Ghosts of past roam range where pilots fly today

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Tom Talbert
  • 442nd Fighter Wing public affairs
GILA BEND AIR FORCE AUXILIARY FIELD, Ariz. --  The colorful history of the Barry M. Goldwater Range as an Air Force training asset dates back long before its namesake, the late Arizona U.S. Senator, rose to prominence.

While pilots and A-10s from the 442nd Fighter Wing were some of the latest Airmen to train on the range in February and March, it has been in use for more than 60 years.

In September of 1941, just prior to the U.S. entering World War II, the then, Yuma Aerial Gunnery and Bombing Range was opened and soon became crucial to the Army Air Corps for training all single engine aircraft pilots of the Greatest Generation.

In 1943, the range had grown from its initial 1.1 million acres to an expanded 2.1 million acres, as a result of Franklin Roosevelt taking public lands and reserving them for use by the War Department.

During World War II, more than 17,000 pilots got their wings at Luke Field, making it the largest single-engine, advanced flying-school in the U.S.

Using the Gila Bend range for aerial, bombing and gunnery training, more than a million hours of flying were logged, primarily in the AT-6 Texan, along with the P-40 Warhawk and later the P-51 Mustang and other aircraft.

By 1944, student pilots from bases throughout Arizona, Nevada and California were being sent to the Gilda Bend range for gunnery training, including some Chinese pilots.

Following World War II, the range was renamed the Williams Bombing and Gunnery Range and eventually grew to its present size of 2,664,423 acres in 1962.

In 1986, the range was renamed in honor of Senator Barry M. Goldwater, who had served as director of ground training at Luke during part of World War II.

As the 442nd Fighter Wing pilots of today fly above the range, it's probably difficult not to honor the great pilots of the past who once occupied the same airspace.