England Air Force Base Tour... Through its history as Alexandria Army Air Base, then Alexandria Air Force Base, and finally England Air Force Base (EAFB), our business was airplanes, and defense of the nation.
This base was one of several military camps in the Alexandria area created during World War II and part of the Louisiana Maneuvers including Camp Livingston and Camp Claiborne. And in nearby Bossier City was located Barksdale Air Force Base. It was originally known as Alexandria Army Air Base at its opening on October 21, 1942. Later, on June 23, 1955, it was renamed England Air Force Base in honor of Lt. Col. John Brooke England, Commander of the 389th Fighter Bomber Squadron, who died in a F-86 crash while in France.
Shown to the right is an aerial view of the static aircraft display just inside the EAFB main gate area. As an active military installation, England AFB employed 3,000 military and 681 civilian personnel. The facility was closed as an Air Force base in December, 1992. The England Authority has successfully transitioned the area to England Airpark which includes, among other facilities, Alexandria International Airport (AEX). The base covered 2,600 acres, and had two prime runways: 7,000' running north-south, and 9,350' running northwest-southeast. View runways, taxiways and other features on our interactive England Air Force Base map.
Our hardware was the best of its time: the B-17 Flying Fortress, F-86 Sabre, F-100 Super Sabre, the KB-29 Superfortress, the KB-50, the A-7 Corsair, the A-10 Warthog, and the rest of the arsenal ... whatever our mission, we met the challenge. And although they never landed at EAFB, we clearly remember the deep sounds of B-36 Peacemaker SAC bombers flying high over Alexandria during the 1950s. Our fascination with those huge bombers remains to this day. Visit the B-36 Peacemaker web site. Take a tour of EAFB as it existed just a few years ago... All aircraft images in the England AFB banners are courtesy of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force |
