Merced Army Flying School - Yearbook (Merced, CA)

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Early Curfiss Training Plane No. 30-af Norfh Island, San Diego, California. ox HHHIH HHH HH. I HHH HHH . . . units. Af fhe same fime an Air Council was creafed fo review and co-ordinafe maior Army aviafion proiecfs. The Air Council included Assisfanf Secrefary of War for Air, Roberf A. Loveff iex-officiol, Lieufenanf General H. H. Arnold, presidenf of fhe council, Lieufenanf General Delos C. Emmons, Maier General George A. Breff, and fhe Chief of fhe War Plans Division of fhe War Deparfmenf General Sfaff. ln addifion fo his dufies as Depufy Chief of Sfaff lAirl, General Arnold became Chief of fhe Army Air Forces. General Emmons was made Chief of fhe Air Force Combaf Command, and General Breff, Chief of fhe Air Corps. Af fhe end of May, l94l, fhe Ferrying Command was organized fo speed up fhe process of geffing bombers fo our English allies. Originally under fhe command of Colonel Roberf Olds lnow a Brigadier General in command of fhe Second Air Force af Spokane, Washingfonl, if is now commanded by Brigadier General Harold L. George, and designafed Air Transporf Command. Since Pearl Harbor ifs acfivifies have been vasfly expanded info a huge world-wide organ- izafion engaged in 'lhe fransporf of all fypes of aircraff, plus supplies, equipmenf, and personnel fo all fhe fighfing fronfs. By fhe final reorganizafion, or sfreamlining, which fools place lasf March, fhe Air Corps ceased fo exisf, even as a purely adminisfrafive organizafion, and fhe 'Combaf Command was eliminafed, as well. The various combal' Air Forces, which are complefe unifs of fhem- selves, are now direcfly under fhe command of overall field com- manders such as General MacArfhur, anofher sfep forward in unified command. lf is inferesfing fo nofe fhaf many of fhese field com- manders, whose commands comprise all arms of fhe service, are fhem- selves air officers, such as General Andrews, in fhe Caribbean. Each Air Force is, of course, commanded by an Air Force Officer, of general grade, whefher wifhin fhe confinenfal Unifed Sfafes or over- seas. These combaf forces include all unifs of milifary aviafion such as bombardmenf, infercepfion lfighfer squadronsl, Observafion, and ground-air supporf, fogefher wifh fhe necessary mainfenance service. As a resulf of fhe March 9 change, fhe Air Forces are recognized as one of fhe fhree elemenfs of fhe Army, fogefher wifh Ground Forces and Supply. This new organizafion, designed fo simplify and speed up fhe chain of command, and fo provide fhe flexibilify and efficiency of operafion necessary 'ro accomplish fhe enormous faslc fhaf lies ahead, designafes Lieuienanf General H. H. Arnold as Commanding General, Army Air Forces, and also as Depufy Chief of Sfaff for Air on fhe Army General Sfaff. By fhe same reorganizafion, Lieufenanf General Joseph T. McNarney, one of fhe ablesf American air sfrafegisfs, was made Depufy Chief of Sfaff. ln addifion fo fhese fwo officers, however, fhe Air Forces have a far greafer represenfafion fhan ever on fhe General Sfaff, As a maffer of facf, fhe General Sfaff, as now consfifufed, is abouf one- half composed of officers from fhe Air Sfaff. The Air Sfaff, which is rafher like a Sfaff wifhin a Sfaff, and which is a purely Air Forces organizafion, is similar in general oufline fo fhe General Sfaff, buf on a slighfly smaller scale, wifh designafions such as A-l, A-2, efc. The complexify and exfension of Army aviafion from ils simple Signal Corps days unfil fhe presenf is no beffer illusfrafed fhan by a brief review of fhe various branches of fhe Air Forces. The overall picfure of fhe Army Air Forces organizafion may be summed up under four lcey words: Policy, Forces, Operafions, and Commands. The Policy funcfion has already been discussed af fhe sfarf of fhis arficle. lf is handled by fhe Commanding General of fhe Army Air Forces and 'rhe Air Sfaff, plus fhe Air Forces' parficipafion in fhe Army General Sfaff. ln addifion fo fhe Assisfanf Chiefs of fhe Air Sfaff lA-l, A-2, A-3 and A-41, fhere is an Air lnspecfor. The various Air Forces, which are fhe combaf organizafions of fhe Army Air Forces, have been covered in paragraphs above. The nexf group in 'rhe logical breakdown of fhe Army Air Forces organizafion is fhe Operafions Sfaff: fhis is divided info Milifary Requiremenfs, Technical Services, and seven adminisfrafive agencies: fhe Public Relafions Officer, Direcfor of Personnel, fhe Air Surgeon, Air Judge Advocafe, Budgef Officer, Direcfor of Managemenf Con- frol, and Milifary Direcfor of Civil Aviafion. Now for 'lhe fourfh elemenf of fhe organizafion of fhe Army Air Forces: operafing direcfly under fhe Commanding General of fhe

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ilrrlurllcrixi uzl7'.iguv: pug ll' . , 57 We - TT U llllllllfllll -lHl Hlllll lllll lll upon air power, was responsible for fhe rapid expansion of Ameri- can aviafion. By fhe fime of our declarafion of war upon Germany in April of l9l7, Army aviafion consisfed of 65 officers l35 of whom were flyersl, I,087 enlisfed men and 55 airplanes. No beffer com- menfary can be made upon fhe changing role of air power af fhe beginning of fhe World War and of fhe presenf conflicf fhan fo compare fhis number wifh fhe lO,697 officers, l26,66O enlisfed men and 8,707 aviafion cadefs which we had on June 30, l94l, wifh fhe number consfanfly increasing under fhe impefus of 'rhe greafesf ex- pansion program in hisfory. During fhe firsf eighf years of ifs exisfence, I'-709-l9l6-a fofal of l42 airplanes had been delivered fo Army Aviafion. Congress, July of l9I7, appropriafed S640,000,000 for Army Aviafion, fhe largesf appropriafion which had ever been made up unfil fhaf fime for any single purpose. Working as rapidly as possible, fhe counfry began fhe giganfic fask of cafching up in producfion wifh counfries long af war. The firsf faslr was fo frain American flyers and for fhis purpose flying schools and ground schools were sef up af a number of schools and colleges. Nearly I5,000 flying cadefs received fraining in fhis counfry, and abouf l,B00 in Europe. By March, l9l8, our Army Aviafion sfrengfh was II,000 officers and I20,000 enlisfed men. Af fhe fime of fhe Armisfice we had 757 pilofs, 48l observers, with 740 planes and 77 balloons af fhe fronf, and I,402 pilofs, 769 air- planes and 252 balloon observers had enfered fhe Zone of Advance. While af fhe 'lime of fhe Armisfice less fhan 25 per cenf of fhe planes flown by American pilofs were of American manufacfure, we were already beginning fo swing info large scale producfion, prin- cipally of Brifish designed DeHavilIands and Handley-Page's equipped wifh fhe American Liberfy mofor, fhe greafesf confribufion of Ameri- can manufacfurers fo fhe war efforf. American aviafors were officially credifed wifh fhe desfrucfion of 49l enemy airplanes, of which 462 were accounfed for by 63 aviafors. We had 43 squadrons af fhe fronf af fhe fime of fhe Armisfice. Following fhe conclusion of fhe war, our air sfrengfh was allowed fo dwindle fo l,000 officers and l0,000 men. The Army Reorganizafion Acf of l920 provided for l,5I6 officers and I0,30O enlisfed men for fhe Air Service, and fhe Air Corps Acf of l926 aufhorized a Five Year Program which confemplafed af ifs They Flew Them When-Maior H. H. Arnold, Maier Thomas Dewiff Milling, pioneer military aviafors, and Army planes of 30 years ago-faken in I9l2 when Army air sfrangfh consisfed of fwo planes. conclusion a personnel sfrengfh of l,650 officers and l5,000 enlisfed rnen wifh 500 cadefs, and aquipmenf consisfing of I,800 serviceable planes. On March I, I935, fha famous GHQ Air Force was esfablished, embracing all facfical Air Corps Unifs wifhin fhe Confinenfal Unifed Sfafes. Prior fo ifs formefion combaf squadrons were frained under widely differenf mefhods, depending upon fhe concepfion of fhe Group -Commanders. The purpose, which was accomplished, of fhe GHQ Air Force, was fo co-ordinafe fhe sysfems of fraining so as fo produce uniformify and fhe abilify to operafe fogefher as a feam. Anofher accomplishmenf was fhe lafer developmenf of fhe combaf crew as a fighfing feam. In pracfice, fhe same officers and men were assigned fo fhe same airplane, and each feam, fhrough consfanf co-operafion and pracfice, was able fo affain a high degree of effi- ciency. Even more imporfanf fhan all fhese innovafions, however, was fhe facf fhaf fhe Air Corps, as if was known fhen, was, for fhe firsf fime, under a unified command, and under an air officer, Maior General Frank M. Andrews lnow a Lieufenanf General in command of fhe Caribbean Defense Commandl. Here was anofher nofable sfep foward fhe fullesf developmenf of our Army Air arm as an independenfly- funcfioning enfify, complefe wifhin ifself. This organizafion of air power info a highly mobile sfriking force of greaf unified power had, as ifs backbone, fhe funcfion of Bombard- menf, The GHQ Air Force was divided info fhree Wings. The Firsf Wing, wifh headquarfers af March Field, California, com- prised fwo Bombardmenf Groups, one Affack Group, and fwo Recon- naissance Squadrons. The Second Wing, wifh headquarfers af Langley Field, Virginia, com- prised fwo Bombardmenf and fwo Pursuif Groups, and fwo Reconnais- sance Squadrons. The Third Wing, af Barksdale Field, Louisiana, was composed of one Affack and one Pursuif Group. Buf even fhis organizafion was fo be changed soon by fhe pressure of ever-increasing expanison of our Army Aviafion. On June 23, l94I, fhe Army Air Forces was esfablished. These included fhe Head- quarfers, Army Air Forces: fhe Air Force Combaf Command iwhich superceded fhe GHQ Air Forcel, fhe Air 'Corps and all ofher air Burgess Tracfor- l 9 I 4. Tr, -ll V f -bi! 3 P'

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is I' I Army Air Forces, seven greaT commands compose The lasf sfages of Air Forces' preparafion for combaf uniTs. IT may be of inTeresT To ouTline The funcfions of These various Commands. I. The MATERIAL COMMAND. Experimenfal aviafion acTiviTies, which were carried on aT Washingfon by a few Technicians prior To The World War, were concenfrafed aT DayTon, Ohio, on November 5, I9I7, under The command of 'Colonel V. E, Clark, Signal Corps. The labora- Tories, IocaTed aT McCook Field, were supplemenfed by offices in Dayfon. In I926 The Air Service became The Air Corps and The funcfions of supply, procuremenT and mainTenance of aircrafT were added To This division, and The name changed To MaTeriel Division. The IocaTion of The division was changed from McCook Field To Wrighf Field in I926. The Maferiel Division has figured direcTly or indirecTIy in nearly all imporTanT aircrafT developmenfs, commercial as well as milifary. IT is The greaT experimenfal and Tesfing branch of The Air Force and includes, among iTs many accomplishmenfs, superchargers, The Whirl- wind engine, use of eThyIene glycol for high TemperaTure cooling, high ocTane gasoline, vibraTion conTrol, meTal propellers, nighT and insTrumenT flying, haze peneTraTing film for aerial phofography, nighT and color phoTography, and many oTher developmenTs. 2. The FLYING TRAINING COMMAND. While The Headquarfers of The Air Corps Training Cenfer began To funcfion aT Duncan Field, San AnTonio, Texas, in I936, flying Training in The Army has been confinuous aImosT since The purchase of The firsT Wrighf airplane in I909. The firsT Army flying school was esfablished aT 'College Park, Mary- land, in OcTober, I909. LieuTenanT Frank P. Lahm and Frederick E. Humphreys were The firsT sTudenTs of The Wrighf brofhers. LieuTenanT Lahm IaTer became a Brigadier General and commanded The Training CenTer from iTs incepTion in Sepfember, I926, unfil Augusf 3I, I930. This veTeran flyer is now Air Officer of The Second Corps Area aT Governors Island, New York, Among The firsT five Army aviafors were LieuTenanT H. H. Arnold, now LieuTenanT General. Among Them also was LieuTenanT Beniamin D. Foulois, now Maior General, reTired. General Foulois became a Brigadier General aT The age of 38 as Chief of The Air Service of The FirsT Army, American ExpediTionary Force. He became a Maior General and Chief of The Air Corps on December 20, I93I. The funcTion of The flying Training Command is, of course, To co- ordinafe and direcf The immense iob of providing officers and men for The vasTIy expanding Air Forces. In order To accomplish This wiTh The greaTesT efficiency and To eIiminaTe The possibilify of adminisTra- Tive boTTlenecks, General Arnold seT up The Flying Training Command, as if now exisTs, under The command of Maior General Barfon K. Younf, wiTh headquarfers aT ForT Worfh, Texas. This command is divided in Three greaf regional Training areas, one in The SouTl'leasT, one in The Gulf CoasT region, and one in The SouThwesT. All of These regional Training areas are complefe wiThin Themselves, providing Their own Recepfion Cenfers, Replacemenf Cenfers, Primary, Basic, and Advanced Schools lfor pilot Traineesl, and NavigaTor Schools. Bombardier Trainees, however, are all senf To schools locafed in The Soufhwesfern parT of The counTry, where weaTher condifions are besf ,.f1..,,i-,- ..g','.f,s-wx 1 .cf ,. , V, T, f,,..-QM-.4 -'L-A 1 ,-we-'A-,-awil-fingers'f'3za'.Arriva'-vbsylv,'Q-'M 'sfg1aZ-2'f faX1' K- ' K' -M 'rr 1, ,...,,,.g. ...,,-3,1 45.4,-Ai... Q, V, , .,,,.,,,,,,.6,,,--.,-. ,,,,.,v. sr gag, gm-.1...,.:rr rr. 1-,.1m- : .A , . ,.e.Qweeefaavaaaeaiasrmaseseemrf.r.Saewi'..ff.:wmf-aemwMwwamiMQ.wasiwxv-wemeaiieegciivmxsaesefiw v - f..f.,....aeM.,.... I I -- we--car -' 'i 'J T' 'r'T'1:1 .'T:r:f'T:' 1. fi-'-'from I ww! ffrfj,-fri ff' 'Tig zyijffsive' 5v.z5tv7'1r:::fff:m+':-'rs's:f-gg?gffgj,w?'Z'g'321ggf?7Q'K1'!Qg1j+e'rj42,':sff'r'G:-1j'g-I gg,-lgsayfee-52-755-1 ' 'f' I V - - '.,pId'3,. ., '4.,f:,5a e..ef5fi',......'-''fifilz-i....fPalLs?..i,.k4Lsse::..-.e..gii.f,1' .1 ' eg... -. 1 4: Top PicTure: 2I3Th Aero Squadron, Second Army--Enlisfed Men. BoTTom PicTure: Officers and Planes-N I3 PursuiT Squadron, Third Pursuif Group. QA 1 A is ,,,,.,