This month’s Back in My Day is Anderson Field. You might not know the name Anderson Field, but you probably know it at the Walterboro Airport or Lowcountry Regional Airport.
During World War II it was known as Walterboro Army Airfield.
The airport was originally dedicated on June 15, 1933, as Anderson Field, named after C. Anderson, (1907 – 1996), Anderson was known as the “Father of Black Aviation”, he was
a pilot and the first African American to receive a commercial pilot’s license. He also served as the chief flight instructor for the Tuskegee Institute’s pilot training program. The field was
bought by the town of Walterboro in 1937, this included 3 dirt runways on 60 acres. The airport known C.C. Anderson Landing Field, the US Army Air Corps aquired the field and an additional 3,712 acres in February of 1942. The military started upgrading the airport, building a total of 3 concrete runways, taxiways, a control tower and several hangers. A large system of aircraft support roads was constructed. The field was assigned to the Third Air Force III Air Support Command that activated of August 15, 1942.
The Army airfield was originally used for the training the crews of the B-25 Mitchell Bombers before their deployment into combat. The field was acting as a secondary base for
the Columbia Army Airfield. The Units training in Walterboro were the 310th, 321st, 340th, and the 345th Bombardment Group. The 405th Fighter-Bomber Group also trained on the
A-24 Dauntless. This group was hosted by the 305th Air Base Group. The groups trained on the Norden Bombsight, The bombsight operated by accurately measuring the aircraft’s ground speed and direction, The Norden using an analogue computer to continuously recalculate the bomb’s impact point based on changing flight conditions with the planes autopilot to adjust for changing wind and climate conditions. This resulted in advancements in bomber accuracy.
The Norden was granted the utmost secrecy status and was part of a production effort on a similar scale to the Manhatton Project. This was a 1.1-billion-dollar project and the site was
housed in a concrete under heavy guard.
The most notable Airmen to train at Walterboro were the Tuskegee Airmen. They were the first African Americans to fly in the U.S. Army Air Corps. The group graduated from
the Tuskegee Army Flying School in Alabama. Beginning in May 1944 to October 1945, the airmen took further combat training here, at Walterboro Army Airfield. A number of the
first Tuskegee Airmen, who had successfully participated in missions in Europe and North Africa, were assigned to Walterboro as combat flight instructors. Trainees flew the P-39,
P-47, and P-40 fighter planes and the B-25 bomber. Over 500 Tuskegee Airmen trained at Walterboro Army Airfield individuals training as replacement pilots for the 332nd Fighter
Group and the447th Bombardment Group. Walterboro Army Air Field Also hosted the largest camouflage school in the United States. During its operation, the field had a population of 6000 Military personnel as well as 250 German POW’s.
When the base closed after the war the field was deeded back to Walterboro and Colleton County with the provision that it would always be a public airport. In its history the airport
has hosted airshows, circuses, and even had a dragstrip over the year. The majority of the property was used as the Colleton County Industrial Area with an area set aside for the ACE
Basin Sports Complex. The Airport, which is comprised of 1400 acres, has retired one runway and continued to improve the facility. There is a park and monument dedicated to the
Tuskegee Airmen and their history and plans for a Veterans Park to be constructed on the site. The Norton Bomb Site building is still in existence today to the right of the terminal building.
Today the airport is a hub of activity with tourist visiting the Tuskegee Monument, jet aircraft landing on it 6000-foot runway and even the Goodyear Blimp using the property of land on cross-country trips. The airport has played a large part in Colleton County history. If you have stopped by the airport. Take a few moments to visit the monuments and watch the
aircraft take off and land.
