Loring Air Force Base
In 1951, the Department of Defense (DOD) allocated funds for the construction of an ordnance storage site at Loring AFB. The designs called for a self-sufficient "maximum security storage area for the most advanced weapons of mankind". The mission of the facility would be the protection and maintenance of the weapons used by SAC. The facility was in the northeast corner of the base, and construction began on 4 August 1951. In addition to 28 storage igloos and other weapons storage structures, the facility included weapons maintenance buildings, barracks, recreational facilities, a warehouse, and offices.
Peterson Air Force Base
Colorado military construction during the buildup of US training installations prior to the bombing of Pearl Harbor included the 1940 Lowry bombardier school at Denver and Camp Carson south of Colorado Springs (HQ completed January 31, 1942). Sites "in the vicinity of Colorado Springs" were assessed in the summer of 1941 for a USAAF airfield, and during April 1942 the Photographic Reconnaissance Operational Training Unit (PROTU) was activated in a leased facility at Colorado Springs. On May 6, 1942, the site adjacent to the airfield of the 1926 Colorado Springs Municipal Airport was selected, and the airport's airfield was subsequently leased as an "air support field"* for Camp Carson under the "air support base development program". In May 1942, units such as the 5th Mapping Squadron (from Bradley Field) arrived and used city facilities. The "Second Photographic Group Reconnaissance" (activated 7 May 1942 at Will Rogers Field) transferred to Colorado Springs, and the "2nd Group ... headquarters was situated in a former garage across the street from the Post Office, barracks were in the city auditorium...and the mess hall was located at the busy horseshoe counter of the Sante Fe R.R. station." Land at the Broadmoor was used for maneuvers, and the 2nd Group initially operated without aircraft. Personnel were also "housed temporarily at Colorado College" and a youth camp near the Woodmen sanitorium. (the 14th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron was located at the Kaufman Building on Tejon St.)