The genesis of the Brooksville Army field now known as the Brooksville–Tampa Bay Regional Airport came during World War II. A multi-county committee representing the Hernando County Chamber of Commerce met with US Senator Claude Pepper asking for his help in convincing the Army Air Force to create an army base on the lands controlled by the Withlacoochee Forest land use development program. The committee was comprised of John Wallace who served as Project Manager for the creation of the Withlacoochee Forest for the Resettlement Administration, Sheriff Neil F. Law of Hernando County, Hernando County Businessman Alfred A. McKethan, Sheriff Bill Coleman of Sumter County, Citrus County Businessman Frank D. Sanders and Pasco County legislator George F. Dayton.
The idea to develop an airport in the Hernando County area was well received and Senator Pepper proved persuasive to the Air Force. Shortly after the trip, several Air Force officers came from Maxwell Field, Alabama to examine possible locations. They were shown several areas in the Withlacoochee Forest and one area near Masaryktown which was not part of the Withlacoochee Forest. The officers were impressed by the area near Masaryktown. The land was placed under emergency proceedings and construction of the airport proceeded quickly with it entering service in November 1942.
During World War II, the airfield started as a base for the 1st Bombardment Squadron which was equipped with the B-17 Flying Fortress. In the beginning of 1944, the 1st was transferred to Texas and they were replaced by the 5th, 99th and 430th. Those squadrons were then transferred to Texas leaving their planes behind at the airfield.
With the end of the war, the Air Force closed the facility. In 1945, it was transferred to civil hands and renamed the Hernando County Airport, which was in turn renamed the Brooksville-Tampa Bay Regional Airport in 2013.
The airport currently encompasses 2,498 acres and has two runways. On October 15, 2012, the airport opened an air traffic control tower, which was the first time it operated an air traffic control tower since World War II.
In 1943, the Army acquired 10,200 Acres for training aerial gunners. The location is south of Centralia Road (Co Rd 476), east of Melanie Ave. and west of Citrus Way. They built a moving target system in which a jeep with attached target above went around a track.
Soldiers in training fired .50 caliber machine guns at the target. Other training activities included jungle warfare, rifle firing practice, rifle grenades, bazookas, mortars and antitank guns. By November 1946, the Army disbanded the training grounds due to the end of WWII.
Some of the munitions may still be in this location and if you find a munition it is recommended to call 911.
According to historian Frasier Mountain, there was an army radar at Bayport in support of the airport. In addition to the radar, the army also used the area in survival training and built causeways between the islands.
There is also said to have been a radar on Pine Island in support of the navy. In Douglas Waitley's Best Backroads of Florida: Beaches and Hills he says, "Pine Island supported a beautiful stand of longleaf pines, but, during World War II, the trees were felled so as not to interfere with the anti-submarine radar station built here."
After the war, some of the surplused equipment was used to log throughout the county. The heavy pieces of equipment were used to drag trees out of remote areas in the county. There are also a number of Quonset huts some of which were surplused after World War II.
World War II greatly affected Florida and Hernando County. Many of the young men stationed in Florida never forgot the area and returned in later life. In fact a large part of the migration to Florida can be traced directly back to the people stationed there for World War II.