Construction of Albuquerque Army Air Base began in January 1941 and was completed in August 1941. Albuquerque Army Air Base received its first military aircraft in March, and on 1 April 1941, a lone B-18 bomber, landed on the north–south runway. With the assignment of five pilots to the aircraft, the day marked the official opening of Albuquerque Army Air Base. The first buildings on the installation were simple wood-frame structures constructed quickly in order to fulfill the country's urgent need for trained pilots to fight the war. Most of the buildings were Theater of Operations construction while some were of the Mobilization type. The Mobilization type buildings included the station hospital, theater, chapel, and Link training buildings.