MacDill Air Force Base
MacDill Air Force Base is located seven miles south of Tampa, Florida, on the southwestern tip of the interbay peninsula in Hillsborough County. This area once had been used as a military staging area during the Spanish-American War but did not become a military installation until much later. In 1939, the War Department selected Tampa to receive one of several new military air fields and worked out arrangements for the transfer of the land.
MacDill Field was officially activated on April 16, 1941 and named in honor of
U.S. Army aviation pioneer and World War I veteran, Colonel Leslie MacDill. The
original mission of the base during World War II involved training Airmen to fly
and operate bomber aircraft – such as the B-17 “Flying Fortress” and the B-26
“Marauder.” From 1942-45, many thousands of American men passed through
MacDill’s gates to train as bomber pilots or crew members and then quickly moved
on to other military assignments, eventually destined for the deadly fight raging
over Europe’s skies. Following the end of hostilities in Europe, MacDill began to
train crews of the B-29 “Superfortress” in January 1945, which lasted through 1953.
Learn more: MacDill Air Force Base > About Us > History
