Marine Corps Air Facility Walnut Ridge

In 1942, the United States Army Air Corps picked Walnut Ridge as the location of one of the new basic flying schools being built to train tens of thousands of military pilots.[1] It was built in the late spring and summer, and opened on 15 August 1942 as Walnut Ridge Army Air Field (AAF).[2]

It consisted of a main 6,000 ft runway aligned 04/22 and two 5,000 ft secondary runways aligned 01/19 and 13/31; all were concrete.[3]

Several auxiliary airfields were constructed to support training:[3]

• Pocahontas Field AF Auxiliary #1 (Naval OLF) 36°14′41″N 090°57′15″W
• Biggers Field AF Auxiliary #2 (Naval OLF) 36°19′30″N 090°46′00″W
• Walcott Field AF Auxiliary #3 (Naval OLF) 36°02′12″N 090°42′12″W
• Bono Field AF Auxiliary #4 (Naval OLF) 35°57′02″N 090°47′24″W
• Beech Grove AF Auxiliary #5 (Naval OLF) 36°11′47″N 090°37′30″W

Walnut Ridge AAF was placed under the jurisdiction of the Southeast Training Command, Army Air Forces Training Command. Training at the Army Air Forces Flying School (Basic) began in October 1943.[1] It put new pilots through the third stage of their flight training, largely with Vultee BT-13 Valiant single-engine monoplane trainers.[4][1] Graduates from the basic flight school were transferred to one of Training Command's advanced flying schools that operated AT-6 Texan Advanced trainers, and upon graduation, they were awarded their pilot's wings and commissioned as second lieutenants.

The training unit at the base became the 11th Basic Flying Training Group, 27th Flying Training Wing (U.S. Army Air Forces).

Trainees flew a total of 160,646 hours from 1 November 1942 to 30 September 1943, well above the average of 129,474 for a Basic Flying School in the Southeast Training Command. Walnut Ridge had .49 accidents per 1,000 hours, lower than the .57 accidents-per-1000-hours average for all schools. But the fatal accident rate at Walnut Ridge was higher: .087 per 1000 hours versus a .052 average. The hours flown at Walnut Ridge through June 30, 1944, totaled 414,429.[1]

Walnut Ridge graduated more than 4,600 pilots. Forty-two students and instructors died in training.[1]

Walnut Ridge also hosted a major Air Technical Service Command (ATSC) maintenance facility. It performed phase maintenance and other updates on training aircraft from bases around the United States, including C-47 Skytrains, P-40 Warhawks, P-51 Mustangs, B-17 Flying Fortresses and later in the war, B-29 Superfortresses.[1]

Walnut Ridge's Basic school graduated its last class on June 27, 1944, and closed at the end of the month.[1] The facility was transferred to the Department of the Navy.[4]

Under Navy control, the facility was used by the United States Marine Corps as a pilot training school. VMF-513 was transferred to the base on 14 September 1944 and operated SBD-5s and FG-1D Corsairs. Apparently the school only operated until 4 December 1944, when the school was moved to MCAS Mojave, California. The Navy decommissioned the base on 15 March 1945.[1]