Lemoore Army Air Field

On an ideally flat treeless plain sprawled in the central San Joaquin Valley, the Lemoore Army Flying School trained men who flew and men who kept them flying.

In December of 1940, the Lemoore Army Air Field was merely a buzzing of rumors, but in one short year, through the combination of military and civilian ingenuity, the buzzing of rumors had been transformed to the roaring of motors of the first BT-13’s at the basic flying school on 960 acres of farm land the Army had selected.

On the first day of October 1941, Project Officer, Colonel Arthur J. Lehman and thirteen enlisted “pioneers” established temporary headquarters at the American Legion building in Lemoore. On December 16, 1941, the barracks at the field were ready and the first class of cadets arrived. Officers and men were assembled from camps all over the country. Personnel representing every state in the Union made this a veritable melting pot, and the men of that melting pot had but one objective, to train flying fighting men. Basic training began December 20,1941.

Early Planning Meeting for Army Air Field

Along with the flight training, supplementary schools were established. Numerous ground crew training activities prepared men as Link Trainer instructors, radio and control tower operators, and aircraft mechanics. Classes were also conducted in the mathematics of celestial navigation. Even the few prisoners attended school where grade and high school subjects were taught.

The base was decommissioned on September 30, 1945.

On March 5, 1944 Jack Benny broadcast his radio show from the Air Field. The recording of this program was provided by the International Jack Benny Fan Club.



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Lemoore Army Air Field
A collection of 51 building photographs taken in 1942
Originals are located on the MilitaryMuseum.org website

LemooreAAFGate-e

Bldg 1000 Gate House

LemooreAAFFlag-e
LemooreAAFStreet-e

Squadron Street

LemooreAAFSidewalk-e

Squadron Area

LemooreAAFAdminBuilding-e

Bldg 323 Base Headquarters

LemooreAAFOperationsSquadron-e

Bldg 159 Squadron Operations Building

LemooreAAF33-e

Bldg 250 88th AB Squadron Orderly Room

LemooreAAFOperationsBuildingCadet-e

Bldg 496 Cadet & Base Operations Building

LemooreAAFLinkTrainingBuilding-e

Bldg 762 Link Trainer Building

LemooreAAFTelephone&Telegraph-e

Telephone and Telegraph Building

LemooreAAFOfficersQuarters-e

Bldg 704 Officers Quarters

LemooreAAFOfficersMess-e

Bldg 405 Officers Mess

LemooreAAFOfficersClub-e

Bldg 406 Officers Club and Mess

LemooreAAFBldg 705 Hospital Admin

Bldg 705 Hospital Admin

LemooreAAFInfirmary-e

Bldg 712 Infirmary

LemooreAAFCombinationWard1-e

Bldg 714 Hospital Combination Ward

LemooreAAFCombinationWard2-e

Bldg 717 Hospital Combination Ward

LemooreAAFBldg717HospitalCombinationWard-e

Bldg 718 Hospital Combination Ward

LemooreAAFMessHall-e

Bldg 728 Hospital Mess Hall

LemooreAAFStoreHouse-e

Bldg 729 Hospital Storehouse

LemooreAAFCoveredWalkwayOpen-e

Hospital Covered Walk

LemooreAAFHeatingPlant-e

Bldg 736 Hospital heating Plant

LemooreAAFFlightSurgonsUnit-e

Bldg 713 Flight Surgeon

LemooreAAFNursesQuarters-e

Bldg 706 Nurses Quarters

LemooreAAFBarrack63Man-e

Bldg 23 63 Man Barracks

LemooreAAFRecreationBuilding

Bldg 760 Recreation Building

LemooreAAFEnlistedMess1000Man-e

Bldg 445 1000 Man Cadet Mess

LemooreAAFCadetMessCafeteria750Man-e

Cadet Mess

LemooreAAFPostExchange-e

Bldg 571 Post Exchange

LemooreAAFRecreationBuilding-e

Bldg 737 Typical Day Room

LemooreAAFDayRoom-e

Bldg 25 836th QM Trk Co Mess Hall

LemooreAAFDayRoom250Man-e

Bldg 426 Cadet Day Room - 250 Man

LemooreAAFCadetSupply-e

Bldg 430 Cadet Supply Room

LemooreAAFTheatre-e

Bldg 666 Theater

LemooreAAFSchool-e

Bldg 321 School Building

LemooreAAFGuardHouse-e

Bldg 263 Guardhouse

LemooreAAFFireStation-e

Building 260 Fire Station

LemooreAAFGasolineStorage-e

Bldg 137 Fueling Point

LemooreAAFWaterPlant-e

Water Plant

LemooreAAWell1PumpHouse-e

Bldg 103 Pumphouse No 1

LemooreAAFWell1PumpHouseInterior2-e

Bldg 103 Interior of Pumphouse No 1

LemooreAAFWell1PumpHouseInnterior-e

Bldg 103 Interior of Pumphouse No 1

LemooreAAFParachuteBuilding-e

Bldg 159 Parachute Building

LemooreAAFPowerSubstation-e

Power Substation

LemooreAAFOil&PaintStorage-e

Bldg 122 Paint & Oil Storage

LemooreAAFPaintBuilding-e

Bldg 123 Paint and Dope Shop

LemooreAAFUtilityShop-e

Bldg 136 Utility Shop

LemooreAAFWarehouse-e

Bldg 141 Warehouse

LemooreAAF49Bldg 124 Warehouse Ordnance & Signal-e

Bldg 124 Warehouse Ordnance & Signal

LemooreAAFCommissary-e

Bldg 138 Commissary

LemooreAAFMotorRepair-e

Bldg 194 Motor Maintenance Shop

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For more information click on the links below:

Formation flight of Vultee BT-13 Aircraft from Lemoore AAF