Madras Army Airfield served as a training facility for World War II pilots
The population of Madras almost doubled with the influx of military personnel
The United States involvement in World War II led to a need for combat training of Army Air Force pilots and crews.
Training operations were scattered throughout most of the West in isolated regions. In January of 1943, the Army Air Force announced that the war effort would include a training base in Madras.
The Air Force ordered plans to build two hangars to support the combat training of air crews, primarily for the Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress bombers. It was established as a training facility for the 318th Squadron of the 88th Bombing Group of the Second Air Force.