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Arnold Field (Tennessee)
Encyclopedia
- For the World War II use of the airport, see Dyersburg Army Air BaseDyersburg Army Air BaseDyersburg Army Air Base is an inactive United States Air Force base, approximately 2 miles north of Halls, Tennessee. It was active during World War II as a training airfield. It was closed on 30 November 1945...
Arnold Field is a municipal public-use airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
located two miles (3 km) northwest of the central business district
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
of Halls
Halls, Tennessee
Halls is a town in Lauderdale County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,311 at the 2000 census.The town was founded in 1882. It is named after Hansford R. Hall, one of the founders...
, a town in Lauderdale County, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The airport is named for a former Mayor, Sammie Arnold
The airport is operated on the grounds of the former Dyersburg Army Air Base. In the 1940s the Dyersburg
Dyersburg, Tennessee
Dyersburg is a city in and the county seat of Dyer County, Tennessee, United States, north-northeast of Memphis on the Forked Deer River. The population was 17,145 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Dyersburg is located at...
Army Air Base was a training facility for World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
B-17 Flying Fortress bomber pilots and crews.
In 2007, Arnold Field is home to 15 general purpose aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
and the Veterans' Museum.
Facilities and aircraft
Arnold Field covers an area of 29 acres (11.7 ha) which contains one concreteConcrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
paved runway
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...
(18/36) measuring 4,700 x 75 ft (1,433 x 23 m). For the 12-month period ending December 3, 1996, the airport had 7,290 aircraft operations, an average of 19 per day: 99% general aviation
General aviation
General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
and 1% military
Military aviation
Military aviation is the use of aircraft and other flying machines for the purposes of conducting or enabling warfare, including national airlift capacity to provide logistical supply to forces stationed in a theater or along a front. Air power includes the national means of conducting such...
.
Veterans' Museum
Foundation and purpose
The Veterans' Museum, located on the site of the former air base, was built in 1997. It is owned and operated by The Dyersburg Army Air Base Memorial Association, a non-profit organizationNon-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
.
The purpose of the museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
is the preservation
Preservation (library and archival science)
Preservation is a branch of library and information science concerned with maintaining or restoring access to artifacts, documents and records through the study, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of decay and damage....
and documentation
Documentation
Documentation is a term used in several different ways. Generally, documentation refers to the process of providing evidence.Modules of Documentation are Helpful...
of materials related to military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
activities from World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
to the Iraq war, as well as documenting the history of the air base itself.
RV parking is available at no charge and admittance
Admittance
In electrical engineering, the admittance is a measure of how easily a circuit or device will allow a current to flow. It is defined as the inverse of the impedance . The SI unit of admittance is the siemens...
to the museum is free. Electrical hookup is $10 per day.
Exhibits
The exhibitsCollection (museum)
A museum is distinguished by a collection of often unique objects that forms the core of its activities for exhibitions, education, research, etc. This differentiates it from an archive or library, where the contents may be more paper-based, replaceable and less exhibition oriented...
of the Veterans' Museum stem from donations by organizations and individuals.
Outside exhibits of the museum are a A-7 Corsair II
A-7 Corsair II
The Ling-Temco-Vought A-7 Corsair II is a carrier-based subsonic light attack aircraft introduced to replace the United States Navy's Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, initially entering service during the Vietnam War...
and military vehicles.
The 8,900 ft2 (827 m2) indoor exhibition displays items ranging from military vehicle
Vehicle
A vehicle is a device that is designed or used to transport people or cargo. Most often vehicles are manufactured, such as bicycles, cars, motorcycles, trains, ships, boats, and aircraft....
displays and uniforms to photographs, personal and official letters, diaries
Diaries
As a proper noun, Diaries, the plural of diary, can refer to:*Diaries: 1971-1976, an 1981 documentary by Ed Pincus*Diaries 1969–1979: The Python Years, a 2006 book by Michael Palin...
, technical publications, divisional histories, videos
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and other military memorabilia.
Murals painted by Ernie Berke and photographs of 72 crews are also displayed.
Special exhibits:
- World War I - A complete uniform and field gear of local resident C.C Sumrow is from the collection of Tommy Simmons.
- Memphis Belle Exhibit - The exhibit tells the story of the Memphis BelleMemphis Belle (B-17)Memphis Belle is the nickname of a Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress during the Second World War that inspired the making of two motion pictures: a 1944 documentary film, Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress, and a 1990 Hollywood feature film, Memphis Belle...
, its crew, postwar history of the Belle, and a look at the Altus Crew who flew it to Memphis, TennesseeMemphis, TennesseeMemphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
in 1946.
- Home Front Exhibit - Pictures and uniforms of area veterans who served are on display. Also included in this exhibit are pictures of weddings where local ladies married soldiers in training at the Base.
- At Home Exhibit - A living roomLiving roomA living room, also known as sitting room, lounge room or lounge , is a room for entertaining adult guests, reading, or other activities...
looking like "at home" during the 1940s is shown. From the radioRadioRadio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and the coalCoalCoal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
stoveStoveA stove is an enclosed heated space. The term is commonly taken to mean an enclosed space in which fuel is burned to provide heating, either to heat the space in which the stove is situated or to heat the stove itself, and items placed on it...
, to the buffetBuffetA buffet is a system of serving meals in which food is placed in a public area where the diners generally serve themselves. Buffets are offered at various places including hotels and many social events...
and other items, it provides a real look at ruralRuralRural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
homes.
Air shows
In irregular intervals, the museum organizes and houses air showAir show
An air show is an event at which aviators display their flying skills and the capabilities of their aircraft to spectators in aerobatics. Air shows without aerobatic displays, having only aircraft displayed parked on the ground, are called "static air shows"....
s on Arnold Field.