At this airfield, U.S. Army Air Force airmen trained to fly and fight with the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress during the darkest days of World War II. Heavy bomber crews completed final proficiency phase training here before being assigned to aerial combat in Europe and North Africa. Combat squadrons polished the vital skills of formation flying, precision bombing with the top secret Norden bombsight, aerial gunnery, and navigation. Montana airbases were constructed in record time by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and by the first anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack, B-17 aircraft were landing at this airfield. The 49th, 548th, 570th, and 615th Bomb Squadrons all performed crucial Organizational Training Unit missions in Montana, alongside other B-17 training bases at Cut Bank, Glasgow, and Great Falls. Montana-trained squadrons flew a total of 1263 combat missions, dropped 71,128 tons of bombs, lost 548 aircraft, and shot down 1018 enemy planes without ever turning away from a mission. They earned Presidential Unit Citations for valor and fortitude over Leipzig, Oscherslaben, Regensberg, Schweinfurt, Steyr, and Zwickau. Assigned to the Mighty 8th and 15th Air Forces, the airmen from this Montana airfield served with unwavering courage and unbowed bravery.