Savannah Municipal Airport (Savannah, Ga.)

The development of the Savannah Municipal Airport began in 1928 when the City of Savannah and Chatham County jointly purchased the 730 acre Belmont tract previously owned by J.C. Lewis for $35,000. Construction began on July 27, 1929 and the airport opened on September 20, 1929 with the inauguration of air service between New York City and Miami by Eastern Air Transport. The airport's first terminal building was a trolley car. In 1932, a city resolution changed the name of the airport to Hunter Field, named for Savannah native and World War I flying ace, Frank O'Driscoll Hunter. Lighting and paved runways were added to enable for all weather landings and takeoffs. Later, three runways were constructed running north-south, east-west, and northeast-southwest; each 3,600 feet long. The runways were aligned to different wind directions: southwest, northwest/southeast and east/west. During World War II, Hunter Field was occupied by the army air corps. In 1940, Savannah acquired a tract of land at Cherokee Hill, where the city began construction of a new airfield as a Works Projects Administration (WPA) project. This new field, named Chatham Field by the army air corps, was also occupied by the corps until the end of World War II; it was used as a bomber base. In 1948, the Chatham Field became Travis Field in honor of Air Force Brigadier General Robert Travis and his brother Lieutenant Colonel William Travis. During the 1950s, the Savannah Municipal Airport reopened as a civilian air facility at Travis Field, leaving Hunter Field. Hunter Field is currently Hunter Army Airfield.