A Brief History of Coleman Flying School
(taken from The Flight Line, a special book of the Coleman Flying School, as the school was winding down in 1944)
(IMAGES TO BE ADDED)
During the early part of 1940, when the
Air Force was expanding its flight training program, Mr. Harry A. Hammill of
Austin, Texas, first conceived the idea of establishing a Civil Contract
Primary School in Coleman. This idea
crystallized into a letter dated January 9 from Mr. Hammill to Rob O’Hair,
local attorney setting forth the idea.
Hurriedly calling a joint meeting of the local Chamber of Commerce and
the City Commission, Mr. O’Hair found them favorable to the proposal and
relayed that fact to Mr. Hammill.
The following March found a letter from Mr. Hammill
listing the requirements for the proposed school pending federal approval. Shortly after this the voters of Coleman
approved a $60,000.00 bond issue for purchase of the property.
Four favorable sites were soon located, with
representatives from the Eighth Service Command making the final choice. This land - 640 acres - was purchased from
the Paddleford Estate at $75.00 an acre.
The present site was chosen, because of the excellent drainage and sandy
loam, which is easy to work and smooth.
The gentle rolling countryside afforded a splendid, unobstructed, view
in all directions from the airbase; the site was easily located from the
air. There were no tall trees.
buildings, or hills to cause flying hazards.
These things, and the fact that it was centrally located and far from
any heavy air traffic, offered an ideal location for training purposes.
Construction began July 1, 1941 and by September 15th the
administration, recreation, academic buildings, mess hall, three barracks,
stage house, and three hangars were completed at a cost of $180,000.00.
Meanwhile, an Instructor Refresher Course was shaping
pilots from throughout the nation into Army Instructors. These pilots were acquired by J. T.
Hutchins, who made an extensive trip covering 16 of the 48 states. Harry Luder, I. C. Yeo, E. O. Young and Max
Vickers were among the original group to start training.
On October 7, 1941, the event of all this planning had
arrived. Twenty-two rated instructors
and three flying officers were confronted by their first eager students in the
Army program. Fifty of them, all
anxious, and eager, were ready to start on their first step toward the goal of
freedom to the world.
From this first class to graduate, was A/C W. W. Bonner,
who, incidentally, was the first to finish his prescribed number of hours at
the 304th Air Corps Training Detachment. After receiving his wings and
commission he was sent to the North African theater where he distinguished
himself in combat and was, in January of 1943, shot down over enemy
territory. Enduring many personal hardships, Lt. Bonner made his way through enemy lines back to his own headquarters. Later, he was again shot down over the
Mediterranean where he was last seen - his parachute open. Lt. Bonner was only one of the many pilots
who have started their career here and have later distinguished themselves in
action throughout the world.
Monday, September 21, 1942, was a black day indeed at
Coleman Flying School, for it was on that day at 10:10 A. M., with the school
precisely one year old, that an exploding collection of gas completely
demolished the administration building, killing two civilians, and seriously
injuring many of both civilian and military personnel. Among those seriously injured were Mr.
Hammil, Mr. Hutchins, Mel Coleman and Major Crow, the Commanding Officer. Pilots, who witnessed the catastrophe from
the air, say that the entire building disintegrated instantaneously, flinging
wreckage over a thousand feet into the air.
The old axiom that, “loyalty cannot be purchased but
is given freely," proved true in this crisis.
Those who escaped being in the explosion worked as one person, no time
lost. Cadets were detailed to salvage
everything and a big room in the academic building was turned over for the
sorting out of all that was brought in.
By one o’clock the instructors’ and employees’ wives had sent word that
they would be more than willing to donate their services “in any way possible
to help to straighten out the records.”
A few were chosen and these women worked for days, from early morning to
late at night, sorting, sorting, sorting, until some semblance of order began
to show. Mr. H. A. Sherman from Austin
was sent here to set up the new system and when the 5th of October came and the
pay checks were handed out, the surprise on the faces of everyone was a sight
to see, for not one person had expected the impossible. That is just an example of the effort which
was put forth.
The day of the explosion, flying continued until noon,
then, in the afternoon flying was discontinued and cadets were detailed to
various jobs. Next morning, even though
Mr. Hutchins was hurt, the instructors took it upon themselves to “carry
on.” With no supervision for three
weeks, everything ran like clockwork and on schedule. There was one telephone line open on the
Post and that was in the Flight Director’s office on the flight line. This line was kept open 24 hours a day for
the first week until more lines could he established. Army Officials, FBI men, School Officials, Insurance men, etc.,
came flying into the field, but, with all of that, the instructors were here
for just one thing - to see that the Cadets got their proper training and
instruction - and they got it. To these
men go a lot of unsung glory. As one
man they carried on.
Time went on and Mr. Hammill was able to return to his
place on the field. Classes started to
increase. From the first class of 50
cadets they grew to classes of 240 and more, which necessitated a building
expansion. Another stage house,
Instructors and Flight Commanders’ rooms, hangars, paint and woodworking shops,
barracks, a longer and wider ramp, longer runways, etc. were built. More airplanes meant a larger maintenance
crew, and from twenty-two instructors and three flying officers the number
increased to 117 instructors and 9 Flying officers. This only gives a small picture of the increase of personnel in
all departments, both civilian and army.
The inconvenience of the expansion and tearing up of
runways and ramp did not hinder the instructors in their purpose - they
overcame all obstacles, and kept on teaching their fledglings to fly under all
sorts of circumstances which helped, rather than hurt, the students.
It is not all work and no play for the cadets, for, once a
year Mr. Hammill has an entire circus brought to the Post - and what boy
doesn’t like a circus? The in-between
time is filled, so capably, once a week, by “Monk” Watson - that rotund
raconteur of raucous roundelay - and his famous “Ain’t that the damndest
thing!” There is, also, a Cadet Club in
town for dances and other entertainment.
Many of our Instructors, after having put through several
classes of Cadets, and started them on their first leg of a long climb, turned
to the Service themselves, in all branches of flying, and we are proud to
salute them for they have proved themselves capable of putting into action the instruction they gave their classes.
(PHOTO TO BE ADDED)
First Instructional Flight
October 7, 1941, 8:00 a.m.
Bert Justice, Instructor
W. W. Bonner, Cadet |
(PHOTO TO BE ADDED)
First Solo at Coleman
Bert Justice, Instructor
W. W. Bonner, Cadet |
From the first class 42-D to the present Class 44-I – twenty-eight
classes have passed through primary training at Coleman Flying School. Hundreds of young men who first realized
their highest ambition here are now serving their country from Burma to England
and from Alaska to Australia. We owe
much to them - they, in turn, owe much to this school and its flying personnel
who were instrumental in organizing a smooth functioning unit which helped make
them the splendid pilots they are, and as one cadet was heard to say “These
instructors should share the glory of those pilots in the fighting front,
because if it weren’t for these men doing their jobs so thoroughly and
efficiently, there would be no pilots to fight - the BATTLE OF FREEDOM.”
FRED SACKETT
MARGARET HALL
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