North Auxiliary Airfield
Part of Joint Base Charleston
Near North, South Carolina in the United States of America
US Air Force personnel participating in Exercise Scorpion Lens 15 disembark a C-17 Globemaster III at North Auxiliary Airfield during 2015.
North Location in the United States
Coordinates	33°37′01″N 081°04′59″W / 33.61694°N 81.08306°W / 33.61694; -81.08306
Type	US Air Force airfield
Area	970 hectares (2,400 acres)
Site information
Owner	Department of Defense
Operator	US Air Force
Controlled by	Air Mobility Command
Condition	Operational
Site history
Built	1942 (1942)–1945
In use	1942 – present
Garrison information
Garrison	628th Civil Engineer Squadron
Airfield information
Identifiers	ICAO: KXNO, FAA LID: XNO
Elevation	321 feet (98 m) AMSL
Runways Direction Length and surface 06/24 3,048.9 metres (10,003 ft) asphalt 051/231 1,066.8 metres (3,500 ft) concrete
Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1]

North Air Force Auxiliary Airfield (ICAO: KXNO, FAA LID: XNO) is a military airfield located 3 miles (4.8 km) east of North, a town in Orangeburg County, South Carolina, United States.^[2][3]

It is owned by the U.S. Air Force and is used primarily for C-17 Globemaster III training by the 437th Airlift Wing (437 AW) and its Air Force Reserve "Associate" unit, the 315th Airlift Wing (315 AW), at Joint Base Charleston. Other units can utilize North with prior coordination with the 628th Air Base Wing (628 ABW). The 628th Civil Engineering Squadron (628 CES) of the 628 ABWW at Charleston AFB maintains a detachment to maintain and operate the airfield.

Facilities

North Auxiliary Airfield covers an area of 2,400 acres (971 ha), of which 1,150 acres (465 ha) are undeveloped. It contains two asphalt paved runways: the main runway (6/24) measuring 10,000 x 150 ft (3,048 x 46 m) and an asphalt runway (5/23) measuring 3,500 x 90 ft (1,067 x 27 m).^[2][3]

History

The land for North Army Airfield was bought between 1942 and 1945. The airfield was built by the United States Army Air Forces The original dirt runway was constructed in April 1943 and used by Hughes Aircraft Company for testing, as well as being a satellite airfield of Columbia Army Air Base, supporting B-25 Mitchell medium bomber training for Third Air Force's III Air Support Command. Training was accomplished by 74th Station Complement Squadron which also maintained the facility.

After World War II, a 10,000 ft runway and a 3,000 ft assault runway were built. North Airfield (later North Auxiliary Airfield, Northfield Air Base), has been under the jurisdiction of Fort Jackson, the former 363rd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Shaw AFB, and the United States Department of Energy (DOE). On 1 October 1979, the 437th Airlift Wing at Charleston AFB assumed real property jurisdiction, control, and accountability over North Field.

With the transition of the 437th Airlift Wing and 512th Airlift Wing (Associate) to the C-17 Globemaster III, an air traffic control tower and permanent aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) station was constructed at North Auxiliary Airfield, establishing it as a controlled versus uncontrolled airport.^[4][5]