TXKF Kindlley Field 1955 - 1962.zip 2024-05-04

Kindley Field, on the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda, was built as a joint RAF/USAAF facility during the Second World War. Subsequently the RAF area became the civilian terminal while Kindley Air Force Base was operated by the USAF between 1948 and 1970. It was primarily a staging post between the US and Western Europe for land-based planes unable to cross the Atlantic non-stop, very like Ernest Harmon in Newfoundland and the civilian Gander, and like Harmon it closed when the jet age made such bases redundant. Prior to that it hosted no combat units, but the 59th and then 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadrons, the 'Hurricane Hunters', were based there, and also from 1 February 1956 to 15 June 1963 the 303rd ARS Stratotankers were present to support Strategic Air Command and other refueling requirements. After 1970 it became a US Navy facility primarily concerned with tracking Soviet submarines, and was closed at the end of the Cold War. This scenery represents Kindley between 1955 and 1962 and has custom made scenery by Dan French and ai military traffic by Al Von Pingel to add to the downloadable California Classic civilian and MATS traffic available at Tom Gibson's site. Like Harmon and Gander, it was one of the most important airfields of its time. By Ken Lawson, Al Von Pingel, Dan French