Belgaum camp along with an airstrip was built in the early 1940s. No 672 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was active at Sambra Base during World War II from February 26 to 30, 1945. The squadron was moved to Sambra to use it for airborne operations by South East Asia Command. In 1948, Belgaum base camp was taken over by the Special Reserve Police of Karnataka. In 1961, a detachment landed at this base to carry out specific operations for Goa liberation. Sambra was taken over by IAF when No 1 GTS, located at Jalahalli, was shifted to Sambra in 1963. On 15 Dec 2001, ATI shifted back to Tambaran and the station was renamed as Airmen Training School (ATS). It was reassigned the task of conducting Joint Basic Phase Training (JBPT). The station was renamed as 405 AFS Sambra but continued to be addressed as ATS. ATS now has two training wing – ATS (Now called Basic Training Institute (BTI) and NTTI. In addition Air Force School of Physical Fitness and 253 SU are also lodger Units