Dyersburg Army Air Base
Encyclopedia
- For the civilian airport use, see Arnold Field (Tennessee)Arnold Field (Tennessee)Arnold Field is a municipal public-use airport located two miles northwest of the central business district of Halls, a town in Lauderdale County, Tennessee, United States. The airport is named for a former Mayor, Sammie Arnold...
Dyersburg Army Air Base is an inactive United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
base, approximately 2 miles north of Halls, Tennessee
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...
. It was active during 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...
as a training airfield. It was closed on 30 November 1945
Dyersburg AAB was the largest combat aircrew training school built during the early war years. It was the only inland B-17 Flying Fortress training base east of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. The base was located on 2541 acres (10.3 km²), not including the practice range. Approximately 7,700 crew men received their last phase training at DAAB. 114 crew men lost their lives.
Origins
The Dyersburg Army Air Base (DAAB), promoted by Congressman Jere Cooper and solicited by local officials of DyersburgDyersburg, 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...
in 1941, was actually located near the edge of Halls, Tennessee
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...
since an Army study indicated that the Lauderdale County site was better suited for the base.
The origins of Dyersburg Army Air Base begin in early 1942 when the War Department because interested in building an air base in the Halls, Tennessee area. Tennessee congressmen encouraged the Air Corps, and an article in the local newspaper at the end of March noted the visits by Army survey teams to the area. Further reports by the paper were noted throughout the spring of 1942 and on 13 April, the first offers for land purchaces were opened and office space for Army officials was leased in Halls for engineering space. Approximately 2,400 acres of land was leased by the War Department and turned over to the Air Corps at the present Arnold Field, this included the relocation of over 70 families from their traditional homesteads. Grading of the land began in late May.Fulbright, Jim, "The Aviation History of Tennessee", Bicentennial Production of the 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...
Department of Transportation, Aeronautics Division, page 80
Dyersburg Army Air Base officially became active with the activation of the 910th Quartermaster Company Aviation (Service), on 26 August 1942, however the base was far from ready for operational service. Other early units assigned with the 908th Guard Squadron on 19 October and the 373d Sub-depot on 1 October.
Construction of the base began in earnest in September when runway construction began, as well as the building of a large support base with barracks, various administrative buildings, maintenance shops and hangars. The station facility consisted of a large number of buildings based on standardized plans and architectural drawings, with the buildings designed to be the "cheapest, temporary character with structural stability only sufficient to meet the needs of the service which the structure is intended to fulfill during the period of its contemplated war use" was underway. To conserve critical materials, most facilities were constructed of wood, concrete, brick, gypsum board and concrete asbestos. Metal was sparsely used. The station was designed to be nearly self-sufficient, with not only hangars, but barracks, warehouses, hospitals, dental clinics, dining halls, and maintenance shops were needed. There were libraries, social clubs for officers, and enlisted men, and stores to buy living necessities.
Three long 6,167' runways were constructed in a triangle configuration, oriented N/S, NE/SW and SW/NE. An extra-large parking ramp was constructed for the four-engine bombers along with numerous taxiways and navigational aids. Construction continued through the fall and winter of 1942 and 1943, and by the summer of 1943 the station consisted of over 300 buildings of various configurations and uses. In effect, a city was built on what was a year earlier cotton fields.
Although barracks
Barracks
Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
were moved from other sites and many built for the soldiers, very little housing was available for families. Citizens in Brownsville
Brownsville, Tennessee
Brownsville is a city in Haywood County, Tennessee, United States. It is the county seat of Haywood County. The city is named after Jacob Jennings Brown, an officer who served during The War of 1812.-Geography:...
, Ripley
Ripley, Tennessee
Ripley is a city in Lauderdale County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 7,844 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Lauderdale County...
, 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...
and 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...
made room for the influx of wives, mothers
Mothers
Mothers was a club in Erdington, near Birmingham, England during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Mothers opened above an old furniture store in Erdington High Street on August 9, 1968. The club, run by John 'Spud' Taylor and promoter Phil Myatt, closed its doors on 3 January 1971...
and children who wanted to spend a short time with their soldiers before they went to combat. Attics, garages
Garage (house)
A residential garage is part of a home, or an associated building, designed or used for storing a vehicle or vehicles. In some places the term is used synonymously with "carport", though that term normally describes a structure that is not completely enclosed.- British residential garages:Those...
, and closets were transformed into sleeping areas. Vice-President Harry Truman visited the base during the war as did country singer Roy Acuff
Roy Acuff
Roy Claxton Acuff was an American country music singer, fiddler, and promoter. Known as the King of Country Music, Acuff is often credited with moving the genre from its early string band and "hoedown" format to the star singer-based format that helped make it internationally successful.Acuff...
and Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
Jim McCord.
Heavy Bomber Training
Dysersburg AAB was placed under the Army Air Forces II Bomber CommandII Bomber Command
The II Bomber Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to Second Air Force, based at Fort George Wright, Washington. It was inactivated on 6 October 1943....
on 1 February 1943, and the 346th Bombardment Group
346th Bombardment Group
The 346th Bombardment Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 316th Bombardment Wing, being stationed at Kadena Airfield, Okinawa. It was inactivated on 30 June 1946....
was assigned to the field on 26 February with four training squadrons. The 502d and 505th Bombardment squadrons provided B-24 Liberator
B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
training, while the 503d and 504th Bombardment squadrons provided B-17 Flying Fortress combat crew training.
Training conducted at the field were second and third phases of combat crew training. These phases of training were designed to train flight crew members of the heavy bombers to blend their individual skills together into a team. Second phase training was focused on bombing, gunnery and flying the aircraft under instrument flight conditions. These training missions were flown with full crews. Third phase training emphasized squadron and group operations, especially with formation flying in the combat "box" which was developed by Eighth Air Force to maximize the firepower of the bomber aircraft while also maximizing its defenses against attacking enemy fighters. Also long distance navigation, target identification was taught along with mock combat runs over targets.
Ground synthetic training devices, such as the Celestial Navigation Tower were also used. This device simulated flying conditions in any weather, day or night and taught instrument flying, radio navigation and also flying by stars at night. Another training device was called the "ditching pond" which taught heavy bomber pilots how to perform controlled water landings.
To help acclimate the combat crews soon to be deployed to Eighth Air Force, some streets and buildings on the base were renamed with English names of bases in the United Kingdom. Dyersburg AAF was unofficially called "Peterborough Airdrome" after a simulated station in England.
In June 1943, the 451st Bombardment Group arrived at Dyersburg, the only operational group to be trained as a unit at the base. It's 724th, 725th, 726th and 727th Bombardment Squadrons underwent second and third phase training with the group's B-17s at the base separately from the 346th, with B-24 Liberators before leaving for Wendover Field, Utah in July before deploying to Twelfth Air Force in North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
during November.
On 1 May 1944, the 346th Bombardment Group was inactivated as part of an overall reorganization of training. Dyersburg assumed responsibility for all three phases of heavy bomber training, phase one training added night flying and long distance flying training for navigators. Bombadier training and gunnery training was also added. The 346th was re-designated the 223d Combat Crew Training School, Army Air Field, Dyersburg, Tennessee. The four training squadrons were redesignated as squadron "A", "B", "C" and "D". In December 1944, P-63 Kingcobra
P-63 Kingcobra
The Bell P-63 Kingcobra was a United States fighter aircraft developed in World War II from the Bell P-39 Airacobra in an attempt to correct that aircraft's deficiencies...
fighters were assigned to the school to help train flexible gunners in fighter defense.
1 March 1945 saw the transfer of Dyersburg AAB jurisdiction from Second Air Force to Third Air Force
Third Air Force
The Third Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe . It is headquartered at Ramstein Air Base, Germany....
, as the mission of Second Air Force became the training of B-29 Superfortress
B-29 Superfortress
The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
crews and replacement personnel. The 223d CCTS was re designated to the 330th. There was also a decline in the training hours from three 5 hour periods each day to two, six days a week. Third Air Force, whose primary focus was fighter pilot training, also assigned additional fighter aircraft types to the filed, including P-40 Warhawks and later, with P-51 Mustang
P-51 Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and in several other conflicts...
s. Several different types of fighters, with different flying uncharacteristics increased the reality of training for student gunners.
Closure
With the end of the war in Europe in May 1945, Dyersburg AAB was out of a job. The B-29 Superfortress was the strategic bomber used in the Pacific, and replacement heavy bomber crews were no longer needed. Those B-24 Liberator squadrons still operating in IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Burma, along with the B-24s used by Fifth
Fifth Air Force
The Fifth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan....
and Seventh Air Force
Seventh Air Force
The Seventh Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea....
s in the Pacific could be supported by a limited number of trainees at Dyersburg (Note: B-17s were withdrawn from the Pacific in 1943 to support the European Theater, and never used to any great degree in the CBI). Training was drastically curtailed, and was completely stopped by the end of August with the Japanese surrender.
To quote Lt. Colonel Robert Little (Ret.), "Our job was to give about one hundred more hours of flying — we would give them instrument flying, a lot of take offs and landings, some formations, and a little bit of navigation
Navigation
Navigation is the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another. It is also the term of art used for the specialized knowledge used by navigators to perform navigation tasks...
— to men coming from camps like Roswell, New Mexico
Roswell, New Mexico
Roswell is a city in and the county seat of Chaves County in the southeastern quarter of the state of New Mexico, United States. The population was 48,366 at the 2010 census. It is a center for irrigation farming, dairying, ranching, manufacturing, distribution, and petroleum production. It is also...
, and a transition school for B-17s."Toplovich, Ann, "The Tennessean's War: Life on the Home Front", Tennessee Historical Quarterly, Spring 1992, page 23
On 1 September 1945 Dyersburg AAF was placed on standby status by Third Air Force. Despite a flurry of activity by Congressmen representing Tennessee, the facility was closing, as most temporary training airfields in the United States were. Demobilization was the word of the day.
In 1946, with 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...
over, the DAAB was deactivated, and the base was hastily dismantled, land was sold, and barracks and guard shacks were moved to private property
Private property
Private property is the right of persons and firms to obtain, own, control, employ, dispose of, and bequeath land, capital, and other forms of property. Private property is distinguishable from public property, which refers to assets owned by a state, community or government rather than by...
. The former morgue
Morgue
A morgue or mortuary is used for the storage of human corpses awaiting identification, or removal for autopsy or disposal by burial, cremation or otherwise...
was moved and became a two bedroom residence later occupied by a mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Halls. The Army left as quickly as it arrived.
Dyersburg today
When the base closed it was converted to civilian uses. The airfield became "Arnold Field Airport", and over the years, the hundreds of buildings of the support station located to the southwest of the airfield were sold, removed or torn down. Today, the only evidence of the containment area are a Norden bombsight storageWarehouse
A warehouse is a commercial building for storage of goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial areas of cities and towns. They usually have loading docks to load and unload...
building, tall chimneys where the theatre and other sites were located, and the large aircraft parking 95 acre (0.3844517 km²) apron. Forlorn of aircraft, the apron now had hundreds of over the road trailers and an open storage yard with a few buildings erected on the concrete. one wartime hangar
Hangar
A hangar is a closed structure to hold aircraft or spacecraft in protective storage. Most hangars are built of metal, but other materials such as wood and concrete are also sometimes used...
out of the original five remain. The Veteran's museum, in which a large number of artifacts and other exhibits are on display is in a building on the former aircraft parking apron.
A large agricultural chemical plant was built on the former station area, but much of it was removed with the roads and streets torn up; the land returned to agricultural production, with the street grid of the support station being obliterated.
The former north-south runway is used as the runway for Arnold Field Airport, along with lots of overgrown things apparently dumped on the parallel north-south taxiway of the old military airbase. The other two runways and assorted taxiways of the former airfield remain, abandoned, although they appear in good condition after decades of disuse.