Hobbs Army Airfield
| Hobbs Army Airfield | |
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Hobbs Army Airfield in 1943
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Hobbs Industrial Airpark, 2006
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| Summary | |
| Airport type | Military |
| Operator | United States Army Air Forces |
| Location | Hobbs, New Mexico |
| Elevation AMSL | 3,707 ft / 1,130 m |
| Coordinates | 32°45′58″N 103°12′42″W / 32.76611°N 103.21167°WCoordinates: 32°45′58″N 103°12′42″W / 32.76611°N 103.21167°W |
| Map | |
 HAAF
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Hobbs Army Airfield (IATA: HAAF, ICAO: KHAAF) was an airfield used during World War II by the United States Army Air Forces Air Training Command as part of the Western Flight Training Center.
On 18 December 1941 eleven days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Maj. John Armstrong, commander of Roswell Army Airfield, New Mexico, visited Hobbs to conduct a preliminary investigation of potential military sites and discuss the prospects with local political and business leaders. Other military representatives soon followed, including those of the Army Corps of Engineers who would be involved in construction. The Army Air Force decided to use the Hobbs location in February 1942 and began the planning of the base and shipment of materials, but a public announcement was not made until 7 April. In a lease agreement with the city of Hobbs, signed on 4 February 1942, the city was responsible for acquiring "either through voluntary purchase or condemnation" the 2,480 acres (10.0 km2) required for the airfield as well as 12 to 15 acres (61,000 m2) for a radio communications installation, 640 acres (2.6 km2) adjacent to the airfield for an ordnance installation, land for a sewage disposal system, and land for a rail spur. The city would lease these lands to the government for $1.00 a year with a 25-year renewal option.
In April 1942 the city of Hobbs passed a $26,000 bond issue for land acquisition along the west side of the Hobbs-Lovington Highway, comprising the ranches of the Caudill and Huston families. The Huston family had spent 40 years building up their property and were not happy about being dispossessed. The city was adamant and the case was eventually settled in district court. The property had to be cleared by June 1942.
The Army Corps of Engineers, Albuquerque District, opened a sub-district office in Hobbs on 16 March 1942. On 1 April, Wilson and Company of Salina, Kansas, was awarded a $65,000 architect-engineer contract to design and build the new installation.
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