Chandler Field is a former military airfield located south of the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

Essington Essington is a village and civil parish in the South Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England, northeast of the city of Wolverhampton. Nearby are the towns of Bloxwich and Cannock and the villages of Cheslyn Hay, Great Wyrley (Landywood ...

,. Federal Aviation Administration. Effective 8 April 2010. a community in

Tinicum Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania Tinicum Township, also known as Tinicum Island or The Island, is a township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,091 at the 2010 census, down from 4,353 at the 2000 census. Included within the township's boun ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It is situated on the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

, west of

Philadelphia International Airport Philadelphia International Airport is the primary international airport serving Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It served 30.8 million passengers annually in 2024, making it the busiest airport in Pennsylvania and the 21st-busies ...

History

The base was initially named Chandler Field, being named after 1st Lieutenant Rex Chandler, a student, was killed in the crash on 8 April 1913 on a training flight from

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

, San Diego, California, in Curtiss F floatplane, Signal Corps 15, with

Lewis H. Brereton Lewis Hyde Brereton (June 21, 1890 – July 20, 1967) was a military aviation pioneer and lieutenant general in the United States Air Force. A 1911 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, he began his military career as a United States Army o ...

as pilot. Lt Chandler was knocked unconscious in the crash and drowned.

World War I

The facility was opened as a training field in early 1917 and initially operated as an

Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps The Aviation Section, Signal Corps, was the aerial warfare service of the United States from 1914 to 1918, and a direct statutory ancestor of the United States Air Force. It absorbed and replaced the Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps, Aer ...

military airfield. The field was one of the first three Signal Corps military training airfields prior to the United States Entry into

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Chandler Field was used to prepare

National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...

seaplane aviators. Training units assigned to Chandler Field were:Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the First World War, Volume 3, Part 3, Center of Military History, United States Army, 1949 (1988 Reprint) * Post Headquarters, Chandler Field June 1917 – January 1918 * 2d Reserve Aero Squadron, July 1917 : Re-designated as 45th Aero Squadron (II), August – November 1917 * 143d Aero Squadron (Service), October – November 1917 It was closed in early 1918 as inadequate for the Army's needs, its personnel and equipment moved to Gerstner Field, Louisiana.Pennsylvania's lost World War I airfield is rediscovered

Later use

The facility was reopened in 1919 as a flying school, and used by the Navy during World War II as a seaplane base. It was again reopened as a civil facility in 1946.Philadelphia Seaplane Base history
/ref> Today, the Chandler Field main building, officer's quarters, hangar foundations, launching ramp and other elements of the base remain. The buildings are closed to the public, however site tours are available.

References

{{Portal bar, Aviation World War I airfields in the United States World War I sites in the United States Airports in Pennsylvania Transportation buildings and structures in Delaware County, Pennsylvania

History

World War I

Later use

See also

References