Evening star., 1936-11-15
By Joseph S. Edgerf0n.

pleted its fedgllng stage and left the
eyrie. Its first Sumer of training
behind it, the young air service
quarter century ago made its first
appearance before the public as part
OF the Nations defensivs system.
During the subsequent 25 years
Army aviation has made itself known
to virtually every citizen of the Re-
public. Every State, almost every
county, has heard the deep-throated
roar of the fighting squadrons as they
sweep the skies in combat training.
Twenty-Five years ago, during the
closing days of November, when the
United States Army aviation squad"
broke up its first aviation camp for
the Winter and prepared to move
South, days and weeks of anxious
preparation preceded the transfer of
the four airplanes and personnel and
equipment-by train-to Augusta, Ga.
Today an hours notice is sufficient to
send full squadron or group of giant,
powerful Army fighting planes hun
6leds -- even thousands, of miles
from home, equipped and manned for
action. In this silver anniversary
year of Army flying, several such
surprise" missions have been ordered
to test the fitness of the fighting
squadrons of the General Headquar-
ters Air Force and have proved them
ready and able.
OF the five officers who composed
that first aviation camp at College
norly ctr ft, In Afr
in positions of high command, after
25 years of continuous flying service.
Another, retired, lives in Washington.
College Park Airport, worlds first
military airdrome, still is an active,
bustling flying field. 1t has lost all
of its military atmosphere, however,
and the accent is on the private and
sports phases of flying, scarcely limited
25 years ago, when it was the home
of the entire Army air service.
A THOUGH the first military air.
plane was delivered to the Army
in 1909, it was not until 1911 that the
training of Army pilots really began,
following the establishment of the
College Park base. The National
Capital, from the beginning, was the
center of most of the early Army avia-
ton activity.
In September. 1908. Orville Wright
arrived at Fort Myer, Va, and began
demonstrating the Wright airplane to
Army officials. On September 9 he
circled the parade ground 81 times
in less than an hour and later that
same day accomplished the first flight
exceeding an hours duration The
crash in which Lieut.. Thomas E. Self
ridge was killed ended the 1908 dem
onstrations.
In July, 1909, the Wrights returned
to Fort Myer with new airplane.
With Lieut.. Frank P. Lahm as pas
senger, Orville exceeded the duration
record required by the Army, remain
ing in the air l hour IL minutes and
30 seconds. On July 80, with Lieut..
Benjamin D. Foulois as passenger,
Orville, on a cross-country flight be-
tween Fort Myer and Shutters Hill,
Alexandria, Va, on top of which the
George Washington Masonic Memorial
stands today, exceeded the speed re-
quired by averaging AZ miles per hour.
At the end of 1909, Army aviation
boasted one airplane, an airship. a
free balloon, small captive balloon
and a 200-foot balloon and airship
shed at Fort Omaha Nebr.
In 1910 the Wright brothers oper-
sted for time at College Park. There
they gave initial flying instruction
to Lieut. Foulois, who retired a year
ago as chief Of the Army Air Corps.
Later in 1910 Foulois went to Fort
Sam Houston, Tex, with the Army's
lone airplane.
The following year Congress appro-
priated $125,000 for Army aeronautics
and made $4,000 Immediately avail
able. A young Army officer, Lieut..
Roy c. Kirkland, was sent to College
Park to supervise the laying out of
the first military airdrome in the
world. Today Col. Kirkland is on duty
in the War Department, with addi-
tional flying duty at Boiling Field,
after a quarter of century of con-
tinuous flying experience.
College Park already was an active
airport when Lieut.. Kirkland went
there to arrange for its use by the
Army for flight training. Rex Smith
and others had been operating there.
On April 9, 1911, about the time Lieut.. |
Kirkland began working on the Army
installation, Smiths first airplane was
used in an experimental Army radio
flight. Anthony Janus flew the ship,
while Rufus Berman, Signal Corps
civilian en1ploye, operated a small
wireless set, his signals being picked
up at the War Department.
TT WAS announced on June that
the War Department was prepar-
Ing orders detailing four officers and
Is men Of the Signal Corps for avia-
ton duty at College Park. The Of
ficers were Lieut.. Kirkland, already
busy on the scene; Capt. Charles de
Forest Chandler, now a Washington
resident following his retirement from
the service with the rank of colonel;
Lieut. Henry w. Arnold. now brig
adler general in the Air Corps, and
Lieut.. Thomas de Witt Milling, re-
Gently retired from the Air Corps.
work already had been started on
the first four Army hangers, each
Is by As feet in size.
At this time DR.. w. w. Christmas,
pioneer aviation designer, was build
ing his second airplane at College
Park, Smith was completing construc-.
ton of his second airplane and was
building an airplane factory, which
eti1 stoodc and Emil parliner mes
completing a new rotary engine. Ac-
tivities were further increased on
June II, when Capt. Thomas S. Bald
win arrived from New York accom-
panied by ]. c. Bud" Mars and Tod
Shriver, noted pilots of the Curtiss
team Baldwin rented part of a large
double hangar at the field as his
Summer operating base.
A few days later the first Army
airplane Wright biplane, arrived