Coffeyville Army Airfield
Encyclopedia
Coffeyville Army Airfield was a World War II
training base of the United States Army Air Forces
Central Flying Training Command
(CFTC). It is currently the city-owned Coffeyville Municipal Airport
.
The base was eagerly sought after by the town's community leaders. Many businessmen donated time and part of their expenses to get the base approved. Their efforts started in late 1941, with several visits by key city officials in Washington to talk with different agencies of the War Department. By Thanksgiving 1941, the Chamber of Commerce and the Airport Committee, received a commitment from the War Department for a site engineer to consider Coffeyville.
The decision was made to build the base on May 8, 1942. Construction began on June 10, 1942. It had really started before when the county began to improve the road network around the new base to handle the increased truck traffic hauling construction material to the site. The weather didn't cooperate, as the latter part of 1942 was very wet, slowing construction; however, most of the construction was accomplished over the next eight months.
When finished, Coffeyville Army Air field had four runways, each 150 feet wide. The shortest was 5,872 feet. Most of the buildings were Theater of Operations construction while some were of the Mobilization type. The Mobilization type buildings included the station hospital, theater, chapel, and Link training buildings. There were three hangars with a parking apron a mile long and 450 feet wide were constructed. Where before there had been only open farm land, this new city now contained 212 buildings, a water storage and distribution system, sewage system and treatment plant, electric transmission lines, a railway spur, and all the other things one could expect to find in a town of 5000 people. Its effect upon the city of Coffeyville was dramatic.
The base was named the "Army Air Forces Basic Flying School. Coffeyville Kansas" in June 1942. It was the first of its type to be established in Kansas and would graduate the state's first class of cadets. In addition to the main base and airfield, there four auxiliary fields were also constructed for emergency and training use in the area along with the use of Coffeyville Municipal Airport
It was normal for a new base, built under extreme time pressure, to have start up problems. Coffeyville was no exception. There was no running water, and no roads. Coffeyville AAF wasn't ready for personnel. The base housing facilities were not ready. Some men were living under a baseball stadium at Forest Park, a recreation area in the city of Coffeyville. Meals were also served there for a time before the base mess hall opened.
The first large number of base support personnel, about 600 men, came to the field by train, arriving on September 18. The sewage system was not completed, and the water wasn't fit to drink because the pipes had not been cleaned. All drinking and cooking water had to be hauled from the city of Coffeyville in a street sprinkler. The electricity had been turned on and off intermittently during September, and came back on in the mess hall around 6 PM just as the troop train was backing into the siding. Due to a problem with the natural gas service, the first meal served at the base was barbecued wieners, instead of the originally planned roast beef. Dinner was about half finished when a cloudburst started. From then until January, the place was a sea of mud.
Lots of jobs needed to be finished before the cadets arrived. At the time, there was no water tower, so for fire protection, a fire truck was rented from the city of Coffeyville, and crewed by a driver and firefighter hired from the city. The post refrigeration units were not complete, meats and other perishables were stored in the Coffeyville Ice and Cold Storage company until facilities at the field were ready. Runways were not completed, nor were any of the maintenance buildings or shops in the sub-depot area. Most of the major construction would not be completed until January 1943.
Additionally, much remained to be built, i.e., taxiways, fencing, a crash station, a cadet operations building, some streets, and a civilian mess hall, etc. The fourth runway was started in July, later in August, the rebuilding of the original runways with concrete began.
This was about six months from the start of construction, and as was typical with most of the training bases, training began while the field was being completed. Training started on November 14. While in basic flying school the student pilot learned to fly a more advanced aircraft than he soloed in primary flight training. At the time, Basic was a 10-week course consisting of 70 hours flying, 94 hours in ground school, and 47 hours in military training. At the end of the basic training, the student moved on to advanced flight training at another base
The trainer used at Coffeyville was the Consolidated¬Vultee BT-13 Valiant. Coffeyville received its first BT-13s on November 8, just eight days before the start of flight training. Since construction of the maintenance hangars was still in progress, maintenance was done outside on the parking ramp. To make matters more interesting, the sub-depot supply warehouses weren't finished, so parts were kept, and the sub depot operated in the City of Coffeyville at the Ford dealership. At first, maintenance personnel had to make their own desks, tables, and work benches. Important maintenance equipment and aircraft parts were not available, so occasionally aircraft were cannibalized to keep the remainder flying. Maintenance went on day and night. Like flight training, maintenance procedures and organization were consistently reviewed and improved. Eventually, a base mechanics school was established. This along with the other improvements, led to about 96 percent of all aircraft being available for training by June 1943.
Early, only broad course objectives, requirements, and directives were received from higher headquarters. As time went by, these directives became more specific. As a result, the flight training program at Coffeyville continually changed. Additionally, training was hindered by lack of equipment, facilities, and trained personnel. Instrument training provides a good example of the continual evolution of training at Coffeyville At first, all instructors gave their students the appropriate instrument training. Later, this phase of training was delegated to a few instructors who specialized in this phase of the cadets training. During the winter of 1943 and 1944, all instructors took additional training and became qualified to teach instrument flying. So, the centralized training for instruments was stopped. Many felt this was a positive move, because the student could stay with the same instructor throughout his training at Coffeyville Later as directives became more specific, some instructors would complain about the lack of flexibility. Students were now required to spend a specific amount of time on specified maneuvers. To help with instrument training fifteen Link Trainers were put into operation in mid-December 1942 with Class 43-C. The course of instruction was 15 hours. One problem with the Link instructors was, they were trained at twelve different fields and so taught the course twelve different ways. Additionally, supplies were hard to get, and the training buildings were not suited for the task. A new building was built specifically for Link Training. By March 1944, there were thirty-four link trainers.
For a time, there were six training squadrons at the field, eventually this settled down to three, they were the 822nd, 823rd, and the 825th. Sometimes it was necessary to schedule Sunday flying when inclement weather prevented flying during the week. Normal flying periods were one hour, except cross-country flights. Usually cross-country flights took place between Coffeyville and Claremore, Oklahoma, and Neosho, Joplin, and Nevada, Missouri. Others were flown between Coffeyville, Chanute, and Fort Scott, Kansas.
Flight training consisted of several subjects that included, takeoffs and landings, aerobatics, cross-country navigation, and night flying. Ground school involved navigation, meteorology, radio communications, and aircraft recognition. Normally ground school was given between flying lessons. Sometimes it was done in the very early AM or after the evening meal.
Typically the day would start with Reveille at 6:15 AM, followed by breakfast at 6:30. Flying would begin at 7:45 AM. If a student was not scheduled to fly he would be in ground school, drill, or involved in required athletics. By March 1943, the field had three control towers with three radio frequencies to help control student flights.
Life was not all work for the cadets. The first USO dance for enlisted men was held on March 4, 1943. The first formal social function for the cadets was a dance at Memorial Hall in Coffeyville. Also, a cadet club was opened in Coffeyville on West Eighth Street. A wives club was formed and involved itself in many projects, the most important being welfare and Red Cross activities. This included helping the wives settle among strange surroundings, visiting cadets in the hospital, and decorating the cadet recreational buildings. The club met weekly and published a small mimeographed paper. The city of Coffeyville allowed the cadets to use the high school swimming pool, and reserved it for their use during part of the day. In addition, there were USO shows from time to time, and dances attended by invited guests from Coffeyville and surrounding communities. The bowling alley was opened in May 1943 and had six lanes. The field had its own radio show that was arranged and written by the special service staff. Sometimes it broadcasted from Coffeyville on station KGGF. Golf was also available at reduced rates at Coffeyville's Hillcrest Country Club. The post had a gymnasium and several athletic fields for softball, football, and volleyball. No base was complete without its obstacle course and Coffeyville was no exception.
The last basic training class, 44-G, held their graduation dance in Coffeyville's Memorial Auditorium on May 20, 1944. At this point in the war, there was no longer the need for the vast numbers of new pilots being produced by the many training fields, so Coffeyille received notice to close down, however, the base remained open when it was transferred from the Central Flying Command to the Third Air Force.
The base closed gradually. Some buildings were sold and moved into town as temporary housing, one even found use as a bar. Excess supplies were hauled off to other bases, with the excess aviation gas going down the road to the nearby Independence Army Air Field, at Independence, Kansas.
The field was transferred to Tactical Air Command on March 21, 1946, and later to the U.S. District Engineers. Finally on July 21, 1947 the War Assets Administration made a formal presentation of the deed to the City of Coffeyville.
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...
training base of the United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
Central Flying Training Command
Central Flying Training Command
Flying Division, Air Training Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was assigned to the Air Training Command, stationed at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas...
(CFTC). It is currently the city-owned Coffeyville Municipal Airport
Coffeyville Municipal Airport
Coffeyville Municipal Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located four miles northeast of the central business district of Coffeyville, a city in Montgomery County, Kansas, United States.-History:...
.
History
Early in 1942, the War Department decided to build a basic training field outside the town of Coffeyville, Kansas, one of eleven Air Force bases the state would have before the end of World War II.The base was eagerly sought after by the town's community leaders. Many businessmen donated time and part of their expenses to get the base approved. Their efforts started in late 1941, with several visits by key city officials in Washington to talk with different agencies of the War Department. By Thanksgiving 1941, the Chamber of Commerce and the Airport Committee, received a commitment from the War Department for a site engineer to consider Coffeyville.
The decision was made to build the base on May 8, 1942. Construction began on June 10, 1942. It had really started before when the county began to improve the road network around the new base to handle the increased truck traffic hauling construction material to the site. The weather didn't cooperate, as the latter part of 1942 was very wet, slowing construction; however, most of the construction was accomplished over the next eight months.
When finished, Coffeyville Army Air field had four runways, each 150 feet wide. The shortest was 5,872 feet. Most of the buildings were Theater of Operations construction while some were of the Mobilization type. The Mobilization type buildings included the station hospital, theater, chapel, and Link training buildings. There were three hangars with a parking apron a mile long and 450 feet wide were constructed. Where before there had been only open farm land, this new city now contained 212 buildings, a water storage and distribution system, sewage system and treatment plant, electric transmission lines, a railway spur, and all the other things one could expect to find in a town of 5000 people. Its effect upon the city of Coffeyville was dramatic.
The base was named the "Army Air Forces Basic Flying School. Coffeyville Kansas" in June 1942. It was the first of its type to be established in Kansas and would graduate the state's first class of cadets. In addition to the main base and airfield, there four auxiliary fields were also constructed for emergency and training use in the area along with the use of Coffeyville Municipal Airport
- Angola Army Auxiliary Airfield #1 37°01′54"N 095°30′00"W
- Edna Army Auxiliary Airfield #2 37°04′34"N 095°19′12"W
- Edna Army Auxiliary Airfield #3 37°07′38"N 095°20′53"W
- Mound Valley Auxiliary Airfield #4 37°11′19"N 095°27′28"W
- Coffeyville Municipal Airport 37°04′00"N 095°38′30"W
It was normal for a new base, built under extreme time pressure, to have start up problems. Coffeyville was no exception. There was no running water, and no roads. Coffeyville AAF wasn't ready for personnel. The base housing facilities were not ready. Some men were living under a baseball stadium at Forest Park, a recreation area in the city of Coffeyville. Meals were also served there for a time before the base mess hall opened.
The first large number of base support personnel, about 600 men, came to the field by train, arriving on September 18. The sewage system was not completed, and the water wasn't fit to drink because the pipes had not been cleaned. All drinking and cooking water had to be hauled from the city of Coffeyville in a street sprinkler. The electricity had been turned on and off intermittently during September, and came back on in the mess hall around 6 PM just as the troop train was backing into the siding. Due to a problem with the natural gas service, the first meal served at the base was barbecued wieners, instead of the originally planned roast beef. Dinner was about half finished when a cloudburst started. From then until January, the place was a sea of mud.
Lots of jobs needed to be finished before the cadets arrived. At the time, there was no water tower, so for fire protection, a fire truck was rented from the city of Coffeyville, and crewed by a driver and firefighter hired from the city. The post refrigeration units were not complete, meats and other perishables were stored in the Coffeyville Ice and Cold Storage company until facilities at the field were ready. Runways were not completed, nor were any of the maintenance buildings or shops in the sub-depot area. Most of the major construction would not be completed until January 1943.
Additionally, much remained to be built, i.e., taxiways, fencing, a crash station, a cadet operations building, some streets, and a civilian mess hall, etc. The fourth runway was started in July, later in August, the rebuilding of the original runways with concrete began.
Basic Flying School
Coffeyville Army Airfield was officially activated on 11 November 1942, and the first group of flying cadets arrived. This was class 43-C with 137 members from primary flying schools at Muskogee, and Tulsa, Oklahoma.This was about six months from the start of construction, and as was typical with most of the training bases, training began while the field was being completed. Training started on November 14. While in basic flying school the student pilot learned to fly a more advanced aircraft than he soloed in primary flight training. At the time, Basic was a 10-week course consisting of 70 hours flying, 94 hours in ground school, and 47 hours in military training. At the end of the basic training, the student moved on to advanced flight training at another base
The trainer used at Coffeyville was the Consolidated¬Vultee BT-13 Valiant. Coffeyville received its first BT-13s on November 8, just eight days before the start of flight training. Since construction of the maintenance hangars was still in progress, maintenance was done outside on the parking ramp. To make matters more interesting, the sub-depot supply warehouses weren't finished, so parts were kept, and the sub depot operated in the City of Coffeyville at the Ford dealership. At first, maintenance personnel had to make their own desks, tables, and work benches. Important maintenance equipment and aircraft parts were not available, so occasionally aircraft were cannibalized to keep the remainder flying. Maintenance went on day and night. Like flight training, maintenance procedures and organization were consistently reviewed and improved. Eventually, a base mechanics school was established. This along with the other improvements, led to about 96 percent of all aircraft being available for training by June 1943.
Early, only broad course objectives, requirements, and directives were received from higher headquarters. As time went by, these directives became more specific. As a result, the flight training program at Coffeyville continually changed. Additionally, training was hindered by lack of equipment, facilities, and trained personnel. Instrument training provides a good example of the continual evolution of training at Coffeyville At first, all instructors gave their students the appropriate instrument training. Later, this phase of training was delegated to a few instructors who specialized in this phase of the cadets training. During the winter of 1943 and 1944, all instructors took additional training and became qualified to teach instrument flying. So, the centralized training for instruments was stopped. Many felt this was a positive move, because the student could stay with the same instructor throughout his training at Coffeyville Later as directives became more specific, some instructors would complain about the lack of flexibility. Students were now required to spend a specific amount of time on specified maneuvers. To help with instrument training fifteen Link Trainers were put into operation in mid-December 1942 with Class 43-C. The course of instruction was 15 hours. One problem with the Link instructors was, they were trained at twelve different fields and so taught the course twelve different ways. Additionally, supplies were hard to get, and the training buildings were not suited for the task. A new building was built specifically for Link Training. By March 1944, there were thirty-four link trainers.
For a time, there were six training squadrons at the field, eventually this settled down to three, they were the 822nd, 823rd, and the 825th. Sometimes it was necessary to schedule Sunday flying when inclement weather prevented flying during the week. Normal flying periods were one hour, except cross-country flights. Usually cross-country flights took place between Coffeyville and Claremore, Oklahoma, and Neosho, Joplin, and Nevada, Missouri. Others were flown between Coffeyville, Chanute, and Fort Scott, Kansas.
Flight training consisted of several subjects that included, takeoffs and landings, aerobatics, cross-country navigation, and night flying. Ground school involved navigation, meteorology, radio communications, and aircraft recognition. Normally ground school was given between flying lessons. Sometimes it was done in the very early AM or after the evening meal.
Typically the day would start with Reveille at 6:15 AM, followed by breakfast at 6:30. Flying would begin at 7:45 AM. If a student was not scheduled to fly he would be in ground school, drill, or involved in required athletics. By March 1943, the field had three control towers with three radio frequencies to help control student flights.
Life was not all work for the cadets. The first USO dance for enlisted men was held on March 4, 1943. The first formal social function for the cadets was a dance at Memorial Hall in Coffeyville. Also, a cadet club was opened in Coffeyville on West Eighth Street. A wives club was formed and involved itself in many projects, the most important being welfare and Red Cross activities. This included helping the wives settle among strange surroundings, visiting cadets in the hospital, and decorating the cadet recreational buildings. The club met weekly and published a small mimeographed paper. The city of Coffeyville allowed the cadets to use the high school swimming pool, and reserved it for their use during part of the day. In addition, there were USO shows from time to time, and dances attended by invited guests from Coffeyville and surrounding communities. The bowling alley was opened in May 1943 and had six lanes. The field had its own radio show that was arranged and written by the special service staff. Sometimes it broadcasted from Coffeyville on station KGGF. Golf was also available at reduced rates at Coffeyville's Hillcrest Country Club. The post had a gymnasium and several athletic fields for softball, football, and volleyball. No base was complete without its obstacle course and Coffeyville was no exception.
The last basic training class, 44-G, held their graduation dance in Coffeyville's Memorial Auditorium on May 20, 1944. At this point in the war, there was no longer the need for the vast numbers of new pilots being produced by the many training fields, so Coffeyille received notice to close down, however, the base remained open when it was transferred from the Central Flying Command to the Third Air Force.
Third Air Force
The field's new mission was to train photo reconnaissance pilots. The trainer would be the F-5, an unarmed photo recon version of the P-38. Also, some F-10s were used. This was the photo-recon version of the B-25. During the field's first full year of training, June 1944 to June 1945, approximately 460 pilots were trained. This training continued through the end of the war, however the pace slowed.Inactivation
Finally on Tuesday morning, October 2, 1945, a telegram arrived from the War Department that said, You are authorized to announce the temporary inactivation of Coffeyville Army Air Field, Coffeyville, Kansas on or about 1 October. All training stopped. The only exception was the completion of training for several Chinese students.The base closed gradually. Some buildings were sold and moved into town as temporary housing, one even found use as a bar. Excess supplies were hauled off to other bases, with the excess aviation gas going down the road to the nearby Independence Army Air Field, at Independence, Kansas.
The field was transferred to Tactical Air Command on March 21, 1946, and later to the U.S. District Engineers. Finally on July 21, 1947 the War Assets Administration made a formal presentation of the deed to the City of Coffeyville.