Vernam Field Air Base

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Vernam Field was established in November 1941 to house a bomber squadron. The field had three runways: a 6000-foot concrete runway and two shorter asphalt runways. When officially activated on 21 November 1941, the station was assigned to Sixth Air Force. The primary mission of Vernam Field was antisubmarine patrols in the Northern Caribbean.

In 1945, Vernam Field became the destination for many B-29 Superfortress aircraft from Second Air Force training flights originating in Kansas and Nebraska. The B-29s would land at the airfield, be refueled and have turnaround maintenance performed if necessary before returning to the Midwest. It was, unfortunately, also the site of several B-29 crashes.

With the end of the war, Vernam Field was reduced in scope to a skeleton staff. By the end of 1946 only two aircraft, a C-45 and a C-47 were assigned to the station with both aircraft being down for parts and minimal maintenance being undertaken. The airfield became a training destination for early jet aircraft cross country flights.

The airfield was re-designated Vernam Air Force Base on March 26, 1948, by Department of the Air Force General Order Number 10. The mission of the base was primarily weather reporting, with a detachment of the Military Air Transport Service (MATS) 6th Weather Squadron being the primary unit on the base. It also became a destination for long-range Strategic Air Command fighter escort aircraft, with F-82 Twin Mustangs flying to Vernam from Kearney AFB, Nebraska then returning on cross-country training flights.

Vernam AFB closed on 28 May 1949 due to budgetary cutbacks. Following closure, the base was essentially abandoned and all structures were removed or torn down. The facility has been derelict for decades. The only use of the former airfield area has been as an automobile racetrack known as Vernamfield which uses some of the old runways and taxiways.

In the early 21st century, the Government of Jamaica announced plans to reactivate the site as an international Airport. The experience of disruptions in traffic at Norman Manley International Airport after hurricanes suggest that it would be wise to have a third International Airport in Jamaica.

Reference: Wikipedia (for the most part).