Lexington County · Marker 32-13
Columbia Army Air Base
Off S.C. Sec. Rd. 378 (Columbia Metropolitan Airport Dr.) near the airport terminal, West Columbia vicinity
Front inscription
Built during 1941 as the Lexington County Airport, this airfield became the Columbia Army Air Base shortly after the U.S. entered World War II in December, 1941. The base was used to train crews for medium bombardment groups flying B-25s and A-26s. Reaching a military population of 7,800 in February of 1945, the base reverted to a standby status after the war.
The Doolittle Raiders
In February 1942, twenty-four B-25 bomber crews of the 17th Bombardment Group at Columbia Army Air Base volunteered to take part in a secret project headed by Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle. This group was the nucleus of the Doolittle Raiders who, taking off from the aircraft carrier "Hornet," bombed Tokyo on April 18, 1942.