Ellington Field - Houston, TX - Airports on Waymarking.com

Established during World War I, Ellington Field is the only military air installation in this part of Texas. It was named after Lt. Eric L. Ellington who was killed in a plane crash in San Diego in 1913.

In 1917 Ellington became one of the largest aviation training facilities in the nation. Before World War I ended, approximately 5,000 men and 250 aircraft occupied the base.

Pilots and bombardiers were trained at Ellington, and there was a gunnery and radio school there. Men who trained at Ellington were assigned to combat posts in Europe.

As history would have it, during the succeeding years Ellington gradually fell into decline. The base was in a standby status until 1927, the year it was razed by fire and subsequently closed.

The imminence of World War II prompted Congress to appropriate $7 million to rebuild the base. Nine months after construction began, on June 26, 1941, the first plane landed at the newly constructed Ellington Field. Shortly thereafter the military began training pilots and bombardiers again for combat. With the U.S. in the throes of war, manpower at the base climbed once again to 5,000 personnel.

Ellington Field became Ellington Air Force Base in September 1947 when the U.S. Air Force was designated a separate service.

Ellington was again fully activated in 1949 as the only post-war U.S. Air Force navigator training school. When the Korean War began in 1950, Ellington resumed its duties of training men for war.

By 1976 the command of Ellington Field had changed hands several times. The 147th Fighter Interceptor Group (Air National Guard) was designated by the Air Force to handle the phase-down transition. The last student of combat crew training was graduated by the 147th group on May 4, 1976, the year Ellington was deactivated by the Air Force.

On July 1, 1984, some 63 years after the military installation opened, Ellington Field was taken over by the City of Houston Department of Aviation. Today, the military still occupies a strong presence there, along with NASA and a variety of other general aviation tenants. Ellington Field consists of three active runways (a 9,OOO - foot ILS CAT I runway, an 8,OOO-foot runway, and a 4,OOO-foot runway) and provides 24 hour-a- day air traffic control services.

Ellington Field continues to serve the military and United States government customers. It is home to the Texas National Guard, the Coast Guard, NASA, and the largest flying club in Texas. It is home to the Annual Wings Over Houston Air Show and is also the place where many of the astronauts from the world-renowned Johnson Space Center receive their ongoing space training. Several private, corporate, commercial, cargo, military, and aerospace-related businesses are based at the airport.

I have included pictures of the tower, the old Continental terminal, and some of the general aviation planes that are stored here.

Type: Municipal ICAO Airport Code: EFD IATA Airport Code: Not listed FAA Identifier: Not listed

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