Walker Army Airfield in Ellis County, Kansas

Walker Army Airfield is an abandoned airfield in Ellis County, Kansas. Also known as the Victoria-Pratt Airfield or Walker-Hays Airfield, it was initially established as a satellite airfield with operations for the Smoky Hill Army Airfield, also called the Schilling Air Force Base, in Salina, Kansas, on November 13, 1942.

With the development of the B-29 Superfortress bomber, it became necessary to establish airfields to train air and ground crews. The B-29 was the largest four-engine bomber built and the first to be pressurized. It also had remote-control gun turrets and the largest engine in the service. Its engine developed 2200 horsepower for takeoff. The plane was 99 feet long with a wingspan of 141 feet. One of the new features of the bomber was the remote-control gun turrets, which improved the comfort of the gunners since they did not have an open window to shoot through.

In 1942, 1,756 acres were purchased for the Walker Army Air Field, and additional areas were leased from the Union Pacific Railroad for the location of storage yards.

Walker Army Air Field was fully activated in September 1942. The cost was approximately $9,000,000. The apron was 5,110 feet long. The North-South runway, the Northeast-Southwest runway, and the Northwest-Southeast runway were each 8,000 feet by 150 feet. The taxiways were 100 feet wide. The first military personnel at the base were members of a Quartermaster Corps detachment, which arrived from Smoky Hill Army Airfield, Salina, on November 11, 1942. The first commanding officer of the yet incomplete base was Captain James E. Altman, who assumed command on December 12, 1942. However, he was quickly replaced by Lieutenant Colonel William A. Cahill on December 18.

Three other fields were built in Kansas, including the Pratt Army Airfield near Pratt, the Great Bend Army Airfield near Great Bend, and the Smoky Hill Army Airfield near Salina. Along with the Walker Army Air Field, these fields comprised the initial corps of the 58th Bombardment Wing. It was in the first group of United States Army Air Forces B-29 Superfortress bases for initial training on the aircraft of World War II.

Other auxiliary facilities were acquired as needed, including three gunnery ranges in Ellis, Ness, and Gove Counties and three bombing ranges in Trego and Graham Counties.

During the life of Walker Army Air Field, it trained four bomb groups and four service groups. The first was the 462nd Bomb Group of the 58th Bomb Wing. At the end of training, the 58th Bomb Wing was deployed to India, from which they carried out missions against Japanese forces in Southeast Asia and China. To fly the China missions, they had to make several trips over the Himalayan mountains to stockpile gasoline and bombs.

Until the end of World War II, the number of crews trained at Walker Army Airfield was steady. As one group completed operational training and prepared to leave, the leading elements of the next group arrived, and training began for the new group. When training was in full swing at Walker Army Airfield, about 6,000 people were employed, including aircrews, ground crews, auxiliary support personnel, and civilian workers.

In 1944, a railroad spur was constructed to the field from the Union Pacific Railroad. It was used to bring in equipment and B-29 engines.

The Japanese surrendered in September 1945. Afterward, Walker Air Field was used to store returning B-29s. The field was deactivated on January 31, 1946, and transferred to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Portions of the base were then leased to a citizen.

Former structures included hangars, maintenance buildings, above-ground storage tanks, warehouses, laboratories, a machine shop, a hospital, a garage, a motor pool, a paint and dope shop, ordnance storage, chemical weapons storage, and other structures. The buildings were sold at auction on July 16, 1947.

In 1949, Walker Army Air Field was returned to the U.S. Air Force and became known as Victoria Auxiliary Field.

After offering the land to the cities of Hays and Russell, Walker Army Air Field was sold at auction to a private citizen on December 17, 1958. He held the property until 1991.

When the land was again sold in 1991, and in 1992, government personnel and the new owners performed a walkover. It was determined there was still hazardous waste left behind from World War II.

Afterward, all pollution was cleaned up with government funds reserved for such operations.

Currently, the land is used for grazing and cropland.

Walker Army Air Field was 12 miles east of Hays and about three miles northeast of Victoria.