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The installation saw its first military use by the United States Army Signal Corps in 1898. The first known use of the field by military aircraft was when Middletown Airfield opened in 1917 as a supply depot and maintenance center for Signal Corps aircraft.
The installation was renamed in honor of 1st Lieutenant Robert Sanford Olmsted, U.S. Army Air Service, on 11 March 1948. First Lieutenant Olmsted was killed in a ballooning accident over the village of Loosbroek, Netherlands on 23 September 1923 while competing in the Gordon Bennett Cup. Olmsted remained in the race despite threatening weather which caused some competitors to drop out. Lightning struck the S-6 over Nistelrode, the Netherlands, killing Olmsted.
Beginning on 11 August 1948, the 147th Flight Service Squadron of the Military Air Transport Service (MATS) began operations of the Olmsted Flight Service Center.
During the 1948–1949 Berlin Airlift, the U.S. Supply Depot at Olmsted AFB provided emergency support supplies for the airlift operations.[8]
In 1958, Olmsted was designated as prime support depot for the T-38 Talon advanced jet trainer then under development and the L-27, later designated the U-3 Blue Canoe, support aircraft.
Olmsted AFB and the Middletown Air Depot's last assignment was with Air Force Logistics Command (AFLC), and the base and depot were closed on 30 June 1969.
Harrisburg Air National Guard Base is a United States Air Force base, located at Harrisburg International Airport, (IATA: MDT, ICAO: KMDT, FAA LID: MDT) Pennsylvania. It is located 1.7 miles west-southwest of Middletown, Pennsylvania.
Initially turned over to Pennsylvania Air National Guard after active-duty closure, much of the former Olmsted AFB flight line area was redeveloped into the Harrisburg International Airport under the ownership of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
In 1998, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania transferred ownership of the airport to the Susquehanna Area Regional Airport Authority (SARAA). In addition, in 1966, much of the former Air Force property was converted into The Pennsylvania State University—The Capital College, otherwise known as the Harrisburg Campus. This campus was originally chartered as a graduate and upper division school.
The Pennsylvania Air National Guard facility is sited on the location of the former Olmsted Air Force Base, which was closed in 1969. The 193d Special Operations Wing operates Lockheed Martin MC-130J Commando II aircraft. Today the airfield is split between civilian activities, Harrisburg IAP (MDT) and military activities, which now carry the Harrisburg ANGB title. After Olmsted AFB closed in 1970 major civilian air activities moved from Capital City Airport, near Harrisburg over to the former Olmsted site.