Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields website

[phil65]

How about including some Canadian sites for the Canucks on the site

Yes, but excluding Québec...

Phil

[Chris Brame]

Hey Paul,
Just moved back to southern CA and drove by the old Joshua Tree airport - buildings are still there along with some sort of old fuselage/weather vane thing, but the whole place is now enclosed by a chain link fence and appears to be part of some kind of other business (sand & gravel?).

(I'm on a borrowed computer for the next week or so but I'll check into WIX now and then. )

[pfreeman]

In the past year, entries for an additional 75 airfields have been added to the "Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields" website at www.airfieldsfreeman.com. This brings the site's coverage to a total of 2,589 airfields, across all 50 states. I hope the website's given you some positive distraction in what's been some challenging times.

Recent entries include new additions describing former airfields such as Baldani Airfield CA, Cobb Airport GA, Loveland Airport CO, Corvallis Airport OR, Lyndon Airport OR, Flying Gators Airpark FL, Stroudsburg-Pocono Airport PA, Martin Field AL, Carter Memorial Airport TX, Skycrest Country Club Airfield IL, Ideal Manufacturing Corp Airfield NJ, Hoby Wolf Airport MD, May Airport NC, Giant City State Park Airfield IL, DEC Heliport MA, Altadena Airport CA, Waynoka-Kelsey Airport OK, Scherr Airport KS, Corvallis Junctional Airport OR, Trinity Field AL, Alvin Airport TX, Continental Airfield AZ, Beaver Dam Auxiliary Field AL, and updates to many others.

Paul Freeman
www.airfieldsfreeman.com

[pfreeman]

In the past year, entries for an additional 87 airfields have been added to the "Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields" website at www.airfieldsfreeman.com. This brings the site's coverage to a total of 2,641 airfields, across all 50 states.

Recent entries include new additions describing former airfields such as Sparta Municipal Airport WI, Midland Airport AZ, Twitchell Airport ME, Black Forest Inn Airfield PA, Mt. Jackson Airport VA, Hyde Field MD, Griffing Airport OH, Horizon Airport TX, Weibe Airfield NE, Curtiss Aerodrome NY, Sideling Hill Airport PA, McConnellsburg Airport PA, D4C Ranch Airfield NV, Marietta Airport OH, Louis Schreiner Field TX, Hall Airport OH, Ford Airport OH, Lippert Airport MI, Massillon Airport OH, Cresson Airport PA, Selma Airport CA, Bonnie Brae Airfield NY, Westerlo Airport NY, Gulf Coast Airport TX, Pikes Peak Airport CO, Pendaries Village Airfield NM, Skyland Airport FL, and updates to many others.

If you have applicable material about a former airfield, particularly pictures, please let me know.

Paul Freeman image.png

[phil65]

You already added Twitchell's....
Got my Commercial S.E.S. rating there..

Phil

[JohnB]

pfreeman

Hyde Field, MD is where I trained in the Bell 47 circa 1996-7.
The late '40s early 50s FBO/terminal was falling down, but the rest of the hangars looked good.

There was another small field a couple of miles to the north.
It was almost closed then, it made Hyde look like Van Nuys.

My avatar photo was taken there. Shot is looking NW.

[CAPFlyer]

Paul, I am forever in love with your website since I found it way back in 2002. It's been a great source of not only learning about neat places in history, but answering questions of "what the heck is that" that I've run into on more than one occasion while driving down the road or watching some old TV show or Movie. It's a great resource for those curious about where things have gone and why certain things look the way they do.

Thank you.

[pfreeman]

In the past year, entries for an additional 88 airfields have been added to the "Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields" website at www.airfieldsfreeman.com. This brings the site's coverage to a total of 2,676 airfields, across all 50 states.

Recent entries include new additions describing former airfields such as Yuba Airport MI, (Original) Coolidge Airport AZ, Carl's Airport MI, NAS Bremerton WA, Smiths Grove KY, Frank Sinatra Rancho Mirage Helipad, Lesikar Farms Airport TX, Palmer Field SC, Jefferson Airport OH, Williams Memorial Airport MI, Otisville Airport MI, Site 6 FL, Victory Air Museum Airfield IL, Skypark Airport NY, Gerstner Field LA, Huntersville Airport WV, AvAg Heliport CA, Harrisburg Airport OR, Hackenberger Airport PA, Kealia Landing Strip HI, Kekaha Airstrip HI, Sky-Hi Pioneer Airport AZ, El Rico Airfield CA, Spanish Springs Airport NV, Meadow Aire Farm Airport OH, Mt. Washington Airport KY, Bush Airport IN, Cool Meadow Airport KY, Halley Field KY, and updates to many others.

If you have applicable material about a former airfield, particularly pictures, please let me know.

Paul Freeman

www.airfieldsfreeman.com

[pfreeman]

In the past year, entries for an additional 88 airfields have been added to the "Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields" website at http://www.airfieldsfreeman.com. This brings the site's coverage to a total of 2,676 airfields, across all 50 states.

Recent entries include new additions describing former airfields such as Yuba Airport MI, (Original) Coolidge Airport AZ, Carl's Airport MI, NAS Bremerton WA, Smiths Grove KY, Frank Sinatra Rancho Mirage Helipad, Lesikar Farms Airport TX, Palmer Field SC, Jefferson Airport OH, Williams Memorial Airport MI, Otisville Airport MI, Site 6 FL, Victory Air Museum Airfield IL, Skypark Airport NY, Gerstner Field LA, Huntersville Airport WV, AvAg Heliport CA, Harrisburg Airport OR, Hackenberger Airport PA, Kealia Landing Strip HI, Kekaha Airstrip HI, Sky-Hi Pioneer Airport AZ, El Rico Airfield CA, Spanish Springs Airport NV, Meadow Aire Farm Airport OH, Mt. Washington Airport KY, Bush Airport IN, Cool Meadow Airport KY, Halley Field KY, and updates to many others.

If you have applicable material about a former airfield, particularly pictures, please let me know.

Paul Freeman

http://www.airfieldsfreeman.com

[pfreeman]

In the past year, entries for an additional 80 airfields have been added to the "Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields" website at https://www.airfieldsfreeman.com. This brings the site's coverage to a total of 2,699 airfields, across all 50 states.

Recent entries include new additions describing former airfields such as Clothier Landing Field KS, Atwood Airport MA, Josephinium Airfield OH, Lovelock Airport NV, Granite State Airport NH, Keene Airport NH, K Field IA, Dallas Bay Airpark TN, Lesikar Ranch Airport TX, Cadet Field IN, Arkansas City Airport KS, Menefee Airport LA, Monroeville Airport PA, (Original) Okemah Airport OK, Cameron Airfield WA, North Truro AFB Heliport MA, Slager Airport OH, Skyline Airport NV, Lincoln Airport IL, Yuba Airport MI, (Original) Coolidge Airport AZ, Carl's Airport MI, NAS Bremerton WA, Smiths Grove KY, Frank Sinatra Rancho Mirage Helipad, Lesikar Farms Airport TX, and updates to many others.
If you have applicable material about a former airfield, particularly pictures, please let me know. And I truly appreciate financial donations, without which the site could not continue.

Paul Freeman

https://www.airfieldsfreeman.com

[pfreeman]

In the past year, entries for an additional 80 airfields have been added to the "Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields" website at https://www.airfieldsfreeman.com. This brings the site's coverage to a total of 2,699 airfields, across all 50 states.

Recent entries include new additions describing former airfields such as Clothier Landing Field KS, Atwood Airport MA, Josephinium Airfield OH, Lovelock Airport NV, Granite State Airport NH, Keene Airport NH, K Field IA, Dallas Bay Airpark TN, Lesikar Ranch Airport TX, Cadet Field IN, Arkansas City Airport KS, Menefee Airport LA, Monroeville Airport PA, (Original) Okemah Airport OK, Cameron Airfield WA, North Truro AFB Heliport MA, Slager Airport OH, Skyline Airport NV, Lincoln Airport IL, Yuba Airport MI, (Original) Coolidge Airport AZ, Carl's Airport MI, NAS Bremerton WA, Smiths Grove KY, Frank Sinatra Rancho Mirage Helipad, Lesikar Farms Airport TX, and updates to many others.
If you have applicable material about a former airfield, particularly pictures, please let me know. And I truly appreciate financial donations, without which the site could not continue.

Paul Freeman

https://www.airfieldsfreeman.com

[RyanShort1]

If you have applicable material about a former airfield, particularly pictures, please let me know. And I truly appreciate financial donations, without which the site could not continue.

Paul Freeman

https://www.airfieldsfreeman.com

Hmmm. We do a lot of coverage with our aerial photography missions. Are modern day photos welcome?

Also, is there a way to plot a bunch of these out on a Google Maps feature?

[pfreeman]

In 2023, entries for an additional 78 airfields have been added to the "Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields" website at https://www.airfieldsfreeman.com. This brings the site's coverage to a total of 2,736 airfields, across all 50 states. The website will celebrate its 25th anniversary in another 4 months. Thanks for all the historical material which has expanded the site to its present scope!

Recent entries include new additions describing former airfields such as Downtown Oakland Heliport CA, Brandon Airport FL, Sugar Loaf Resort Airport MI, Hawkes Airfield NH, Rives Airpark TX, Besse Field NH, White Mountain Gateway Airport NH, Bradshaw Airpark VA, Weirs Seaplane Base NH, Morse Airfield NH, Shealy Airport SC, Berkeley Airport CA, Langin Field WV, Equinox Airport VT, Midway Airport NY, Dudley Intermediate Field MA, Westwego Airport & Seaplane Base LA, Kittyhawk Airport TX, McFarland Airport MO, and updates to many others.

If you have applicable material about a former airfield, particularly pictures, please let me know. And I truly appreciate financial donations, without which the site could not continue.

Paul Freeman
https://www.airfieldsfreeman.com

[pfreeman]

In the past year, entries for an additional 76 airfields have been added to the "Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields" website at airfieldsfreeman.com. This brings the site's coverage to a total of 2,775 airfields, across all 50 states. Thanks for all the historical material which has expanded the site to its present scope!

Recent entries include new additions describing former airfields such as Fontana Intermediate Field CA, Crazy Creek Glideroport CA, North Buffalo Suburban Airport NY, Oldmans Township Airport NJ, Kallander Field MA, Armour Field FL, Brushy Fork Airport WV, Lesikar Ranch Airfield TX, Cypress Island Airfield WA, Travland Airport TX, Bennett Field WV, Walling Airport NY, Synanon Airfield CA, Monona Airport IA, Pitts Aviation Airfield FL, Verona Airport WI, Ottiger Airport MI, and updates to many others.

If you have applicable material about a former airfield, particularly pictures, please let me know.

Paul Freeman
airfieldsfreeman.com

[Noha307]

Also, is there a way to plot a bunch of these out on a Google Maps feature?

You reminded me of a very exhaustive map my friend made: Ohio Airports. It includes active airports, but the closed/abandoned category is by far the largest (933 entries).

To answer your question: Sure, since Paul has included coordinates for all of them. The hardest part would probably collating all of the coordinates as you'd have to write a program to scrape them off the page unless you felt like copy/pasting all 2,775 entries by hand. Wikipedia also has a template that you can drop coordinates into, which is something I've done the coordinates of North American aircraft factory locations on my Wikipedia sandbox.

It would actually be very useful as my only criticism of ALKA is that the organizational format is hard to use unless your familiar with the layout of each state. Many states are divided into, for example, northwest, northeast, southeast or southwest quadrants. However, the majority of the time, if I am looking for a specific airfield, I don't know which one it falls under, resulting in my having to search each page. Also, it can sometimes be confusing whether an airport will be on one page or another because it isn't clear where the "catchment area" ends. One option would be to create simple maps with lines showing the borders of the subdivisions on them to place at the top of each state level page for reference.

However, I realize reorganizing the whole website would be a major hassle, so one solution would be a site specific search engine. It would allow visitors to simply enter the name of the airport they are looking for and it would find it. For example Google offers a programmable search engine. Relevantly, Joe Baugher's website had a search engine made for it by someone else. While this approach would take a lot less effort, it also requires a significant level of technical knowledge.

Speaking of well-known aviation history reference works, it's a measure of just how much of an institution that ALKA has become that it has inspired a European version called Abandoned, Forgotten & Little Known Airfields in Europe.

Lastly, while I'm on the subject of airport reference works, I collated a bunch of them while working on the Aircraft Equipment Directory page on my website:

Books

• Fletcher, Harry R. (1993). Air Force Bases. Vol 2. Washington, D.C., United States Air Force, Center for Air Force History
• Mueller, Robert (1989). Air Force Bases. Vol 1. Washington, D.C., United States Air Force, Office of Air Force History
• Thole, Lou (1996). Forgotten Fields of America: World War II Bases and Training Then and Now. Vol. 1. Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories Publishing Company.
• Thole, Lou (1999). Forgotten Fields of America: World War II Bases and Training Then and Now. Vol. 2. Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories Publishing Company.
• Thole, Lou (2003). Forgotten Fields of America: World War II Bases and Training Then and Now. Vol. 3. Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories Publishing Company.
• Thole, Lou (2007). Forgotten Fields of America: World War II Bases and Training Then and Now. Vol. 4. Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories Publishing Company.
• Shaw, Frederick J (2014). Locating Air Force Base Sites: History’s Legacy. Washington, D.C., United States Air Force, Air Force History and Museums Program
• Shettle, M. L. (2009). Florida's Army Air Fields of World War II. Bowersville, Georgia: Schaertel Publishing.
• Shettle, M. L. (2005). Georgia's Army Air Fields of World War II. Bowersville, Georgia: Schaertel Publishing.
• Shettle, M. L. (2001). United States Marine Corps Air Stations of World War II. Bowersville, Georgia: Schaertel Publishing.
• Shettle, M. L. (1995). United States Naval Air Stations of World War II. Vol. 1. Bowersville, Georgia: Schaertel Publishing.
• Shettle, M. L. (1997). United States Naval Air Stations of World War II. Vol. 2. Bowersville, Georgia: Schaertel Publishing.
• Ries, Karl; Dierich, Wolfgang (1996). Fliegerhorste und Einsatzhäfen der Luftwaffe: Planskizzen, 1935-1945 (in German). Stuttgart: Motorbuch Verlag.
• Zapf, Jürgen (2001). Flugplätze der Luftwaffe, 1934-45 (in German). Vol. 1. Zweibrücken: VDM Heinz Nickel.
• Zapf, Jürgen (2002). Flugplätze der Luftwaffe, 1934-45 (in German). Vol. 2. Zweibrücken: VDM Heinz Nickel.
• Zapf, Jürgen (2003). Flugplätze der Luftwaffe, 1934-45 (in German). Vol. 3. Zweibrücken: VDM Heinz Nickel.
• Zapf, Jürgen (2005). Flugplätze der Luftwaffe, 1934-45 (in German). Vol. 4. Zweibrücken: VDM Heinz Nickel.
• Zapf, Jürgen (2006). Flugplätze der Luftwaffe, 1934-45 (in German). Vol. 5. Zweibrücken: VDM Heinz Nickel.
• Zapf, Jürgen (2008). Flugplätze der Luftwaffe, 1934-45 (in German). Vol. 6. Zweibrücken: VDM Heinz Nickel.
• Zapf, Jürgen (2011). Flugplätze der Luftwaffe, 1934-45 (in German). Vol. 7. Zweibrücken: VDM Heinz Nickel.
• Zapf, Jürgen (2013). Flugplätze der Luftwaffe, 1934-45 (in German). Vol. 8. Zweibrücken: VDM Heinz Nickel.
• Zapf, Jürgen (2015). Flugplätze der Luftwaffe, 1934-45 (in German). Vol. 9. Zweibrücken: VDM Heinz Nickel.
• Zapf, Jürgen (2016). Flugplätze der Luftwaffe, 1934-45 (in German). Vol. 10. Zweibrücken: VDM Heinz Nickel.
• Zapf, Jürgen (2019). Flugplätze der Luftwaffe, 1934-45 (in German). Vol. 11. Zweibrücken: VDM Heinz Nickel.
• Zapf, Jürgen (2023). Flugplätze der Luftwaffe, 1934-45 (in German). Vol. 12. Zweibrücken: VDM Heinz Nickel.

Websites

• 37th Training Wing: USAF Installations Master Plans (For higher quality version, see David Rumsey Map Collection)
• Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust: Airfield Finder
• Army Air Forces Stations
• Control Towers
• Daniel Jackson's Flying Tigers Page: Airfields Database
• Flugplätze der Luftwaffe, 1934 – 1945
• Lexikon der Wehrmacht: Fliegerhorste der Luftwaffe
• Military Airfield Directory
• Open and Closed Listing of Airports/Airfields
• Scott's USAF Installation Page
• The Owls Nest: Airport Search
• UK Airfields
• U.S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields (ETO): D-Day to V-E Day
• USAF K-Sites in Korea