Curtis Field is a city-owned

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

three miles northeast of

Brady Brady may refer to: People * Brady (surname) * Brady (given name) * Brady (nickname) * Brady Boone, a ring name of American professional wrestler Dean Peters (1958–1998) Places in the United States * Brady, Montana, a census-designated plac ...

, in McCulloch County,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. The airport is named for Mayor Harry L. Curtis of Brady, who proposed the site as an auxiliary field for the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

(USAAF). The FAA's

National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) is an inventory of U.S. aviation infrastructure assets. With the Airport and Airway Improvement Act of September 3, 1982, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was required to develop a ...

for 2009–2013 calls it a ''

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 ...

'' facility.

History

Construction of the airport began in November 1940. The

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...

provided labor for the project with the city and county providing equipment for leveling and grading. The airport opened in August 1941. On January 1, 1942, the facility was taken over by the United States Army Air Forces and was used during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as a primary (stage 1) pilot training airfield. Facilities at the 354-acre field included a headquarters building and annex, a ground school, an infirmary, mess hall, three barracks, and four hangars. Known as Curtis Field, the facility was operated as a contract pilot school, operated initially by the Brady Aviation School for the USAAF Gulf Coast Training Center (later Central Flying Training Command). Later, the contract was taken over by the Dallas Aviation School and Air College. Several local axillary landing airfields were associated with Curtis Field, the Curtis Ranch; Moore Field; Sneed Field and White Field for emergency and overflow landings. It is notable that enlisted sergeant pilots received their primary flight training at Curtis Field in early 1942. This program was ended later in the year. The last pilot training class ended in February 1945 and military control of the airport ended. Airline flights (Trans-Texas DC-3s) ended in 1958–59. Shaw, Frederick J. (2004), ''Locating Air Force Base Sites, History’s Legacy'', Air Force History and Museums Program, United States Air Force, Washington DC. Manning, Thomas A. (2005), ''History of Air Education and Training Command, 1942–2002''. Office of History and Research, Headquarters, AETC, Randolph AFB, Texas

References

External links

* {{Authority control Airports in Texas Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Texas Buildings and structures in McCulloch County, Texas USAAF Contract Flying School Airfields 1941 establishments in Texas Transportation in McCulloch County, Texas Airports established in 1941 USAAF Central Flying Training Command American Theater of World War II

History

See also

References

External links