Eaker Air Force Base Blytheville Air Force Base Blytheville Army Airfield | |
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Part of Strategic Air Command/Tactical Air Command | |
Blytheville, Arkansas | |
Coordinates | 35°57′52″N 89°56′38″W / 35.96444°N 89.94389°W |
Type | Air Force Base |
Site information | |
Controlled by | Army Air Forces Eastern Flying Training Command (1942-1945)
Continental Air Forces (1945-1946)
Air Materiel Command (1946) |
Site history | |
Built | Blytheville Army Airfield - May 10, 1942; Blytheville Air Force Base - August 9, 1954 |
In use | 1942–1946, 1953–1992 |
Garrison information | |
Occupants | 25th Two-Engine Flying Training Group (1942-1945)
461st Bombardment Wing (1956–1958) |
Blytheville Air Force Base was a United States Air Force base that operated under the Tactical Air Command and Strategic Air Command from 1954 until its closure in 1992. The facility originally served as a B-25 pilot training school during WW2. For the majority of its operation, the base served as a home for SAC's B-52 ground alert program. In 1988, the facility was renamed Eaker Air Force Base in honor of World War II General of the Eighth Air Force, Ira C. Eaker.[1] It was located 3 miles (4.8 km) northwest of Blytheville, Arkansas. The facility now operates as the Arkansas Aeroplex and Arkansas International Airport.