Qualla: Simmons Army Airfield https://qualla.com/simmons-army-airfield en-us © 2026 Bendyline Wed, 08 Jul 2026 02:40:06 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/d/n/p/z/simmons-army-airfield-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Simmons Army Airfield https://qualla.com/simmons-army-airfield Simmons Army Airfield: Introduction https://qualla.com/simmons-army-airfield/ Photo credit United States Geological Survey (USGS), Public domain. A Sikorsky H-19C Chickasaw rotor first beat against the air over Smith Lake in June 1952, three months before the field had a proper name. The 6th Transportation Company brought twenty-one of them in, along with two Bell H-13 Sioux, and by December they were headed to Korea as the first combat helicopter company the United States Army had ever fielded. The airfield they left behind would grow into the busiest Army aviation facility on the East Coast. It would also receive its current name two years later, after a man who died flying out of it.

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Image: United States Geological Survey (USGS) | Public domain

]]> Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/n/p/z/simmons-army-airfield-wp/dnpz-simmons-army-airfield-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Simmons Army Airfield: Warrant Officer Simmons https://qualla.com/simmons-army-airfield/ Photo credit United States Geological Survey (USGS), Public domain. On November 3, 1953, two H-29B helicopters collided in the air near the field. Among the dead was Warrant Officer Herbert W. Simmons Jr. The Army renamed the airfield in his honor on June 21, 1955, swapping out the prosaic Smith Lake Airfield designation for the name of a pilot w...

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Image: United States Geological Survey (USGS) | Public domain

]]> Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/n/p/z/simmons-army-airfield-wp/dnpz-simmons-army-airfield-warrant-officer-simmons.mp3 0:06 2 full Simmons Army Airfield: The Helicopter Pioneers https://qualla.com/simmons-army-airfield/ Photo credit United States Geological Survey (USGS), Public domain. In December 1961, the 8th Transportation Company departed Simmons with their Piasecki H-21 helicopters and flew off into history. Along with the 57th Transportation Company, they were the first American helicopter units to serve in Southeast Asia. Vietnam would become a helicopte...

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Image: United States Geological Survey (USGS) | Public domain

]]> Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/n/p/z/simmons-army-airfield-wp/dnpz-simmons-army-airfield-the-helicopter-pioneers.mp3 0:06 3 full Simmons Army Airfield: The Permanent Garrison https://qualla.com/simmons-army-airfield/ Photo credit United States Geological Survey (USGS), Public domain. By 1965, Simmons had grown to twenty-three permanent buildings, structures still in use sixty years later. Fixed-wing aircraft worked alongside the helicopters: liaison planes for the XVIII Airborne Corps and the 82nd Airborne Division, Grumman OV-1 Mohawk observation aircraft, t...

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Image: United States Geological Survey (USGS) | Public domain

]]> Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/n/p/z/simmons-army-airfield-wp/dnpz-simmons-army-airfield-the-permanent-garrison.mp3 0:06 4 full Simmons Army Airfield: From Grenada Through the Gulf https://qualla.com/simmons-army-airfield/ Photo credit United States Geological Survey (USGS), Public domain. On October 25, 1983, the 82nd Combat Aviation Battalion deployed to Grenada as part of Operation Urgent Fury. The campaign was short, but it announced the unit's operational reach. In August 1987, the headquarters reorganized and became the 18th Aviation Brigade. The brigade woul...

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Image: United States Geological Survey (USGS) | Public domain

]]> Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/n/p/z/simmons-army-airfield-wp/dnpz-simmons-army-airfield-from-grenada-through-the-gulf.mp3 0:06 5 full Simmons Army Airfield: Today's Tenants https://qualla.com/simmons-army-airfield/ Photo credit United States Geological Survey (USGS), Public domain. Simmons is now home to the 82nd Aviation Regiment in all three of its battalions: 1st Battalion attack with AH-64E Apaches, 2nd Battalion assault with UH-60M Black Hawks, and 3rd Battalion general support with Black Hawks for medevac and CH-47F Chinooks for heavy lift. The 122nd ...

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Image: United States Geological Survey (USGS) | Public domain

]]> Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/n/p/z/simmons-army-airfield-wp/dnpz-simmons-army-airfield-todays-tenants.mp3 0:06 6 full