Hattiesburg Bobby L. Chain Municipal Airport in Forrest County, Mississippi is owned by the City of Hattiesburg and is five miles southeast of downtown.The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 called it a general aviation facility. There is no scheduled airline service.HistoryThe airport opened in 1930.Alarmed by the fall of France in 1940, Congress funded an increase from 29 to 54 combat groups in the United States Army Air Corps. The quickest way to get more bases was to use existing civil airports. The Air Corps signed an agreement to lease Hattiesburg Airport, but construction did not begin until March 1941.Construction involved runways and airplane hangars, with three concrete runways, several taxiways and a large parking apron and a control tower. Several large hangars were also constructed. Buildings were ultimately utilitarian and quickly assembled. Most base buildings, not meant for long-term use, were constructed of temporary or semi-permanent materials. Although some hangars had steel frames and the occasional brick or tile brick building could be seen, most support buildings sat on concrete foundations but were of frame construction clad in little more than plywood and tarpaper. On 8 December 1941, Hattiesburg Army Air Field opened, assigned to the Third Air Force.The first mission was antisubmarine patrols along the Gulf of Mexico coast. In early June 1942, the 21st Bombardment Group, based at Jackson Army Air Base, dispatched the 313th Bombardment Squadron flying B-25 Mitchells from the airfield. They was replaced in late June by the 113th Observation Squadron which flew light observation planes (O-49 Vigilants and O-52 Owls) until the end of July.
