Sarasota Army Air Field
Sarasota Army Air Field
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| Part of Third Air Force | |
| Located near: Sarasota, Florida | |
Sarasota Army Air Field - 1948
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 Sarasota Army Air Field
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| Coordinates | 27°23′44″N 082°33′16″W / 27.39556°N 82.55444°WCoordinates: 27°23′44″N 082°33′16″W / 27.39556°N 82.55444°W |
| Site history | |
| In use | 1942-1945 |
Sarasota Army Air Field, was a World War II United States Army Air Force located 4.4 miles north-northwest of Sarasota, Florida.
The facility's beginnings date back to early 1939 when government and business leaders from Sarasota and Manatee counties agreed to construct an airport together, designed to serve the aviation needs of the two-county area. A 620-acre site was selected on the Sarasota-Manatee County line through a Federal WPA-CCA Grant. In May 1941, resolutions were passed creating the Sarasota Manatee Joint Airport Authority made up of one representative each from Sarasota County, Manatee County, the City of Bradenton and the City of Sarasota . A resolution also established the name of the new facility as the Bradenton Sarasota Airport. Aviation facilities were completed by early 1942 at a cost of nearly one million dollars.
The Authority leased the land to the Army Air Corps in February 1942 for use as a training base for combat training of new pilots. Much additional construction was undertaken to convert Sarasota Bradenton Airport became Sarasota Army Air Field. The Army added 250 acres to the site in the course of its use. Sarasota AAF also controlled the following sub-bases and auxiliaries
Local civic groups created recreational facilities for white airmen at the Municipal Auditorium (a National Register of Historic Places listed site) and at the Municipal Pier. African-American airmen found their entertainment and amusement in a segregated facility in Sarasota.
The base was initially assigned as a sub-base of MacDill Field, near Tampa. It was assigned to the Third Air Force, III Bomber Command.
The 97th Bombardment Group transferred on 29 March 1942 from MacDill to Sarasota to begin training on the B-17 Flying Fortress. When the 97th Bomb Group left for Eighth Air Force in England in May, it was quickly replaced by the 92d Bombardment Group, which had also been formed at MacDill. The 92d also was deployed to England in early July. Both of these groups became part of the initial striking force of Eighth Air Force, and were rushed to England as soon as possible to initiate the American strategic daylight bombing campaign over Occupied Europe.
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