Olympia Army Airfield

[firstfleet]

I am seriously researching World War Two Army use of the Olympia Army Airfield. The result will be at least an article for the American Aviation Historical Society Journal and a pamphlet for the Olympic Air Museum. I have gone through microfilm of the Daily Olympian from 1940-46. There was not much directly related to military operations at OAAF. Next is the State Library. An old message (2007) on this forum from Jack Cook mentioned some photos available. If anyone know him or has photos, please contact me at firstfleet@aol.com. At that time, I was busy getting my Douglas C-133 book out the door. I have a list of crashes at OAAF, including tail numbers and pilots. I have an airfield diagram from 1941 though not of actual Army layout.

[The Inspector]

Unfortunately it seems that the airport commission @ Black Lake is as determined as the clowns here @ KPAE and are in a foot race to obliterate every trace of the old military uses of the base. The Everett Public Library has very little information about Paine pre about 1973, there are tiny bits and pieces of info floating like bubbles in the wind, most of it oral, and lots of it being lost as the old timey guys die off.
A couple of years ago an attempt was made to preserve some P-38 hardstands @ Black Lake but those interested were shoved to one side and told the sites wouldn't be accessible after remodelling was complete so they went into a 5 yard dump truck and are now land fill under some new construction in your area.
I'd say post an ad in the local papers asking for oral histories and photos, might see if you can get some interview air time on a local radio or TV station.

[stearmann4]

Cal,

Thats a neat project, as was said, I haven't detected even a hint of interest from anyone in the Olympia area of preserving any of it's history, much less avation related. I agree though, the best place to ask would be WWII aged locals who have lived here since then. I have a neighbor who has lived in Tenino since the 30s, although he was in the 6th wave at Normandy Beach, but that's another story. He was also a civilian pilot so he may have some info.

Mike-

[The Inspector]

Also contact WPA and, if you have one, a Quiet Birdmen chapter and ask to address both groups, hit the retirement facilities, become creative in your searches and good luck!

[p51]

Stateside airfield history is something hardly anyone cares about. I spent a lot of time researching a fighter training field in my hometown in Florida (Dale Mabry AAF in Tallahassee, if anyone care) when i still lived there and found that the USAF historical center at Maxwell has almost nothing on it. Someone there told me that when many of these training fields folded, they simply threw away a lot of (and in some cases all of) their records. So in many cases, someone is left looking through private and local non-military collections for info.
I, too, would like to see some stuff from Oly in WW2 as I live just south of there and do WW2 displays at the annual airshow there...

[avia gazer]

For the record here, I know an older guy who grew up in Olympia in WWII who knows something about this. Specifically he knows where many of the P-38's crashed here locally. His dad built a lot of the protective berms for the parked P-38s at the airfield.

There may a be a wooded crash or two still with wreckage existing according to him. He has seen these sites personally. His says his older brother removed 50 caliber machine guns from one of the wrecks as souvenirs until some government people wanted their property back.

I was thinking how precious his memories are and how they should be documented. It's a shame that there is virtually no history recorded about the squadron that was based here.

So should anyone wish to follow-up, contact me at landtek@w-link.net.

[The Inspector]

In that vein, I've tried a few times to track down the location of a crashed P-61 that was one of two based @ KPAE for a very short period during the bomb balloon period of WW2. The airplane crashed somewhere within about a 6 mile circle surrounding the airfield, but there is zippola in the public record (newspaper files) or any military crash site lists I've checked into.

[Forgotten Field]

I've tried a few times to track down the location of a crashed P-61 that was one of two based @ KPAE for a very short period during the bomb balloon period of WW2. The airplane crashed somewhere within about a 6 mile circle surrounding the airfield, but there is zippola in the public record (newspaper files) or any military crash site lists I've checked into.

And you might not find more than zippola due the facts that (1) it was part of Project Firefly (hunting down balloon bombs) and (2) was a radar-equipped plane. Both were highly sensitive subjects in their day and the press may have been told nothing about the event.