Mark Bane

His 499

Park Field

“Aviation is fine as a sport. But as an instrument of war, it is worthless.”1 General

Ferdinand Foch, the professor of strategy at the Ecole Superieure de Guerre, was quoted as having said this to a student during a lecture. General Foch was wildly wrong in his assumption and with the emergence of , aviation would soon come to Tennessee. Park Field was initially established in May, 1917 in order to facilitate the training of new army aviators for

World War One. Park Field would remain open and operation under Army Aviation until

November 11, 1918 when World War One would end. From there Park Field would be used to serve as a base for Airmail routes through Tennessee where it was eventually abandoned in

January, 1922.2 This would serve as the end of Aviation for Park Field until the Department of the Navy took over the area in February of 1942.

Lieutenant Joseph D. Park graduated from West Point in 1905 with a commission in to the Air Corps where he initially served as an officer for the Twenty-fourth

Infantry, but a few months later he was transferred to the fourth cavalry. In July 1911, he was promoted to a First Lieutenant and was transferred to the Fourth Cavalry. On Jan 15, 1913, Lt.

Park was sent to the Aviation school at Hammondsport, N.Y. where he qualified for an aviator’s license on February 15th.3 This put LT Park as one of the first 25 rated USAS military aviators

1 Foch, “Air Power.” 2 “National Archives.” 3 “ARMY AIRMAN DIES IN 15-FOOT PLUNGE; Lieut. Joseph D. Park Crushed to Death When Biplane Hits Tree in California.” and was last serving with the 1st Aero squadron in North Island, California in 19134 when he had an unexpected accident. On May 9, 1913 Lt. Park was flying from to Los Angeles when his military biplane “plunged its nose into a gulley, turned a somersault and crashed against a tree, at Olive, thirty-nine miles south-east of here. The aviator fell only fifteen feet, but the radiator crushed his head, and then fell upon his body.”5 This would mark 1Lt. Park as the ninth army aviator to lose his life during service to his country and as the seventh commissioned officer to lose his life as a Military Aviator. 1LT Park was flying a Curtiss Model D which was designated as Signal Corps No. 2. This plane had crashed two times prior to 1LT Park flying the plane. The first crash of this aircraft was on May 2, 1911 when Captain Paul Beck crashed the plane in to a field when the engine failed at 300 ft. After repairs, the plane was assigned to 2LT

George Kelly, who then crashed it on May 10, 1911 when he crashed trying to land in gusty winds. 2LT Kelly was killed in the crash making 1LT Park the second Aviator to be killed while flying this aircraft.6 The aircraft would be repaired again and flown until it was retired in 1914.

Park Field in Memphis, TN was named in his honor and would remain open until February 1942.

The Aviation section of the Signal Corps was created on July 18, 1914 as part of public law 143 with the 63rd congress in session.7 With the anticipation of U.S. entry in to World War

One, Congress passed the National Defense Act of June 3, 1916 which authorized the president to determine the size of the aviation section of the signal corps and allowed him to establish the first reserve components for the signal corps, a reserve component of 297 officers and 2,000 enlisted men.8 The aviation corps never expanded to its full strength until August 29 when

4 “Togetherweserved.com.” 5 “ARMY AIRMAN DIES IN 15-FOOT PLUNGE; Lieut. Joseph D. Park Crushed to Death When Biplane Hits Tree in California.” 6 Hennessy, “The United States Army Air Arm, April 1861 to April 1917.” Pg. 88 7 Hennessy, “The United States Army Air Arm, April 1861 to April 1917.” 8 Mooney and Layman, Organization of Military Aeronautics, 1907-1935. Pg 113 Congress appropriated a bill that gave the signal corps thirteen million dollars in the active component and the reserve component. By December 7, 1916, the force of the aviation corps had only expanded to 503 personnel. Aircraft of the Aviation service had been deemed to be inferior in all aspects with the aviation experience in Mexico compared to equivalent aircraft in Europe.

In response to this, congress appropriated 640,000,000 for military expansion of the military air arm in order to expand to fight a modern war.9 Today that would cost 11,891,900,000 in order to match the same appropriation that was put aside in 1916. It is almost double the entire budget for the United States Government for FY 2016. With military expansion, the House Committee on

Military Affairs would increase the size of the aviation section to thirteen aero squadrons. There would be four land-based squadrons in the United States, three seaplane squadrons overseas, and six reserve squadrons for the defense of the coast. By the time the United States entered World

War One, only three squadrons had been organized and were in service.10 There were still ten more squadrons that had yet to be organized or receive any personnel. With this sudden expansion of aviation personnel and squadrons, multiple training schools were established to provide the pilots needed. Park field was one of those training schools established within the parameters of the National Defense Act of 1916.

Park Field was initially established when the Department of War sent a group of Army officers to the Memphis, Tennessee area to reconnaissance an area for a new aviation training site. On August 24th, 1917 “the directors of the Memphis Chamber of Commerce authorized the president, W.C. Johnson, and the secretary, John M. Tuther, to sign the bond required by the government to guarantee the performance of the lease and contract as executed in the matter of

9 “Records of the Army Air Force, Record Group 18.” 10 Hennessy, “The United States Army Air Arm, April 1861 to April 1917.” Pg 188, 193, 195-198 the Millington Aviation Site.”11 The Memphis Chamber of Commerce and the United States of

America government agreed on the sum of 88,010.50 which was the purchase price for the land.

It would cost 1,635,322 dollars in order to secure the land in today’s economy due to inflation.

On August 31, 1917, the president of the Memphis chamber of commerce called a meeting to secure the funds in order to pay the tenants of the land for their crops and so forth of an agreed

50,000 dollars (929,000 dollars in today’s economy) to be paid in two 25,000 promissory notes, that become payable on November 1, 1917. 12 Park field covered an area of 700 acres and could accommodate personnel of 1,000 with Officers living in hard shell structures while the enlisted had to bivouac. Park Field served as a base for flight training which instructed primary flight training only. Primary flight training was eight weeks in length and consisted of learning basic flight mechanics and skills. After basic flight training, cadets were sent to another aviation base where they were given their advanced training. Park Field was not the only training site established at that time in order to train the large number of aviators needed.

Park field was one of twelve aviation sites for military aviators in World War One. Pre-

Flight training was conducted at Princeton University, the University of Texas, Cornell

University, the University of California, the University of Illinois, Massachusetts Institute of

Technology, Georgia School of Technology, and Ohio State University where cadets underwent ground training focused on the mechanics and science of the aircraft and basic flying principles.13 Once they graduated from their respective universities, the cadets were then sent to one of the primary training facilities where they would undertake their basic flight training. The basic training fields were in Everman Texas, Carruthers field in Benbrock Texas,

11 “Chamber Secures Airfield for U.S. Government in Millington.” 12 “Chamber Secures Airfield for U.S. Government in Millington.” 13 Cameron, Training to Fly: Military Flight Training 1907-1945. Kelly fields one and two in San Antonio Texas, Rich field in Waco Texas, Eberts field in Lonoke

Arkansas, Taylor field in Montgomery Alabama, March field in Riverside California, Mather field in Sacramento California, Payne field in West Point Mississippi, Love field in Dallas

Texas, Souther field in Americus Georgia, and Park field in Millington Tennessee.14 Barron field was established in 1917 as a training field for American and Canadian pilots until 1921 when military use ended. The field was then dismantled and returned to the local government which returned it to farmland.15 Carruthers field was established in October 1917 as an aerial gunnery school. It was shut down and dismantled in 1919 where the land was purchased and turned in to a dairy. was established in March 1917 as a hub for cadets and enlisted to undergo training in order to be put in to their respective groups and schools based on performance. Kelly field is still open today as a permanent military site known as Kelly Field

Annex. Rich field was established in 1917 and shut down in May 1919. The base was dismantled and closed down in December of 1919. Eberts field was opened in March 1918 and was shut down in November 1919. It would reopen in 1942 as a training site for Glider pilots where one year later it would be shut down and sold in to private ownership. Taylor field was built in April

1917 and was closed in 1919. The airfield was reopened during World War Two as an auxiliary landing field for Gunter Army Airfield and was closed in July 1946. March Field was opened in

March 1918 and is still open today as the . Mather Field was opened on

April 1918 and was closed in 1993 where the base was transferred back to Sacramento

California. Payne Field was established in 1918 and closed down in March of 1920. Love field was opened in 1917 and is currently open to this day as which is a public owned airport home to Southwest Airlines. Souther field was opened in 1918 and would remain

14 1. Cameron, Training to Fly: Military Flight Training 1907-1945. Pg 109 15 Evinger, Directory of Military Bases in the U.S. open until 1945 when the airport was closed down due to the end of World War Two. Once completing their basic flight training they would be sent to their advanced schools where they would focus on their specific flight type. The bomber pilots were sent to Ellington field in

Houston Texas. It was established in 1917 and cadets would report to this base in order to learn to fly heavy bombers, designed to destroy enemy trench fortifications, learn to be an aerial gunner, in order to protect bombers while in the air, or they would go to radio school where they would become an advanced radio operator.16 The base is still open to this day as the Ellington

Field Joint Reserve Base which is part of the Texas Air National Guard. Observation pilots would do their advanced training at Camp Taliaferro if they were to be observers for bomber pilots and Langley field if they were to be reconnaissance pilots taking photographs or observers for fighting aircraft. Langley field was established in 1917 and is still operating as a permanent military facility known as Joint Base Langley-Eustis. Pursuit pilots were sent to Rockwell field and Carlstrom field where they would learn to be dogfighting pilots tasked to eliminate enemy fighters and enemy bombers. Rockwell field was established in 1912 when the aviation school was officially established. In 1932, Army operation at Rockwell Field would officially come to a close. Carlstrom Field was opened in 1918 and would remain open until the close of World War

Two where the field was given back to Desoto County Florida. Today it is the Desoto County

Juvenile Correctional Complex. All cadets would do their basic flight training on the Curtis JN-4 in which manufacturers managed to deliver six hundred new aircraft to training fields around the

United States and Canada.

The Curtis JN-4 was the standard army service aircraft designed and built by the Curtiss

Aeroplane and Motor company. The plane was initially produced starting in 1915 as the Curtis

16 Cameron, Training to Fly: Military Flight Training 1907-1945. Pg 111 JN-1 and was soon adopted by the army as the standard training aircraft as well as being adopted by the navy for the same purpose. Over the course of its time as a military aircraft, 6,813 would be built for service with the US Army, US Navy, and Canadian Royal Air Corps.17 The initial model built was the Curtiss JN-1. It was deemed a poor aircraft and had a very limited number built. The Curtis JN-1 then went through a series of upgrades, where after successful performances in the Pancho Villa expedition in Mexico, the U.S. Army and the Royal Flying

Corps (Canada) ordered the aircraft to be designed and built for operations on the continent. The new aircraft was built with a wingspan of forty three and a half feet (the F-22 Raptor has a wingspan of 44 feet) with an empty weight of 1,390 pounds. It was built with the 90 Horsepower

Curtiss engine which gave it a top speed of 75 mph. The excessive weight of the aircraft however caused it to have a poor performance, especially when attempting to climb.18 This made it suitable for training purposes but not for combat zones. There were three versions of the aircraft produced. One for the U.S. Army, one for the U.S. Navy and the other for the Canadian

Royal Flying Corps. The Canadian version of the aircraft was nicknamed the “Canuck” and had a few minor differences from the American aircraft. The “Canuck” was built with a lighter airframe, a larger and rounded rudder and had a different wing shape which gave it better performance in the colder Canadian climate. 19 The U.S. Navy version of the aircraft was designated the Curtis N-9 and due to flying environments had several structural differences between the army JN-4. The N-9 had a larger wingspan, larger tail fins, additional fins stabilizing fins on the tops of the wings along with a pontoon under the fuselage in the center in order to accommodate ocean landings. The Navy would initially order 30 of the aircraft with the final number of aircraft built for the Navy around 560. The U.S. Army would also order 14 of the

17 Rumerman, “The Curtiss JN-4 ‘Jenny.’” 18 Donald, The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. Pg 279-280 19 Molson, Canadian Aircraft since 1909 Pg 219 aircraft for use in seaplane operations. The U.S. Army version of the aircraft was nicknamed the

“Jenny”, after its official designation. The Jenny was the most widely used aircraft during World

War One to train pilots, with 95% of all cadets having flown Jenny’s.20 The training variant was a double seated biplane with one seat sitting behind the other. The student would sit in the front seat, while the instructor sat in the backseat with an identical set of controls. The maneuverability and simplicity of the aircraft made it ideal for training new pilots.21 The deployment of the JN-4’s was strictly limited to North American training bases so the JN-4 never saw combat in Europe during World War One. This makes it one of the most recognized and perhaps the most famous North American World War One aircraft. Despite the fact that it never deployed, the JN-4 is known for a few key notable firsts. In July and August of 1917, a modified

US Army JN-4’s was the first aircraft to use plane to plane and ground to plane radiotelephony.22

In 1919 with the United States occupation of Haiti, a USMC JN-4 is credited with the world’s first executed dive bombing.23 The “Jenny” would remain in service with the U.S. Army until

1927. Once the Jenny was decommissioned, the remaining “Jenny’s” were put up for auction where they were sold from two hundred to five hundred depending on the condition of the aircraft with some aircraft being sold in the original unopened Military shipping containers for as little as fifty dollars.24 The slow speed of the aircraft and the stability of the heavy airframe made the surplus jenny’s popular with stunt flying and aerobatic displays in the barnstorming era.25

The First Jn-4’s brought to Park Field were brought by the 160th Aero squadron while the rest were shipped to the facility by railcar.

20 Winchester, Biplanes, Triplanes, and Seaplanes. 21 Winchester, Biplanes, Triplanes, and Seaplanes 22 “Annual Report of the Secretary of War.” Pg 262-263 23 “Debunking Dive Bomber Myths.” 24 Winchester, Biplanes, Triplanes, and Seaplanes. Pg. 88 25 Winchester, Biplanes, Triplanes, and Seaplanes. Pg 89 Park Field had a total of four squadrons brought to train along with one squadron being formed while at Park Field. The 65th Aero squadron was brought from Kelly Field, Texas due to their being inadequate space at both of the airfields for the sudden expansion of personnel requirements in April of 1918. It was redesignated as squadron A when it arrived. The 87th Aero squadron was transferred from Selfridge Field, Michigan in December 1917 when the five northern most training fields were shut down due to weather complicating flight training. It was redesignated as squadron B. The 160th Aero Squadron was transferred from Kelly Field, Texas, also due to inadequate space at Kelly field, in December 1917. It was then redesignated as squadron C. 214th Aero Squadron was transferred to Park field in December 1917 (Origins are unknown) and was redesignated as squadron D. In August, 1918, squadron E was formed at Park

Field.26 With the end of World War One, all of the squadrons were consolidated into the flying school detachment at Park Field until July 1919, when Park Field shut down. The cadets currently in training at Park Field were allowed to finish but no new cadets were assigned to the school.27 With the end of World War One, Park Field’s time as a military aviation site was over until the navy took over in 1942. It was not the end of aviation for Park Field however.

Park Field was officially purchased by the United States government on March 23,

1920.28 With the purchase of Park Field, it was officially stationed with a small maintenance unit and the airfield began to pioneer mail routes through Tennessee and the surrounding areas. This couldn’t stop the decline of the airfield however. The airfield continued to decay until it was little more than a storage space for aircraft and their parts. On January, 1922, Park Field finally

26 Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the First World War. 27 Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the First World War. 28 Gannaway, “Warranty Deed.” closed as an airfield and was therefore abandoned.29 In 1930, new life was breathed in to when it became a transient camp for unemployed workers in the area. The resettlement administration would then take over Park Field and used it to develop model farms in 1937. They would remain in control of Park Field until the outbreak of World War Two. The Department of the Navy would bring aviation back to the Memphis area on September 15, 1942 with the commission of the Naval Reserve Aviation Base.30 Flight operations would cease in 1993 when the Aviation schools were decommissioned and sent to Naval Air Station Pensacola. The base would then be renamed Naval Support activity Mid-South. The base is still open today and currently houses the

Navy Personnel command, Navy Recruiting command, Navy Manpower Analysis center, along with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Finance center.

29 “National Archives.” 30 Frank, “Memphis Naval Air Station, Millington.”

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