MILLVILLE — Michael Stowe, founder of the Millville Army Air Field Museum, recently returned to New Jersey for a visit and offered an excursion to the original World War II gunnery ranges, located on the Bevans Wildlife Management Area just south of Millville Executive Airport.
Stowe helped locate the original foundations for WWII observation towers, one of which was recently moved to the airport for restoration.
Two observation towers were built here by the Army Corps of Engineers during WWII and used for training P-47 Thunderbolt fighter pilots at off-site ground gunnery ranges that were part of the Millville Army Air Base. Observation towers were one of the most important features of the gunnery range facilities. Pilot instructors observed training exercises from the towers to determine whether the pilot in training was qualified in their flying and gunnery skills…