Fascinating Facts About Sewart Air Force Base
Editor’s Note: Last week I had the opportunity to visit the former Sewart Air Force Base in Smyrna. The 118th will be moving the in the next 6-8 years. My late father was stationed there and flew 24 bombing missions in a B-17 during WWII. 
Many residents of Smyrna, La Vergne and Rutherford County had fathers and relatives who were stationed there or worked as civilians on the old base
1. 🏗️ Lightning-Fast Construction
Six thousand workers built an entire air base from scratch in just months! They erected 200 buildings and a complete airfield on 3,325 acres near Smyrna, Tennessee, transforming farmland into a military powerhouse almost overnight after Pearl Harbor.
2. ✈️ Heavy Bomber Flight School
Smyrna was where future World War II heroes learned to fly the legendary B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator bombers. Top graduates earned their wings as Second Lieutenants, while others became Flight Officers – all trained to take the fight to the enemy.
3. 🎿 Skiing to Antarctica
In 1960, seven ski-equipped C-130 Hercules from Sewart made aviation history by flying from Tennessee all the way to Antarctica! They broke records previously held by Navy aircraft and revolutionized polar supply missions by landing directly at South Pole research stations instead of dangerous parachute drops.
Road naming honors legacy of Sewart Air Force Base
4. 🏆 America’s Only Operational C-130 Base
For a brief shining moment in 1958, Sewart Air Force Base held the unique distinction of being the only operational C-130 Hercules base in the entire United States – making it the epicenter of America’s tactical airlift capabilities.
5. 🪂 The Four Horsemen Aerobatic Team
The 774th Troop Carrier Squadron featured “The Four Horsemen,” a spectacular C-130 flight demonstration team that wowed audiences with precision formation flying using four massive cargo planes – imagine the Blue Angels, but with aircraft the size of small buildings!
6. 🌍 Global Crisis Responders
Sewart’s wings simultaneously deployed to opposite sides of the world in summer 1958, responding to crises in both Lebanon and Taiwan. Talk about military multitasking – defending freedom on two continents at once!
7. 🚁 Helicopter Haven
Beyond cargo planes, Sewart hosted multiple helicopter squadrons flying the distinctive twin-rotor CH-21 Shawnee helicopters, adding vertical lift capability to complement their fixed-wing transport mission.
8. 🏭 From Warbirds to Workers
After closure in 1971, the former air base became an economic powerhouse for Smyrna, attracting major industries and nearly tripling the town’s population between 1970 and 1980 – proving that military installations can have amazing second lives.
9. 🎖️ Hero’s Honor
Originally called Smyrna Army Airfield, the base was renamed in 1950 to honor Tennessee native Allan J. Sewart Jr., a fallen World War II hero who died during a bombing mission over the Solomon Islands in November 1942.
10. 🔄 The Base That Wouldn’t Stay Closed
Sewart had more comebacks than a Hollywood star! Deactivated in 1947, reactivated in 1948, officially closed in 1971, and today still serves as a joint civil-military airfield with Army National Guard helicopters and visiting Air National Guard aircraft.
Feel free to email you your own fun fact or fondest memory of Sewart Air Force Base at MikeSparksTn@gmail.com.
Leave feedback about this