 Aerial Photo of Chanute Air Force Base, Illinois - 1982 Chanute Air Force Base was a United States Air Force base located in Rantoul, Illinois. It was named after Octave Chanute, a civil-and-railroad engineer and early aviation pioneer. Image File history File links Chanuteafb-1982. ...
Image File history File links Chanuteafb-1982. ...
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the aerial warfare branch of the United States armed forces and one of the seven uniformed services. ...
Rantoul is a village in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. ...
Octave Chanute Octave Chanute (18 February 1832 - November 23, 1910) was an American railroad engineer and aviation pioneer. ...
Beginnings
 Chanute Air Force Base Headquarters and Administrative Building. In 1917, Rantoul was chosen to be the site of the Chanute Field due to its proximity to the Illinois Central Railroad and the War Department’s ground school housed at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The field was named for aviation pioneer Octave Chanute. In the 1930s, Chanute grew, dominating the local economy. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 484 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (4036 × 5000 pixel, file size: 2. ...
Image File history File links Size of this preview: 484 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (4036 × 5000 pixel, file size: 2. ...
The Illinois Central (AAR reporting mark IC), sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad carrier in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. ...
Line drawing of the Department of Wars seal. ...
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), is the largest campus in the University of Illinois system. ...
Octave Chanute Octave Chanute (18 February 1832 - November 23, 1910) was an American railroad engineer and aviation pioneer. ...
WWII and ties to Tuskegee Airman During World War II, thousands of airmen were stationed there to train new recruits who cycled in and out. On March 19, 1941, the 99th Pursuit Squadron (Pursuit being an early WWII synonym for "Fighter") was activated at Chanute Field in Rantoul, Illinois. Over 250 enlisted men were trained at Chanute in aircraft ground support trades. This small number of enlisted men was to become the core of other black squadrons forming at Tuskegee and Maxwell Fields in Alabama — the famed Tuskegee Airmen.
Post-War After World War II, with the formation of the Air Force, Chanute Field was renamed Chanute Air Force Base. It served as a major training facility for Air Force meteorology, fuels, and missile maintenance. Satellite image of Hurricane Hugo with a polar low visible at the top of the image. ...
For information on the band, see Fuel (band). ...
Exocet missile in flight A missile (see also pronunciation differences) is a projectile propelled as a weapon at a target. ...
The Host Units at Chanute were:
- 10th Aero Sq, 7 Jul 1917 - 18 Apr 1921
- Army Air Corps Technical School, 18 Apr 1921 - 1 Aug 1933
- 98th School Sq, 1 Aug 1933 - 1 Sep 1936
- 10th Air Base Sq (Special), 1 Sep 1936 - 17 Feb 1941
- 9th Air Base Sq (Special), 17 Feb 1941 - 1 May 1944
- 3502d AAF Base Unit (Technical School), 1 May 1944 - 26 Aug 1948
- 3345th Air Base Gp, 26 Aug 1948 - 1993
- 3496th Air Training Command Headquarters 1950 - 1958
Closing & Transition to Civilian Use
 Chanute Air Force Base Hangar Number 1. The base was recommended for closure in 1988 and officially closed in 1993. Despite short term blows to the local economy in the years leading up to and immediately after closing, in many ways, the transition of Chanute Air Force Base from military to civilian use has been successful. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 753 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (5000 × 3984 pixel, file size: 2 MB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Chanute Air Force Base ...
Image File history File links Size of this preview: 753 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (5000 × 3984 pixel, file size: 2 MB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Chanute Air Force Base ...
1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ...
Many of the Air Force Base's buildings and facilities have found new life, with purposes that range from motels, retirement communities, restaurants, a fitness center, an Aerospace Museum, prominent datacenter and several light manufacturing facilities. The Golf Course, once only available to servicemembers and their guests, is now one of the most popular in East Central Illinois. The housing on base, once homes for airmen with families, are now occupied by civilians. Even so, many buildings remain unoccupied, and they are slowly falling apart due to lack of maintenance.
Chanute AFB Today Parts of Chanute AFB has been converted into a 6 month military boot camp academy for youths ages 16-18. This program is called Lincoln's ChalleNGe Academy.
See also Rantoul is a village in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. ...
References - Ravenstein, Charles A., Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947-1977, Office of Air Force History, 1984
- Mueller, Robert, Air Force Bases Volume I, Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982, Office of Air Force History, 1989
- Endicott, Judy G., USAF Active Flying, Space, and Missile Squadrons as of 1 October 1995. Office of Air Force History
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