A history of Malmstrom AFB,
then and now
Postcards, papers and photographs of Malmstrom AFB from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Malmstrom Air Force Base traces its beginnings back to 1939 when World War II broke out in Europe. Concern about the war caused the local Chamber of Commerce to contact two Montana senators, Burton K. Wheeler and James E. Murray and request they consider development of a military installation in Great Falls. In addition, appeals were made to the Secretary of War, Harry H. Woodring. In 1941, the Civil Aeronautics Authority provided the money for the development of the Great Falls Municipal Airport. In May 1942, construction began on an Army Air Corps base six miles (10 km) east of Great Falls. The base was known as East Base.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Malmstrom AFB’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
3 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old view1stb17-greatfallsaab, 1942: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Malmstrom AFB, decade by decade
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as 1stb17-greatfallsaab (1942) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (12). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.