1920s WW1 US Army Air Corp Kelly Field San Antonio TX Pennant Felt
1920s – WW1 – US Army Air Corp – Kelly Field – San Antonio – Texas – Pennant – Felt – Silk Biplane Panel – Framed. Framed dimensions – 18.5″ x 37″. Pennant dimensions – 14″ x 34″. Kelly Air Force Base, in San Antonio, Texas, has been a vital center for American military aviation throughout its history. As World War I raged in Europe, the United States began to build up and expand its military aviation forces. In his search for a new army aviation training site, Maj. Benjamin Foulois found 700 acres of flat farmland with a water supply near the Missouri-Pacific rail line, then seven miles south of San Antonio. Aviation operations began here on April 5, 1917, the day before the United States declared war on Germany. Kelly Field, named for George Edward Maurice Kelly, the first military pilot killed in an airplane crash at nearby Fort Sam Houston in 1911, was one of 14 schools in the country conducting primary flight training during World War I. The school trained aviators, mechanics and support personnel for war duty. After additional land was acquired, the field was divided into Kelly Number 1 (later renamed Duncan Field) and Kelly Number 2. The Air Service Advanced Flying School, which headquartered at Kelly Number 2, trained pilots including Charles Lindbergh, Curtis LeMay and numerous future Air Force chiefs of staff. By the end of World War I, more than 250,000 men had passed through the facility. After World War I, rapid demobilization followed, and primary training at Kelly was discontinued. In 1922 the U. Air Corps decided to consolidate its flight training at two fields, Kelly Field and Brooks Field, named the Air Corps Training Center. Later, in 1931, all primary training was consolidated at the newly completed Randolph Field, to the north of San Antonio, Texas. This item is in the category “Collectibles\Militaria\1919-38\Original Period Items”. The seller is “lightwaveman” and is located in this country: US. This item can be shipped to United States.
- Original/Reproduction: Original
- Theme: Militaria
- Time Period Manufactured: 1919-38
- Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
- Modified Item: No