Cuero Municipal Airport is a public airport located approximately east-southeast of
Cuero, Texas
Cuero ( ) is a city in and the county seat of DeWitt County, Texas, DeWitt County, Texas, United States. Its population was 8,128 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census.
History
The city of Cuero got its start in the mid-19th century as a ...
. It provides
general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...
service.
History
After being leased, it opened on 1 April 1941
with 5000 ft all-way turf runway (same location as present day Dewitt County Prison, hangars still used). Began training
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...
flying cadets under contract to Brayton Flying Service, Inc.
Assigned to United States Army Air Forces Gulf Coast Training Center (later Central Flying Training Command) as a primary (level 1) pilot training airfield.
had four local axillary airfields for emergency and overflow landings.
Flight training was performed with
Fairchild PT-19
The Fairchild PT-19 (company designation Fairchild M62) is an American monoplane primary trainer aircraft that served with the United States Army Air Forces, Royal Air Force, RAF and Royal Canadian Air Force, RCAF during World War II. Design ...
s as the primary trainer. Also had several
PT-17 Stearman
The Stearman (Boeing) Model 75 is an American biplane formerly used as a military Trainer (aircraft), trainer aircraft, of which at least 10,626 were built in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s. Stearman Aircraft became a subsidiary o ...
s and a few old Curtiss
P-1 Hawk
The P-1 Hawk (Curtiss Model 34) is a 1920s open-cockpit biplane fighter aircraft of the United States Army Air Corps. An earlier variant of the same aircraft had been designated PW-8 prior to 1925."US Military Aircraft Designations & Serials 190 ...
s and
Airco DH.4
The Airco DH.4 is a British two-seat biplane day bomber of the First World War. It was designed by Geoffrey de Havilland (hence "DH") for Airco, and was the first British two-seat light day-bomber capable of defending itself.
It was desig ...
s assigned.
Deactivated on 4 August 1944
with the drawdown of AAFTC's pilot training program.
Declared surplus and turned over to the Army Corps of Engineers on 30 September 1945.
Eventually discharged to the War Assets Administration (WAA) and became a civil airport.
Present
As of February 2015, there are 2 hangars and 4 tie downs for general aviation aircraft.
See also
*
Texas World War II Army Airfields
*
31st Flying Training Wing (World War II)
The 31st Flying Training Wing was a Flight training, training formation of the United States Army Air Forces, U.S. Army Air Forces (AAF) during World War II.
The wing's mission was to train personnel of the Army Air Forces Training Command, U ...
*
List of airports in Texas
This list of airports in Texas (a U.S. state) is grouped by type and sorted by location. It contains all public-use and military airports in the state. Some private-use and former airports may be included where notable, such as airports that wer ...
References
Sources
* Manning, Thomas A. (2005), ''History of Air Education and Training Command, 1942–2002''. Office of History and Research, Headquarters, AETC, Randolph AFB, Texas
* Shaw, Frederick J. (2004), ''Locating Air Force Base Sites, History’s Legacy'', Air Force History and Museums Program, United States Air Force, Washington DC.
External links
*
*
{{USAAF Training Bases World War II
1941 establishments in Texas
USAAF Contract Flying School Airfields
Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Texas
Buildings and structures in DeWitt County, Texas
Transportation in DeWitt County, Texas