Warbird Information Exchange

Anyone willing to share some photos of Tuskegee Field from the war years? I can trade some stories told to me by one of the mechanics trained there.

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"I can't understand it, I cut it twice and it's still too short!" Robert F. Dupre' 1923-2010 Go With God.

John,

Are you looking for photos of Moton Field or the bigger Tuskegee Army Air Field (or both)? Lou Thole put a few photos in one of his books that has a chapter on Tuskegee, so the AFHRA collection or National Archives must have a number of original photos. I'd be willing to check at AFHRA next time we're at Maxwell, but it will likely be some time before we get over there.

Incidentally, two of the hangars from the big field were moved after the war. One went to Montgomery Regional and serves as the main hangar for Mongtomery Aviation. The other went to a municipal airport fairly close to Tuskegee, but I forget exactly where.
Scott

I believe the answer is Troy, AL.

I looked at Terraserver and saw the one at Troy. That would mean that all three of the "double" style hangars from Tuskegee AAF survived. I'll try to remember where I took photos of the third one, it was a smaller airfield than Troy. There was also an older hangar next to the former Tuskegee building that appears to be WPA-built, or maybe even older. I'll spend some time trying to find the photos we took that day of Moton and the other two hangars.

Thanks, Ken.
Scott

I believe the man I know spent most of his time at Tuskegee AAF. I know he worked on T-6s, C-45s and B-25s.

His name is Harvey Sanford. He told one story of how living in a dry county the soldiers were able to acquire booze. It seems that whenever a Tuskegee pilot had a mechanical problem away from base most other bases would refuse to work on the aircraft for the usual bigoted reasons. So Harvey would be sent in a C-45 with tools to fix the aircraft. If booze was neeeded a Tuskegee pilot would find himself with an excessive magneto drop at some airfield in a wet county. While he waited for Harvey to arrive he would head into town with the pooled money for booze and do the shopping. Harvey would arrive and do a run up and magneto check and find no problem while the pilots loaded the C-45 with the contraband. With the paper work signed off both aircraft would return to Tuskegee for the festivities!

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"I can't understand it, I cut it twice and it's still too short!" Robert F. Dupre' 1923-2010 Go With God.

We had a change of plans for our "vacation" and ended up Alabama for another AFHRA visit. We did a quick aerial tour of Tuskegee AAF and Moton Field this afternoon.

Here is what remains of Tuskegee AAF today, looking north. Most of the runway surface has been reclaimed except for one, but the concrete apron and all three hangar floors are still substantially intact. The main cantonment roads and circle drive are quite evident also:


This view is looking roughly southwest, with various building foundations and roadways visible:


This is Moton Field, where the cadets were given Primary instruction. There is a major reconstruction/restoration project going on at the original WWII hangar site that I'll try to get over to see this week. The east hangar had burned down a number of years ago, but a new one has sprung up in its place, evidently incorporating the surviving tower on the east corner:


I couldn't remember where the third hangar from Tuskegee AAF went after being dismantled. It is at Clanton, Alabama, and we'll try to run up there some evening this week to shoot some photos. I don't know if we'll get down to Troy or not, but I'll try.

This is the hangar that was moved to Dannelly Field.


Scott

I don't have any pictures but I did get to do an interview with a Tuskegee airman

http://evanflys.com/captain_les_williams

It was one of my first. I hope you like it!

Evan

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http://evanflys.com

Thanks, Evan.

Captain Williams' story is especially interesting since he was at Tuskegee a little later than the early pursuit pilots. Most of the stories I've read were from the perspective of the pioneers that saw combat in fighters. The bomber guys really haven't gotten much press since the war ended before they got overseas.

It's really a neat feeling to walk through the hangar at Montgomery Aviation knowing that Captain Williams did the same 65 years ago up the road at Tuskegee AAF.

Scott

I believe the fire was in 1987, the control tower survived the fire, the remains of the original hanger was rebuilt to the standard it is today. It was told to me that it will be a movie theater and they have had a P-51 donated to the museum, which will be suspended from the ceiling. I couldn't find out where the 51 was coming from though. I suggested a fiberglass copy be hung, and the 51 put on the floor....but hey, what do I know?
Nice PT-17 and Piper Cub in the other hangar, nice clean little museum.
I have suggested to management, since it is under the National Park Service, that they try and obtain some additional airframes, like a T-6, P-47, another P-51, B-25, and a P-40 from the NMUSAF and the NASM. C-45 would be a nice addition as well.

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Kind Regards,
Gary Lewis
J.A.F.O.

Thanks for that info, Gary.

When we were last at Moton there wasn't any refurbishment going on yet. The surviving hangar and other airfield structures were intact but needed some TLC. I'm glad to see the restoration efforts and will definitely try to get over there in the next couple of days. Here's a closer-up picture I took yesterday:


We've mentioned the control tower portion of the burned hangar--wasn't that also the parachute loft with the control cab on top, or am I thinking of another hangar somewhere else?

Scott

Thanks for the photos. Here is another story related to the first.

The local sherrif in Tuskegee was sure that there was illegal liquor at Tuskegee AAF and was determined to put a stop to it. He figured that the booze was being sent through the mail. So one day the sherrif and several deputies forced the US Mail truck to stop and proceeded to search through it for illegal booze. He got into some trouble for it but it was swept under the rug by the good ol' boys. He apparently never thought to look up when looking for the illegal booze. This sherrif would also come onto the base and grab the first black airman he saw whenever there was any kind of unsolved crime in town. The Tuskegee soldiers rarely left the base so it was typically easy to prove the accused couldn't have done and get the unfortunate released but it all took time.

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"I can't understand it, I cut it twice and it's still too short!" Robert F. Dupre' 1923-2010 Go With God.

ahhh., gotta love the south!

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S.

So is that the new museum? Is it going to house the Mustang and such.

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Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Manager

Looks like a lot of work going on there. Will have to keep watching for updates, though with the economy down and park closings going on, don't know if they will be effected or not. Apparently only open on Sat and Sun at the current time.

http://www.nps.gov/tuai/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Eeeeeasy there, Cupcake. That story was from back in the '40s, and dang near everyone, from all parts of the country, felt that way about blacks. Granted, sometimes Southern boys took it a bit too far, but it was a general way of thinking by the majority of folks back then. Sure, there are still folks who feel the same way now, but they are the minority now.

I'd be more nervous dealing with some of them Californy-types, than a good ol' Southern man.

Gary, the dumb hick.