Rattlesnake Bomber Base
Pyote, Ward County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Nicknamed for the numerous rattlesnake dens that were uncovered during its construction, Pyote Army Air Base was established in 1942 to train replacement crews for bombers during World War II. Located on 2,700 acres of University of Texas land, the base consisted of two 8,400-foot runways, five large hangars, and hundreds of buildings used to house 3,000 to 4,000 soldiers an 2,000 civilians. On Jan. 1, 1943, the 19th Bombardment Group (later known as the 19th Combat Crew training B-17 bomber crews. Pyote came to be highly regarded as a top training field, and its crews set many new records for flying hours. This reputation continued after the transition to B-29s was made in July 1944. During the post-war years, the base served as a storage facility, at one time housing as many as 2,000 aircraft, including the "Enola Gay", the plane that dropped the first atomic bomb. Pyote also was used for a short time as a radar station, but by 1966 it was no longer economical to maintain such a large base for so small an operation, and the facility was closed.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Named for the rattlesnake dens uncovered during its construction, Pyote Army Air Base rose on 2,700 acres of West Texas land in 1942 to train bomber crews for World War II. With two long runways and hundreds of buildings, it trained B-17 crews and, from July 1944, B-29 crews, earning a reputation as a top-flight training field. After the war it became an aircraft storage depot that briefly sheltered the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the first atomic bomb.
Why it matters
Sprawling training fields like Pyote were the hidden engine of American air power in World War II, turning open ranchland into the proving ground for a generation of bomber crews.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
When the United States entered World War II, it needed bomber crews in enormous numbers and needed them fast. The Army Air Forces built dozens of training fields, many of them in the South and West. Open land, flat terrain and mostly clear skies made places like West Texas ideal for teaching young men to fly and fight in heavy bombers.
The Permian Basin around Pyote was remote, sparsely settled country of scrub, sand and big skies. Building a major air base there meant turning empty land into a small city almost overnight, with runways, hangars, barracks, mess halls and everything thousands of people needed to live and work.
The war in the air was changing quickly. The B-17 Flying Fortress carried much of the early American bombing campaign. Later the larger, more advanced B-29 Superfortress arrived, the aircraft that would carry the war to Japan. Training bases had to change along with the planes.
People & events
Pyote Army Air Base was established in 1942 on about 2,700 acres of University of Texas land. The work crews kept disturbing rattlesnake dens, and the nickname “Rattlesnake Bomber Base” stuck. When it was finished, the base had two runways about 8,400 feet long, five large hangars and hundreds of buildings. It housed 3,000 to 4,000 soldiers and about 2,000 civilians, a population far larger than the surrounding towns.
On January 1, 1943, the 19th Bombardment Group arrived and began training B-17 crews. Its mission was to prepare replacement crews for bombers overseas. Pyote gained a reputation as one of the best training fields, and its crews set records for flying hours. That reputation held after the base switched to training on the B-29 in July 1944.
After the war Pyote took on a new role. It became a storage depot, at one point holding as many as 2,000 aircraft parked across the West Texas flats. One of them was the Enola Gay, the B-29 that dropped the first atomic bomb. Later the base served for a time as a radar station, but by 1966 a base that size was too costly to keep open for so small an operation, and it closed.
Its place in the American story
The heroism of bomber crews over Europe and the Pacific began in places like this. Every crew that flew in combat first had to learn to work as a team at training fields across the country. Those bases were the hidden machinery of American air power, and Pyote was among the most respected of them.
The move from B-17s to B-29s at Pyote follows the arc of the air war. The B-29 was one of the most advanced and expensive aircraft programs of the war, and preparing crews to fly it was a national priority.
The Enola Gay's time in storage here links this lonely stretch of West Texas to one of the most consequential and debated events of the twentieth century, the atomic bombing that helped bring the war to an end. The bomber was later preserved and is now displayed by the Smithsonian. Pyote was one stop on its long road from combat aircraft to museum piece.
If you visit
Come with imagination. The base that once held thousands of people and aircraft is long closed, and much of what was built here has disappeared or fallen into ruin. What remains is mostly the vast, open landscape and scattered traces of a place that was once a busy city in the desert.
Stand at the marker and look around at the flat terrain and the huge sky. You can see why military planners picked this country for flight training. Picture long lines of four-engine bombers taking off over the scrubland, and then, after the war, rows of silent aircraft parked as far as you could see.
Pyote lies along the Interstate 20 corridor through the Permian Basin, so the marker is an easy detour on a cross-Texas drive. Ask locally about any displays or remnants of the base you can see. And if you're walking anywhere off the pavement, remember where the base got its name: watch your step.
Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.
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Related events
- · World War II
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