Kelly Field
Kelly Field is a Joint-Use facility located in San Antonio, Texas. It was originally named after George E. M. Kelly, the first member of the U.S. military killed in the crash of an airplane he was piloting.
In 2001, pursuant to BRAC action, the former Kelly AFB runway and land west of the runway became "Kelly Field" and control of this reduced size installation was transferred to the adjacent Lackland Air Force Base, part of Joint Base San Antonio. The base is under the jurisdiction of the 802d Mission Support Group, Air Education and Training Command.
Kelly Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the United States entry into World War I, being established on 27 March 1917. It was used as a flying field; primary flying school; school for adjutants, supply officers, and engineers; mechanics school, and as an aviation general supply depot.
Kelly Air Force Base and its associated San Antonio Air Logistics Center of the Air Force Materiel Command was closed as an independent installation and its assets realigned by the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure Commission.
Current status
Kelly Field supports flight operations of two tenant commands, the Air Force Reserve Command's 433d Airlift Wing, operating the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy and the Texas Air National Guard's 149th Fighter Wing, operating the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon.The remaining 1,873 acres of land, including hangars and industrial facilities previously known as the San Antonio Air Logistics Center, is operated by the Greater Kelly Development Authority as the Port San Antonio business park. As of 2006, there are still some isolated USAF activities on Port San Antonio subordinate to Lackland, as well as a substantial tract of military family housing.
Several large warehouses on the grounds of Port San Antonio were cleared, cleaned, and equipped with large mobile air conditioning units to house evacuees from Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita in September 2005.
History
Kelly Field is named in honor of 2nd Lieutenant George Edward Maurice Kelly. Lt. Kelly, who after a course of training at the Curtiss Aviation School, Rockwell Field, California, was ordered to Fort Sam Houston, near San Antonio. While attempting to land on 10 May 1911 in order to avoid running into a tent and thereby possibly injuring several others, Kelly died in a crash, falling into the ground.Origins
In August 1913, U.S. Army Chief Signal Officer Brigadier General George P. Scriven testified before the U.S. House of Representatives concerning the establishment of a military aeronautical center in San Antonio, Texas. The center was to be built for the Aviation Section of the U.S. Army Signal Corps. General Scriven described San Antonio as “the most important strategic position of the South,” in response to the unrest resulting from the Mexican Revolution. In 1916, when Fort Sam Houston was the primary site of the Corps’ aerial equipment and personnel, The San Antonio Light predicted that the city would be “the most important military aviation center in the U.S.”In November 1915, the newly created 1st Aero Squadron arrived at Fort Sam Houston after a cross-country flight from Fort Sill, Oklahoma. However, the squadron remained at the post only until March 1916, whereupon it left to join Brigadier General John J. Pershing’s Punitive Expedition against Pancho Villa on the U.S.-Mexico border. Problems experienced by the 1st Aero Squadron on that expedition and the ongoing war in Europe persuaded Congress to improve and expand the nation's air arm.
It was quickly apparent that Fort Sam Houston had inadequate space for additional flying operations, especially with newer and more powerful aircraft. Major Benjamin Foulois, with the support of the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, selected a site five miles southwest of the city for a new aviation airfield on 21 November 1916. Bordered by the Frio City Road on the northwest, the site was also adjacent to the Southern Pacific Railroad, providing easy access by road and rail. In addition, the new site was relatively flat, and thus suitable for flying operations. Initially, the site was called the South San Antonio Aviation Camp.
World War I
On 5 April 1917, four aircraft took off from Fort Sam Houston, flew across San Antonio and landed on the new airfield, which at the time was a cleared cotton field. Tents had been erected as hangars, however, a permanent presence at the airfield was not established until 7 May when 700 men arrived. A week later, the population had grown to 4,000. Construction of the facility was rapid, with the United States now at war and the mission of the new airfield was to train aviators to be sent to the Western Front in France. The ground was cleared and scores of buildings - hangars, barracks, mess halls, a street system, electrical and plumbing systems, warehouses, machine shops were all constructed during the summer.By the end of June, it was clear that Foulois' original site, known unofficially as Kelly Field #1, was too small to train both new recruits and aviation cadets. A committee of the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce provided the necessary land and presented the proposition to the Aviation Production Board in Washington, D.C., in June 1917. A contract was signed in July 1917, comprising all of what was Kelly Field #2. Two additional tracts of land, planned to be Kelly Field #3 and #4 were released in the fall of 1917 at the suggestion of British and French aviators who were of the opinion that being so close together, would result in accidents and collisions.
Kelly soldiers organized approximately 250,000 men into "Aero Squadrons" during the hectic months of 1917 and 1918. Eventually, 326 squadrons were formed at Kelly during World War I, with all but twenty of these moving to other installations in the U.S. or overseas. The majority of Aero Squadrons were combat support squadrons. Kelly Field served as the first reception and classification center, testing thousands of recruits before assigning them to specific jobs and squadrons for training. The Air Service Mechanics School Enlisted Mechanics Training Department turned out an average of 2,000 mechanics and chauffeurs a month. Kelly also trained bakers and cooks, and the Aviation General Supply Depot moved to the field from its old location in downtown San Antonio.
Many of the American-trained World War I aviators learned to fly at Kelly field, with 1,459 pilots and 398 flying instructors graduating from the Kelly aviation schools during the course of the war.
Flight training units assigned to Kelly Field:
- 103d Aero Squadron, August 1917
- 2d Aero Squadron, November 1917
- 115th Aero Squadron, March 1918
- 117th Aero Squadron, March 1918
- 178th Aero Squadron, January 1918
- 180th Aero Squadron, December 1917
- 235th Aero Squadron, April 1918
- 243d Aero Squadron, April 1918
- 244th Aero Squadron, April 1918
- 245th Aero Squadron, April 1917
- 110th Aero Squadron, August 1917
- Flying School Detachment, November 1918-November 1919
The thousands of enlistees who came to Kelly devised numerous ways to entertain themselves during their infrequent time off. Among these organizations were a glee club, a minstrel show, and the "Famous Kelly Field Players," a club of professional vaudeville entertainers in uniform. Many clubs traveled around the South Texas area and gained fame for the morale-building shows.
Between the wars
At the end of the war, the Army Air Service, along with the rest of the Army, faced crucial reductions. Thousands of officers and enlisted men were released, leaving only 10,000 men to fly and repair the planes and engines left over from the war. Hundreds of small flying fields closed, forcing consolidation of supply and aviation repair depots. Kelly, however, was one of the few that remained open.On 13 December 1919, the United States House of Representatives passed an appropriations bill for $9.6 million for the purchase of additional land at military camps “which are to be made part of the permanent military establishment.” Kelly Field No. 2 was allocated $349,600 of this amount.
In 1921, the aviation repair depot in Dallas moved to Kelly to join with the supply depot, forming the San Antonio Intermediate Air Depot.
Brooks Field became the center for primary training and Kelly for advanced training. Each phase of instruction lasted about six months initially, with advanced training later divided into three months each of basic and advanced instruction
The 10th School Group was formed at Kelly Field #2 in 1922. There, student pilots mastered the advanced skills of pursuit, bombardment, attack, and observation. Most of the Army aviators trained between the two World Wars attended this school. Charles Lindbergh, the first man to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic, graduated from the Advanced Flying School in 1925. Other graduates included former Air Force Chiefs of Staff Generals Thomas D. White, Curtis E. LeMay, John P. McConnell, Hoyt Vandenberg, and John Dale Ryan. Major General Claire Chennault of World War II "Flying Tiger" fame taught at the school.
In 1925, Kelly Field #1 was renamed Duncan Field in honor of Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Duncan. Formerly stationed at Kelly Field, Duncan died in an airplane accident at Bolling Field in Washington, D.C.. Kelly Field #2 became simply, Kelly Field. Both fields conducted their training, maintenance, command, and supply functions separately for the next 18 years.
Low pay and worn-out planes and equipment did not halt the small band of mechanics and fliers from proving their professional dedication. Army personnel pushed forward the frontiers of aeronautics in the 1920s. The aircraft used for Jimmy Doolittle's 1922 transcontinental flight received preflight servicing at Kelly #1. Kelly #2 was Doolittle's sole refueling stop during the flight itself. In 1926, Kelly was the starting point of the Pan American Goodwill Flight. Their air excursion was a 175-day adventure to "show the flag", with five planes and 10 pilots landing at 23 Central and South American countries. Captain Ira C. Eaker, Commander of the 8th Air Force during World War II and a Kelly graduate, was one of the pilots of that enterprise.
Much of the pioneering work of Major William Ocker and Captain Charles Crane in the field of instrument flying took place at Kelly. Their efforts resulted in the development of the first "blind flying" curriculum at the Advanced Flying School and won Crane the Mackay Trophy.
Public enthusiasm for "those daring young men in their flying machines" encouraged Army pilots to display their skill in an effort to gain public acceptance of the airplane as an ever-capable instrument for American's expanding society. Air circuses and balloon races were exciting events in the Roaring Twenties, and the pilots at Kelly were happy to provide the thrills and air spectacles the public loved. Kelly hosted the National Elimination Balloon Race in 1924 and welcomed thousands of San Antonians to see the lift-off, aerial demonstrations, and other exploits of "derring-do."
But perhaps no event matched the production of the Hollywood film Wings in 1926. Kelly hoped to make motion picture history by providing pilots, aircraft, extras, and technicians to assist in the filming of this World War I epic. Clara Bow, Buddy Rogers, and Richard Arlen starred in this silent movie classic which was filmed in and around San Antonio. A young newcomer, Gary Cooper, had a bit part in the film. Wings received the first Academy Award for "Best Production of the Year" for 1927–1928, the first silent film ever to win this honor.
In 1927 basic moved out of the advanced phase and combined with primary. At that point, primary-basic changed to eight months in length and advanced to four months. In June 1927 General Lahm suggested the construction of a single large field outside of the city to house all flying training. Congress funded the new field's construction but not the purchase of the land, so the city of San Antonio borrowed the $546,000 needed to purchase the site selected for what became Randolph Field. By the fall of 1931, construction was essentially completed, so the Air Corps Training Center at Duncan Field, adjacent to Kelly, and the primary schools at Brooks and March moved to the new installation, while advanced training remained at Kelly.
Suffering from a chronic lack of funds, the Air Corps' struggle for better aircraft continued until the 1938 crisis over Czechoslovakia. Adolf Hitler and the Luftwaffe demonstrated that air power had become an important factor in international relations. President Franklin D. Roosevelt recognized the significance of the Luftwaffe's role and took the first steps toward United States rearmament.
In 1939, Congress authorized $300 million for the Air Corps. Hundreds of new planes, officers, and enlisted men made their way to Kelly. Besides money for new equipment and more personnel, funds became available for construction of sorely needed barracks, offices, classrooms, and warehouses. Many of the facilities built during this period remain in use today. The present Officer's Club and the Air Logistics Center headquarters building were constructed to meet the increased demand for facilities during this period of expansion.
In the summer of 1942 Duncan Field and Kelly Field merged to form Kelly Field, due to the congested flying conditions caused by the four flying fields in close proximity had reached dangerous levels.
Other facilities built during the construction boom included the unique Miniature Range building, then used for aerial observation training, and the "Palace", a huge complex of enlisted quarters, dining halls and offices. Originally called "Buckingham Palace", the building received its nickname because it was so much more "palatial" than the tents and crude wooden barracks the men had been living in.