Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-07-03
WHOLE AIR CORPS
TO Be REORGAN|zED
Completion of the Five-Year
Building Program to Find
New Organization Basis.

Completion of its five-year aircraft
building program will find the Army
Air Corps entirely reorganized upon a
foundation designed for permanent
growth. according to plans completed
by the adjutant generals office.
New tactical units are being created
and will become active during the COM
ing year, and permanent air division
and wing headquarters will be estab-
lished where now there are only group
and squadron organizations.
Boiling Field is one of the few Army
flying centers which will not undergo
a change of status or of organization.
The local field Is and will continue to
be occupied by an air detachment,
known as the Capitol Detachment"
under the reorganization.
Langley Field Affected.
Langley Field, Hampton, Va, will be
affected considerably by the reorgan-
izations. 1t will become headquarters
for the new First Air Brigade, now on
inactive status, but to be reconstructed
about March Is, 1882.
The Second Bombardment Group at
Langley will be expanded to a full
bombardment wing by the creation of
the Eighth Pursuit Group. Two war
time pursuit SquadronS will be recon-
stituted early next year as a part of
this group. They are the Tnirty-third
and Thirty-f1fth Squadrons, both now
inactive. One present active squadron,
the Fifty-fifth Pursuit Squadron, now
at Mather Field, is to be moved to
Langley Field about March l. The new
group also will include the Seventy
first Service Squadron, to be reconsti-
tuted early next year.
Langley Field also is to be the home
of the Nineteenth AirShip Company,
teenth Observation Squadron, which
will become the detachment for the
Coast Artillery School
The program also will include the
creation of an attack wing. the first in
the history of the Air Corps. at Barks-
dale Field, now being constructed at
Shreveport. La. The wing will be COM
posed Of the Third Attack Group, now
at Fort Crockett, Galveston. Tex: the
Fifth Photo Section. now at Scott Field,
ILL.,: a new Sixteenth Pursuit Group,
composed of the re-created Twenty
ninth, Thirty and Thirty
eighth Pursuit Squadrons, yet to be
organized, and the Fifty-eighth Service
Squadron, now active at Brooks Field,
| Tex.
There will be created in California a
new bombardment wing, to be known
as the First Bombardment Group.
This will be located at the new Marin
County Field, to be constructed to re-
place Rockwell Field, on North Island,
which will be turned over to the Navy.
The first wing will be composed of the
Seventh Bombardment Group. which
now has its headquarters at Rockwell
Field.
New composite wings will be created
in the Panama Canal Zone and the
Hawaiian department for the defense
of those points. A new composite group
will be created in the Philippines.
Under the five-year program the Air
Corps is creating five great new fields
and centers. They are Barksdale Field,
Shreveport. La, to be the home of the
new third attack wing; Randolph
Field, Tex, to be the west Point of
the Air" by combination of all training
activities; Marin County, Calf, to be
the home of the Seventh Bombardment
Group and headquarters of the First
Borbardment Wing; Alameda, Calf,
and Albrook Field, Canal Zone. to be
the home of the Nineteenth Composite
| Wing.
The five-year program originally
called for 1900 "serviceable" airplanes.
Under ruling of the Secretary of War,
airplanes in repair depots undergoing
overhauling and repairs are not to be
classed as serviceable. Since 1912 per
cent of all Army planes normally are
in the depots, it will require 2,058
planes on hand so that 1900 may be
maintained in Serviceable condition.
The program now is four-f1fths COM
pleted, but owing to shortage of appro-
priations by Congress for the fiscal
year which has just begun, probably
will not be completed until after the
beginning of the fiscal year starting
July /, 1882.