Columbus AFB, MS

Columbus AFB is a census-designated place in Lowndes County, Mississippi, south of Columbus, built around the Air Force installation that began as a local campaign for a wartime flying field. On February 14, 1941, local leaders organized to bring defense work to the area; the War Department approved the airfield on June 26, and Columbus officials leased the land to the government for a dollar a year. Construction began that September, and the first cadre arrived in January 1942. The base became a twin-engine advanced flying school, using AT-8, AT-9, AT-10, and B-25 trainers. During World War II, 7,766 students came through and 7,412 graduated with wings and commissions.

The postwar story had a few turns. The base was inactivated in 1946, returned for Korean War pilot training in 1951, shifted to Strategic Air Command in 1955, and hosted B-52 and KC-135 operations before returning to Air Training Command in 1969. The 14th Flying Training Wing took over in 1972 and remains the host unit. The local scoop is that Columbus AFB is a base community with a full aviation timeline—wartime training, a bomber-and-tanker chapter, and today’s undergraduate pilot school—rather than just a name beside Columbus on the highway.