Craig Air Force Base
Encyclopedia
- For the civilian use of this facility after 1977, see Craig Field Airport and Industrial ComplexCraig Field (Alabama)Craig Field is a public-use airport located four nautical miles southeast of the central business district of Selma, a city in Dallas County, Alabama, United States. The airport is owned by Craig Field Airport & Industrial Authority...
Craig Air Force Base near Selma, Alabama
Selma, Alabama
Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama, United States, located on the banks of the Alabama River. The population was 20,512 at the 2000 census....
, was a U.S. Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) base that closed in 1977. As an active air force base, Craig had two 8000 feet (2,438.4 m) parallel runways, a large aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
parking ramp and several large maintenance hangars.
Today the facility is a civilian airport known as Craig Field Airport and Industrial Complex (ICAO: KSEM; FAA: SEM).
Units assigned
The last unit assigned to Craig AFB was the 29th Flying Training Wing (29th FTW), being activated on 29 March 1972, absorbing the assets and personnel of the 3615th FTW. Flying training squadrons of the wing were:- 43d Flying Training Squadron43d Flying Training SquadronThe 43d Flying Training Squadron is part of the 340th Flying Training Group and is the reserve associate to the 14th Flying Training Wing based at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi...
- 1 July 1972 to 30 September 1977 - 52d Flying Training Squadron - 1 July 1972 to 30 September 1977
- 3615th Pilot Training Wing - dates unknown
The 29th FTW provided undergraduate pilot training (UPT) and operated the facilities on the base. Aircraft flown by the wing were Cessna T-37s and Northrup T-38s
T-38 Talon
The Northrop T-38 Talon is a twin-engine supersonic jet trainer. It was the world's first supersonic trainer and is also the most produced. The T-38 remains in service as of 2011 in air forces throughout the world....
. The last class graduated in mid-August 1977.
The 29th FTW was inactivated with the closure of the base on 30 September 1977.
History
The naming of the base was important to the nearby city of Selma, and several names for the airfield were considered. The name finally chosen was to honor 1st Lt Bruce Kilpatrick Craig, who was killed while acting as a civilian flight test engineer with the Consolidated Aircraft Company when the British LB-30 Liberator, AL503, he was on an acceptance flight in crashed into San Diego BaySan Diego Bay
San Diego Bay is a natural harbor and deepwater port adjacent to San Diego, California. It is 12 mi/19 km long, 1 mi/1.6 km–3 mi/4.8 km wide...
on 2 June 1941. He was born in Selma and was initially commissioned as an officer in the Infantry Reserve prior to transferring to the Army Air Forces and attending flight training.
Origins
What would become Craig Air Force Base was established before World War IIWorld 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...
to accommodate the growing number of pilot trainees. At that time, the Army Air Corps
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
was rapidly expanding and it was clear that additional facilities would be needed for all phases of pilot training.
Originally cotton fields and cattle-grazing land, in 1940, the city of Selma purchased the land in 1940, then leased it to the United States Government. The building of Selma Army Air Base began in August 1940, and proceeded rapidly so that by December there were about forty structures on the new base. Since there were no barracks yet available, the troops slept in tents and their headquarters was in an old cafe. By December, the runways were under construction.
Buildings on the new airfield were constructed out of a concrete block type material and featured a screened porch that ran across the length of the building. These were rather luxurious accommodations for the time. To make the grounds more attractive and the new field a bit more pleasing to the cadets, many of the mature trees were saved during the construction process.
Even though construction had just begun and the field was not ready for training, it was activated on August 4, 1940. The mission of the new airfield was the training of aviation cadets in the advanced phase of flying training. Selma AAB was assigned to the AAF Southeast Training Center, with the Army Air Force Pilot School (Advanced Single-Engine) activated (phase 3 pilot training). In this phase, the cadets flew fighters and fighter-bombers. Pilot wings were awarded upon graduation and were sent on to group combat training by First, Second, Third or Fourth Air Force. Graduates were usually graded as Flight Officers (Warrant Officers); cadets who graduated at the top of their class were graded as Second Lieutenants.
The training began in the early spring of 1941 and used two temporary runways because the permanent runways were not finished; the first runway would not be done until October. By early May there were about 53 AT-6 Texans
T-6 Texan
The North American Aviation T-6 Texan was a single-engine advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces, United States Navy, Royal Air Force and other air forces of the British Commonwealth during World War II and into the 1950s...
assigned to the base along with some other aircraft. During this period, conditions were primitive, meaning that the aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
maintenance work was done outside. By late April, parts of the parking apron had been completed and some work was being done in the main hangar. At that time most of the aircraft maintenance workers (sheet metal workers, mechanics, parachute riggers, etc.) were from Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
, and were a mixture of civilians and military personnel.
Craig Field was commanded by the 57th Army Air Force Base Unit. Army Air Force pilot training in 1941 was still considered as being peacetime and included a seventy-hour flying course. Its first graduating class of 1941, the 39 cadets of Class 41D, completed the training course seven months before the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
' entry into 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...
.
The Air Corps Advanced Flying School (Advanced Single-Engine) at Craig consisted of:
- 90th, 92nd, 380th, 381st and 382nd School Squadrons
- 21st Single Engine Flying Training Group (Hq & Hq Sq, 90th, 92nd SE Flyg Trng Sqs)
- 22nd Single Engine Flying Training Group (Hq & Hq Sq, 380th, 381st, 382nd SE Flyg Trng Sqs)
World War II
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
on December 7, 1941 training was accelerated to speed the flow of pilots into combat.
In total Craig Field graduated more than 9,000 pilots before the end of the war. Craig Field also saw a number of British Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
cadets through their training. By 1943, 1,392 RAF cadets had earned their wings at Craig Field. In addition, French
French Air Force
The French Air Force , literally Army of the Air) is the air force of the French Armed Forces. It was formed in 1909 as the Service Aéronautique, a service arm of the French Army, then was made an independent military arm in 1933...
and Dutch
Royal Netherlands Air Force
The Royal Netherlands Air Force , Dutch Koninklijke Luchtmacht , is the military aviation branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Its ancestor, the Luchtvaartafdeling of the Dutch Army was founded on 1 July 1913, with four pilots...
pilots were trained at Craig Field.
On 8 January 1943, the War Department constituted and activated the 28th Flying Training Wing (Advanced Single-Engine) at Craig and assigned it to the AAF Eastern Flying Training Command.
In November 1943, Craig was selected to give advanced single engine training and Curtiss P-40
Curtiss P-40
The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk was an American single-engine, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry into production and operational...
transition training to the French. Craig Field also gave training in the Martin B-26 Marauder
B-26 Marauder
The Martin B-26 Marauder was a World War II twin-engine medium bomber built by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in the Pacific Theater in early 1942, it was also used in the Mediterranean Theater and in Western Europe....
. Many of these students had formally served in the French North African Army or had left France after the armistice and earned the opportunity to become pilots. At this time, Craig Field was also teaching fighter transition training using the Curtiss P-40. By late 1944, Craig Field was involved in three major areas of training: Advanced-Single Engine pilot training, P-40 Transition training, and a Preflight Program for French students.
During 1945, the training activities at Craig Field continued, but the classes were smaller, because of the need for fewer pilots. With the end of the war in August 1945, came the end of training of American cadets. The training of French students continued through 1945, and was ended in January 1946.
Cold War
Following the war, the mission of Craig Field changed from time to time, but it remained primarily a training base. When the U.S. Air Force was established as a separate service in 1947, Craig Field was renamed Craig Air Force Base. With the desperate need for additional pilots created by the Korean WarKorean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, Craig AFB was once again placed in the pilot training business by initiating the 3615th Pilot Training Wing in September 1950. The program stopped its basic single engine training and focused its efforts on pilot instructor training.
In 1953, Craig AFB stopped its basic single engine training and focused its efforts upon pilot instructor training. By 1966, Craig AFB was an undergraduate pilot training base (UPT).
In 1972, the by then-3615th Flying Training Wing was redesignated as the 29th Flying Training Wing (29 FTW) of the Air Training Command
Air Training Command
Air Training Command is a former major command of the United States Army Air Forces and United States Air Force. ATC came into being as a redesignation of the Army Air Forces Training Command on July 1, 1946...
and operated T-41
T-41 Mescalero
The Cessna T-41 Mescalero is a military version of the popular Cessna 172 used by the United States Air Force and Army as well as the armed forces of various other countries as a pilot training aircraft.-Design and development:...
, T-37
Cessna T-37
The Cessna T-37 Tweet is a small, economical twin-engine jet trainer-attack type aircraft which flew for decades as a primary trainer for the United States Air Force and in the air forces of several other nations...
and T-38
T-38 Talon
The Northrop T-38 Talon is a twin-engine supersonic jet trainer. It was the world's first supersonic trainer and is also the most produced. The T-38 remains in service as of 2011 in air forces throughout the world....
training aircraft.
Representative of the time, Undergraduate Pilot Training Class 68-H, "The Haranguers," graduated with more than 50 new pilots in June 1968. Most of the pilots entered the "pipeline" for assignments to Vietnam in a variety of aircraft, including the F-4C
F-4 Phantom II
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a tandem two-seat, twin-engined, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor fighter/fighter-bomber originally developed for the United States Navy by McDonnell Aircraft. It first entered service in 1960 with the U.S. Navy. Proving highly adaptable,...
, F-4E Phantom II, RF-4C Phantom II, C-47
C-47 Skytrain
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s with a few remaining in operation to this day.-Design and...
, C-7
De Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou
The de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou is a Canadian-designed and produced specialized cargo aircraft with short takeoff and landing capability...
and C-123
C-123 Provider
The C-123 Provider was an American military transport aircraft designed by Chase Aircraft and subsequently built by Fairchild Aircraft for the United States Air Force...
. Other pilots went to C-130
C-130 Hercules
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed, now Lockheed Martin. Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport...
, C-141
C-141 Starlifter
The Lockheed C-141 Starlifter was a military strategic airlifter in service with the Air Mobility Command of the United States Air Force...
, B-52
B-52 Stratofortress
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber operated by the United States Air Force since the 1950s. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, who have continued to provide maintainence and upgrades to the aircraft in service...
and KC-135
KC-135 Stratotanker
The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an aerial refueling military aircraft. It and the Boeing 707 airliner were developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype. The KC-135 was the US Air Force's first jet-powered refueling tanker and replaced the KC-97 Stratotanker...
assignments. In addition to Air Force student pilots, the class included students from the Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
, the Air National Guard
Air National Guard
The Air National Guard , often referred to as the Air Guard, is the air force militia organized by each of the fifty U.S. states, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia of the United States. Established under Title 10 and...
and the former Imperial Iranian Air Force.
Closure
Perhaps the most dominant feature on the ATC landscape in 1974 was the serious fuel shortage the command had to contend with for much of the year. The shortage arose when the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries sent oil prices skyrocketing by cutting back on production. Almost overnight, the price of aviation fuel tripled. To conserve fuel, ATC made numerous adjustments to the UPT syllabus at bases such as Craig, including a reduction in the number of sorties and flying hours and an increased reliance on the use of synthetic trainers. In other efforts to cope with the crisis, the Air Force also cut overall pilot production goals by 18 percent, characterized by USAF Officer Training School (OTSOTS
OTS may refer to:* Anacortes Airport in Anacortes, Washington by IATA airport code* Oakley Training School, a juvenile correctional facility in Hinds County, Mississippi...
) not accepting any pilot applicants for FY 75, and the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) initiating a Reduction in Force (RIF) program in its college/university cadet program. Under the latter initiative, AFROTC rescinded previously promised pilot training and navigator training slots for approximately 75% of the cadets in commissioning Year Groups 75, 76 and 77 originally slated for flight training, re-directing them into non-aeronautically rated career fields or offering them opportunities to resign and transfer to officer flight training programs of the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard or Army. USAF Academy cadets/graduates were never subjected to any of the RIF actions experienced by AFROTC cadets/graduates and were never impacted by these reductions in USAF flight training production.
By the mid-1970s, the end of the Vietnam War, the associated financial costs of that conflict and related cuts in force size and future defense budgets meant a marked decrease in the need for Air Force pilots. One of the major issues facing the ATC commander and his staff during 1976 was the prospect of closing two UPT bases. Rather than reduce training production at all seven UPT locations, ATC officials believed it to be more economical to close two UPT bases.
In 1974, Craig AFB was selected as one of two UPT bases to be closed in a post-Vietnam economic move. In 1977, Air Training Command
Air Training Command
Air Training Command is a former major command of the United States Army Air Forces and United States Air Force. ATC came into being as a redesignation of the Army Air Forces Training Command on July 1, 1946...
closed Craig Air Force Base along with Webb Air Force Base
Webb Air Force Base
Webb Air Force Base , previously named Big Spring Air Force Base, was a United States Air Force facility of the Air Training Command that operated from 1951 to 1977 in west Texas within the current city limits of Big Spring. It was a major training facility, and by 1969 almost 9,000 pilots had...
in Texas. Craig's 29th Flying Training Wing was inactivated on September 30, 1977 and the field was placed on caretaker status the next day.
Current use
After the base closed, the airfield was converted into a civil airport for Selma, Alabama and renamed the Craig Field Airport and Industrial Complex.Craig Field (Alabama)
Craig Field is a public-use airport located four nautical miles southeast of the central business district of Selma, a city in Dallas County, Alabama, United States. The airport is owned by Craig Field Airport & Industrial Authority...
See also
- Air Training CommandAir Training CommandAir Training Command is a former major command of the United States Army Air Forces and United States Air Force. ATC came into being as a redesignation of the Army Air Forces Training Command on July 1, 1946...
- Alabama World War II Army AirfieldsAlabama World War II Army AirfieldsDuring World War II, the United States Army Air Force established numerous airfields in Alabama for antisubmarine defense in the Gulf of Mexico and for training pilots and aircrews of USAAF fighters and bombers....