Under Air Service Command, South Plains became a maintenance and supply depot for excess aircraft that could not be accommodated at Tinker. Glider pilots trained at South Plains flew these craft in combat during the Normandy Invasion, Operation Market-Garden, and also Operation Varsity, the airborne invasion of Germany.īy late 1944 Flying Training Command ended all glider instruction, and control of South Plains AAF was transferred to the Air Service Command at Tinker Field, Oklahoma. The CG-4A was the USAAF's primary glider, consisting of little more than a wooden and fabric shell, equipped with radio, wheels, and brakes. Aircraft assigned were Douglas C-47 Skytrains and Waco CG-4A gliders. Glider training was performed by the 848th School Squadron (Special), with overall training being under the 64th Two-Engine Flying Training Group of the 80th Flying Training Wing. The mission was ground and flying training of glider pilots. The base was activated on September 11, 1942, as the South Plains Flying School. Some hangars had steel frames and the occasional brick or tile brick building could be seen, but most support buildings had concrete foundations and frame construction clad in little more than plywood and tarpaper. Most base buildings, not meant for long-term use, were of temporary or semi-permanent materials. Buildings were utilitarian and quickly assembled. The airport was renamed South Plains Army Airfield and a rapid period of construction was begun to convert the civil airport into a military training airfield.Ĭonstruction involved runways and airplane hangars, with three concrete runways, several taxiways and a large apron and a control tower. After its requisition by the Air Force, it was assigned to the World War II Army Air Forces Flying Training Command, Gulf Coast Training Center (later Central Flying Training Command).
In 1942 the United States Army Air Forces indicated a need for the airport as a training airfield. The airport opened in November 1937 as South Plains Airport. Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport is a hub for FedEx and UPS feeder planes to cities around the South Plains. It is one of 42 airports around the world with CNN Airport Network. Lubbock International is first among the smaller Texas cities (behind both Dallas airports, both Houston airports, San Antonio, Austin, and El Paso). The airport is the eighth-busiest airport in Texas. Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 520,181 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2019, and 487,000 in 2018. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 classifies it as a primary commercial service airport. Smith, an alumnus of Texas Tech University.
Originally Lubbock International Airport, it was renamed in 2004 for former Texas governor Preston E. Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport ( IATA: LBB, ICAO: KLBB, FAA LID: LBB) is five miles north of Lubbock, in Lubbock County, Texas, United States. Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport
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