Hidden in the Wheat Fields

from Dragon's Tale - March 2022 Issue

Red & Blue Chaos

HutchCC’s South Campus’ previous life as a naval base

Did you know there was a navy base near Hutchinson? My grandpa has told stories through the years about the many things he knows about and has experienced, one of them being a navy base in the middle of Kansas.

In the planning process for this edition of the magazine, we decided to do a story on South Campus. I amazed everyone in the lab with the small detail that South Campus used to be a navy base. The story quickly shifted from “what happens at South Campus” to “the history of South Campus.”

After a little research, I found a few names, came across a book written years ago by a HutchCC professor, interviewed around, and pieces of the puzzle started to come together.

There was one important piece that I had not yet found. I surveyed newspaper archives, websites and navy archives looking for one specific date - when the land was transferred from the navy to HutchCC. I had hit a wall and deadlines were coming up.

I was mapping out different ways to say no one knows this information. That was until Amber Brawner, HutchCC magazine advisor, suggested that I try one more point of research - the Reno County Museum. That same day, a couple museum employees helped add just a little more depth to the entire story. After a lot of story boarding and planning, I came to the conclusion that the story must be split into two issues, there was simply that much information. So, in this issue of the Dragon’s Tale Magazine, you will find “Hidden in the Wheat Fields,” the story of the navy base in the middle of Kansas, and in the following issue, you will find “Dragons Plant Their Anchor,” the story of how HutchCC acquired the grounds and the various programs offered throughout the years at South Campus.

Information for this article was collected from the following sources: www.military-history.fandom.com www.kshs.org www.airfields-freeman.com www.history.navy.mil www.navsource.org

This photo, left in the official file, was titled “Drill Hall and Armory.” It was taken on May 27, 1943 from a bird’s eye view. Photo | Reno Co. Museum A drawn map of the Hutchinson Air Base, still in it’s official U.S. Navy file, with “confidential” and “unclassified” stamps. Multiple files were given to the museum.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph

With an influx of cadets in the midst of World War II, the U.S. Navy began looking at locations for several new bases. The military already had a base in Olathe ,and Hutchinson climbed to the top of the list of possible naval air base locations. The Navy reports listed “Site #2,” or Huthinson, as having numerous amenities, including fuel and good drainage.

The Hutchinson Chamber of Commerce also aided in choosing the location of the future base and promised the use of the state fairgrounds and local airport. In July 1942, the Navy bought 2565.1 acres of land for a total of $378,115. Most of the land was bought from Amish farmers. The Navy allowed the farmers time to dismantle or salvage any buildings on the land in order to save demolition costs.

W.C. King arrived in Aug. 1942 and quickly became the first commanding officer at the base.

In Oct. 1942, cadets were shipped out to Hutchinson and temporarily stationed at the fairgrounds. There they started basic training while construction began on the newly acquired grounds. The city leased out the local airport for one dollar a year, which also contributed to cadets being able to train while the base was being built. Construction continued to advance until officers heard of the women’s reserves, known as Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES), being assigned to the base. Construction was delayed by a month and funds were expanded to make a considerable amount of changes to the living quarters, including adding bathtubs, shower curtains and linoleum floors. The first women cadets were stationed on the Hutchinson base in June 1943. The navy also made an effort to employ civilians as manual labor at the base.

**An undated news release from the U.S. Naval Air Station in Hutchinson sites Hutchinson as “unique because its only sea is that of the endless winter wheat crop...”**
Official U.S. Navy Photograph

Over the years, the name of the base changed several times, but the official name given in 1943 was the United States Naval Air Station. The purpose of the U.S. Naval Air Station in Hutchinson was to provide primary flight training for naval aviation cadets. Flight training occurred at the base from Oct. 1942 through March 1944. At the base’s peak, there were 774 cadets in training. The Hutchinson base had 75% of their cadets earn their wings.

The U.S. had lost a large amount of the Navy’s fighter planes in the war, but the country had a large mass of pilots. To combat the excessive number of men, the purpose of the base slightly changed. The base went from flying Stearman N2S-3s, N2S-4s, and N2S-5s to flying PBSY-1 Liberators.

Because of training availabilities on the west coast, there was a shortage of bomber pilots. According to the Kansas Historical Society, the Naval

Air Operational Training Command led an investigation looking for inland locations which could provide the needed space for intensive training. They picked the Hutchinson base. To accommodate the space needed for training, the base lengthened runways up to 7,000 feet and added lights to allow for night flying.

March 1944 was the beginning stages of the training program for the Liberator aircraft. The Navy planned for a total of 17 planes each week, but as the demand for the Liberator’s pilots increased, that number was increased to 87 by Dec. The first class graduated from the Liberator program in Apr. 1944 and left for the West Coast on their way to the war in the Pacific. Their departure from Hutchinson was broadcasted nationwide by the Columbia Broadcasting System.

Hutchinson still did not have enough territorial space for the program, so it was eventually moved to Minnesota. The base received news on Sept. 30, 1946, that the it would be closed immediately. The local airports that were rented were returned to civilian use by Oct. 5. The official closing date of the U.S. Naval Air Station was Dec. 1, 1946. In order to maintain the grounds, the Navy allowed a small number of Navy personnel to continue living on the property.

As a tribute to the city of Hutchinson’s war efforts, a ship was named after the city in 1943. The ship left San Pedro, Calif. after training and traveled to Leyte Gulf. It escorted and patrolled the landing while being involved in several battles with Japanese ships.

After some time spent in Australia with submarines, the ship eventually returned to the U.S. in Jan. 1946. It was converted to a weather ship and was then decommissioned on Apr. 15, 1946. Loaned by the Navy to the Coast Guard, the Hutchinson continued the duties of a weather ship, but was once again decommissioned on Sept. 23, 1946. In Oct., “the Hutchinson was stricken from the Navy list and was sold to Mexico on Nov. 24, 1947. She was renamed the California and then scraped in June 1964. For her service in World War II, she received 2 battle scars.”

Years later, the 793rd Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron opened a radar site on the abandoned Hutchinson base. According to Military History Fandom, their role was to guide interceptor aircraft toward unidentified intruders picked up on the unit’s radar scopes. The Hutchinson Air

Force Station began performing air traffic control duties for the

Federal Aviation Administration in 1959. The base was once again declared “excess” and was closed on Sept. 30, 1968. The Kansas Air National

Guard took over the base’s airfields in 1957 until they moved to their current location in Topeka.

Various companies have made their home on pieces of the base, including Yoder Smokers, Fedex Company, the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center, and Hutchinson Community College. Sky Sports, a skydiving company, bought a part of the land in the 1970s. Dick Johnson, a famous soaring pilot, earned his 10th national win at the remnants of the Hutchinson base.

Today, the public can “explore” pieces of the once secluded Navy base, many parts of the outlying fields and runways are now privately owned.

From all of my research, it sounds as though the Navy base hidden in the wheat fields in Hutchinson, Kan., played a “vital” role in our country’s victory over Germany and the Axis Powers during World War II. I can’t thank the soldiers who served our country enough for keeping us safe. Thank you for following along on my history journey and make sure to read the next issue where we follow the college’s history at the Navy base with interviews from previous and current instructors.