Olmsted AAF

  1917 to present

  United States of America

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CITY: Middletown, PA

IATA/ICAO CODES: MDT / KMDT

COORDINATES: 40°12'N / 76°46'W

OTHER NAMES: Middletown Airfield (1917-19??), Olmsted AAF (WWII), Olmsted AFB (1948-1969), Harrisburg ANGB (1970-present), Harrisburg International (1970-present)

Middletown Airfield was opened in 1917 on a site that was previously used by the US Army Signal Corps from 1898. It served as a supply depot and maintenance center for Signal Corps aircraft. The Middletown Air Depot kept on operating after WWI, as a US Army Air Service facility for logistics and maintenance support of aircraft and equipment.

By 1939, the Depot had an abundance of engine and airframe shops and a supply distribution system that made it a significant facility, but a poor runway that, it was felt, would be too expensive to improve. It would involve claiming marsh land and portions of the Susquehanna River (both of which have since been accomplished) and the Air Force leadership at that time determined that more land for supply and maintenance buildings was needed. During World War II, the airfield changed its name to Olmsted AAF, and numerous transport and reconnaissance units were organized and formed there. Once equipped, they were reassigned to training bases.

The Middletown Air Depot, and later Middletown Air Materiel Area, was a major support installation to the Air Force for decades. Beginning on 11 August 1948, the Military Air Transport Service (MATS) began operating the Olmsted Flight Service Center. During the 1948–1949 Berlin Airlift, the US Supply Depot at Olmsted provided emergency support supplies for the airlift operations. In 1958, Olmsted was designated as prime support depot for the T-38 Talon advanced jet trainer and L-27 support aircraft.

Olmsted AFB and the Middletown Air Depot's last assignment was with Air Force Logistics Command (AFLC), and the base and depot were inactivated on 30 June 1969. The base was turned into Harriburg International Airport, which also hosts Harrisburg Air National Guards Base.

Middletown Air Materiel Area