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295:. An Army survey crew was sent to Southwest Florida looking for suitable sites to build airfields, one selected was a site about 13 miles to the southwest of Arcadia, Florida. An agreement to lease the land for the Army was concluded, and the construction of some 46 buildings began 15 March 1918. It covered over 700 acres which included fourteen hangars that housed four to eight planes each, a hospital, and six barracks that held 175 men each. Dozens of wooden buildings served as headquarters, maintenance, and officers’ quarters. Enlisted men had to bivouac in tents.
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to the optimal weather conditions in the
Southwest Florida area for flight training. Cadets in flight training on 11 November 1918 were allowed to complete their training, however no new cadets were assigned to the base. Also the separate training squadrons were consolidated into a single Flying School detachment, as many of the personnel assigned were being demobilized.
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of their primary training at Mather, flight cadets were then transferred to another base for advanced training. In July 1918, an additional three training squadrons were assigned to Dorr Field, and additional JN-4s to be used for flight training were shipped in wooden crates by railcar. Training units assigned to Dorr Field:
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Dorr Field was subsequently sold to DeSoto County for one dollar and was redeveloped as a State Prison. Today only some large concrete pads that were the floors of the World War II hangars remain, although a few small wartime buildings are still in use by the prison. It is not open to the general
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With the sudden end of World War I in
November 1918, the future operational status of Dorr Field was unknown. Many local officials speculated that the U.S. government would keep the field open because of the outstanding combat record established by Dorr-trained pilots in Europe. Locals also pointed
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Dorr Field provided primary flight training for air cadets. In 1918, flight training occurred in two phases: primary and advanced. Primary training took eight weeks and consisted of pilots learning basic flight skills under dual and solo instruction with a student capacity of 300. After completion
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Aerial photograph of Dorr Field, Florida, 1942. Note the World War I layout of buildings and hangars along the top of the photo; the World War II expansion of the facility into a flight training school in the center. Several World War I hangars remain along with the new hangars built as part of the
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In
January 1920 primary pilot instruction resumed on a small scale at Carlstrom Field with the opening of the Air Service Pilots' School. Training in primary flying took place at both Carlstrom and Dorr Fields. However, the administrative difficulties of the Air Service training about 200 flying
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During the remainder 1920s and 1930s, the War
Department leased out the vacant land to local farmers and ranchers. In the late 1930s, it was noted that "nothing remains but crumbling concrete roads, runways, and massive foundations, all but concealed by rank palmetto growth." However, with the
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However, Dorr Field was ordered to phase down all activities at the base in accordance with sharply reduced military budgets. and flight training activities ceased in
November, 1919. Thereafter the field was placed in a dormant state, and a small caretaker unit was assigned to the facility for
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cadets concurrently at such widely separated locations in Texas, California and
Florida prompted a decision in 1923 to centralize all flying training in San Antonio, Texas. The War Department ordered that Dorr Field be dismantled and all remaining structures be sold as surplus.
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302:. A second squadron, the 109th Aero Squadron was also transferred from Carlstrom, and the first trainees began to arrive. Dorr Field initially acted as an overflow training field for Carlstrom, equipped with Curtiss JN-4 Jennies.
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National
Archives of the United States: Records of the Training and Operations Group (Air Service) and the Training and Operations Division (Air Corps) Records of the Army Air Forces (AAF), (Record Group 18) 1903–64 (bulk
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sudden need for pilots as part of the buildup of the Army Air Corps in 1941, Dorr Field was reactivated on 4 October as one of at least 5 satellite airfields used to support flight training operations as a sub-base of
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assigned. Inactivated 16 October 1944 with the drawdown of AAFTC's pilot training program and was declared surplus and turned over to the Army Corps of
Engineers. Eventually discharged to the
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393:) as a primary (level 1) pilot training airfield. Operated by Embry-Riddle Corporation under 54th Flying Training Detachment primarily as a training airfield for
279:, who was killed in a 17 August 1917 midair collision. Dorr enlisted in the summer of 1917 and was sent to Toronto, Ontario, Canada for training with the British
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Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the First World War, Volume 3, Part 3, Center of
Military History, United States Army, 1949 (1988 Reprint)
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In 1917 the Army announced its intention of establishing a series of camps to train prospective pilots after the United States entry into
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The field was opened in April 1918 and the first training squadron, the 76th Aero
Squadron, which was transferred from nearly
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Flying School Detachment (Consolidation of Squadrons A–E), November 1918 – November 1919
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622:, Air Force History and Museums Program, United States Air Force, Washington DC.
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Embry-Riddle Flight School in the center. The large, grassy flying field remains
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604:. Office of History and Research, Headquarters, AETC, Randolph AFB, Texas
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is a former military airfield, located 12 miles (19 km) east of
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Curtiss JN-4 "Jennys" inside a hangar at Dorr Field, Florida, 1918.
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Location of U.S. Aviation Fields, The New York Times, 21 July 1918
389:. Assigned to the USAAF East Coast Training Center (later Central/
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580:(5th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. p. 469.
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109th Aero Squadron (II), April 1919 (xfr from Carlstrom Field)
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76th Aero Squadron (II), April 1918 (xfr from Carlstrom Field)
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Post Headquarters, Dorr Field, April 1918 – December 1919
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Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Florida
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Re-designated as Squadron "C", July 1918 – November 1918
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Re-designated as Squadron "B", July 1918 – November 1918
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Re-designated as Squadron "A", July 1918 – November 1918
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History of Air Education and Training Command, 1942–2002
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Re-designated as Squadron "E", July 1918 – November 1918
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Re-designated as Squadron "D", July 1918 – November 1918
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established in 1917 after the United States entry into
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Former US military airfield in DeSoto County, Florida
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832:Buildings and structures in DeSoto County, Florida
461:29th Flying Training Wing (U.S. Army Air Forces)
620:Locating Air Force Base Sites, History’s Legacy
456:United States Army World War I Flight Training
333:110th Aero Squadron (II) (Service), May, 1919
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230:Army Air Force Training Command (World War I)
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261:one of thirty-two Air Service training camps
498:, Oryx Press, Phoenix, Ariz., 1991, p. 147.
228:Training Section, Air Service (World War I)
837:World War I airfields in the United States
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577:Florida: A Guide to the Southernmost State
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404:as the primary trainer. Also had several
496:Directory of Military Bases in the U.S.
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27:Part of Army Air Force Training Command
822:USAAF Contract Flying School Airfields
645:Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields
168:DeSoto Correctional Institution (open)
842:Military installations closed in 1944
353:241st Aero Squadron (II), May, 1918
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482:Air Force Historical Research Agency
343:240th Aero Squadron (II), May, 1918
451:Florida World War II Army Airfields
400:Flying training was performed with
248:PT-17 Stearmans at Dorr Field, 1942
796:Western Technical Training Command
791:Central Technical Training Command
786:Eastern Technical Training Command
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847:1944 disestablishments in Florida
574:Federal Writers' Project (1947).
277:Flying Cadet Stephen H. Dorr, Jr.
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690:Army Air Forces Training Command
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476: This article incorporates
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721:Western Flying Training Command
716:Central Flying Training Command
711:Eastern Flying Training Command
391:Eastern Flying Training Command
149:Air Service, United States Army
817:1917 establishments in Florida
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159:United States Army Air Forces
618:Shaw, Frederick J. (2004),
600:Manning, Thomas A. (2005),
275:Dorr Field was named after
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414:War Assets Administration
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372:administrative reasons.
478:public domain material
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110:27.20722°N 81.67000°W
494:William R. Evinger:
259:. The airfield was
220:Garrison information
189:1917–1918; 1941–1944
730:Specialized schools
115:27.20722; -81.67000
106: /
779:Technical training
281:Royal Flying Corps
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139:Controlled by
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509:"Stephen H. Dorr"
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511:. Archived from
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402:Fairchild PT-19s
257:Arcadia, Florida
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134:Site information
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747:Glider Training
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406:PT-17 Stearmans
397:flying cadets.
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387:Carlstrom Field
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300:Carlstrom Field
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517:. Retrieved
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376:World War II
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214:World War II
194:Battles/wars
173:Site history
293:World War I
287:World War I
265:World War I
204:World War I
186:In use
113: /
89:Coordinates
811:Categories
737:Bombardier
649:Dorr Field
632:1050653629
519:2013-10-12
467:References
408:and a few
253:Dorr Field
101:81°40′12″W
98:27°12′26″N
77:Dorr Field
36:, east of
22:Dorr Field
757:Navigator
420:Civil use
165:Condition
628:57007862
614:29991467
610:71006954
554:1917–47)
429:See also
425:public.
225:Garrison
752:Gunnery
416:(WAA).
271:History
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608:
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178:Built
624:OCLC
606:OCLC
582:ISBN
181:1917
126:Type
813::
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537:^
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677:e
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
