1955 U.S. Air Force Map of Eglin Air Force Base, Florida

This is a 1955 U.S. Air Force plan or map of Eglin Air Force Base, just east of Pensacola, Florida. Most buildings are numerically identified. Other locations are identified by name, including the tennis courts, bus station, motor pool, baseball diamond, and small arms range. Both runways are labeled, as is the taxiway and warm up apron. An index occupies the upper right noting important to new arrivals. It provides the 'activity', the grid location, and the building number. A more extensive index appears on the verso, although only the building number and grid coordinates are provided.

Eglin Air Force Base

Eglin Air Force Base was founded on October 18, 1940, on the firmer site of the Valparaiso Airport, opened in 1933. The surroundings of Valparaiso Field (which were a national forest and the Gulf of Mexico) had been the Air Corps Tactical School's bombing and gunnery range before the creation of Eglin. The Army Air Force Fixed Gunnery School occupied Eglin from October 1941 until October 1945. The Air Munitions Development Laboratory arrived at Eglin from Wright-Patterson Air Force base in Ohio in December 1955. Today, Eglin is home to the Air Force's largest wing, the 96th Test Wing, which played a critical role in the Air Force's test and support functions, testing and evaluating weapons, navigation and guidance systems, and command and control systems.

Publication History and Census

This map was drawn by R J G / J W A and published by the U.S. Air Force in 1955. This is the only known cataloged example.