History » AAF Collection

Story on Marfa, Texas

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Apr 152013

CBS News 60 Minutes I enjoyed watching the recent 60 Minutes story on Marfa, Texas.¹ Apparently this isolated, rural town is attracting lots of different people today. In the story, they briefly mentioned the remnants of an old army base there.

Actually it was the Marfa Army Air Field, a twin-engine advanced pilot training school. Hundreds of Army Air Force pilots earned their silver wings at Marfa. So, the town must have been a hub of activity about 1943 before slipping back into obscurity, then rediscovery.

The AAF Collection has a few pilot class books from Marfa.

Citations

CBS News, 60 Minutes, “Marfa Texas: The Capital of Quirkiness,” aired April 14, 2013. [↩]

Museum Material

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Feb 052013

Bombardiers' Information File

I recently visited the United States Air Force Armament Museum at Eglin Air Force Base, near Fort Walton Beach, Florida. On display behind glass were four training manuals. One was the Bombardiers’ Information File, a copy of which is available to view in the AAF Collection.

The Astro Compass

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Feb 052013

Astro Compass

The Navigator’s Information File has a description of the Astro Compass (or Astrocompass) . This device was used by navigators to determine the true heading of the airplane, to steer a true heading, to identify a star, or as a pelorus, a device without magnetic needles used to read bearings.

It is unclear to me if, or how often, this device was actually used. I ran across an Astro Compass while visiting the United States Air Force Armament Museum at Eglin Air Force Base, near Fort Walton Beach, Florida.

Bombardier and Navigator Training Requirements

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Oct 072012

Wings Like pilots, cadets who trained to be bombardiers and navigators were assigned to different air fields for different phases of their training. They had preflight, gunnery and either bombardier or navigator training, or both.

Here are the phases of bombardier and navigator training as they were in 1944, adapted from The Official Guide to the Army Air Forces (New York: Pocket Books, Inc., May 1944).

Pilot Training Requirements

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Oct 072012

Wings Most class books in the collection are from different air fields and training centers. Pilot training involved pre-flight, primary, basic, advanced, transition and unit training. After graduating one course, cadets were generally re-assigned to another air field for the next phase of their training. Interestingly, there seem to be no class books published for transition and unit training programs.

Here are the phases of pilot training as they were in 1944, adapted from The Official Guide to the Army Air Forces (New York: Pocket Books, Inc., May 1944).

Frederic N. Hernandez

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Sep 062012

Frederic N. Hernandez
June 6, 1943

Please visit an excellent website, A Tribute to Frederic N. Hernandez, created by Michael Hernandez, the grandson of this decorated World War II Army Air Forces veteran.

2nd Lt. Hernandez served in the 10th Air Force, 7th Bombardment Group, 308th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy). The site has many fascinating mementos and historical artifacts to see.

Jack H. Gardner Collection

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Aug 262012

Jack H. Gardner
circa 1943

There’s something new at the AAF Collection: The Jack H. Gardner Collection. Lt. Jack Gardner enlisted in the Army Air Corps in January 1940 and served until December 1945. He was in the Air Transport Command, and flew all types of aircraft, passengers and cargo throughout the United States and the Pacific Theater. He even flew several secret missions.

Lt. Gardner had a fascinating career in the Army Air Forces during World War II. His son Bronson Gardner has scanned his father’s collection of service records and papers, and he has graciously contributed them all to the AAF Collection.

This will be an interesting study of one airman’s personal story, as told through vintage photographs, certificates, army orders and paperwork. A few of these items are available to view now. I will be adding more items from his collection in the coming weeks. In the meantime, you can take advantage of the new Collections feature to view the collection.

Carlsbad Army Air Field

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Nov 282011

I encourage you to visit the Carlsbad Army Air Field community page on Facebook. It has a great collection of photographs and artifacts.

See it at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Carlsbad-Army-Airfield/228078510552049

Malrait Memorial Site

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Oct 242011

Thieme Crew

I encourage you to visit the Gilbert Malrait and Thieme Crew memorial site at www.2ltmalrait-gilbert.net. It gives an account of a B-24 combat air crew, most of whom were killed in action on April 4, 1944. What makes this site unique is the background and personal history of each crew member. There are lots of photographs and documentation.

Army Air Corps

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Sep 012011

When I started the AAF Collection I was confused over the terms Army Air Corps versus Army Air Forces. My father often spoke of his service in the Air Corps, but the material I found all seemed to refer to the Air Forces. I researched the question and uncovered the following history of the Army Air Forces.

Airplanes were a small part of the Signal Corps at the close of World War I. In that war, they were used chiefly for aerial reconnaissance in support of ground troops. A total of 600 American airmen were killed and 340 planes lost. US planes dropped only 138 tons of bombs.¹

Citations

Geoffrey Perret, Winged Victory: The Army Air Forces in World War II. New York: Random House, 1993, pp. 5 and 7. [↩]