The Curtiss Commando Page
The Curtiss Commando Page

Hill Field

Airfield Identification

  7 November 1940 to present

  United States of America


CITY: Ogden, UT

IATA/ICAO CODES: HIF / KHIF

OTHER NAMES: Hill Field (1940-1948), Hill AFB (1948-present)

Commando Operations

Hill Field officially opened on 7 November 1940 as the site of the Ogden Air Depot.

Following American entry into World War II in December 1941, Hill Field quickly became an important maintenance and supply base, with round-the-clock operations geared to supporting the war effort. Battle-worn warplanes were sent to Hill Field for structural repairs, engine overhauls, and spare parts. The peak wartime employment at Hill Field was reached in 1943 with a total of just over 22,000 military and civilian personnel. Men and women at the depot rehabilitated and returned thousands of warplanes to combat.

Starting in 1944, Hill Field was utilized for the long-term storage of surplus airplanes and their support equipment. A few Commandos and many other types of aircraft were prepared for and placed in storage at Hill over the course of the 1940's and 1950's.

Hill Field became Hill AFB on 5 February 1948. During the Korean War, Hill AFB was assigned a major share of the Air Materiel Command's logistical effort to support the combat in Korea. Hill AFB personnel quickly removed needed warplanes from storage, renovated them, and added them to active-service USAF flying squadrons.

Hill AFB had remained a major USAF maintenance facility to this day.

Units & operators based

4135th AAF Base Unit (Hill Field)

Ogden Air Technical Service Command (November 1944 to April 1946) / Ogden Air Materiel Area (April 1946 to April 1974)

Last edited: 14/01/2019