Shaw Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 8.4 miles west-northwest of downtown Sumter, South Carolina. It is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command. The United States Air Force 20th Fighter Wing is the host unit.
It is one of the largest military bases operated by the United States, and is one of only two air bases in CONUS with an active railroad line.
The base is named in honor of World War I pilot 1st Lieutenant Ervin David Shaw. Lieutenant Shaw was one of the first Americans to fly combat missions in World War I. Shaw, a Sumter County native, died after three enemy aircraft attacked his Bristol while he was returning from a reconnaissance mission on 9 July 1918. Lt. Shaw downed one of his attackers before he was killed.