Venice Army Air Base

Venice Army Air Base began in May 1942 when surveyors from the US Army arrived at the Venice Municipal Downtown Airport to find a suitable site for a training facility for rear echelon maintenance service groups. Construction began in June 1942 in the area now bounded by US 41 on the east, San Marco Drive on the north, the Gulf of Mexico on the west and Lemon Bay on the south. The original army personnel included the 37th Service Squadron of the 27th Service Group, followed by HQ & HQ Squadron, 90th Service Squadron, 826th QM Co., 1728th and 1729th Ordnance Companies, 1063rd Signal Co., and 1095 QM Co. Within a year a full fledged training facility was operational. The first combat aircraft arrived from the 13th Fighter Squadron 53rd Fighter Group for pilot training on June 7, 1943, and the 14th Fighter Squadron soon followed. Pilot training began with the P-39, followed by P-40, P-47 and finally the P-51 Mustang fighters. On January 3, 1944, command of the base was transferred from Air Service Command to the Third Air Force. At the peak of training, the facility housed 6,000 men, and an estimated total of 20,000 men were trained there. Nine groups were trained, including the all-Chinese 14th Service Group formed at the request of Madam Chiang Kai-Shek. With the war over, the base closed in 1945. The property was deeded to the City of Venice in 1947, including the runways, sewage plant, hangers and much machinery and equipment. Its long term impact on Venice was significant because many of the men stationed there returned after the war to begin new lives, and some became civic leaders who guided Venice through the 1950s and 1960s.

Venice, Florida · United States