McCoy Air Force Base, Florida
Longitude: -81.3090
History
McCoy Air Force Base was a former United States Air Force installation located approximately 10 miles southeast of Orlando, Florida, that primarily functioned as a Strategic Air Command (SAC) heavy bomber base from its reactivation in 1951 until closure in 1975.Originally established in 1940 as Orlando Army Air Field No. 2 and redesignated Pinecastle Army Air Field, the site supported World War II flight training and bombardment operations with aircraft such as the B-25 Mitchell, B-26 Marauder, and B-17 Flying Fortress. After a period of postwar inactivity, it was reactivated in 1951 under SAC as Pinecastle Air Force Base and renamed McCoy in 1957 to honor Colonel Michael N. W. McCoy, the base commander killed in a B-47 crash earlier that year.
The base hosted the 306th Bombardment Wing, equipped successively with Boeing B-47 Stratojets and later B-52 Stratofortresses alongside KC-135 Stratotankers for aerial refueling, contributing to nuclear deterrence during the Cold War and conducting combat missions over Vietnam as part of Operation Arc Light. It also supported U-2 reconnaissance operations and served as a staging point for SAC bomber deployments. Selected for closure in 1973 amid post-Vietnam force reductions, the 306th Wing was inactivated, and the facility transferred to civilian use, with most acreage now comprising Orlando International Airport.
