Item 000088 Detail

Army Air Forces Collection
Historical Documents from World War II

Bobcat, The
Class 43-H, Marfa Army Air Field, Marfa, Texas

Authors:

H. L. Puckett, Editor

Published:

circa 1943

Categories:

Class Books
Training
Pilots

Class/Unit Number:

43-H: Class 43-H

Special Features:

Biographies - Includes biographies of some cadets or officers
Hometowns - Includes cadets' hometowns
Memorial - Includes a memorial to those killed during training
Poem by Guest - Includes a poem by Edgar A. Guest

Locations:

Marfa Army Air Field; Marfa, Texas, USA

Contributors:

Ben Guttery

Repositories:

Private Collection

Comments

[1] Brian J (02-Oct-2009 04:10 PM)

I'm curious about the notes under each student's portrait - are the designations "Ft. Stockton - Pecos" and others (some beginning with 'B' and 'T') a recognized code (mindful of security) for the student's aircraft type assignement? Fighter - Pursiut; Bomber, Transport? Some I cannot equate to an aircraft type ('H'? 'V'?)

[2] Mike Voisin (03-Oct-2009 12:50 PM)

Brian, Those are the air fields where each cadet attended Primary flight school and Basic flight school. I believe Marfa was an Advanced flight school.

[3] Brian J (06-Oct-2009 01:21 PM)

Thanks, Mike. That makes far more sense.

[4] Ginger (24-May-2012 11:07 AM)

Very nice book. I am looking for Marfa Advanced Flying School for Class 43-G which should be the one before this one. My uncle was killed in a plane crash over the airfield three weeks before he would graduate. Would you have any idea how to find one for this class?
Thanks so much.

[5] Mike Voisin (25-May-2012 06:35 PM)

Ginger, I don't have class 43-G but someone may contribute a copy in the future. You can also check a local library or veteran's museum near the air base. Sometimes they will have a series class books in their collection.

[6] Robert Bourlier (15-Oct-2012 04:06 PM)

Thanks for this book. I found my uncle's photo in it as he was a student at Marfa. He went on to fly B-26 and A-26 bombers with the 555th BS(M) 386 BG(M) 9th AF in Europe.

[7] Linda (18-Oct-2014 01:26 PM)

I have this book, also - my father was there at Marfa, earned his wings, and went on to fly cargo planes, supplies and paratroopers thru the war, 1943-1945:
1st Lt. Robert P Conpenelis - from New York state.
Would be interested in anyone else has a relative within this 43-H group.
Thanks for a great website : )

[8] Lawrence Daugherty (04-Jan-2015 08:45 PM)

I have the 43-J class book from Marfa. My uncle, Lawrence B. Assell, received his commission and pilot's wings there on November 3rd or 4th, 1943. He went home to Los Angeles for 10 days, then reported for 4-engine school (B-17s) at Roswell, New Mexico, where he was killed in a training accident crash on 12/23/1943 on Guadalupe Peak, Texas. His B-17 had a total of 69 hours on the engines and airframe and had arrived at Roswell from Boeing in Seattle only 1 week before. He was 21 and single. My mom was his only living sibling. I have visited the crash site.

[9] Jim Dilonardo (20-Jan-2018 11:23 PM)

I am looking for the yearbook for the support crews. My dad was there from the opening to the closing of the field, and I remember seeing a yearbook, it might have been softcover. It had the aircraft mechanics, etc. Does this ring a bell with anyone?

[10] Ben Guttery (13-May-2020 10:10 PM)

There was a booklet of pictures about 34 pages in length. Blue cover with the side of an airplane and red letters Marfa.

[11] R J Packard (23-Nov-2023 07:45 PM)

I have this copy of the bobcat. My father passed it on to me. He graduated from there during World War II. He went on to fly 33 missions in a B-17 over Europe.

Army Air Forces Collection Item 000088 is licensed by Mike Voisin under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Revised: January 11, 2023