Established on 12 July 1941 as Victorville Army Airfield, George Air Force Base activated on 1 October 1941 and began training pilots and bombardiers in February 1942, with the first class of flying cadets graduating on 24 April 1942. During the war years, aircraft assigned there in 1943 included the C-60A, C-47, C-53, L-4A, L-4E, L-3C, PT-15, L-3B, and CG-4A gliders, and in March 1944 a new transition school for P-39 single-engine pursuit pilots arrived, while crew members were also trained in the B-24 and B-25. All flying operations ceased on 12 October 1945 and the Army placed the installation on stand-by status. Reactivated on 1 July 1950, the base was renamed in honor of the late Brigadier General Harold H. George in September 1950, and the 1st Fighter Interceptor Wing arrived with F-86 Sabre jets as Tactical Air Command assumed ownership. In 1953, the 479 Fighter Bomber Wing became the first supersonic wing in TAC with the F-100 Super Saber, and the arrival of the F-104 Starfighter in 1958 gave the 479th two weapon systems with supersonic capability. The 831st Air Division activated there as host unit, the 31st Tactical Fighter Wing was activated in 1959 with F-100D aircraft, the 355 TFW was activated in 1962 flying the F-105D Thunderchief, and the 8 TFW received the first F-4C Phantom IIs in November 1964. In 1971, the 479 TFW inactivated and was replaced by the 35 TFW; two years later the base gained the F-105G Wild Weasel mission, by 1978 the first F-4G Advanced Wild Weasel arrived, and the 37 TFW activated on 30 March 1981. On 29 December 1988, the Secretary of Defense announced the base had been selected for closure in December 1992. Force reduction began when the 35 TTW and 37 TFW merged to form the 35 TFW on 5 October 1989, Air Warrior operations moved to Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, on 6 January 1990, and on 12 August 1990 twenty-four of the 561st's F-4G Wild Weasels departed for Shaikh Isa Air Base, Bahrain, to take part in Operation Desert Storm from 17 January 1991 to 28 February 1991, where they annihilated the enemy surface-to-air missile threat and returned safely with no casualties. All units were eventually inactivated from June 1991 through December 1992, and the final unit, the 35th Fighter Wing, ended a nearly 21-year association with the base. The base was dedicated in honor of Brigadier General Harold H. George, 1892-1942, a Californian by choice who died in the service of his country in the Pacific area on April 30, 1942.
