Hope Municipal Airport (Hope Army Airfield)

 airport, Second World War 1939-1945, place with historical importance, NRHP - National Register of Historic Places, historic district, ammunition factory

 Upload a photo

www.facebook.com/pages/Hope-Municipal-Airport/142788335...
www.airnav.com/airport/M18

FAA Identifier: M18

The Hope Municipal Airport was the Southwestern Proving Ground during World War II and had the claim of the third longest runway in the United States. Paul Klipsch used to joke that his desk was not in the same spot as the one he had during his United States Army service at the Proving Ground; it was on the other side of the room. Years later, during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the Federal Emergency Management Agency used land near the airport as a staging area for manufactured homes intended for transport as temporary housing for hurricane victims. Many of these homes remained at the airport long after the disaster, eliciting wide criticism of the federal agency.

The entirety of Hope Municipal Airport is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) under the name "Southwestern Proving Ground Airport Historic District". The facility was constructed in 1941 in response to World War II, and was used as a bomb and munitions testing facility. The major structures on the proving ground are the main hangar, night landing plant, heating plant, bomb assembly building and explosives magazine.