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One fascinating aviation fact about Columbia, South Carolina, ties directly to its main airport and World War II history.

The Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE) began in 1940 as the Lexington County Airport but was quickly taken over by the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1941 and renamed Columbia Army Air Base. It became a key training site for crews flying the North American B-25 Mitchell medium bomber.

Notably, the famous 17th Bombardment Group (which later became the core of the Doolittle Raiders) trained there starting in early 1942. Crew members at the base were given the chance to volunteer for an "extremely hazardous" secret mission—which turned out to be the iconic Doolittle Raid on Japan in April 1942, the first U.S. air strike on the Japanese mainland after Pearl Harbor.

While the actual raid training happened elsewhere, the base played a role in preparing units that contributed to this legendary operation.

The airport returned to civilian use after the war and was rededicated as Columbia Metropolitan Airport in 1965, complete with a massive celebration attended by over 75,000 people.

It's a cool reminder of how a local airfield helped shape early WWII bombing efforts!

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