About The Airport

Formerly known as Foster Army Air Field, Victoria Regional Airport used to be an advanced single-engine flying school for fighter pilots. Located just six miles northeast of Victoria, Foster Army Air Field was established in the summer of 1941. A local funding campaign led by E. J. Dysart in the previous spring had raised some $17,000 to locate the base at Victoria as an economic asset. Subsequent government construction cost more than $4 million.

The initial class of cadets arrived in September 1941 and served under Lt. Col. Warren R. Carter, the first commander. WACs began to arrive the following May. The base was known until January 15, 1942, as Victoria Field and then renamed in memory of Lt. Arthur L. Foster, a United States Army Air Corps instructor, who was killed in a crash at Brooks Field in 1925. Foster’s son received his training and commission at the base in the spring of 1942. Cadets used the North American AT-6 “Texas” and Curtis P-40 trainers to drill in aerial gunnery, though actual practice took place on ranges located on Matagorda Island and Matagorda Peninsula.

Many pilots returning from overseas service were taught to become aerial gunnery instructors at Foster Field. The local influence of the base was social as well as economic. In 1941 the Victoria County Courthouse recorded a 25 percent increase in marriage licenses issued. After World War II the Foster Field site returned to its owners, the Buhler and Braman estates… Read More