To facilitate construction activities, USACE opened a sub-district office in Hobbs on

March 16, 1942. In April, the state announced plans to rebuild Highway 18, and the city built a

caliche-surfaced road (now called Jack Gomez Blvd) from the highway to the base entrance

(U.S. Army 1942: 5). The contractors for the construction project were Parks, Marshall &

McClosky who were contracted to build 423 buildings (increased to 456 structures by the end of

December); Hayner & Bruner for the utilities installation; and a partnering of three firms to form

Allison, Armstrong & Thygesen to build the landing fields, roads, and drainage system. These

three firms were experienced in building roads, bridges, dams and airfields in the state. Their

previous work included Conchas Dam, Fort Wingate Ordnance Depot, and the Clovis and Las

Vegas airfields (HDNS, 9/9/42). The engineering firm of Wilson & Company designed the

buildings for the base. Headquartered in Salina, Kansas, Wilson & Company opened a branch

office in Albuquerque in 1942 to handle their military work. By June 1st, more than 100 workers

began grading the airfield’s runways, and by the end of the month more than 1,000 workers

were on base, working day and night to meet the scheduled completion deadline of midSeptember.

 The 3,066-acre base was designed according to a standardized plan consisting of three

main parts: (1) a cantonment area, (2) a supply Sub-Depot, and (3) the flight line, runways, and

taxiways  The buildings and structures in these areas were built from standard AAF

plans and specifications for temporary buildings, referred to as Series 700 (Garner 1993).

There is some question as to whether HAAF structures were mobilization type buildings or

Theater of Operations (T.O.) type buildings. The latter were normally used for bases located

outside the continental United

States, and were constructed of

less permanent materials. For

example, except for the

Women’s Army Air Corps

(WAAC) two-story barracks, the

living quarters for enlisted men

and officers were all one story,

were poorly insulated, and did

not have central heating or

indoor plumbing – features

similar to T.O. type buildings.

On the other hand, many of the

administrative and recreational

buildings were more

substantially built and more

similar to the Series 700

structures than T.O. structures.

Figure 5: Divisions of HAAF

In any case, most of the buildings at HAAF were of simple design, were easy to construct, and

offered few amenities. The structures were 2 x 4 wood frame supported by concrete piers or,

for buildings requiring a more substantial foundation, concrete stem walls. In some cases, a

metal strap was affixed to the pier to hold sill plates which were surmounted by floor 

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joists, and in others, bolts were set in the concrete, holes drilled through the sill plate and then a

nut attached to hold the sill plate in place  In others the stem wall included anchor

bolts to which a wood sill

was affixed 

 Foundation with bolted sill plate

(original drawing and current condition)

Walls were sheathed with Transite, a composite cement and asbestos board (Figure 8).

The buildings had gable roofs covered with rolled roofing. Other structures, such as hangars,

warehouses, mechanics shops, lavatories, heating plants, and kitchen areas in the mess halls

were built of slab-on-grade to better accommodate heavy work tasks, facilitate sanitary sewers

or offer better fire protection. Runways and taxiways were constructed by laying a caliche base,

which provided a solid foundation for the B-17 aircraft, surfaced by asphalt and concrete.

Figure 8: Transite in 1940s and in 2007

Source: U.S. Army Air Forces Yearbook (left) and field photo for Building 673 (right)

 Construction at HAAF was essentially completed by mid-year of 1943. Upon

completion, the cantonment area consisted of officer’s quarters, cadet’s barracks, WAAC

quarters, and enlisted men’s squadron barracks spread across the center of the base. The

administrative and recreational buildings were located in the center of the base, while the base 

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hospital was set off in the northeast

corner. The Sub-Depot for off-loading

and storing equipment and supplies was

located at the southwestern end of the

facility where railroad spurs came off the

main railway line (Figure 5). The

ordnance area was situated in the far

southeast corner of the base. The flight

line was comprised of maintenance

hangars and buildings, pilot training

facilities, and squadron operations

buildings. The training aircraft were

parked on the “ramp” or parking apron in

front of the flight line with the runways

and taxiways criss-crossing the land field

(Figure 9). By September 1942, with the

base facilities still under construction,

HAAF was ready to welcome its first

class of trainees.