Lewistown Army Airfield

Lewistown Army Airfield (1942-1943) - A World War II U.S. Army Airfield established in 1942 near Lewistown, Fergus County, Montana. Named Lewistown Army Airfield after the location. Operated 1942-1943 and then deactivated. Declared surplus in 1948. Now Lewistown Municipal Airport.

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History

The Lewistown Army Airfield was built in 1942 as one of four training facilities for B-17 Flying Fortress crews. On 28 Oct 1942, the first Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses landed at the Lewistown AAF.

Lewistown AAF was a satellite field for the Great Falls Army Air Base. B-17 aircrews were trained in navigation, gunnery and bombing practice with the top secret Norden bombsight. After this last phase of their training, aircrews were sent to combat units overseas. B-17 bomber squadrons combat losses were horrific. A single mission over Germany in October 1942 claimed 60 B-17s and 600 lives.

The airfield was only in operation during a 11-month period between 1942 and 1943 and thereafter deactivated. The field was declared surplus in 1948 and later became a municipal airport.

Current Status

Now part of Lewistown Municipal Airport and the Lewistown Satellite Airfield Historic District. The site of the former Lewistown Army Airfield is unusual in that some of the WWII era buildings still exist including the only known surviving Norden Bombsight storage vault. Afixed to many of the historic buildings are plaques that identify the building and provide some historic context.

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Location: Near Lewistown in Fergus County, Montana. Maps & Images Lat: 47.049167 Long: -109.466667 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 4,170

GPS Locations: 47.049167, -109.466667 Lewistown Army Airfield 47.055133, -109.459467 Lewistown Army Airfield Marker 47.048550, -109.456000 Camouflage Building Marker 47.047917, -109.457367 All Purpose Shop Marker 47.047767, -109.458300 Crew Chief Building Marker 47.047550, -109.458167 Armament Building Marker 47.047267, -109.459483 Hanger Marker 47.046683, -109.460650 Norden Bombsite Storage Building Marker 47.047100, -109.459950 Operations and Alert Building Marker

See Also:

• Great Falls Army Air Base

Sources:

• US Army Owned, Sponsored and Leased Facilities Report, AMD-1, Office of the Chief of Engineers, 31 Dec 1945, CDSG Pdf
• Larson, LTC George A. USAF (Ret.), Montana During World War 2, 2020, Merriam Press, ISBN

9781678010447, 370 pages.

• Shaw, Frederick J. Ed., Locating Air Force Base Sites: History's Legacy, updated 2014, Air Force History and Museums Program, USAF, Washington DC, 2004, 268 pages

Links:

• HMDB - Lewistown Satellite Airfield Historic District Note: This link provides access to each of the building marker pages.
• NPS - Lewistown Satellite Airfield Historic District
• Wikipedia - Lewistown Municipal Airport
• The Army Air Forces in World War II, Part 6, men and Planes, Chapter 4.

Fortification ID:

• MT0000 - Lewistown Army Airfield

Visited: No

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