To honor the men and women who flew and trained at Luke Field, Arizona, during World War II.

Photos of Luke Field

For air operations, you need a base to takeoff from and land at. President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1940 order for the Army to double its pilot training, resulted in what became Luke Field. On March 24, 1941, the Del Webb Construction Company began clearing the land. five days later, they started working on the first building. On April 21, 1941, the base officially became Litchfield Park Air Base. On June 1, 1941, 2d Lt. Marting D. Mulligan landed the first aircraft on the runway. On June 6, 1941, the base was renamed to Luke Field.

The above photo was taken on June 11, 1941, ten days after the first aircraft landed here and four days after training started at Sky Harbor Airport. The road on the right, just east of the base, was Litchfield Road and the cross street in the middle of the frame became Glendale Ave. The curve on the north end of the base was the railway onto base. The buildings below the curve would become the 87th Sub Depot. The horizontal line above the curve became Northern Ave. The buildings in the foreground became the hospital.

Early on, being that it was the Army, they used tents for a number of functions especially on the flight line. Here stands Transient Alert for visiting aircrews. To the right is the North Control Tower.

Early on, being that it was the Army, they used tents for a number of functions especially on the flight line. Here stands Transient Alert for visiting aircrews. To the right is the North Control Tower.

Taken from the North Control Tower looking north on September 5, 1941, construction is ongoing. The buildings in the center may have included Base Operations, maintenance, and the flight training squadrons. To the north of those is broken ground across the street from the parachute drying tower. That broken ground would become the two hangars for the 87th Sub Depot.

This arial photo is of Luke Field taken later in the war, looking southwest. The base is surrounded by farmers’ fields and to the south, some desert scrub.

Let’s take a closer look at Luke Field. It has the typical Army Air Forces triangle of runways. They built them that way to minimize dangerous cross winds on takeoff and landing. The widest runway is aimed towards the prevailing wind, which blows from that direction most of the year. To the left is the completed 28-building hospital. To its north is family housing. Across Litchfield Road to the east is contractor housing. The 87th Sub Depot is near the north end of the base. During WWII the Army was segregated. The segregated barracks were on the east side of Litchfield Road.

Taken from the South Control Tower, on February 30, 1943, facing southeast. In the distance is Camelback Mountain. In the foreground is the south half of the most southern barracks block. To the right center is Family Housing, made up of low flat-topped buildings.

This photo shows Luke Field Auxiliary Field #1. During the war, all Army Air Force Auxiliary Fields used a triangle of runways. Luke Field had seven Auxiliary Fields and two other fields where they put 1st Lt., later Maj., Dewey Bartlow in charge of setting up operations, first at Gila Bend Army Air Field, and later at Ajo Army Air Field, both nearby in Arizona. Auxiliary Field #1 is a little unusual due to its fourth runway down the center. The runway at the bottom of the photo runs due north and south. While this field has changed over time, it is still in use today by Luke Air Force Base.

Taken on April 18, 1942, these are the men and women of the Headquarters Squadron for Luke Field.

Taken a month earlier, on March 23, 1942, are the men of the Quartermasters Transportation Detachment, in front of their trucks.