World War II recipient. As the demand for pilots decreased with the
end of the war in Europe, the Enid Army Flying Field began ramping down pilot production and deactivated on 31 January 1947, by which time 9,895 USAAF pilots had earned wings there.
Cold War Reactivated as Enid Air Force Base, the installation became one of several pilot training bases within the
Air Training Command (ATC). Its initial mission was to provide training for advanced students in multi-engine aircraft. On July 9, 1949, in keeping with the USAF tradition of naming bases for deceased flyers, the base was renamed for Lieutenant Colonel
Leon Robert Vance Jr., USAAF, an Enid native who was awarded the
Medal of Honor in World War II. The first aircraft flown at Vance when it was still Enid AAF was the
BT-13A, followed shortly by the
BT-15. In 1944, advanced students flew the
TB-25 and
TB-26. Following the establishment of the United States Air Force as a separate service in September 1947, Enid AFB-turned-Vance AFB began conducting training in the
AT-6 Texan and eventually the
T-33 Shooting Star. The
T-37 Tweet first flew at Vance AFB beginning in 1961, and the
T-38 Talon in 1963 as the USAF transitioned to its
Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) system.
Post Cold War The base's air park was moved to an area next to the main gate in 2010 to allow access to the public. On
April 23, 2026, a
tornado passed through the southern perimeters of the base. Rated EF4 on the
Enhanced Fujita scale, the violent tornado went over runway 35L and runway 35C's
ALS before crossing
US 81, impacting a nearby subdivision of homes along Gray Ridge Road. Numerous people were injured, though no fatalities were reported. The base was temporarily closed due to the tornado, until the following day on April 24.
Major Commands •
Gulf Coast Training Center (Air Corps), December 18, 1941 – January 23, 1942 • Air Corps Flying Training Comd, January 23, 1942 – March 15, 1942 • AAF Flying Training Comd, March 15, 1942 – July 31, 1943 •
Army Air Forces Training Command, July 31, 1943 – July 1, 1946 •
Air Training Command, July 1, 1946 – July 1, 1993 •
Air Education and Training Command, July 2, 1993 – present
Base operating units • 80th Air Base Sq, November 29, 1941 – June 13, 1942 • 80th Base HQ and Air Base Sq, June 13, 1942 – May 1, 1944 • 2518th AAF Base Unit (Pilot School, Basic), May 1, 1944 – February 4, 1945 • 2518th AAF Base Unit [Pilot School, Advanced-2E], February 4, 1945 – September 26, 1947 • 2518th AF Base Unit, September 26, 1947 – August 26, 1948 • 3575th Air Base Gp, August 26, 1948 – November 1, 1972 • 71st Air Base Gp, November 1, 1972 – present
Major units assigned • 60th Air Base Group November 29, 1941 – December 20, 1942 • 31st Flight Training Wing January 16, 1943 – May 15, 1945 • 2518th Army Air Force/Air Force Base Unit May 1, 1944 – August 28, 1948 • 3575 Pilot Training Wing August 26, 1948 – November 1, 1972 • 8600 Pilot Training Wing June 27, 1949 – May 28, 1951 • 71st Flying Training Wing November 1, 1972 – present • Enid Composite Squadron
Civil Air Patrol ==Mission==