Trip Report: Spring Break
First published in 2017. Reformatted 2025. Graduate school has kept me busy, and after four months of class with no break, I took advantage of a week off between classes. For the past few years most of my road trips have been to Wyoming and Montana. I was ready for a change of pace. Just a reminder PIN means Permanent Installation Number and ILC means Installation Location Code; I include these for Air Force properties when I know them.Saturday, 27 May 2017
I headed south through Colorado Springs to Pueblo, then east. Plancor 1306 CO, 38-52-42, 104-49-10. This 61,800 square foot plant building was owned by the Defense Plant Corporation during WWII, and operated by Aircraft Mechanics, Inc. It produced engine mounts, supports, and gears for the Army Air Forces during World War II.General view
General view
Window detail
Structure detail Manzanola State Armory CO, 38-06-30, 103-52-05. This armory, designed by architect John James Huddart, was built in about 1922.
General view
General view
General view
Sign Rocky Ford Auxiliary Field CO, 38-08-00, 103-41-15. This airfield served as auxiliary field No. 1 to La Junta AAFld during WWII. It was declared surplus by the AAF on 25 January 1946, then transferred to the War Assets Administration on 27 February 1946 (although records show that it was briefly assigned to Strategic Air Command in March-May 1946). In approximately 1948 it was conveyed by deed to the Town of Ordway. By 1955 it showed as "Abandoned" on the USGS topographical map.
General view
General view Arlington Air Force Auxiliary Field CO, 38-19-58, 103-16-40. This was auxiliary field No. 4 to La Junta AAFld during WWII. It was headed through the disposal process when it was withdrawn from surplus on 10 October 1947. In 1949 the words "Air Force" were added to the installation name. The airfield remained on the books, under Air Materiel Command in an inactive status, until it was finally sold in 1956.
General view
General view Haswell Radio Telescope Site CO 38-22-55, 103-09-20. This was never a military site, but research for the military was conducted here. The National Bureau of Standards owned this 60-foot dish and research into tropospheric scatter communications was conducted between this site and a site in Boulder. It was built in the early 1950s and last used by the government in 1975. Since 2010 it has been known as the Paul Plishner Radio Astronomy and Space Sciences Center, operated by the Deep Space Exploration Society.
General view
General view with sign
Antenna structure
Antenna structure
Sign My destination for the night was Lamar, Colorado.
Sunday, 28 May 2017
More adventure, heading east into Kansas. Hutchinson Naval Air Station KS, 37-55-40, 97-54-15. The Navy acquired the land in 1942 and built a flying training base. The Air Force and Air National Guard had a use permit from the Navy in 1950, but in 1951 the Navy reopened the base. It was transferred to the Air Force on 13 May 1959, and briefly assigned to Strategic Air Command although it does not appear that SAC made use of it. The ANG used it from 1961 until 1968, when it was reported excess to GSA. Disposal took place on 26 March 1971.Base operations building and control tower
Base operations building and control tower
Base operations building and control tower
Base operations building and control tower
Base operations building and control tower
Base operations building and control tower
Building [1]
Building [2]
Building [2]
Building [2]
Building [2]
Building [3]
Building [4]
Building [4]
Building [4]
Building [4]
Building [5]
Building [5]
Building [6]
Building [6]
Building [6]
Building [6]
Building [7]
Building [7]
Building [8]
Building [8]
Water storage reservoir
Water storage reservoir
Hangar door rails
Deteriorating concrete ramp surface Hutchinson Air Force Station KS, ILC CJFQ, 37-55-24, 97-53-14. The Navy granted the Air Force use of this land on the former naval air station in 1950, officially transferring it in 1959. The radar station, initially known as site P-47, served Air Defense Command until 1968. The site was placed on inactive status on 1 July 1968 and reported excess to General Services Administration on 4 November 1968. A concrete tower foundation formerly supported an AN/FPS-10 search radar. The former AN/FPS-66A search radar tower now houses a Federal Aviation Administration Common Air Route Surveillance Radar (CARSR). As always, my thanks to Tom Page of radomes.org for helping me understand what I see at radar sites.
Possible base supply or administration building
Heating plant
Building
Operations building
Possible materiel control building
Former AN/FPS-66A search radar and operations building
Former AN/FPS-66A search radar, concrete AN/FPS-10 tower foundation, and power plant
Former AN/FPS-66A search radar, concrete AN/FPS-10 tower foundation, power plant, and operations building in background Hutchinson Ground-Air Transmitter-Receiver Site KS. Located near the radar site it supported, this former communications site is now private property.
General view
General view My destination for the night was Wichita, Kansas.
Monday, 29 May 2017
From Wichita I headed south into Oklahoma. Bethany No. 2 Airfield OK, 35-32-00, 97-38-40. This airport was listed as an Army field in 1943 and 1944 airfield directories, but Army use seems to have been minimal. The field was improved under the Defense Landing Areas for National Defense (DLAND) program. I observed some large hangars, but aerial photographs in the current airport terminal building (if labeled correctly) indicate the hangars were placed after WWII.Hangar
Hangar
Hangar I continued west to Amarillo, Texas.
Tuesday, 30 May 2017
From Amarillo, I headed generally northwest. Dumas National Guard Armory TX, 35-51-01, 101-57-52. This single-unit, Type K armory was built in the 1950s and closed in 1968. It has become a community center, with additions on three sides. From the north it is still recognizable as an armory building.General view
General view Plancor 1251 TX, 35-56-25, 101-55-59. The Defense Plant Corporation made improvements at a 160-acre, existing zinc plant during WWII. It was still labeled as a smelter on 1965 topo maps.
General view
General view
General view
General view
Brick building
Metal building Boise City Long Range Navigation Transmitter Site OK, 36-30-21, 102-53-59. This site, with a 705-foot guyed radio mast, likely closed in early 2010.
General view
Building
Building
Building
Building
Close up
Close up
Top of antenna
Guy line support My destination for the night was Walsenburg, Colorado.
Wednesday, 31 May 2017
From Walsenburg, I drove north to Pueblo, then west to Cañon City. Cañon City State Armory CO, 38-26-17, 105-14-44. This armory, designed by architect John James Huddart, was constructed in the early 1920s.General view
General view
General view
Entrance detail From Cañon City I headed northeast to Colorado Springs, then north to Denver. This five-day adventure put 1,739 miles on the Outback. Updated May 10, 2025
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