Fort Wainwright History

Historical images from Fort Wainwright's beginnings as Ladd Field in the 1939.

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Fort Wainwright (Official Site)

black and white photograph of airplanes parked on the tarmac

P-39s on the South side of Hangar 1. In August and September of 1942, the first Soviet pilots and civilians of the Soviet Purchasing Commission arrived in Fairbanks and were housed at Ladd Field. They were checked out in aircraft ranging from P-39 Air Cobras to B-25 Mitchell bombers, before they were transferred to them. The Russians then flew the aircraft to Siberia via Galena and Nome where they were eventually used in the Soviet war effort against Germany.

black and white photograph of people walking towards an airplane

Dog team with B-29, tail number 486303, Ladd Field, Alaska.

black and white photograph of an airplane being worked on in the snow with scaffolding around it

Construction of Hangar 1, Ladd Field, Alaska. January 10, 1941.

an old black and white photo of people standing in front of airplanes on the ground

Ten Martin B-10 bombers led by Lt. Col. Henry "Hap" Arnold made a flight from Bolling Field, Washington, DC during the summer of 1934 to locate possible military airfield sites in Alaska. Two of the areas that Arnold and his men examined would later become the Fort Richardson-Elmendorf and the Fort Wainwright-Eielson complexes. Brig. Gen. Billy Mitchell who conceived the flight, later testified in a 1935 Congressional hearing that "Alaska is the most strategic place in the world."

two men standing in front of an airplane with the caption'ceremony for the 500th aircraft sent to russia through lend leases

The 5,000th aircraft delivered to Ladd Field, Alaska on September 10, 1944, during the Lend-lease years of 1942 to 1945.

black and white photograph of men in front of an airplane with pilot's name on it

First P.R. Flight

Ladd Field entrance "Careful Driving" sign.

Christmas Card

Christmas

Christmas card from Ladd Field, 1952.

an aerial view of a large industrial area with many buildings and roads in the foreground

North Post and runway, ca. 1942. Clockwise around parade ground from Hangar One on the left: Service club/bus station, power plant, quartermaster, NCO quarters, NCO quarters, commander’s house, officers’ quarters, garage, BOQ, barracks/BX/hospital. Rail facilities, access road, and warehousing are visible to the west behind the QMC area.