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WWI wings over Texas


pfrost
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I did some research about where the various WWI Air Service Fields were and how this was related to the various Texas-based wing manufacturers.

 

This map (I hope its correct) shows the 6-7 Texas air fields and the (possible) areas that were served by the various jewelers in the area. I thought we could make this thread (or this map) a supplement to Chris' great weekly WWI wings work.

 

The overlapping circles are just my estimates. I suspect that there may have been other wing makers, including bullion manufacturers.

 

P

post-1519-0-13759400-1585694225_thumb.jpg

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Another bit of fantastic information!

 

For those interested, the intersection of the circles happens to be great hog hunting areas.

 

So why did the manufacturers from St. Louis, Philadelphia, New Jersey, San Fran, and Massachusetts pop up? Were there air fields near them as well?

I am having a lot of issues today. One more time.

 

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Another bit of fantastic information!

 

For those interested, the intersection of the circles happens to be great hog hunting areas.

 

So why did the manufacturers from St. Louis, Philadelphia, New Jersey, San Fran, and Massachusetts pop up? Were there air fields near them as well?

 

 

As you note, nearby airfields is part of the answer (i.e. Park Field in Millington TN and Homrighous in Memphis)... There are multiple other factors as well:

  • There appears to have been a trade relationship between JJ Sweeney of Houston TX and the Eisenstadt Manufacturing Co of St Louis MO
  • BB&B of Philadelphia, PA was one of the few manufacturers of that era that could boast a nation-wide reach in 1918. Numerous NOS BB&B Aviator and Observer badges were discovered in the famous "Frank Brothers cache" that surfaced at a San Antonio flea market in the early 1990s
  • Attleboro and Attleboro Falls MA were both centers of manufacturers of ready made jewelry, regalia, and military insignia such as Robbins. Robbins also had "Robbins Nest" stores in various large cities (trying to compete with the likes of BB&B )
  • New York, was the national hub of the jewelry business. The overwhelming majority of Airmen who went to France did so through the various ports around New York and New Jersey. Similarly, Airmen returning from France to act as instructors also passed through those states
  • The training syllabus for Aviators was constantly changing during the 18 months the US was in the war. Airmen typically took their basic ground training at one of the University based ground schools, Basic pilot training (which led to commissioning as 2nd LTs upon graduation at an Airfield (not nessarily near the ground training University), gunnery training at second Airfield, then advanced training at a third airfield. Late in the war, specialty training began at specific airfields (such as Bombing Military Aviators at Ellington ton Field in Houston). Throughout Basic and Advanced flight training, pilots would conduct navigation training flights to nearby airfields. Many of these fledgling airmen, in the course of their training, literally crisscrossed the country from Florida, to Texas, California to Illinois, New York to Tennessee, and more.

 

Chris

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zzyzzogeton

Two of the jewelers in San Antonio at the time who could have provided wings were McNeel Jewelry and Bell Bros. Jewelry.

 

Bell actually installed the first Seth Thomas clock in the Ft Sam Quadrangle Clock tower in 1982, replacing it later in 1907 with another Seth Thomas clock. With a long-term relationship with Ft Sam, they would have been a likely source for wings for pilots trained in the area at Camp Wise (Observer Balloons), Brooks Field (Instructor Training), and Kelly Field (Pilot Training). They were in business until 1961.

 

I only know about Camp Wise because that's where my grandfather trained as a ground crew grunt for Balloon Squadron 94 and was stationed there until his discharge in January 1919. It was located about 2 miles NW of FT Sam Houston.

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