Fairfield Air Depot

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WADC/WADD Digital Collection at the Galvin Library, IIT

From Huffman Prairie To The Moon

The History of Wright-Patterson Air force Base

From Huffman Prairie To The Moon - was divided into twelve parts due to

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CONTENTS

I. HUFFMAN PRAIRIE 1904-1916. ............................................................ IHUFFMANPRAIRIE:ALOGICALCHOICE .................................................. 3THESIGNALCORPSMACHINE ............................................................ 5THOSEDARINGYOUNGMEN .............................................................. 10ENDOFANERA ........................................................................... 14

II. WILBURWRIGHTFIELD1917-1925 ....................................................... 17THE EARLY YEARS OF SIGNAL CORPS AVIATION, ......................................... 17COMBAT-ORIENTEDPILOTTRAINING ..................................................... 21DAYTON AS A FOCUS OF AIRPLANE PRODUCTION ........................................ 23ESTABLISHMENT OF WILBUR WRIGHT FIELD. ............................................ 25FROMTHEGROUNDUP ................................................................... 28FIRST FLYING SEASON .................................................................... 30AMAJORREORGANIZATION ........................................................... 36AVIATIONMECHANICSSCHOOL..........................................................4 0AVIATIONARMORERSSCHOOL ........................................................... 42TESTING .................................................................................. 43SPRINGFLYING.. ........................................................................ .44OVER THERE AND BACK .................................................................. 45

III. FAIRFIELD AIR DEPOT 1917-1931 ......................................................... 51WORLDWARIORIGINS .................................................................... 51POSTWAR DEMOBILIZATION AND REORGANIZATION. .................................... 54THE AIR SERVICE SUPPLY AND REPAIR DEPOT. ........................................... 56ENGINEERINGREPAIRSECTION ........................................................... 58THE FAIRFIELD AIR INTERMEDIATE DEPOT . .............................................. 59THE PROPERTY, MAINTENANCE, AND COST COMPILATION SECTION .................... 61THE1924ROUND-THE-WORLDFLIGHT....................................................6 3

LOGISTICAL SUPPORTPLANS. ................................................................ 65THE DOGLAS WORLD CRUISER .............................................................. 61WORLDFL~GHTCREWS......................................................................~ 9SUCCESS .................................................................................. 70

1924AIRRACES ........................................................................... 72THEMODELAIRWAY ...................................................................... 78CREATION OF THE FAIRFIELD AIR DEPOT RESERVATION. ................................. 79THE1931AIRCORPSMANEUVERS.. .................................................... ..8 0THEDESIGNATION OFPATTERSON FIELD ................................................. 82

IV. McCOOK FIELD 1917-1927 .................................................................. 85ATIMEOFCRISIS ...................................................................... ...8 5ANALTERNATIVETOLANGLEYFIELD....................................................8 7THE ESTABLISHMENT OF McCOOK FIELD. ................................................ 89

THE CONSTRCTION PROCESS. .............................................................. 91OPERATlNSBEGlN.........................................................................9 2i i
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III. FAIRFIELD AIR DEPOT 1917-1931WORLD WAR I ORIGINS

At the same time that the Signal Corps was negotiatingwith the Miami Conservancy District in Dayton, Ohio, toleaseacreage for the establishment of Wilbur Wright Field,simultaneous discussions were underway to purchase landfor a centrally-located aviation general supply depot. Suchan institution was essential for logis tics support of theSignal Corps Aviation S chools planned for Wilbur WrightField, Scott and Chanute Fields in Illino is. and SelfridgeField in Michigan. The depot was to be located near Fair-field, Ohio, and would provide everything from airplaneparts and engines to laces on the mechan ics shoes.

Corps Equipment Divis ion paid $8,000 for40 acres of land,then in use as a wheat field. The triangular tract borderedBath Township lands on the east and south, and WilburWright Field on the north and west, and lay about nine andone-half miles north of Dayton. The extreme northeasterncomer of the wheat field abutted the Fairfield Cemetery.*Although the depot and Wilbur Wright Field were closeneighbors, they operated independently and reported toseparate divis ions within the Signal Corps.

Time did not allow leisurely studies of the most favor-able locations. Rapid negotiations between the SignalCorps Construction Divis ion and the Miami ConservancyDist rict culminated on June IO, 1917. when the Signal

In September 1917, after the grain harvest, crews thathad labored during the summer months to build WilburWright F ield were shifted to begin construction of the depotbuildings. The major brick-and-concrete building of theFairfield Aviation General Supply Depot, Fairfield, Ohio(FAGSD), opened its doors for business on January 4,1918, less than four months later.

*Although it has often been speculated hat the cemetery located next to securi ty Gate I-C is a part of WPA FB. the graveyard,establishedn 1844. hasnever beena part of the milita ry installation . A high chain -link fence delineates he periphery of Area C todayand separates he base from the cemetery.


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Constructed at a cost of $98 I,OQO, this main stmcturewas 262 feet wide, 825 feet long, and had a heated f loorspace of 234.300 square fee t. A unique feature of the U-shaped building wa s a double rail spur 600 feet long be-tween the two wings. A large roof covered both wings andthe spur between them.* The spur, or governmentswitch in c iv i l engineering terms, connected the depotwi th the Big Four Rai l road Company whose m ain l ines hadrecently been relocated from the v i llage of Osbom to theea~fem side of Fairfield.

The depot bui lding was located di rect ly zuxoss the roadfrom the Fairf ield Cem etery. I f housed the depot headquar-

Building .I, with its covered trainwa y, is the oldest perman ent military building at Wright-P atterson.*So solid was the constm clion of the original building that it is sti l l fully functional today . Known as Building 1 (Area C ). it isconsidered a vital put o f both the heritage and the ongoing business of Wright-P atterson AFB . Although the interior has sustainedconsiderable mod ification since 1918, the rail spur sti l l exists and is occasiona lly used.

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Ien offices and a Signal Corps weather office for the post, inaddition to providing thousands of square feet of storagespace or freight and supplies. Six other buildings were alsoconstructed as part of the FAGSD depot, including threesteel storage hangars and the depot garage.The Fairfield Aviation General Supply Depots firstCommanding Office r was Lt. Col. James A. Mars. Theinitia l station complement included 150 troops each fromthe 612th, 669th, and 678th Aero Squadrons that anivedfrom Kelly Field, Texas. Later in 1918, the first civilianemployees were hired ( six female clerk-stenographers and amale janitor).

FAG SDs primary mission was to provide supply sup-port for wartime training operations. In particula r, it re-ceived, stored, and issued equipment and supplies to Signa lCorps Aviation Schools, Mechanics Schools, ArmorersSchools. and other programs at Wilbur Wrigh t, Chanute,Scott, and Selfridge Fie lds, and at other Army installations(such as McCook Field), as directed by higher headquar-ters. The depot was a direct respo nsibilit y of the SignalCorps Equipment Divis ion in Washington, D.C., and oper-ated independently of the various Army airfie lds it sup-ported. (The airfields reported to Headquarters CentralDepartment, Chicago, Illinois.)

Early in 1918, when it became obvious that the Allieswould be victorious, the Air Service surveyed its existinginstalla tions and began making plans for their use after theend of hostilit ies. Two factors had immediate implica tionsfor Dayton-area facilities: aviation training programs wouldassuredly decrease, and the job of disposing of war surplusmateriel would assume great importance. Air Service head-quarters decided to consolidate the installat ions at Fairfield ,Ohio, terminating the training mission of Wilbur WrightField and shifting control and use of vacated space to theFairfield air depot function.Accordingly, Wilbur Wright Air Service Depot(WW ASD ) was formed January 10,1919, by consolidating

Wilbur Wright F ield, the Air Se rvice Armorers School,and the fiirtield Aviation General Supply Depot.> Maj.Charles T. Waring, who had assumed command of theFairfield Aviation General Supply Depot on December 24,1918, remained as Commander of the newly-designatedinstallation.Demobilization began in earnest shortly after WWA SDwas formed. On February 20, 1919, the following organi-zations were demobilized: Signal Corps Aviation School;Armorers School Squadrons D (4th Provisional Squadron),E (5th Provisional Squadron), and F (2nd ProvisionalSquadron); and Squadrons A (231st Aero Squadron), B(851st Aero Squadron), 1 (42nd Aero Squadron), K (44thAero Squadron), L (246th Aero Squadron), M (342nd AeroSquadron); and Squadrons N and 0, which were casualorganizations organized at Wilbur Wright Field on October1, 1918, to aid in the projected demobilization.

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As military personnel at the depot were discharged fromactive duty their positions were tilled by new civilian em-ployees. The 50.man guard section was one of the first tobecome totally civilianized. A civilian personnel office,with a staff of four, was opened on October 24, 1919, in theoffice of the Post Adjutant. Civil ian employment roomed tonearly 1,000 in the immediate post-war period before level-ing off in March of 1920 to about half that number.in November 1919, two significant changes occurred atthe Fairfield faci lity. First, on the third of that month theinstallation was formally transferred to the Air Services listof permanent depots and renamed the Aviation GeneralSupply Depot, Fairfield, Ohio. Second, an Air ServiceStockkeepers School, with a staff of one officer and 65enlisted men, moved to the depot from Washington, D.C.,to train the rapidly-expanding civil ian work force. Whenthe Row of surplus mate&l slowed in 1921, the need forstockkeepers and the Stockkeepers School diminished. OnAugust 17, 1921, the school relocated to Chanute Field,Illinois.

POSTWAR DEMOBILIZATION ANDREORGANIZATIONAs demobilization gained momentum, buildings atWilbur Wright Field originally used in training flying ca-dets, mechanics, and armorers became storage facili ties.Immediately following the Armistice, an Air Service Liq-uidation Board was created in Wris to dispose of warmateriel. The bulk of the boards work was completed in a

record s ix months, and the steady stream of war surplusproperty flowing into the Fairfield supply depot from Eu-rope, as well as from closed Air Service installations in thecontinental United States, became a flood. Storage anddisposa l of this deluge of property was a major project fordepot personnel during the next eight years.Keenly mindful that austere appropriations had con-strained the Air Service before World War I, and cognizantthat funds might be extremely limited in the post-war years,the Air Service supply authorities at first attempted to szavenearly everything for future use. Soon mountains of mate-

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ricl buried storage facilities. Seventy-seven buildings at thedepot were crammed with more than 2.5M) aircra ft enginesof all types, 700 airplanes of various makes, and thousandsof instruments of all descriptions. as well as more prosaicitems such as lumber, clothing, and personal equipment.The classification and storage systems were ovcrwhelmedby the sheer mass of materiel involved.

Between 1919 and 1922 at the Fairfield depot alone,millions of dollars of propcrty gradually were classified anddisposed of, either by direct sale locally or through AirServiceSupply Division headquarters in Washington, D.C.The latter coordinated sale of airplanes, engines, and cquip-mcnt through advertisement in national magazines. A mil-lion and a half feet of hard lumbcr


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THE AIR SERVICE SUPPLY ANDREPAIR DEPOTThe War Department in 19 19 had called for $55 millionfor Air Service total operations; Congress had authorizedonly $25 million. Not only did this lesser amount preclude,according to General Menoher, the purchase of even onenew airplane, but it also forced organizational structure toan Irreducible minimum. Wherever possible, organizationswere merged or consolidated.One such merger concerned the Aviation Repair Depotat Indianapolis, Indiana. One of three such aviation repairdepots, the facility had functioned before and during WorldWar I as a regional center for major repairs to airplanes andengines. On July 16, 1920, the Chief of the Ai r Serviceordered the Aviation Repair Depot to move from its Speed-way location in Indianapolis to Fairfield , Ohio, and mergewith the Aviation General Supply Depot. The combinedactivity would he named the Air Service Supply and RepairDepot.YThe move was apparently not viewed as a step forward

by all at the Repair Depot. A few days before the officialorder was published, the engineering officer at the RepairDepot, Capt. Shins A. Blai r, asserted that the rumoredmove could not occur due to the fact that the flying land atFairfield consisted of swamp land and would not make a fitflying field. Once the order was received, however, anadvance crew of eight civilia n workers was sent to theEdirt ield depot to begin convening buildings for use asengineering shops. Locks were broken from desertedhangars, and tractors and trucks, stored after the World Warof 1918 [sic] were revamped in order that facilit ies might beinstalled for the shops.Relocating the repair facilit y generated the usual spar-

ring between the losing and gaining commands. On August9, Capt. J. H. Rudolph, Commanding Ofticerof the Speed-way Indianapolis Repair Depot, said he had received per-mlssion from Air Service headquarters to delay the moveuntil the Fairfield depot had completed the promised modi-fications to buildings allocated to house repair materials andequipment. Capt. George E. A. Reinburg, who had as-sumedcommandoftheI%irfieldfacilityonAugust 2, 1919,disagreed. He replied that the interior floor plans were the

Rightt ine 83fthe Speedway Aviat ion Re pair Depot, Indianapdis, Indi-ana, belore the faci l i ty moved ( in September 1920) to the Aviat ionGenerat suppty Depot at Fair f ie ld

responsibility of the Indianapolis depots engineering of-ficer because of his familia rity with his own requirements.Captain Reinburg asserted his intention to operate the aerorepair function as merely a department of the Fairtieldfacility and not necessarily as the facilitys r&on d&re. Infact, the gaining commander stated that he could p rovideonly three carpenters for the renovation process, implyingthat any additional help would have to come from Indiana.Moreover, Reinburg advised Captain Rudolph that Fair-fields resources in other areas were critically low. Rudolph

would have to provide his own pine lumber for the renova-tions, for example, because the Fairfield depot had nolumber of its own except short pieces found in the Recla-mation Department. lndianapo lis also would have toprovide it s own furniture for offices, and would have tobring it s own steam radiators, piping. etc., connected withthe internal heating of the departments, since the F&i& Iddepot was short of these items as well.

Unident i6ed staf f dt icers d the Aviat ion Repair Depot, SpeedwayPark. Indianapol is, 19tY. YMC A i ln d Satvat ian Army bui ld ings suchas the one pictured berr were not emmO on mil i tary insta l lat ionsd the day, and were sometimes used for tk ia l mi l i tary act iv i ties.
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visible at upper center.)

Living quarters were not so much of a problem. TheFairfield installation had a large number of bachelor officerand enl isted quarters.* There were also about I5 sets of[marr ied] quarters for high class mechanics and civil ianemployees. The latter were provided by local housingpol icy because there were certain civil ian employeeswhose services [were] required at al l t imes. These vi talemployees were allowed to reside in on-post governmentquarters. In this select category were l isted the postplumber. electr ician, engineer, shop foreman and [ 11 J de-partment heads. It was expected that 300 other civi lianemployees transferr ing from the Speedway at Indianapoliswould find adequa te hou sing available in the nearby vil-lages of Fair field and Osbom where most of the depotworkers lived.Mindful of the approaching winter and the consequentneed to relocate the aero faci l i ty before bad weather, AirService headquarters ended the sparr ing between the merg-mg comma nds. The depot Commander at Fair f ield wasordered to identi fy the exact bui ldings to be used by the aero

repair faci l i ty and to proceed with dispatch to renovate thestructures.Altogethe r, eight buildings were modified. The first aerorepair building was formed in the vicinity of present-da yBuilding 207 (Area C) by adding a wooden hangar to anexntmg stmcture. Behind this Aero Repair bui lding layDraft ing, Reclamation and the Gas House. Northeast ofAero Repair was the Machine Shop and behind i t wereFaint and Dope, Engine Repair and the Oi l House. Com-pleting the engineering comp lex were a small structuresoutheast of Aero Repair designated for use as the lnsttwmerit Building, and another for drafting and blueprintwork.

On September 20, 1920, the former Speedway AviationRepair Depot from Indianapol is, Indiana, reopened forbusine ss as the Engineering Repair Sectionof the AirService Supply and Repair Depot a t Fair f ield, Ohio.Organized for the repair and mainten ance of aircraft andthe overhaul of engines, the section was headed by Capt.Shins A. Blair.

As of July I, 1920, the Aviation General Supply Depot at Fair field had quarters, i .e., family housing, for 72 marr ied oft icers and 48marr ied non-commissioned off icers, and 4 sets of family quarters for commanding off icers. There were also quarters for 52bachelor off icers and suff icient barrack accom modations for 2.100 enl isted m en. These were vir tually empty fol lowing World War I,as the assigned population on base included only I6 off icers, 150 enl isted men, and 504 civi l ian employees.
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ENGINEERING REPAIR SECTIONDuring 1917.1918, Allied airplane manufacturers hadturned out 19,600 British-designed DeHavilland DH-4 sin-

gle-engine observation biplanes and about 15,600 Libertyairplane engines. After the war, thousands were stockpiledat supply depots. Repair functions drew on these banks ofspares to support their repair and overhaul missions.By 1921, the various Engineering Repair installationssupported an active aircraft inventory of 1,108 DeHavillandDH-4 biplanes powered by Liberty engines; 721 CurtisrJN-4 and 800 Curtiss JN-6 trainers equipped with CurtissOX-5 engines; 170 Standard SE-5 pursuit [fighter] air-planes; and 12 Martin MB-2 bombers. Additionally therewere 38 free balloons, 250 observation or captive balloons,and 250 non-rigid airships. From the end of World War 1 until the late 1930s. theEngineering Repair Section at Fairfield (soon simplified toEngineering Department) was a relatively compact or-ganization. It comprised four functions: aero repair, metalmanufacture and repair, engine repair, and final assem bly/Inspection.Engine overhaul at Fairfield, for example, was a rathersimplistic process in the Twenties. After an airplane enginehad been removed from the fuselage, a mechanic and hishelper disassembled the power plant, placing all compo-nents in a single specially-designed parts truck. These werethen dipped into a cleansing solution. After this bath thecomponents were closely checked by inspectors, and somewere sent for reconditioning while other items were re-placed outright. (Cylinders and related parts were recondi-tioned by sub-assembly and accesso ries departments.)Finally, the elements made their way back to the specialtruck and were reassembled by the mechanic and his helper.

Final inspections were conducted intermittently as the en-gine slowly resumed its identity during the rebuilding proc-ess. Using this procedure, average monthly productionduring the early days was 50 overhauled engines.When first established, the Fairfield repair facilityprovided this service for JN-4 and JN-6 trainers from the15th Squadron, Chanute Field, Illinois; DH-4 observation

ailplanes from the 1st Squadron at Chanute F ield, the 5th.I Ith, and 49th Squadrons at Langley Field, Virginia, andthe 17th Squadron, Selfridge Field, Michigan; and MB-2bombers from the I Ith, 20th. and 49th Squadrons at Lang-ley Field. Later in the 192Os, when more powerful, faster,and heavier airplanes had come into the inventory, mainte-nance standards prescribed that all pursuit [fighter] aircraftwould be overhauled every 10 months regardless of flyingtime. Primary trainers were overhauled every 15 monthsand bombers every 18 months. All other types of airplaneswere overhauled every 12 months. This schedule was flex-ible, allowing for more frequent overhauls when particulartypes of airplanes were subjected to increased flying hoursor above-normal stress and strain.On November 1, 1920, the Fairfield Engineering De-partment added a function to test airplanes and engineswhich had been repaired at the depot. In the spring of1921, the separate testing facilities operated at Fairfield bythe Airplane Engineering Department at McCook Fieldwere expanded. A testing site for machine gun butts was
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operational, as well as a high-altitude bombing range. Atwo-m ile electrically-timed speed course accura tely record-ed f ly ing speeds of experimental ai rcraft .

In 1925, Fairfield assum ed responsibil ity for drop-test-ing new parachu tes and repairing and maintaining those inservice. This al lowed McCo ok Field experimental engi-neers to concentrate their efforts on developing new andbetter chutes.

Wilbur Wright Field, as part of the Fairfield depot facil i-ty , was ideal for both experimental and test programs,because of i ts s ize and the absence of fly ing hazards sur-rounding it. Con seque ntly, unti l the new Wright Fieldopened in late 1927 (see Chap ter V), practically everyhistory-making ai rplane owned by the Army was tested atthe same locale where the Wright brothers Hew their pioneeraircraft .

THE FAIRFIELD AIR INTERMEDIATEDEPOTThe year 1921 was a period of major changes at the

Fairf ield depot. The f i rst was a new name. In December1920 the depot Comm ander had asked the Chief of the AirService for a perman ent designation in order to halt theconfusing variety of name s and titles that had identified theFairfield installation. Since its June 16, 1917 establish-men t. the facil ity had in turn been know n as the FairfieldAviation Gen eral Supply Dep ot; Wilbur Wright Air ServiceDep ot: Aviation General Supply Depo t, Fairfield, Ohio; and

the Air Service Supply and Repair Dep ot. Since the facil ityhad also consolidated Wilbur Wright Field, the SignalCorp s Aviation School, and the Aviation Armore rs School,and served as a test funct ion for McCoo k Field programs,there was l ingering confusion over those names, as wel l .

The War Department c larif ied the s i tuat ion by establ ish-ing ai r intermediate depots (AIDS), to serve as centers forboth supply a nd repair. On January 14, -21, the Ohiofacil ity bec ame the Fairfield Air Interme diate Depo t(FAID), one of four such intermediate depots. The otherswere located at San Antonio, Texas; Rockwel l , Cal i fornia;and Middletown, Pennsylvania.

CHRONOLOGY OF FAIRFIELD INSTALLATION

DesignationFrlirtield Aviation General Supply Depot,

Fdirl ield. OhioWilbur Wright Air Service Depot

Aviation General Supply Depot, I%rtield.Ohio

DateEstablishedJan. 4, 1918

Ian. 10, 1919

Nov. 3, 1919

Commander(s)Lt. Col . James A. MarsMaj. Charles T. WaringMaj. Charles T. WaringMaj. Prince A. OliverLt. Cot. George E. A. ReinburgLt. Cal . George E. A. Reinburg

AssumedCommandJan. 4, 1918Dec. 24, 1918Jan. IO, 1919May I, 1919Aug. 2, 1919Nov. 3, 1919

Air Service Su pply and Repair D epot Sep. 20, 1920Fairfield Air Inteonediate Depo t Ian. 14, 1921

Fairi ield Air Depo t Reser vation Jun. 22, 1927

Lt. Cal . George E. A. ReinhurgLt. Col . George E. A. ReinburgMaj Augustine Warner RobinsMaj. Augustine Warner RobinsMaj. 1. Y. ChisumCapt. Edward Laughl inMaj. Henry H . ArnoldCapt. Edward LaughlinMaj. Albert L. Sneed

Jun. 20, 1920Jan. 14, 1921Aug. 27, 1921Jun. 22, 1927Jul . 24, 1928Mar 5, 1929Jun. 25, 1929Aug. I , 1930Aug. 15, 1930

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MAJ. HENRY H. ARNOLDThe most famous Comm ander of the Fair field Air Depot

was Maj. Henry H . Arnold. He commanded FAD fromJune 25,1929, to the fol lowing July 30, and also headed theField Service Section of the Materiel Division during thist ime. From August 1930 to February 1931, he was Ex-ecutive Officer to the Chief of the Mater iel Division atWright Field.From Wright Field, Major Arnold was reassigned to thecomman d posi t ion at March Field, Riverside, Cal i fornia.In February 1935, Lieutenant Colonel Arnold was pm-moted to the rank of br igadier general and named C om-mander o f the 1st Wing of General Headquarters Air F orce(GHQAF). On September 22, 1938, he was promoted tomajor general and appointed Chief of the Army Air Co rps.On June 30. 1941, General Arnold was named Chief of theArmy Air Forces, which had succeeded the Artny AirCorps on June 20, 1941. He was promoted to lieutenantgeneral in December 1941. On March 19, 1943, he waspromote d to the rank of full general (four stars). Under hisleadership, by 1945 the AAF had grown to an awesomeintercontinental force of 2,282,259 persons and 75,ooOaircraft.

On December 15, 1944, he was promoted to the five-star supergrade of General of the Army, in company withDwight D. Eisenhower, Douglas Ma cArthur, and GeorgeC. Marshal l .

General Arnold retired.in February 1946. On Ma y 7,1949, the president changed his title to General of the AirForce, the only one to have held th at rank to date.

Lt. Cot. Augus tine Warner Robins. As a major, Robins served asCnmmander oftI le Fairt ie ld AiT lntrrmediate Depot tAugat 27, ,921to June 21, 1927, and later Ihe Fairtad Air Deput Reservation (June22, 1927 tn July 3, 1928,. He served cncrretty as Camm andrr ofWilbur Wright Fie ld from March 26, 1923 tu July 3. t!mt.

THE PROPERTY, MAINTENANCE, ANDCOST COMPILATION SECTIONDuring July of 192 I, just before Major Robins arr ived,

a new organization took up residence at FAID when theArmy Air Service relocated physica l control of its entiredepot system from Washington, D.C ., to Fair f ield. The newcontrol function, directed by Capt. Elmer E. Adler, wasenti t led the Property, Maintenance, and Cost Compi lationSection (PMCCS) of the Air Service Supply Division. Itwas a sub-off ice of the Property Requirement Division ofthe Office of the Chief of the Air Service. Though col lo-cated at the depot, the PMC CS was clear ly not a subordinateorgamration and continued to report functiona lly to theOffice o f the Chief of the Air Service (OCAS). This newagency was the ear l iest antecedent of todays modern AirForce Logistics Com mand (AFLC).

As host of the Compi lation Section, FAID assumed asomewh at more prominent role national ly, and was desig-nated the central control depot for all paperwo rk pertainingto depot operation s. All corresponde nce concerning requi-si t ion, issue, distr ibution, and storage of Air Service mate-r iel had to be channeled through PMCC S at FAID.21

The PMCC S received dai ly reports on stock levels ofmateriel from the four previously-identified air intermedi-ate depo ts; from the additional repair function s at Fairfield,

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Ohio, Dallas, Texas, and Montgomery, Alabama; and fromthe smaller supply depots at Little Rock, Arkansas, andScott Field, Illinois. Based on this information, PMCCSdirected the How of supplies nationwide between the var.ous depots and thus indirectly controlled supplies to all AirService bases and organizations.

The depot function at FAID operated in the same fashionas the other depots and was serviced by PMCCS in the sameway. According to Lt. George V. McPike, the Fairfielddepot supply officer, the supply depot at FAID distributedand coordinated supplies so that a well balanced stocklevel [would] be maintained for every type of organizationin the area. When supplies dropped below a fixed min i-mum, the depot forwarded requisitions to PMCCS forrestockage. The PMCCS then either directed shipment ofrequired materiel from one of the other control depots toFAID or recommended to the OCAS that the needed mate-nel be purchased.FAID, in turn, provided the same kind of service to itsown customers. exercising a control function over allsupply activities w ithin the First through Seventh CorpsAreas. Air Service customers within these anas forwardedrequisitions to FAID where the Supply Department bal-anced requests against consolidated ledger reports. This

procedure determined the location of requisitioned materielas to whether it was in stock at FAID or one of the smallerdepots, or on hand at some other Air Service installation.Shipping instructions were then issued, with close attentionto manifesting materiel from the source nearest the E-quester. For example, a requisition from Mitchel Field,Long Island, New York. would likely be filled from theMiddletown, Pennsylvania. depot. and not from Fairfield orany further point.Lieutenant McPike estimated that as of May 2, 1922.FAID had in storage $250 million of government property.He pointed out that materiel was listed on 120,000 s tockrecord cards that were continuously updated to assure cur-rency of inventories. This painstaking process involvedidentifying, describing, cataloging, and indexing entriesfor hundreds of thousands of supplies of a technicalnature. It was a mammoth job, and had occupied about350 civilian employees for four years.

Thus two separate functions were carried on simul-taneously at FAID during the mid-lY20s--a combined re-pair and supply function, and a central control function.The combined repair and supply function served the entireregion east of the Mississ ippi River, plus some additionalareas to the west and north. and also made extensive ship-

Cammandingotker and uriginat stat7of the Property,Maintenance,and cost cumpitatiun Section PMCCS~ f ,hr supply Division,Army Air Service,at the FairfieldAi r Intermediate Depot, 1921. Left fo r ighl: Lt. R. V. lgnieo ( later br igplier gmerat) , Lt. Otna~Niergarth ( later colonel) , Capt. Elmer E. Adler, Comm anding Otl icer ( later br igadier general) , Lt. J. I , . Stmm me ( later cotonet) , Lt.Edwin R. Page ( later br igadier general) . and Lt. F. t? Kenney. In 1924, the PMCC S changed its nsme to Field Service Section.

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merits o Panama, Hawaii, and the Philippines . The centralcontrol function (PMCCS) was a national function thatmonitored and directed all supply and repair functions.On January 26, 1924, at the request of the PMCCSdirector, the name of the Property, Maintenance, and CostCompilation Section was changed to the Field ServiceSection. The Section still reported to the Supply Division,OCAS, until October IS, 1926, when it became one of sixmajor sections of the Materiel Division. a new organizationoperating at McCook Field. On June 21, 1927, the Sectionmoved from FAID to newly-constructed buildings at WrightField (now Area B) and joined the Materiel Division, whichhad also relocated to the new facility from McCook Field.From I924 to I939 the Field Service Section supervised theoperations of the four intermediate depots;. and in 1927acquired formal control of the departmental depots in thePanamaCanal Zone, the Hawaiian Islands, and the Philip-pine Islands.

THE 1924 ROUND-THE-WORLD-FLIGHTBoth the Fairfie ld Air Intermediate Depot and McCookField played major. albeit largely unsung. roles in one oftheAir Servic es most spectacular achievements during the twodecades between world wars. This was the 26.345.milecircumnavigat ion of the globe by four single-engine Doug-las World Cruisers.Eight young fliers, dubbed Magellans of the Air, departed Seattle, Washington, at 8:47 a.m. on Apr il 6,1924. When two of the four World Cru isers touched downin Seattle on September 28, they had logged about 363hours in actual flight, suffered no fatalities, and had sus-tained only minor injuries on their epochal flight. This wasa most remarkable record, considering their itinerary: Can-ada. Alaska. the Aleutian Chain, the North Pacif ic, Siberia,Japan, China, Southeast Asia, India, Middle East, Europe,Iceland, North Atlantic , Nova Scotia, Massachusetts, NewYork, Washington, D.C., Ohio. and Washington State.Secretary of War John W. Weeks had proclaimed inNovember 1923 that the flights officia l purpose was todemonstrate the feasibility with which aerial communica-tion may be established between the various continents, andto obtain much valuable information concerning the opera-tion of present type aircraft in various climates of theworld. There were other less officia l motives for theflight. According to one source, economics and patriotismwere major facto rs in planning the project. The purposeis to point the way for all nations to develop aviationcommercially and to sccurc for our country the honor ofbeing the first to encircle the globe entirely by air. Thiswould give the United States the position of leading powerin the peace-time application of Rying.hCompetition was keen among nations to become thefirst to circle the earth by air. The United States had set thepace in 1919 when, on May 17, three U.S. Navy Curt issFlying Boats took off from Newfoundland to the Azores.One of the NC-4s, piloted by Lt. Cmdr. Albert C. Read,

continued on to Lisbon, Portugal, and Plymouth, England.The NC-4 thus became the first airplane to bridge theAtlantic. with an enroute stop.Great Britain eclipsed the U.S. achievement the verynext month and scored an impressive first in aviation histo-ry. John Alco ck and Arthur Whitten-Brown, both RoyalFlying Colps veterans. Hew non-stop from Newfoundlandacross the stormy North Atlant ic to Ireland on June 14.15,1919. in a Vickers-Vim y biplane.*U.S. Army Air Service scientists, designers, engineers.pilots, mechanicians, craftsmen, and support personnelmaintained an unfaltering desire to expand aeronautical

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MAJ. GEN. MASON M. PATRICKBorn in Lewisburg. Wes t Virgin ia, on December 13,1863. Patrickgraduated from the U.S. Military Academyin June 1896, and wascommissioneda second ieutenant nthe Corps of Engineers. Patrick distinguished himse lf asChief of Air Service, American Expeditionary Forces,France, May 1918.July 1919, and as Commandant of theEngineers School, Camp Humphreys, Virginia, July-Oc-tober 1921. Patr ickcommanded the Army A ir Serviceandits successor.he Army AirCorps, from 1921 to 1927, and

wasa strong supporterof the 1924 Round-the-World Flight.He retired in December 1927 in the rank of major general.General Patrick earned his pilots wings at age -afeat not duplicatedbefore or sinceby a generalofficer in theArmy or Air Force. According to a biographer, GeneralPatr ick deserves he gratitude of airmen the world over forhis ife and work. He hadthe vision to foresee he future andthe courage to proclaim hi> vision.

F. Volandt. and Lieutenants Clarence E. Crumrine, ErikNelson, and St. Clair Streett. All were veteran pilots withhundreds of hours in the air traversing thousands of miles.According to the flight s unoff icial but renowned histo-rian, Lowell Thomas, the Air Service staff studied threeessential factors. The first consideration was to obtain sev-eral rugged airc raft so that at least one would survive theperilous voyage and thus justify the huge expenditure ofmanhours and money. The second task was to set up supplybases around the globe. This logistical effort would requirethe maximum support of al l other branches of the nationaldefense establishment, including the Coast Guard, as wellas the closest cooperation of the State Department and theBureau of Fisheries , and the assistance of generous Amer-ican corporations with offices abroad. Finally, and perhapsjust slight ly more important than the other factors, was theimperative to select pilots and mechanics possessing thehighest degrees of expertise and stamina, both physica l andmental, to complete the hazardous mission.After surveying the newspapers, magazines, and booksof that period, two contemporary historians concluded that,To the man in the street the project seemed doomed todisaster. He surmised that the fliers who engaged in it wouldstand little chance of returning alive. It was not untilforeign governments revealed they were sponsoring pilotsin simila r ventures that the American public responded tothese challenges to national pride. Pub lic attitude changedto a forthright, However slim the chances of successAmerican fliers must lead the field.a

LOGISTICAL SUPPORT PLANSClearly, the most complex of the three requisite factorswas logis tical support. The venture would require the entirerange of logist ical support se rvices , in a far-flung andcomplex network.General planning was based on a route selected to avoiddangerous clima tic conditions. By departing in early Apr iland flying northwestward from Seattle, the aircraft wouldcross Alask a and the stormy North Paci fic before dense fogsclosed down; pass over mountainous Japan and China be-fore the typhoon season released its furies; escape thehowling monsoons across Burma and India; ski rt the sand-storms of the Middle East; dodge Continental thun-derstorms; and weave through North At lantic fronts beforethe early Ar ctic winter set in. The journey was planned tolast six mohths.For flight and logistical planning, the world was dividedinto s ix regions and a project officer selected for eachdivision (see adjoining Flight Itinerary). About the first ofJuly 1923, Lieutenants Clifford Nutt of McCook Field andClarence E. Crumrine, stationed in the Philipp ine Islands,pioneered separate pathfinding trips, using a variety ofland and water vehic les. Lieutenant Nutt surveyed England,Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, France, Italy, and

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WORLD FLIGHT ITINERARY Fburtb Division(1st Lt. Harry A. Halverson, Advance Off icer)

First Division(1st Lt. Clayton Bissell. Advance Officer)

Statute Mi lesSeatt le, Washington .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .RinceRupert.BC .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 0Sitka, Alaska .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 0Cordova. Alaska .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475Seward,Alaska ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135Chignik, Alaska .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450Dutch Harbor. Unalaska, Alaska .. . . . . . . . . . . . . 400Nam , Is land of Atka .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350Chicagoff, Is land of Attu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530

Second Division(1st Lt. Cl i f ford E. Nutt, Advance Off icer)

Kashiwabara Bay, Panmushim, Kuri les . . . . . . . . 860Bettobu, Yetomfu, Kui les .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 510Minato, Northeast Coast, Honshu. Japan ... . . . . . 475

(Aomoi i used as supply base)Kasumiga Ura, Japanese Air Stat ion . . . . . . . . . . . 395

(Yokohama used as supply base)Osaka, Japan, Japanese Air Stat ion . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 0Kagoshima, Kyushu, Japan .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 0

(Nagasake used as supply base)Third Division

(1st Lt. Malcolm S. Lawton, Advance Off icer)Shanghai, China ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 610Amoy, China .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 555HongKong.China ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300Haiphang, French Indo-China ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500Tourane, French Indo-China .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 5Saigon, F rench Indo-China ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530Bangkok, Siam .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 675Rangaon,Burma .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450Akyab,Bumu ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445Calcutta, India .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400

NOTE: Cities and nations are spelled according to ,tircnzft ~eorBwkfor 1924, pp 237.238; and Air Service New finerWI, Feb. I , ,924.

Statute Mi lesAl lahabad, India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475Delhi , India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380Muhan. India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425Karachi , India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 5Charbar, Persia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330Bander, Abbas, Persia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330Bushire, Persia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Ci lBagdad, Ink [s ic] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475Aleppa,Syria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 0Konia, Turkey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 5San Stefano. Turkey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 0

Fifth Division(Maj. Carly le H. Wash, Advance Off icer)

Bucharest, Rumania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290Belgrade, Serbia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290Budapest, Hungary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220Vienna,Austria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140Strassbourg, France .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400Faris, Franc e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250London,England .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

Sixth Division(1st Lt. Clarence E. CNm line, Advance off icer)

Brough (Hul l) England .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 5Kirkwal l, Orkney Is lands .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370Thorshaven, F&roe Is lands .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275Hofn, Homafjord, Iceland .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260Reykjavik, Iceland .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339Angmagsal ik, Greenland .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500Iv igtut, Greenland .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500Indian Harbor, Labrador . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 572Cartwright Harbor, Labrador . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Hawkes Bay, Newfoundland ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290fictou Harbor, Nova Scotia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420Boston, Massachu setts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 520Mitchel Field, Long Is land, New York .. . . . . . . . I75washington, DC .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220

Canad a. Lieutenant Crum rine visited Japan, the KurileIslands, the Aleutian Islands, and Alaska.

Via American embassies in the respective host nat ions,arrangements were made for the reception and accommoda-tion of airplanes and their crews ; prestockag e of spare partsand equipment; maintenance faci li t ies and tools; maps,charts , photograph s, and sketc hes of landing fields andwater areas for pontoon operations. American corporationswith offices and facil ities in the various countries also wereinfluential and cooperative with foreign governm ents andwere quite instrumen tal in obtaining services for the WorldFlight participants. This was especially true of the StandardOi l Compan y, which made arrangements for caching avia-

tlon gasoline, oil, and lubricants, especially in remoteareas.

Air Service logisticians headed by Lt. Elmer E. Adler ofthe Field Serv ice Section initiated the support plans for thef l ight. McC ook Field, assisted by FAlD, was named themain logistics base with subordinate supply depots in eachof the six global d ivisions. The Field Service Section,located at FAID , was responsible for procuring, packaging,and distributing the necess ary spare parts and equipmentfor the World Cruisers and for stocking POL supplies(petroleumioil l lubricants) in various locations.

Pat of Lowel l Thomas account, based on Air ServiceRecords, reads:


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Spare parts for plants and engincr. a fairly complete outtitof 1001~. small quantities of standard utility parts. andmaterial. such 8s tubing. shock~absorher cord. plywoodand items other than spare parts, were sent to each stationon the route of the Flight. The spare parts and tools werepacked in specially constructed boxes designed at the Fair-field Depot and built in the repair shops. The boxcs them-selves were constructed of ash. spruce. and plywood so fbatthey might he used for the furnishing of wood for emergen-cy repairs. Carparer tads for working up the wwd weresent in the tool chests.Tubing and other itcms which could not readily he bent werepacked with the propellers in lengths of six feet or more.The wcight. cubic contents. and dimensions ofevery articlewere c;lrefully considered. about four hundred and eightyseparate items being cent to each station. so ananged thatthe Fliers could lind spare parts or repair material even inthe dark. On the outside of each crate B diagram showedexactly where each item was located inside.Al l shipments to points east of Calcutta, India, were

sent from FAID to Seatt le for steamship transportat ion, andall shipme nts to Karachi, India. and ports w estwar d of thatc i ty were sent to New York for oceanic shipment. Spareparts sent overseas included 15 Liberty 12.cylindcr400-hpengm es. 14 extra sets of pontoons, and approximately 200percent of airframe replacement parts?

A maintenance schedule was developed for the trip. Itcalled first for engine changes in Japan. A t Calcutta newwings were to be fitted, new engines installed. and pon-toons replaced with landing gear. The final engine chan geswould occur at Hull, England, and landing gear would bereplaced with pontoons? Each of the four airplanes was tocarry a set of tools deemed sufficient to maintain theaircraft along the way. plus pliers, scre wdriver, hamm er.wrench, and a Rashl ight.

Emerg ency/survival equipment for each airplane in-cluded two rifles and two automatic pistols, one Very pistolfor flares, fish hooks and lines, concentrated food, a first aidkit, and a 60.pound ships anchor with 150 feet of rope.Parachu tes, l i fe preservers, and rafts were not carried in theaircraft.

Personal gear for each crewm embe r was limited to twochanges of underwear, an I l-pound fur-l ined leather flyingsuit, special fur-lined leather gloves, two flannel s hirts, twopairs of breeches, two pairs of long, w ool stocking s, onepair of hunting boots, a cap, handkerch iefs, a waterproofmatc h box, a safety razo r, and a toothbrush. Additionalclothing wa s included among the pre-positioned supplies.

THE DOUGLAS WORLD CRUISEROnce the decision had been made to circumnaviga te the

globe, Air Service he adquarters surveyed its current air-craft inventory to find a machine capable of this mission.None existed. InOctober 1922, the Engineering Division atMcCoo k Field had recommended the purchase of an ai r-plane similar to the Douglas Airplane Com panys new DT-2which was then being p roduced in large quantities for the

DOUGLAS WORLD CRUISERSPECIFICATIONSMAN UFm URE R Douglas Aircraft Company, Inc.,

Santa Monica. California.TYPE Single-engine tractor, two-place biplane (land or

Sea).USED BY U.S. Army Air ServiceCON STR UCTIO N -The fuselage is of steel tubing, fabric

covered. built in three-sections (engine, mid, and rear)wi th aluminum sheet cowl ing. The wings are of woodbox beam and built-up ribs. fabric covere d. Empennagefixed surfa ces are of wood ; moveable are steel framed-fabric covered. Wings are externally braced. Landinggear is of steel tube with wooden fairings. The steerabletail skid is steel. The landing gear is replaceable withtwin floats of 3.~1~ veneer and mahogan y planking.

WIN GSPA N 50 (with wings folded, 10 2)LENGTH 35 6DIHED RAL Upper 0 ; Lower 2CHORD 7 6INCIDENCE - 3HEIGH T 13 7%GAP I IO inches at center sect ion, 85 inches at outer stmtsSTAGGER - NoneSWEEPBACK NoneENG INE-Liberty water-cooled V-12, m-420 hp turning

a fixed-pitch wooden propeller.FUE L - 644 gallonsOIL 50 gallonsWEIGHT

Emp ty -4,380 Ihs. (landplane)5,180 Ibs. (seaplane)Loaded -6,915 Ibs. (landplane)7,715 Ibs. (seaplane)

PERFORMANCEMaximum SpeedCruising SpeedRate of Cl imbCeilingRange

Source: Manufaclurer

Landplane SeaplaneI04 mph lo0 mph90 mph 85 mph500 ftlmin 500 ft/min10,wxl feet 7,ooo feet2,200 miles I.650 miles

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U.S. Navy. On June 24, 1923, the War Department in-structed the Air Service to obtain all available data on theFokker F-5 transport and on the Davis-Douglas Cloudster,almost identica l to the DT-2. The Douglas Company, lo-cated at Santa Monica, California, submitted specifica tionsfor a modified DT-2. The new design was named the Doug-las D-WC, i.e., Douglas World Cruiser. The companypromised deliv ery of the $23,271 prototype within 45 daysafter receiving a signed contract.Lt. Erik Nelson, 35, a brilliant aeronautical engineerassigned to McCook Field and a veteran pilot, was placedon temporary duty at the Douglas factory in California. Hewas to work closely with Donald Douglas, assisted by JohnNorthrop, in designing the reconfiguration of the DT-2 intoa World Cruiser.

On August 1, 1923, General Pat rick approved the recon-figuration plans and a contract was let for construction ofthe prototype D-WC. The delivery date was met and Lieu-tenant Nelson flew the new airplane to McCook Field for aseries of tests. The Air Service Chief flew to the Engineer-mg Divis ion installation to inspect the prototype, and rec-ommended a few changes to increase performance. Theairplane was then flown to Langley F ield, V irginia , where itwas equipped with pontoons, and succ essfu lly completedadditional tests.

Satisfied with the aircra fts performance, the War De-partment gave final approval for the World Flight onNovember 9, 1923. Eight days later the Douglas AirplaneCompany received a $192,684 contract for the manufactureof four W orld Cruisers and spare partsaThe World Cruiser fuselage was divided into three parts:nose or engme section, mid-section, and tail section. Thesections were made of steel tubing. The wings were ofstandard box beam and built-up rib construction. The upperwmg was made in three panels and the lower constructed intwo. The wings could be folded, allowing for a smalle rstorage space than the normal stra ight-wing aircraft. TheCruisers vertical and horizontal stabilizers were ofstandard I-beam and built-up rib construction. The ele-vator and rudder were made of steel tubing and ribs. Theairplanes axles were made from alloy steel tubing whichhad been heat-treated after fabrication. The stmts were steeltubes streamlined with wood The pontoons were twinfloats of built-up wood construction with the top covetingmade of three-ply veneer, and the bottom planking made oftwo-ply mahogany.

The space allocated in the DT-2 to an aerial torpedo waschanged in the World Cruiser to accommodate a greatlyincreased fuel load capab ility. The enlarged system wascomposed of a 60-gallon tank (U.S. measurement) i n thecenter section of the upper wing; a 62-gallon cell in the rootof each lower wing; a 150.gallon tank behind the enginefirewall; a l60-gallon tank beneath the pilot s cockpit; and a150.gallon cel l under the observers seat. These additionalcapaattes increased the DT-2s origina l fuel load from 115gallons to the World C ruisers 644 gallons. The lattersrange was projected to be 2,200 miles w ith a full fuel load.

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LT. ERIK II. NELSONLt. Erik H. Nelson, of McCook Field, played an es-pecially significant role in the Round-the-World Flight.Nelson worked closely with Donald Douglas, head of theCalifornia-based Douglas Airp lane Company, during themanufacture of the prototype World Cruiser , and flew thepmtotype D-WC to McCook Field for initial tests. On theactual flight, Nelson piloted the New Orleans, one of thetwo airpfanes o complete the entire journey.*Born in Stockholm, Sweden, Nelson immigrated to theUnited Statesas a merchant marine in 1909. He worked atseveralobs, including pat-time employment for two yearswith the Curtiss Airplane Company at Buffalo, New York,where he acquired an expert knowledge of airplanes andairplane engines. Nelson joined the Royal Canadian AirForce in July 1917, but in October of that year was reas-signed to the American Air Service, where he became abomber pilot. He rose to the rank of brigadier generalduring his Air Force career.The World Flight wasnot Lt. Nelsons irst experience ndistance lying. In late summer 1919, Nelson and a squad.run of four airplanes lew a 7,000-mile circuit of 32 cities rthe U.S. In 1920, Nelson was the chief engineering office,on au endurance flight headed by Capt. S t. Clair Street!from Mitchel Field, Long Island, New York, to Nome.Alaska, and return, without the loss of a single airplane.

Later that same year he flew from San Antonio, Texas, cPuerto Rico and return.
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To improve in-flight communications between pilot andobserver, the latters cockpit was moved forward to a posi-tion immediately behind the pilot s cockpit and a cut-outwas incorporated in the trailing edge of the center section ofthe upper wing to provide upward visibil ity for navigationalpUrpOSCS. None of the aircraft carried radio equipmentfor either sending OT eceiving messages.Both cockpi ts had identica l instruments: tachometer,air-speed ndicator, engine ignition switches, ampere meter,voltmeter, oil pressure gauge, gasoline pressure gauge,altimeter, ordinary ailplane compass and a new earth-inductor compass, a bank-and-turn indicator for flying infog, an automatic ignition cut-out switch, and six gas-oline control valves. There were also altitude controls tochange the proportions of gasoline and air fed to the engineat varying heights, and an engine primer for starting in coldweather.The pilot sat in the roomy front cockpit, with thecopilot or mechanic in the aft cockpit. Behind and beneaththe rear cockpi t in the tapering fuselage [was] a roomybaggage and tool compartment. Smal l transparentshields protected the crew members from the powerful airstream of the Hying airplane.4x

WORLD FLIGHT CREWSAs would be expected, there was an overwhelmingresponse to the call for volunteer pilots and mechanics forthe exciting, perilous world Right. The Air Se rvice Chief,General Patrick, after test-hopping the prototype WorldCruiser at McCook Field, is said to have remarked that heonly wished he was young enough to go on this greatundertaking. The only stipulations, aside from meetingGeneral Patrick s stringent requirements of expertise,ski lls, character, courage, and initiative, were that the indi-

World Fl ight p i tats hosted at Cr issy Field, San Francisco, include ( I tor): Lt. Leigh Wade, Lt. Lmvett Smith, and Lt. Jack Harding. Thrladies n the front row wereMrs. Frantl t? ,chee, IAm and Mrs. E.ErnrnS. .S. Air ForceMusrum,

vidual volunteer be unmarried and write on the applicationhis rationale for volunteering.Although Air Service Headquarters never disclosed theexact criteria used in selecting the eight crew members,Lowell Thomas noted the pilots had all clocked manyhundreds of hours in either cross-country or enduranceflying. Some were also exceptionally proficient in boththeoretical and practical aeronautical engineering.The Air Service Chief personally selected Maj.Frederick L. Martin to command the flight, although he wasmarried. Other ailplane commanders included Lt. LowellH. Smith, Lt. Leigh Wade, and Lt. Erik H. Nelson ofMcCook Field. Alternates were Lt. Leslie P. Arnold and Lt.LeClaire Schultze . These pilots arrived at Langley Field,Virginia, a few days before Christmas 1923. There theyunderwent concentrated courses in weather phenomena andforecasting, world geography and climatology, aerial navi-gation, and enough medical and surgica l knowledge topull them out of mishaps in case of a forced landing in someregion remote from civilization.At Langley they worked c losely with ten of the AirServ ices best enlisted airplane mechanics who had beenassigned to work on the prototype World Cruiser. By theend of the six-week indoctrinat ion period, the aircraft com-manders had chosen the mechanics they wished to accom-pany them on the global flight: Sgt. A lva Harvey, TSgt.Arthur Turner, SSgt. Henry Ogden, and an EngineeringDivision civilian engineer from McCook Field who wasalso a Reserve lieutenant, John Harding.At the end of February 1924 the officers and enlistedmechanics went to the Douglas factory in Santa Monica.There they watched the daily progress in manufacture of theWorld Cruisers in order to become familiar with everydetail of the airplanes components.Al l the Cruisers were completed by March II, 1924,and the pilots named the four aircra ft. Major Martin chose

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Se~ffle, Lieutenant Smith named the Chicano. LieutenantWade selected Boston. and Lieutenant Nelson opted forNew Orlrans.From the Douglas factory the aircraft flew to the Sand

from Lake Washington. Of the origina l four Wor ldCruise rs, only the Nw Orlean s and the Chimp completedthe circumnavigation of the world, landing at Seattle,Washington, on September 28, 1924. They had flownPoint Hying lirld on Lake Washington near Seattle wherewheels were exchaqed for pontoons. The final selection of

crews was made at this juncture:Sea& Maj. FrederickL. Martin andSgt. AlvaHarveyChirngo Lt. Lowe ll Smith and Lt. Les lie ArnoldBoston Lt. Leigh Wade and SSgt. Henry OgdenNW Orleans Lt. Erik Nelson and Lt. John Harding

SUCCESSThe quartet of Douglas World Cruisers began theirhisto ric odyssey at 8:47 a.m., April 6, 1924, lifting off

26,345 mles in 363 hours cumulative Hying time over anelapsed period of 175 days.No lives were lost or major injuries sustained when the

Seattfr crashed against a mountainside near Dutch Harbor,Alaska, on April 30, or when the Boston. with no oilpressure in the engine, ditched in the North Atlan tic Oceanbetween the Orkney Islands and Iceland on August 2.However, General P atrick felt tlxdt Wade and Ogden [crewof the Boston] deserved to enjoy and participate in thehomecoming celebr&ms.4 He directed the Bosron II, the1923 prototype World Cruiser, to join the Chicago and NewOrlean s in Nova Scotia and complete the triumphal journeywith them.

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President Calvin Cool idge and al l his cabinet membe rswere among thousands of spectators who greeted the sixwcwm en on their ar ival at Boi ling Field, D.C ., from NovaScotia. The f inal transcontinental port ion of the WorldFl ight was from the nations capitol to Seatt le, Washington,and included a stopover at McCo ok Field, September14.16, 1924.

As the f l ight neared Co lumbus, Ohio, i t was joined by aspecial escort, McCo ok Field test pi lot Lt. Harold Harr is inthe huge Barling triplane, six-engined bomb er. Accordingto Lieutenant Nelson, As we passed over Wilbur Wrightairdrome we saw Welcome World Fl iers painted in hugeletters on the ground, and between f i f ty thousand and ahundred thousand people cheered us a momen t later as wecame gl iding down over McCo ok.

Airplane mechanics and special ists, working in shi ftsdur ing the next two days, minutely examined every bol tand wire to f ind out exactly how the Cruisers had mecha n-ical ly withstood the strain of the f l ight. The aircraft wereadjudged capa ble of flying the remaining 3,000 m iles toSeatt le via the southern route from Chicago. The aircrewmembe rs underwent simi lar thorough medical examina-tions by McCo ok Field f light surgeons. Al l men werepassed as very paragons of physical f i tness. *

Chirugdr wheels touched down on Sand Point Field,Seatt le, Washington, at I:28 p.m. local , September 28,1924. The World Fl iers were greeted by a crowd of 50,OCKlpeople. The airplane and i ts sister, New Orleans. had f lownthe 26,345 mi les at an average rate of speed of 79% miles-per-hour. Flying t ime was the equivalent of I5 days, 3hours, 7 minutes.v

Several days later other CT~W S returned the four WorldCruisers to McCo ok Field, ending their magnif icentodyssey.*

A few months fol lowing the f l ight, Congress voted theDistinguished Service Medal never before awarded exceptfor services in war, to the six World Fl ight crewmen. Eachreceived several foreign decorations (with Congressionalpermission), including their appointment as Cheval iers ofthe French Legion of Honor. Al l of the World Cruiseroff icers were advanced f ive hundred t i les each on thepromotion rosters.

The Great Adventure was over and another page ofaviation history had been written in red, white , and blueink. As a Navy admiral eloquently summe d i t up: Othermen wil l f ly around the earth, but never again wi l l anybodyfly around it first.

*The New Orleans was obtained on loan in Apr il 1957 from the Natural History Museu m, Los Angeles. Cal i fornia. rejuvenated. andplaced on permanent display inside the main exhibi tion hal l of the United States Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson AFB. TheChicago is currently on display at the National Air and Space Museu m, Smithsonian Insti tution, Washington. D.C .
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1924 AIR RACESLess than a week after the Douglas World Cruisers made

their final landing near Seattle, Washington, FAID andWilbur Wright Field were center stage in the spotlight ofaviation. Two decades and twelve days after aviation pio-neer Wilbur Wright flew the first complete circle in thehistory of powered airplanes, FAID and Wilbur WrightField hosted the International Air Races, October 2-4,1924.This aviation extravaganza offered prestigious prizessuch as the Pulitze r Trophy, and $80,000 in prize money(payable in U.S. Government Liberty Bonds) to the win-ners of I2 events. The event was sponsored by the NationalAeronautic Association (NAA). NAA president that yearwas the President of the National Cash Register Companyof Dayton, aviation enthusiast Frederick Beck Patterson.As it turned out, the international aspect of the eventdid not materia lize. The large number of expected foreigncontestants cancelled out a few weeks prior to the meet. Thepopular exp lanation for the withdrawals was the knowninability of the European airplanes to match the speed,maneuverability, and general performance of Americancivilian and military airplanes?All three Air Service installations in the Dayton area hadmajor respons ibilities in the thrilling aerial drama that at-tracted over 100,000 spectators during the three days ofexhibits, demonstrations, and races.Maj. Augustine Warner Robins, Wilbur Wright Field!FAID Commander, worked closely with Mr. Patterson andwith Mr. Charles H. Paul, general manager of the air racesorganization. Major Robins personal assistants were Lt.Elmer E. Adler and Lt. C. E. Thomas, the latter serving as

FrederickB. Pattersan kit,, Presidentai the National AeronauticAssociat ian, chat5 with Maj. Gen. Mason M. Patr ick, Chief of theArmy Air Service. The NAA sponsored the International Air Racesheld October 2.4, ,924.

Executive Officer. O ther officers in charge of air race a-tivities at Wilbur Wright were Maj. George H. Brett, hous-ing and entertainment; Maj. J. H. Rudolph, engineeringofficer in charge of flying operations; Maj. H. J. Knerr, incharge of ferrying airplanes and furnishing aircraft foraeria l photography; Capt. Edward Laughlin (McCook
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Field), assistant operations o fficer; Capt. F. F. Christine,photographic officer; Capt. J. B. Powers, surgeon; Lt.Samuel G. Eaton, Jr., communications officer; Lt. L. E.Sharon, public ity and press relations; and Lt. H. A. Bar-ton, in charge of the baggage and check room.lThe Chief of the Air Service personally selected 23officers from among the Armys most courageous and skill-ful pilots to fly in the four most prestigious trophy races.Nine principals and three alternates were picked for theLiberty Engine Bu ilders Trophy race on October 2. Desig-nated to fly the Standard DeHavilland DH-4 and CorpsObservation airplanes were:Maj. Clarence H. Tinker, Fort Riley, KansasLt. R. J. Brown, Jr., Boston, MassachusettsLt. L. V . Beau, Boiling Field, D .C.Lt. C. W. Steinmetr, Boiling Field , D.C.Lt. E. B. Bob&n, Chanute Field, Il linoisLt. J. B.. Haddon, Brooks Field, TexasLt. H. D. Knapp, Maxwell Field, AlabamaLt. C. A. Cover, FAID, Wilbur Wright FieldLt. A. E. Simonin, Moundsville, West Virginia

Alternates were:Lt. D. G. Duke, OCASLt. Rex K. Stoner, Langley Field, Virgin iaLt. L. A. Walthall, Fort Bragg, North CarolinaSix Martin MB-2 twin-engine bombers and one Martin-Curtiss NBS-I bomber were entered in the Dayton Cham-ber of Commerce Trophy race, October 3. The race featuredlarge capacity airplanes (capable of carrying useful loadsof 2,000 pounds and over) and offered $4,000 in LibertyBonds as prizes. Selected to fly the largest aircraft in theregularly-assigned inventory were:Capt. George C. Kenney, McCook FieldLt. Carlton D. Bond, Phillips FieldLt. D. M. Myers, Phillips FieldLt. Hezekiah E. McClellan, Brooks Field, TexasLt. C. F. Woolsey, Brooks Field, TexasLt. H. D. Smith, Langley Field, VirginiaLt. D. J. Canfield, Kel ly Field, Texas (alternate)For the renowned Pulitzer Trophy speed race on October4, which offered $10,000 in prizes, General Patrick choseCapt. Burt E. Skeel, Selfridge Field, Michigan, and Lt.


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Wendell H. Brookley, McCook Field. to fly Army-typeCurt is R-X racers. Lt. Alexander Pearson, Jr., McCookField, was picked to Hy the Navy version of the Curtis K-X.Alternate pilot was Lt. H. H. Mills, McCook Field.The John L. Mitchell Trophy race on October4 featuredpursuit-type airplanes and offered $5,000 in Liberty bondsas prizes. A ir Service candidates were chosen by Maj. CarlSpaatr, Commanding Ofticrr of Selfridge Field. His select-ces. all chosen from his command, included:Lt. George P. TourtellotLt. Reuben C. MoffatLt. Ennis C. WhiteheadLt. Cyrus BettisLt. Leland C. Hurd

Lt. James D. SummersLt. Robert R. YeagerLt. J. T. JohnsonLt. Thomas K. MatthewsLt. Thomas W. BlackbumLt. Donald F. StateFor several weeks before the races, FAID and WilburWright Field personnel worked long hours putting finaltouches on the 130 racing p lanes and preparing the post toreceive scores of distinguished guests. A huge grandstand

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overone mile in length wa s erected at Wilbur Wright Field,the officers club was converted into a dining hall, and theswm ming pool was drained and converted into a sunkengarden. The post gymnasium was the s i te of a gala recep-tion and aviation ball held the evening of October 2, at-tended by about 500 military and gues ts.

The evenings sparkling glamour was described by theAir Service Information Division, using local newspaperaccunts.5Long lines of flaunting colors which bordered the room

represented every nation in the world, conveying the inter-national appeal and importance of aviation. At the fartherend of the ballroom was the American cxs t. and in thecenter was erected in huge form the emblem of the majorgeneral of the United States Army.Flags of various nations were placed at intervals about thehuge room to form stalls, one being allotted to each govem-merit flying field in the United Stares and its posses sions,which se nt delegates to the international classic.In direct contra st to the color schem e were placed largepamtings at either end of the ballroom. Both of the work s ofart were executed at Wright Field [sic] and depicted a groupof Cuniss pursuit p lanes in battle formation and the other,the epoch-making fl ight of Lieut. Maughan across the con-tinent. To enhance these elaborate decoradons profusion offern and other greenery were used about the boxes andautumn flowers were banked on all tables.Despite the fact that America is a republic, the scene rivaledclosely the bril liance of European court functions.Distinguished army officers, m arines and representatives offoreign countries m ingled with the handsom ely gownedwom cn upon the dance floor. producing a scene that wil l beunequalled for many years to come .

Wilbur wright Field mlirers Club decorated fur a ,924 dinnerhonoring Maj. tien . Mason M. Patrick, C hief of the Army Air Serv-ice. The club stood near the present-day location of the 2750th .&irBase Wing Headquarters, Buildin g 10 in Area 12.

In Dayton. enthusiasm for the races was epidemic. OnFriday, Octob er 3, all public schools w ere closed. Ove r theweekend, c i ty and county off ices were shut, and al l facto-ries, including the National Cash Register Com pany,Dayton Engineering Laboratories Com pany (De lco), andthe General Motors Corporation, stopped operations toallow their work ers to attend the holiday even ts. T he annualbanquet of the National Aeronautic Association was heldFriday evening at the NC R dining hall with 1,000 personsattendmg. Notables included Mr. Patterson, who as Presi-dent of the NAA presided over the dinner; Charles F.Kettering, head of the General Moto rs Rese arch Corpora-t ion, who served as toastmaster; and Frederick H. Rike,President of the Rike-Kumler Company. who was honoredas vice-chairman of the race officials.

The f i rst event of the weekend was an On-To-Daytonrace which attracted 51 civil ian entries from N ew York,I l linois, Texas, Kansas, Michigan, andadozcnothcrst~ttes,plus Canada. Th e brightly-painted airplanes of all mak esand combinations created a wondrous spectac le.

The events held on October 2-4 encomp assed twelvecategortes of major races, each sponsored by a differentnewspap er, manufactu rer. labor union, civic organization,or prominent citizen. The races were interspersed withskywriting exhibitions, free balloon fl ights, parachute dem-onstratm ns. freak flying, aerial comb at, and formationflying.A nostalgic highlight was the display and fl ight of earlyWright brothers aircraft. The 1903 Kitty Haw k itself wasdisplayed hut not HowP The I91 I Model B, however, wasremoved from i ts safe storage in the FAID Supply Depart-ment and f lown. McCoo k Fields famous test pi lot. Lt. JohnA. Macre ady, thri l led Orvil le and Katharine Wright andthrongs of spectato rs by circling Wilbur Wright Field at analtitude of 1,000 feet for 15 minutes at a speed of about 45miles per hour.

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Another highlight was the release of the Sperry Mes-senger.Suspended by hooks in its upper wing, the SperryMessenger hung from a trapeze below the TC-5, an AirServicenon-rigid dirigible . At an altitude of 2,500 feet, theMessenger was released into powered flight.The true high points were, of course, the races them-selves.Lt. D. G. Duke, assigned to the Office of the Chief ofthe Air Service, won the Liberty Engine Bu ilders Trophyrace n the Standard DH-4 observation biplane powered by aLiberty 12.cylinder, 400.hp engine. He averaged 128 mphover the 12-1~1~.15.mile course. The John L. MitchellTrophy competition was won at 1X5.45 mph. The three-lap,200.kilometer race (124.27 miles) was taken by Lt. CyrusBettis of Selfridge Field in a Curtiss~PW-8 biplane with a460.hp Curt&s D-12 engine. A Martin MB-2 bomber pilot-ed by Lt. D. M. Myers won the 150.mile Dayton Chamberof Commerce Trophy race with a speed of 109.85 mph.Lt. H. H. Mill s, McCook Field, won the Pulitzer Tro-phy race, Hying a Vcrvi lle-Sper ry Racer over the 200.kilometer course at an average speed of 216.55 miles-per-hour. The race, however, was marred by two deaths.Lt. Alexander Pearson, 29, of McCook Field, diedSeptember 2 during a practice flight for the Pulitzer Race atWilbur Wright Field when the left wing of his Navy-typeCurtiss racer failed at an altitude of about 300 feet, causingthe airplane to crash. Capt. Burt E. Skeel, 30, Command-ing Officer of the 27th Squadron at Selfridge Field, Michi-gan, died during the race on October 4 when the wingsbroke away from the fuselage of the Army-type Curtissracer at 2,000 feet. He went into a dive at about 275 mph.(Skee l and Pearson Avenues in present-day Area C atWright-fitterson AFB are named in memory of these twointrepid young pilots.)

Capt. Bull E. skeet, assigned to Selfridge Fiat, Michigan, was killedin theerash of his Curtiss R-6 raei* during the Pulitzer Tmphy race onoetotxr 4. Skeet Avenue, named in his honor, parattets the Area cRighttine taday.
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THE MODEL AIRWAYIn August 1925, FAID assumed administrative controlof the Model Airway System. The Model Airway was anexperimental Air S ervice airline, first in the nation to per-ate regularly-scheduled flights between fixed points. Estab-lished in June I92 I, the Airway maintained regular servicefor both passengers and cargo between McCook Field,

Ohio; Boiling Field, D.C.; Langley Field, Virginia ; andMitchel Field, Long Island, New York.Increased operations and the need to expand fac ilitiesprompted the Air Serv ice to relocate the airline headquar-ters from crowded McCook Field to considerably morespactous accommodations at FAID. The three coordinatingfunctions of the Airway-administration , communications,and meteorology-operated at FAID under the direct super-vision of the Commanding Officer, Maj. A. W. Robins.In July of 1923, the Air Corps weather station movedfrom McCook Field and was housed in the loft of Build -ing 1, FAID, where it began immediate operations. ByDecember 1923, the Airway System had expanded to cover

Selfridge Field, Michigan; Chanute Field, Illi nois; andFAID, FGrfield, Ohio. Several other facilities were inte-grated into radio nets for communications and weatherreporting.FAID had become very interested in the Airwa y andpromoted its growth by conducting a cost analysi s of bothcargo and passenger flights. Major Robins, Commander ofboth FAID and Wilbur Wright Field, reported his findings inAugust 1925. He noted that between June 1922 and June1925, DH-4 aircraft in this long-term program had made546 flights covering 1.046.610 miles. They carried 868passengers and 46,179 pounds of cargo. Major Robinsestimated that 600 of these passengers had flown on oflicia lorders. He concluded that based on an average trip of 2,000

miles, the Army had saved $6OO,lXM in passenger travelexpenses during the three-year period. Based on a figure of1,000 miles per load, cargo savings amounted to$4,263.31.iRobins was more than pleased with the progress of theAirway because it strengthened a vital link in the nationaldefense chain. He also applauded the many benefits of theoperation to the future of both military and commercialavtation, especially in the areas of instrumentation, naviga-tton, standardization of facilit ies and procedures, and com-munications. For example:

l A specia l night air route was set up between Mc-Cook Field and Norton Field, Ohio, for a three-month test of night flying equipment, both on air-planes and on the ground.*. The Aitwa ys Branch of the Engineering Depart-ment experimented with instrument-only flying.Cockpits were entirely enclosed to simulate fo&and pobr visib ility and to force pilots to fly bynavigation instruments alone.l The Radio Branch at FAID developed direction-

finder radio beacons. In tests, aircraft were guidedby radio between McCook and Langin Field,Moundsv ille, West Virgin ia; and between McCookand Chanute Field, Rantoul, Illinois .. A system of aviation maps was developed, show ingprivate airfields as well as military.l Names of small towns and villages along flightroutes were marked on hangars and Hat roofs ofml?jor buildings. Together with a program of in-stalling rotating beacons, this identification systemsaved the lives of score s of military and civilianpilots during times of poor visib ility and badweather. During 1934, when the Air Corps as-sumed responsibility for flying the air mail, these

markers proved invaluable.l Standardized plans were developed for equippingemergency landing fields with hangars, radio tow-ers, fuel tanks, etc. A logical plan of expansionspecified dimensions ofrunways and standard iieldmarkers for future field development.. Standardized procedures were developed for thefiling of flight plans. invaluable for both pre-flightplanning and in the event of in-flight emergency.Information that was fled prior to departure in-cluded @lane type and identification number,names and addresses of crew members and pas-sengers, description and weight of cargo, volume

and weight of fuel aboard, route to be flown, sched-uled intermediate stops, and final destination withesttmated time of arriva l. Moreover, a reservationsystem for passengers and cargo was formulated.. A radio net was established embracing all majorstations of the airway to furnish complete mete-NononField, Columbus, Ohio. wasdedicatedon June30. 1923. Wilbu r Wright Fie ld and FAID sent five OH-4 observationairplanes,a photographic airplane. and two Vought stunting planes to the formal dedication. Norton Field, Ohio, had no connection with thepresent Norton Air Force Base ocated in California.

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orological reports three times daily. This endedprevious dependence on sketchy local weather re-ports and newspaper forecasts.

In Major Robins judgment?The Airway has increased the general interest in cmss-country f ly ing because of excel lent maps, marked towns,emerg ency fields, aeronautical bulletins, radio cnmm uni-cations, and other conveniences which have been insti tutedby the Model Airway over the enti re country. The aero-nautical bulletins, which include the latest information onall landing fields througho ut the United State s are publishedwith a complete sketch and information regading faci l it iesat each field. Thes e aeronautical bulletins are furnished toAir Service personnel and to 811 persons engaged inaernatlcS.

The Airways project was discontinued in 1926, but i tsprograms becam e prototypes for a growing industry.

CREATION OF THE FAIRFIELD AIRDEPOT RESERVATIONIn 1924, a chain of events began which culminated inthe 1927 establ ishment of the Fair field Air Depot Re serva-

tion. In 1924, the ci t izens of Dayton donated land to thegovernment for the establ ishment of a new and expandedAir Service installation (detailed in Chap ter IV, McC ookField). In response, War Depl i r tment General O rders No.20, issued in August 1925, directed that the designationWilbur Wright Field be discontinu ed. The original flyingfield, together with the newly-donated acreage, wa s desig-nated Wright Field in honor o f both Wright brothe rs.*The area occupied by the Fairfield depot (including the 40acres that had been purchased by the government in 1917).also became pat of the larger W right Field, al though thedepots mission remained unchanged.mFurther and more widespread changes affected the Fair-f ield depot in 1926. The Air Corps Act, signed on July 2,authorized the formation of the Air Colps Materiel Divi-sion, which was to have permanent faci l it ies at the newWright Field. As mentione d earlier in this chap ter, theField Service Section at FAID performed a mater iel func-t ion in i ts management of the Air Service depots, and thusbecame a major section of the new Division.

The physical removal of the Field Service Section fromthe Fdirlield depot clarified the often-co nfusing distinctionbetween the Air Corps depot command and the Fair fielddepot which had been i ts temporary home. There wereper iods after the move, though, when the Field ServiceSection was directed by the depot Comma nder. This hap-pened in 1927, from M ay to September, when Maj.Augustine W. Robins commanded both functions, and fromSeptember 1929 to June 1930, when Maj. Henry H. Arnoldwas in command.b2

Concurrent with the removal of the Field Service Sec-tion on June 21, the depot nam e changed once more. WarDepartment General Orders N o. 9, dated June 22, 1927,

designated the depot as the Fair field Air Depot Reservation(FADR). Again, the mission of the depot did not change,al though as part of the new Wright Field, there was anincrease in construction and activi t ies.

On the new portion of Wright Field (now Area B),constru ction funds were appropriated early in 1930 for acomplex of technical bui ldings to support the Air Corpsexpansion p rogram. Eighteen bui ldings were erected be-tween 1930 and 1933 to house resear

Documents

Fairfield Air Depot