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Courtland Army Air Field (CAAF): Facilities
At its greatest strength, CAAF was home to 4600 officers, enlisted servicemen, and cadets. During the war years it was the largest population center within Lawrence County. Over 370 structures were constructed, including aircraft hangars, operations buildings, warehouses, barracks, mess halls, maintenance facilities, water supply/sewage treatment facilities, a weather station, and a hospital. To help accommodate the sudden influx of personnel during construction and following activation, locals opened their homes to servicemen and their wives. Electricity was supplied by TVA, and a railroad spur was constructed to accept delivery of materials and fuel. A small arms range and a chemical/gas chamber were onsite to support training requirements. Other facilities that provided day-to-day needs and recreation included a PX, officers/enlisted clubs, a chapel, and two theaters. An Army band posted at the base also toured local communities to boost morale and support War Bond drives. As schedules allowed, servicemen took advantage of leisure opportunities on the nearby Tennessee River.
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Courtland Army Air Field (CAAF): Deactivation
(Continued from other side)Demand for pilot training fell during 1943-44, and many airfields were gradually deactivated nationwide. As an emergency temporary construction, CAAF was also slated for closure, and was officially deactivated on 30 June 1945. Over the next three decades, most of the buildings were removed or destroyed. By request of the Ala Air National Guard, a steel-framed hangar was moved to the Birmingham Municipal Airport around 1950. Until the mid-1980s the CAAF property was used as a poultry farm, an auto race course, an auction facility, and a home for crop duster aircraft. Proposed uses included a horse race track, a coal gasification plant, and a prison, but none of those materialized. Lawrence County acquired the land in 1985 for use as an industrial park and a public airport was activated using two of the original runways. The 1990s saw a rebirth of the site with the advent of several light industrial businesses and a Lockheed-Martin missile assembly plant. US Army aviation returned to the site when the Redstone Test Center began using the property for helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft testing in 2010.
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