McCook Army Airfield was activated on 1 April 1943. It is located nine miles (14 km) northwest of McCook, a city in Red Willow County, Nebraska, United States and is southwest of Lincoln, Nebraska. It was constructed in 1943. The 2100acre site is bordered on all sides by level farm ground.HistoryMcCook AAF was one of eleven United States Army Air Forces training bases in Nebraska during World War II. The 2100acre base included three 150 by 7500ft concrete runways, five hangars, and barracks for 5,000 men. It operated with three divisions: Base Services (hospital, chapel, theater, band, gymnasium, fire station, post office, photo lab, library, and military police); Maintenance and Supply (air service groups, post engineers, machine shop, warehouses); and Training (celestial navigation, gunnery and bombing, communications, radar, and aircraft maintenance). Approximately 110 buildings and structures were constructed.The airfield was activated on 1 April 1943, under the command of Second Air Force Headquarters, Colorado Springs, Colorado. The host unit at the airfield was the 520th Operational Training Unit as part of Air Technical Service Command. The 520th was assigned to the 16th Bombardment Operational Training Wing (August 1943 - March 1944), then transferred to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing in March 1944 for B-29 training.
