Dow Army Air Field
Description
Created in 1927 as a commercial airport named Godfrey Field. In 1940 the Maine State Defense Commission considered 6 airports priority for use as military bases, Bangor being a key one. A 1940 Maine State Legislature report records that construction of the base was done by the W.P.A. and improved by FERA with a 1400 x 100 gravel runway and a 1500 x 100 Gravel runway.
“[T]he airfield was taken over by the U.S. Army just before World War II and renamed Godfrey Army Airfield and later Dow Army Airfield. It became Dow Air Force Base in 1947, when the new U.S. Air Force took over many Army air assets… With the inactivation of Dow AFB in 1968, most of the base was purchased by the city of Bangor and reopened the following year as Bangor International Airport. That portion of Dow AFB not turned over to the city became the basis for the current Air National Guard Base and the Maine Army National Guard’s Army Aviation Support Facility…
The base is the home of the 101st Air Refueling Wing (101 ARW), Maine Air National Guard. Part of the Northeast Tanker Task Force, the 101 ARW provides 24-hour air and ground refueling for DoD and allied aircraft bound across the Atlantic. It also deploys around the world under the control of the Air Force’s Air Mobility Command (AMC) for operations such as Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom, and Iraqi Freedom. The wing also provides logistics support to the State of Maine during natural disasters or as otherwise directed by the governor.” (Wikipedia)
W.P.A. projects at Bangor Air Base, sponsored by Commanding Officer, Bangor Air Base, U.S. Army:
- “Clear area for construction of airplane bombing range”
Official Project Number: 265‐2‐11‐25
Total project cost: $8,270.00 - “Make general improvements”
Official Project Number: 265‐2‐11‐23
Total project cost: $117,870.00
W.P.A. projects at “Municipal Airport”:
- “Construct access roads to airport”
Official Project Number: 165‐1‐11‐131
Total project cost: $54,220.00
Sponsor: City of Bangor - “Develop and improve municipal airport”
Official Project Number: 165‐1‐11‐15
Total project cost: $705,726.00
Sponsor: War Department - “Improve municipal airport”
Official Project Number: 165‐1‐11‐91
Total project cost: $129,227.00
Sponsor: City of Bangor
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1936 Town Report Illustration of Bangor Airport and Radio Beam
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Bangor Airport1935
Source notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangor_Air_National_Guard_Base
Maine State Legislature Legislative Record Special Session July 22, 1940Nationwide Context, Inventory, and Heritage Assessment of Works Progress Administration and Civilian Conservation Corps Resources on Department of Defense Installations, July 2009 (pages C-84, C-86).
Andrew Laverdiere (https://historiandrew.wordpress.com/2019/11/12/the-new-deal-and-the-bangor-international-airport/), accessed December 2019.
Project originally submitted by Andrew Laverdiere on January 2, 2016.
Additional contributions by Evan Kalish.
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