Fort Worth Army Air Field
Historical marker location:By January 1941, negotiations between Fort Worth civic advocates, led by Amon
G. Carter, and the U.S. Army yielded an agreement to construct an aircraft
plant near the city to build B-24 Liberator bombers. Legislation later
authorized the creation of a landing field adjacent to the completed
Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation Plant No. 4 which became Tarrant
Field/Tarrant Field Airdrome. Three months after the U.S. joined World War II,
the plant was in operation and the Army moved forward to create an Air Base to
utilize this proximity between sites to facilitate B-24 crew training. This air
base opened in August 1942 and was named Fort Worth Army Air Field (FWAAF) in
May 1943, training more than 4,000 pilots between 1942 and 1944. It allowed the
city to contribute substantially to victory for the U.S. and Allied Powers.
In late January 1948, FWAAF was renamed Carswell Air Force Base in honor of
Fort Worth native and Medal of Honor recipient Major Horace S. Carswell, Jr.
The site became a key U.S. Air Force Strategic Air Command (SAC) base during
the Cold War, serving as a highly visible symbol of nuclear deterrence and
force projection. The site was the first SAC base to be equipped with the Fort
Worth-produced B-36 Peacemaker bomber and transitioned by 1959 to the legendary
B-52 Stratofortress bomber. In 1972, B-52s stationed here participated in the
most powerful SAC campaign of the Vietnam War, Operation Linebacker II. After
the end of the Cold War, Carswell AFB closed in September 1993.
In October 1994, the site reopened as Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint
Reserve Base, supporting active duty and reserve units in the Navy, Marine
Corps, Army, Air Force, and the Texas Air National Guard. This base greatly
aided training and support of the U.S. Military during the Global War on
Terrorism and continues a long tradition of professional excellence in the
defense of the Nation. (2016).