Fairfax Field

  1921 to 1957

  United States of America

CITY: North Kansas City, MO

IATA/ICAO CODES: --- / ----

COORDINATES: 39°09'N / 94°36'W

OTHER NAMES: Sweeney (1925-1928), Fairfax (1928-1957)

The site was first used in 1921 for an air meeting. In 1925, it became Sweeney Airport, renamed to Fairfax Airport in 1928. A naval reserve air base was established at Fairfax Field in 1935. In 1937, Fairfax acted as an army reserve base with Douglas O-46 observation planes, and by 1938 the airport had four runways, including one 820 meters long.

Survey work for Air Force Plant NC began in December 1940, and the city of Kansas City, KS purchased the airport in February 1941. The USAAF leased Fairfax Airport from the city and the Works Projects Administration sponsored expansion of the four civilian runways. The government purchased a 30-ha alfalfa field for the plant. B-25 production began in December 1941, and Fairfax's first B-25D was accepted in February 1942. The Fairfax Modification Center was a dual hangar built from May to October 1942 along the south taxiway for altering the new B-25s. These modifications only took a week until the B-25G gunship modifications for Pacific War anti-shipping missions, which took 2 to 3 months.

Air Transport Command moved the 2^nd Ferrying Squadron of the 5^th Ferrying Group from Dallas Love Field to Fairfax Field on 15 April 1943. At the end of that year, Fairfax pilots began ferrying Martin B-26 Marauders from the Omaha modification center and Consolidated B-24 Liberators from a St. Paul facility. From May to September 1944, a detachment of Women Airforce Service Pilots was at Fairfax. The 33^rd Ferrying Group was designated on 1 April 1944 from the 2^nd Ferrying Squadron, which had been separated from the 5^th Ferrying Group on 1 January 1944. On 22 September 1944 the 33^rd Ferrying Group began daily scheduled Military Air Transport (MAT) flights to Minneapolis and Omaha.

On 2 March 1945, Military Air Transport moved an air freight terminal to Fairfax from Kansas City, MO. For ferrying, Fairfax became an operating location of Rosecrans AAF on 15 April 1945 with its pilots traveling to Fairfax for sorties. 1,044 military transports used the field in July 1945. Plans for B-29 and F-80 aircraft production at Fairfax were never implemented, and B-25J production was terminated on 15 August 1945, after a total of 2,290 B-25Ds and 4,318 B-25Js had been built at the plant. The Reconstruction Finance Corporation set up a depot in the Fairfax district to liquidate war surplus not sent to depots or elsewhere for government use; reusable materials like aluminum and steel were reclaimed. Seventy-two incomplete but flyable B-25Js were sold to the public. The Air Transport Command operating location at Fairfax was discontinued by 6 December 1945.

The 4101^st AAF Base Unit (Reserve Training) was activated at Fairfax on 12 July 1946, later redesignated 2472^nd Air Force Reserve Training Center on 28 August 1948. On 27 June 1949, the 442^nd Troop Carrier Wing was activated at Fairfax. On 22 May 1950, Fairfax's 2472^nd Air Force Reserve Training Center and the 442^nd Troop Carrier Wing moved to the Naval Air Technical Training Center at Olathe, KS.

Fairfax field closed down in 1957.

4101^st AAF Base Unit (Fairfax Field)

Air Transport Command Domestic Wing, 5^th Ferrying Group, 2^nd Ferrying Squadron (April 1943 to April 1944)

Air Transport Command Domestic Wing, 33^rd Ferrying Group (April 1944 to December 1945)

442^nd Troop Carrier Wing (June 1949 to May 1950)

2472^nd Air Force Reserve Training Center (August 1948 to May 1950)

Reconstruction Finance Corporation