Kinston Air Base
Encyclopedia
Stallings Air Base was a United States Air Force
base operational from 1944 to 1957. It later reopened as Kinston Airport and is now known as Kinston Regional Jetport
.
. It opened in October as a United States Marine Corps
flying training airfield known as Marine Corps Auxiliary Airfield Kinston, being an auxiliary field to Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point
. Construction involved building runways and several aircraft hangars, with three concrete runways, several taxiways, a large parking apron and a control tower. Buildings were ultimately utilitarian and quickly assembled. Most base buildings, not meant for long-term use, were constructed of temporary or semi-permanent materials. Although some hangars had steel frames and the occasional brick or tile brick building could be seen, most support buildings sat on concrete foundations but were of frame construction clad in little more than plywood and tarpaper.
Naval Aviation Cadets received V-5 flight training along with basic flying indoctrination at the airfield until the facility was closed on 31 October 1945.
As a result of the Cold War
and the expansion of the United States Air Force
, Kinston Air Base* was reopened on 17 October 1950 by the USAF Air Training Command
, as a contract flying training school. The 3308th Flying Training Squadron (Contract Flying) was the operational training unit at the base, with ground and flight training being supplied by the Serv-Air Aviation Corporation. Training at Kinston began on 17 October 1951. In May 1952, Air Training Command renamed Kinston Airfield as Stallings Air Base in memory of Kinston natives Lt Bruce Stallings, a P-51 Mustang
pilot killed in March 1945, and his brother, Lt Harry Stallings, a B-29 Superfortress
navigator killed in April 1945.
The base conducted flying training and contract flying training initially with Link T-8 and T-18 trainers, later being upgraded to Beechcraft T-34 Mentor
and North American T-28 Trojan
aircraft. In April 1957, ATC proposed that the contract training at Stallings AB be closed. This recommendation was approved in September and on 1 October flying training ended at Stallings AB. The base was formally inactivated on 27 November 1957.
.* Note: Air Training Command applied the "Air Base" designation to private contractor-operated flying training bases in continental United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. With the advent of the jet-powered Cessna T-37, Northrop T-38 Talon
, and the establishment of the Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) system whereby prospective USAF pilots would receive all initial flight training at a single base, the USAF contract flying training program was deemed superfluous. All stateside air bases conducting such contract flying training were phased out and closed by the early 1960s, the facilities transitioning to either auxiliary fields of active air force bases or to civilian airport status.
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
base operational from 1944 to 1957. It later reopened as Kinston Airport and is now known as Kinston Regional Jetport
Kinston Regional Jetport
Kinston Regional Jetport , also known as Stallings Field, is a public airport located three miles northwest of the central business district of Kinston, a city in Lenoir County, North Carolina, USA. The airport has a single runway that is one of the longest in the southeastern United States. It...
.
History
Stallings Air Base originally was built in 1944 by the United States NavyUnited States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
. It opened in October as a United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
flying training airfield known as Marine Corps Auxiliary Airfield Kinston, being an auxiliary field to Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point
Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point
Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point or MCAS Cherry Point is a United States Marine Corps airfield located in Havelock, North Carolina, USA, in the eastern part of the state...
. Construction involved building runways and several aircraft hangars, with three concrete runways, several taxiways, a large parking apron and a control tower. Buildings were ultimately utilitarian and quickly assembled. Most base buildings, not meant for long-term use, were constructed of temporary or semi-permanent materials. Although some hangars had steel frames and the occasional brick or tile brick building could be seen, most support buildings sat on concrete foundations but were of frame construction clad in little more than plywood and tarpaper.
Naval Aviation Cadets received V-5 flight training along with basic flying indoctrination at the airfield until the facility was closed on 31 October 1945.
As a result of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
and the expansion of the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
, Kinston Air Base* was reopened on 17 October 1950 by the USAF Air Training Command
Air Training Command
Air Training Command is a former major command of the United States Army Air Forces and United States Air Force. ATC came into being as a redesignation of the Army Air Forces Training Command on July 1, 1946...
, as a contract flying training school. The 3308th Flying Training Squadron (Contract Flying) was the operational training unit at the base, with ground and flight training being supplied by the Serv-Air Aviation Corporation. Training at Kinston began on 17 October 1951. In May 1952, Air Training Command renamed Kinston Airfield as Stallings Air Base in memory of Kinston natives Lt Bruce Stallings, a P-51 Mustang
P-51 Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and in several other conflicts...
pilot killed in March 1945, and his brother, Lt Harry Stallings, a B-29 Superfortress
B-29 Superfortress
The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
navigator killed in April 1945.
The base conducted flying training and contract flying training initially with Link T-8 and T-18 trainers, later being upgraded to Beechcraft T-34 Mentor
T-34 Mentor
The Beechcraft T-34 Mentor is a propeller-driven, single-engined, military trainer aircraft derived from the Beechcraft Model 35 Bonanza. The earlier versions of the T-34, dating from around the late 1940s to the 1950s, were piston-engined. These were eventually succeeded by the upgraded T-34C...
and North American T-28 Trojan
T-28 Trojan
The North American Aviation T-28 Trojan is a piston-engined military trainer aircraft used by the United States Air Force and United States Navy beginning in the 1950s...
aircraft. In April 1957, ATC proposed that the contract training at Stallings AB be closed. This recommendation was approved in September and on 1 October flying training ended at Stallings AB. The base was formally inactivated on 27 November 1957.
.* Note: Air Training Command applied the "Air Base" designation to private contractor-operated flying training bases in continental United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. With the advent of the jet-powered Cessna T-37, Northrop T-38 Talon
T-38 Talon
The Northrop T-38 Talon is a twin-engine supersonic jet trainer. It was the world's first supersonic trainer and is also the most produced. The T-38 remains in service as of 2011 in air forces throughout the world....
, and the establishment of the Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) system whereby prospective USAF pilots would receive all initial flight training at a single base, the USAF contract flying training program was deemed superfluous. All stateside air bases conducting such contract flying training were phased out and closed by the early 1960s, the facilities transitioning to either auxiliary fields of active air force bases or to civilian airport status.