Brooksville Army Airfield WWII Bunker - Brooksville, Florida, USA
Posted by: 
BoomersOTR
N 28° 28.821 W 082° 28.055
17R E 356339 N 3151292
An old World War II bunker located in Hernando County, Florida.
Waymark Code: WM18Y23
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 10/22/2023
Views: 0
Located in Brooksville, Florida is the Brooksville - Tampa Bay Regional Airport (BVK). This airport was previously known as the Brooksville Army Airfield during World War II.
In 1942 the 1st Bomb Squadron arrived and the 9th Bombardment Group trained B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberators at this location. The airfield was designated an auxiliary base to Drew Field in Tampa and the trainees made regular bombing runs to the Avon Park Bombing Range as well as the Osprey Bombing range. A tactical bombing school also operated under the direction of the Orlando Air Base. After the war it became the Hernando County Airport in 1945.
Besides the remaining runways, one of the most distinct remnants of the Army training base is "The Bunker". A huge hill with a concrete bunker is located just north of the runways and was known as a Boresight Range Target it was used as a firing target to test and align the machine guns on the bombers. The bunker was never used as a traditional bunker but instead it was a target backstop. There are concrete tubes on top of the bunker that were used to fill the bunker with sand to contain the spent rounds. The outside of the bunker still shows bullet holes from the testing.
Currently plans are in the making to build a historical point of interest memorial at the bunker location. The BKV Gunnery Backstop Project will include sidewalks, a low perimeter railing, brick walkway, concrete central retaining wall and a small vehicle pull-over area. Additionally bench seating, historical marker, informational plaques and visual back wall displays are planned.
Note: black and white photos in gallery are circa 1940’s. Extra Note: in one photo signage above the bunker reads “CAUTION AIRCRAFT AND GUNS MUST BE SECURELY FIXED IN IMMOVABLE POSITION BEFORE FIRING”.
Related Website: [Web Link]
Supplementary Related Website: [Web Link]
Admission Fee: free
Opening Days/Times:
open daily, sunrise to sunset.
|
Visit Instructions:
Posting a picture(s) of the location would be nice although not required.