England Air Force Base began as Alexandria Army Air Base on October 16, 1942, was formally activated on February 12, 1943, and officially closed on December 15, 1992. It covered 2,604 acres, had two runways, one north-south 7,000 feet long and one northwest-southeast 9,350 feet long, and had capital assets valued at more than $600 million. Until 1945 it served as a B-17 bomber combat crew training school, and after hostilities in Europe ended in 1945 it trained B-29 bomber flight crews for duty in the Pacific Theater. As the war with Japan ended, the training mission also ended, and early in 1946 the base was placed on standby status and eventually turned over to the City of Alexandria for use as a municipal airport. When hostilities in Korea broke out in 1950, it was reactivated as Alexandria Air Force Base and later that year assigned to the Tactical Air Command. In June 1955 it was officially named England Air Force Base in honor of Lt. Col. John England, commander of the tenant 389th Fighter Squadron. After reopening in 1950, the base was home to many units, and its last flying unit was the 23rd Flying Tigers, whose combat legacy extended from World War II to Operation Desert Storm.