighter, or a light bomber. The base specialized in advanced training and was the last stop for many air crews before being deployed overseas in heavy bombers like the B-17 Flying Fortress, pictured below, which was used extensively in Europe the B-24 Liberator, which was used all over the world or, later in the war, the B-29 Superfortress, pictured above, which was used exclusively in the Pacific. The Sioux City Air National Guard Base at the Sioux Gateway Airport originated as the Sioux City Army Airbase during World War II.Ĭonstruction of the base began just three months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the United States' entry into the war, and was completed in July 1942.
B-29 public display event at Sioux City Army Air Base, circa 1946.
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