Herington Army Air Field
Open-knowledge reference entry
Herington Army Airfield was a World War II staging base of the United States Army Air Forces Second Air Force. It is currently the city-owned Herington Regional Airport.
History
Herington Army Air Field was located eight miles from Herington, Kansas, on a 1,700-acre tract of land which had been purchased by the United States government. It was planned as a satellite of Topeka Army Airfield, a Second Air Force installation which was situated some 70 miles to the northeast and which served as the headquarters for the 21st Bombardment Wing.
Construction of Herington Army Air Field, accomplished by contract under supervision of the Air Service Command, commenced in September 1942, and continued over a period of 14 months. Three runways were built with a dimension of 150 x 6750 feet, with a gross load capacity of 74,000 pounds, wheel load of 37,000 pounds. Runways and apron (500 x 4,750 feet) were constructed with a ten-inch gravel base placed in layers on a six-inch compacted earth subbase, and surfaced with one and one-half-inch asphalt cement; the service strip (80 feet wide) was a six-inch concrete slab, thickened to nine inches at the expansion and construction joints. three taxiways, 50 feet wide, completed the runway system. Fronting on the field, three squadron hangars, 120 by 80 feet, were built.
Construction work of a general nature relative to the site chosen for the army air field near Herington, included a water storage and distribution system; a sewage collection and disposal plant; an electric distribution system; two gasoline storage and distribution systems; 128,000 square yards of paved roads and streets; 14,000 square yards of paved walks; and a swimming pool.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Herington Army Air Field” is open-knowledge reference entry. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Herington, Army and Field, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “open-knowledge reference entry” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5738569. Authority coordinates are 38.695, -96.808. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1942.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Herington Army Air Field”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Herington Army Air Field primary sources, Herington Army Air Field archive and Herington research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Herington Army Air Field”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Herington Army Air Field” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.