406:. In May 1923, Lindbergh paid $ 500 for a Jenny with a brand-new OX-5 engine, a new paint job, and an extra 20 gal. gasoline tank. He had over 100 Jenny airplanes to choose from. Lindbergh took the plane out to the field and taxied around for a while, getting the feel of it. Although he had some dual instruction time to his credit, he did not advertise the fact that he had not actually soloed. After nearly dinging up the plane with an attempted takeoff, he taxied back to the hangars and asked Mr. Messer if he would ride with him. A few hours later, Messer exited the craft satisfied that his student would do fine but he suggested that Mr. Lindbergh wait till later in the afternoon when the wind had calmed. Later that day, Charles Lindbergh made his first solo flight above the cotton fields near Americus. A few days later, he boarded the plane again and set off for Montgomery to begin his barnstorming career.
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area contained two two-story barracks, a recreational ball, an exchange, administration building, Link trainer building, ground school building, mess hall, cold storage plant and a hospital. The school had two auxiliary fields. The
British cadets departed Souther in the fall of 1942 with the training of American cadets resuming on September 13, 1942.
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Souther Field was accepted by the Army and officially opened on 4 July 1918. When completed, the facility had schools, a YMCA, a fire department, electric lighting, underground sewers, water lines, telephones, a railroad spur, hospital, post office, barracks, mess halls and other infrastructure. On
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Construction of the new contract training field began in
December 1940 initially consisting of one barracks, a mess hall, a workshop hangar, and a 138 ft × 204 ft (42 m × 62 m) steel hangar. The necessity of removing the concrete foundations of the World War I buildings
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also arrived. The first 25 cadets reported on 29 May 1918. An additional class of 25 cadets arrived every week until the signing of the armistice. The high-water mark saw 125 officers, 1,400 men, and 147 aircraft at the field. Souther logged more flying hours than any other Army airfield during the
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The contract for construction of the airfield and base was let on 7 February 1918 to J.B. McCray
Company of Atlanta, and work was begun on the 19th. The flying field and the station area had to be graded and cleared before any construction could be done. There were about 1,200 men involved in the
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With the United States entry into the war, the
Defense Plant Corporation bought Graham's investment in Souther. An enlargement of the school facilities also got underway for the planned increase in training. Ultimately, the school occupied 644 acres (261 ha) with three hangars. The cantonment
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deactivated the field and sold its surplus airplanes to the public. The main activity at the airfield had become the surplus airplane auctions. Souther Field was completing its transition from a pilot training base to a mecca for would-be barnstormers looking for a deal on an airplane still in the
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By the end of 1942, the number of PT-17s present had increased to 107. From
January 1, 1943 to January 31, 1944, 2,073 students trained at Souther. The school reached its peak in the winter of 1943/44 with 600 cadets on board and over 450 civil employees that included over 100 flight instructors.
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Officially the 56th Army Air Forces Flying
Training Detachment, the school's contract called for training classes of 50 students. The first class began ground school on March 22, 1941. Meanwhile, the Army Air Corps modified Graham's contract for the training of British
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crate. The auctions were continuous. Big-time buyers could snap up a load of Jennys for about fifty dollars apiece. Altimeters could be bought in lots of 200 for around a dime each and propellers were going for around twenty-six cents.
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After World War II, the property was sold to the city of
Americus. Most of the airfield was developed into a civil airport. In 1948 a portion of Souther Field was chartered for the South Georgia Trade and Vocational School (later
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472:, a young RAF cadet who soloed at Souther in early 1942, survived the war, and wrote a successful series of books about his experiences. One of his books, "Wings Over Georgia," recounts in detail his training at Souther.
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founded the Graham
Aviation Company in April 1938. By the end of 1940, Graham Aviation managed eight airports in western Pennsylvania and operated several pilot schools as well as one flight instructor school. The
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In 1944 Souther Army
Airfield became a site for German prisoners of war, who worked on the farms in the area. The army deactivated Souther Field at the end of World War II and deeded the land to Americus.
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for a primary training airfield and an aviation supply depot. The Air
Service named the facility Souther Field in honor of Major Henry Souther who served as consulting engineer on many of the
271:, of Hartford, Connecticut. Souther was head of the Aircraft Engineering Division of the Air Service when he died in August 1917 after a brief illness contracted while acting as director of
438:, suggested the former airfield to Graham for his school. Graham and his staff came to Americus and inspected the site. Finding it satisfactory, he leased the property from Sumter County.
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slowed construction. The Instructor training program began on February 1, 1941 with five St. Louis Steel Car Company PT-15s. The PT-15 is virtually indistinguishable from the
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construction work. When completed, the base consisted of warehouses, accommodations for 2,000 officers and men, 15 wooden hangars, and a hospital plus other structures.
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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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except by the trained eye. The Air Corps bought a total of 14 for evaluation purposes. On 15 March the school received its first 10 PT-17 Stearmans.
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asked Graham if he would consider establishing a Contract Pilot School. A pilot, who had trained at Souther during
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on a train in early June. Local citizens warmly greeted the Brits as they bused through Americus to the school.
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17 June a small cyclone struck the airfield from the northeast. Training units assigned to Souther Field were:
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Flying School Detachment (Consolidation of Squadrons A–D), November 1918 – November 1919
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aviation projects. Major Souther had been killed earlier in the line of duty at
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leased 407 acres (165 ha) 4.5 miles (7.2 km) north of the center of
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is a former military airfield, located 3.7 miles (6.0 km) Northeast of
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Souther Field – Curtiss JN-4s on the line in front of a row of hangars, 1918
619:. Office of History and Research, Headquarters, AETC, Randolph AFB, Texas
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Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Georgia (U.S. state)
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Location of U.S. Aviation Fields, The New York Times, 21 July 1918
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Currie, Jack. (1995). Wings Over Georgia. Crecy Publishing. p 59
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Aircraft present reached its zenith with 122 PT-17s, four
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History of Air Education and Training Command, 1942–2002
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One of the surplus aircraft buyers was none other than
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cadets. The first class of RAF students arrived from
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Its history begins in 1918, when on 19 January, the
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465:Maintenance hangar at Souther Field, Georgia, 1943
385:Re-designated as Squadron "D", July–November 1918
375:Re-designated as Squadron "C", July–November 1918
365:Re-designated as Squadron "B", July–November 1918
355:Re-designated as Squadron "A", July–November 1918
16:Former military airfield in Sumter County, Georgia
40:Souther Field in 1918 at the end of World War I.
648:New Georgia Encyclopedia: Souther Field Airport
409:In 1928, Sumter County purchased the property.
347:Post Headquarters, Souther Field – October 1919
243:established after the United States entry into
19:For the current civil use of the airfield, see
572:Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins
523:List of Training Section Air Service airfields
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314:The first aircraft to land on the field were
218:Army Air Force Training Command (World War I)
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241:one of thirty-two Air Service training camps
843:1918 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)
550:, Oryx Press, Phoenix, Ariz., 1991, p. 147.
216:Training Section, Air Service (World War I)
868:Military installations closed in the 1940s
863:World War I airfields in the United States
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578:. Macon, GA: Winship Press. p. 209.
635:Georgia's Army Airfields of World War II
528:29th Flying Training Wing (World War II)
548:Directory of Military Bases in the U.S.
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848:USAAF Contract Flying School Airfields
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676:Air Force Historical Research Agency
518:Georgia World War II Army Airfields
421:Scenes of Souther Field during 1944
394:After the end of the conflict, the
822:Western Technical Training Command
817:Central Technical Training Command
812:Eastern Technical Training Command
318:powered by Hall Scott motors from
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670: This article incorporates
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747:Western Flying Training Command
742:Central Flying Training Command
737:Eastern Flying Training Command
380:237th Aero Squadron, April 1918
370:236th Aero Squadron, April 1918
360:116th Aero Squadron, March 1918
253:South Georgia Technical College
137:Air Service, United States Army
1:
660:Souther Field History website
147:United States Army Air Forces
21:Jimmy Carter Regional Airport
858:Airports established in 1918
350:5th Aero Squadron, May 1917
615:Manning, Thomas A. (2005),
569:Krakow, Kenneth K. (1975).
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427:Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
156:Civil Airport/Urban area
117:Pilot training airfield
633:Shettle, M. L. (2005),
672:public domain material
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425:William J. Graham of
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98:32.11056°N 84.18861°W
546:William R. Evinger:
267:, being named after
208:Garrison information
756:Specialized schools
263:The base was named
103:32.11056; -84.18861
94: /
805:Technical training
653:2012-10-02 at the
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127:Controlled by
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336:Buffalo, New York
289:Americus, Georgia
237:Americus, Georgia
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202:World War II
182:Battles/wars
161:Site history
470:Jack Currie
436:World War I
301:Fort Monroe
297:World War I
279:World War I
245:World War I
192:World War I
174:In use
101: /
77:Coordinates
837:Categories
763:Bombardier
643:0964338831
585:0915430002
534:References
484:, and one
239:. It was
89:84°11′19″W
86:32°06′38″N
783:Navigator
177:1918–1946
153:Condition
651:Archived
629:29991467
625:71006954
496:See also
305:Virginia
213:Garrison
778:Gunnery
324:Alabama
259:History
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456:Canada
332:Canada
576:(PDF)
339:war.
291:from
166:Built
639:ISBN
621:OCLC
580:ISBN
169:1918
114:Type
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