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REF POST 284: Polaris Flight Academy, War Eagle Field, Squadron 14, 5" Flight Jacket Insignia

Here is my Dads Class Photo that your Patch goes to. It is hard to see but the Photo says "Squadron 14 Class 44-G Polaris Flight Academy War Eagle Field Lancaster, California." I do not know when the photo was taken or when my Dad was there. I never had the chance to talk to him about his time in the Service.

post-158400-0-66409500-1430379364.jpg

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Hello Mike and welcome to the Forum.

 

I have a near-complete set of class books from Polaris Flight Academy, including Class 44-G, Squadron 14. I don't see the last name "Coke" listed in the book, but I do see some of the others identified in your photo. If you'd forward your Father's name, I'd be happy to post an image of his individual flying cadet photo.

 

Russ

 

 

 

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Hello Mike and welcome to the Forum.

 

I have a near-complete set of class books from Polaris Flight Academy, including Class 44-G, Squadron 14. I don't see the last name "Coke" listed in the book, but I do see some of the others identified in your photo. If you'd forward your Father's name, I'd be happy to post an image of his individual flying cadet photo.

 

Russ

 

 

 

My Dad's name is Edgar J Lawrence. Thx that would be great My Mom and Dad divorced when I was almost 6 and I had very little contact with him. When I was 6 weeks old Mom and I went to Japan to where he was stationed and lived there almost 2 years. Then Selfridge AFB Michigan, then Mitchell AFB Long Island New York and that is when Mom Left him.

Here is the Plane he flew at Selfridge with the 49th Air Rescue Squadron and their Patch.

 

albattross-pic1.jpg49thARS.jpgalbattross-pic2.jpg

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rustywings
On 5/1/2015 at 10:55 PM, MikeCoke said:

My Dad's name is Edgar J Lawrence. Thx that would be great My Mom and Dad divorced when I was almost 6 and I had very little contact with him. When I was 6 weeks old Mom and I went to Japan to where he was stationed and lived there almost 2 years. Then Selfridge AFB Michigan, then Mitchell AFB Long Island New York and that is when Mom Left him.

Here is the Plane he flew at Selfridge with the 49th Air Rescue Squadron and their Patch.

 

http://mikes-collectibles.com/albatross/albattross-pic1.jpghttp://mikes-collectibles.com/albatross/49thARS.jpghttp://mikes-collectibles.com/albatross/albattross-pic2.jpg

 

Hello Mike,

 

For your own reference, here's what your Father's class book looks like. I've run across a number of these same books in the recent past...and I see them listed on ebay now and then. I might be able to help you locate one for your own use.

 

 

IMG_6688.JPG

 

Flying Cadet Edgar J. Lawrence:

 

IMG_6685.JPG

 

IMG_6686.JPG

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Flying Cadet Edgar J. Lawrence:

 

Thank very much I had never seen a pic of my Dad from that time period.

Does the Book have a date when the class started and finished?

Mike Lawrence

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rustywings

Thank very much I had never seen a pic of my Dad from that time period.

Does the Book have a date when the class started and finished?

Mike Lawrence

 

Mike,

 

Unfortunately, there are no dates listed in the class book...not even a print date. The book does mention that a new class starts training at Polaris Flight Academy once every 4 1/2 weeks. Since your Father was assigned to class 44-G, he would have likely arrived at this school in early July,1944.

 

If you find out your Father attended "Primary" Flight School in the Southern California area, I have several class books for Cal Aero, Mira Loma, Twenty-nine Palms, Ryan and Rankin. Who knows, maybe we can locate an even earlier photo?

 

Russ

 

IMG_6689.JPG

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  • 6 months later...

I was reviewing some of my records of flight instructor wings and ran across a picture of instructor Merle Phillips Polhemus who was located at Victory Field in Vernon, Texas. HIs hat badge and lapel wings are made by A.E. Company. I assume his instructor wings were made by them also. I only have photocopies of these items but they may have some interest to the members of the Forum.

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2

post-1658-0-29548300-1448911059.jpg

 

3

post-1658-0-04155800-1448911135.jpg

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Wonder if he's related to William Polhemus, the Air Force navigator who was crew on a B-58 for a world's speed record from Washington to Paris in 1961. He was also the navigator on Ann Pellegreno's flight in 1967 that retraced Amelia Earhart's route.

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Hey General-Lucas, thank you for posting. These early contract flight school insignia and patches make me drool as a collector!

 

I believe the letter "R" seen in the upper portion of the cap piece would identify it as an early 1941 to 1942 insignia, when Ritchey Flying Service ran the school. According to the book "Two Hundred Thousand Flyers" by Willard Wiener, the U.S. Army handed the school over to Colonel Dan Hunter in December 1942 and it was then operated by Hunter Flying Service, Victory Field...

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Happen to be fortunate enough to have several items from Victory Field in my collection. Rusty Wings is correct, the school was originally Ritchey Flying Service, opened 14 July 1941. After December 1942, Colonel Dan Hunter operated the school as Hunter Flying Service. The school closed 4 August 1944. Of interest, Hunter also operated a Pre-flight Glider School at Hamilton, Texas (23rd AAF GTD).

 

Examples of insignia and patches follow:

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post-14361-0-95806200-1448938876.jpg

post-14361-0-83320900-1448938916.jpg

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The following picture is of a Victory Field patch I am aware of, and would very much like to add it to my Contract Flying / Pilot Training collection.

 

I would also like to obtain examples of the pilot wings and collar devices.

post-14361-0-54428700-1448939034.jpg

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  • 3 months later...

Picked up this interesting Danecraft WTS wing at last weekend's Baltimore Show.

It is defiantly not a modified CPT wing and I don't believe I have seen one before.

 

John

post-12439-0-16410500-1458749268.jpg

 

post-12439-0-06064100-1458749278.jpg

 

Better pic of the back of the wing.

post-12439-0-52499000-1458750594.jpg

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  • 3 months later...
  • 7 months later...

I'd like to re-address an old post in this thread with some freshly discovered information. Back in October 2010, images of a wing were shared in post #409 & #410 which many of us (myself included) identified as representing "Hawthorne Field" near Los Angeles.

 

Beautifully made and hallmarked by J.A. Meyers & Co. of Los Angeles, this full-size wing was thought to be worn by Civilian Contract Flight Instructors at that school overseen by the Northrop Company.

 

Coincidentally, I believe the uniform posted above by ocsfollowme represents the "Hawthorne School of Aeronautics" in South Carolina and has no direct association with Hawthorne Field in California or the "HF" wing illustrated back on post #409.

Hancock Foundation.jpg

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I recently purchased a 1943 dated soft-cover publication entitled "Hancock College of Aeronautics - America's Air Academy." The publication offers a brief history about the establishment of the flight school in October 1928 near Santa Maria, California (about 100 miles north of L.A.). When Captain Allan Hancock first established this school in the late 1920's, he initially named it the "Hancock Foundation College of Aeronautics." (Hence the initials "HF" correlation).

 

The publication also included a May 1930 dated graduation photo of a small class of aviation cadets, as well as an example of their graduation certificate. Check out the wing design printed on the certificate...

IMG_01401.JPG

 

IMG_01411.JPG

 

What's also revealing in this early class photograph is every graduate appears to be wearing that same "HF" wing... and a large "Hancock College" cap piece similar in design to the school logo seen on this WWII era certificate. (Also included is a wallet size solo card.)

 

IMG_01721 (2).JPG

 

IMG_01731.JPG

 

I think we need to keep in mind that in 1930, even though these early flight schools were heavily influenced by both the US Army and Navy, they weren't under the same stringent control seen later in 1940 when they were under supervision of the military and the CAA War Training Service.

 

Copied from the same publication, here's a picture of USAAF Flying Training Command General Barton Yount with seven of the original eight Contract Flight School owners:

IMG_01641 (2).JPG

 

Closer image of General Barton Yount and flight school owners Captain Allan Hancock and Major C.C. Moseley (Cal Aero Flight Academy, Mira Loma Flight Academy & Polaris Flight Academy).

IMG_01651 (2).JPG

 

Another image from the same 1943 publication depicts a war period CAA/WTS wing and cap piece being worn by Captain Allan Hancock:

IMG_01632 (2).JPG

 

Hancock College.jpg

 

Hancock College #2.jpg

 

Here's a photograph of Flying Cadets graduating from Hancock College of Aeronautics in 1943. Quite a contrast from the 1930 graduation photo posted above...

 

And another image from the publication depicting Civilian Flight Instructors...

IMG_01701 (2).JPG

 

IMG_01741.JPG

 

So... I now think the "HF" wings are much older and more scarce than we originally thought. They were likely presented to graduates from 1928 until the flight school dropped the word "Foundation" from their name. Yes, before WWII, but when exactly? I don't know?

 

We also know the J.A. Meyers & Co. in Los Angeles produced these "Hancock Foundation" wings as well as a unique style US Army Air Corps full-size Pilot wing during the 1920's, but were out of business well before WWII.

 

I don't know what the Flight Instructor's wore during the early years at Hancock Foundation College of Aeronautics... But I have to assume if the civilian graduates were all wearing full USAAC-style uniforms, Sam-Browne's, cap pieces and wings, it stands to reason the Flight Instructors and Staff must have worn equally impressive uniforms and insignia prior to being subjected to the uniform and insignia regulations of the CAA/WTS beginning in 1940. Is it possible the Instructors wore the same "HF" wings as the graduates? I hope someone can grab the ball and run with it!

Hawthorne_Field__Northrop_Contract_Pilot_School1.jpg

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Just to add to some of the great information that Russ provided. J A Meyers & CO was founded in 1912 and was located in the jewelry district in downtown LA and was primarily involved in making wedding rings. I believe that around 1950, Francis Meyers (the son) took over the company and ran it until the mid 1970's. Francis Meyers was involved with UCLA adult education and tragically was killed in an automobile accident in the late 1990's (well into this 80's).

 

I don't know if they made wings during WWII. They may have, but just didn't hallmark them. But most of the wings I have seen that have their hallmark "seem" to be from the pre-war period. This HF wing suggests that they are from the 30's or so.

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It seems that after WWI there was a lot of public interest in flying and flight training. The old barnstormers were WWI trained pilots but there was very little regulation or oversight of aviation until the late 1920's. In this enviroment a number of flight schools were established and developed in the post WWI-1920's that sprouted up around the country. S ome were very small, mom and pop, type outfits. Others, like the Cal-Aero, Riddle, and Hancock were much larger and professional. However, these flight schools were probably not at all associated with the US military (either USAAC or USN/USMC/USCC pilot training), although I suspect a fair number of young men got their first taste of flying from taking a few flights or classes at these civilian schools. During the Depression, the FDR Administration was again focused on developing non-military civilian aviation and aeronautics in the US. They goal was to establish local airports, civilian aviation companies and schools, and civilian airlines. Again, these were not under military control or oversight, so the use of uniforms, ranks, insignia, equipment and even flight standards were more or less left up to the individuals involved. Mostly, the Government was probably more focused on public safety, more than anything else.

By the time WWII was starting in Europe, the US was beginning to recognize how far behind it was in its military aviation infrastructure and started to build up its capabilities to train pilots. However, they soon realized that without the assistance of civilian aviation, they were dangerously behind the axis powers. That is when you see the first Contract Flight Schools.

 

If you look at those year books of those schools, you can frequently follow the development of a more "uniform" civilian instructor uniform. From about 1940-1942, much of the insignia and gear worn by the instructors was determined by the local school. But by about late 1942-1944, they started to standardize and use the "eagle-headed" instructor insignia. By late 1944-1945, the schools were no longer needed as the military had picked up all the slack and you see the number of civilian pilot instructors dropping. After the war, many of the airports and flight schools eventually went out of business.

 

Here is a very good book that talks about the development of the CAA leading up to and during WWII. I recommend you read it if you are interested:

 

https://www.amazon.com/PUTT-PUTT-AIR-FORCE-Civilian-1939-1944/dp/B000X1X3BY

 

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It seems that after WWI there was a lot of public interest in flying and flight training. The old barnstormers were WWI trained pilots but there was very little regulation or oversight of aviation until the late 1920's. In this enviroment a number of flight schools were established and developed in the post WWI-1920's that sprouted up around the country. S ome were very small, mom and pop, type outfits. Others, like the Cal-Aero, Riddle, and Hancock were much larger and professional. However, these flight schools were probably not at all associated with the US military (either USAAC or USN/USMC/USCC pilot training), although I suspect a fair number of young men got their first taste of flying from taking a few flights or classes at these civilian schools. During the Depression, the FDR Administration was again focused on developing non-military civilian aviation and aeronautics in the US. They goal was to establish local airports, civilian aviation companies and schools, and civilian airlines. Again, these were not under military control or oversight, so the use of uniforms, ranks, insignia, equipment and even flight standards were more or less left up to the individuals involved. Mostly, the Government was probably more focused on public safety, more than anything else.

By the time WWII was starting in Europe, the US was beginning to recognize how far behind it was in its military aviation infrastructure and started to build up its capabilities to train pilots. However, they soon realized that without the assistance of civilian aviation, they were dangerously behind the axis powers. That is when you see the first Contract Flight Schools.

 

If you look at those year books of those schools, you can frequently follow the development of a more "uniform" civilian instructor uniform. From about 1940-1942, much of the insignia and gear worn by the instructors was determined by the local school. But by about late 1942-1944, they started to standardize and use the "eagle-headed" instructor insignia. By late 1944-1945, the schools were no longer needed as the military had picked up all the slack and you see the number of civilian pilot instructors dropping. After the war, many of the airports and flight schools eventually went out of business.

 

Here is a very good book that talks about the development of the CAA leading up to and during WWII. I recommend you read it if you are interested:

 

https://www.amazon.com/PUTT-PUTT-AIR-FORCE-Civilian-1939-1944/dp/B000X1X3BY

 

 

Excellent follow-up info! Thank you Patrick...

 

There's a definite early connection between the Hancock College of Aeronautics and the University of Southern California, but I don't yet fully understand the relationship between the two schools? In that same publication I've been referring to, there's an aerial view of the large crowd that showed up at Hancock Field on opening day in 1928 to watch a combined Army/Navy Air Show. There's also a reference about USC President Rufus Von Kleinsmid being present as a guest of honor? I wonder if Hancock College was considered a satellite-campus for aeronautics?

 

Apparently USC took over once Hancock Field shut down and the War was over. Here's a post-war (1948) A-2 style patch from the same field.

 

 

 

Hancock College-USC.jpg

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For the Hancock Airfield here is your answer. http://www.hancockcollege.edu/public_affairs/capt-hancock.php

 

Capt. G. Allan Hancock was a sea captain, oilman, explorer, developer, banker, aviator, scientist, businessman, farmer, railroad engineer, musician, and philanthropist.

He is perhaps best known in the Santa Maria Valley for the college that bears his name. Allan Hancock College stands on the site of the former Hancock College of Aeronautics founded by Capt. Hancock, where thousands of pilots trained for service during World War II.

Capt. Hancock's involvement with the Santa Maria Valley began in earnest in the 1920s when he started an experimental crop irrigation program on a 400-acre farm, raising corn and alfalfa as feed for cattle. The farm was eventually expanded to more than 5,000 acres.

Capt. Hancock also bought and expanded the Santa Maria Valley Railroad, which was originally constructed in 1911 for transport of asphalt from a refinery at Betteravia to Guadalupe, connecting there to the main railroad line. Hancock developed a 29-mile system of railroad right-of-way and tracks and turned the Santa Maria Valley Railroad into the busiest short line railroad system in the country. The railroad still operates between Santa Maria and Guadalupe, and is used for transportation of feed to Rosemary Farm, Hancock's egg-production facility that lies just east of Santa Maria, which Hancock founded in 1925 and named for his daughter.

His passion for aviation developed while he still lived in Los Angeles. That led to the founding of the Hancock College of Aeronautics--not long after he financed the 1928 flight of the "Southern Cross," which made the first historic non-stop flight across the Pacific Ocean. Hancock built the aviation school and private airport on 200 acres within Santa Maria's city limits, opening it in 1929.

In 1939, Gen. Henry "Hap" Arnold, chief of the Army Air Corps, requested that Hancock's school be used to train pilots for the Army. Germany's Luftwaffe then ruled the skies over Europe, and the U. S. had few pilots and no aviation training facilities. Between July 1, 1939, and June 30, 1944, more than 8,400 aviation cadets and student officers were trained at the Hancock College of Aeronautics.

After the war ended, the school was rented for $1 per year to the University of Southern California (USC), which then offered a four-year degree in aeronautical engineering at Hancock's aviation school.

In 1954, Hancock leased the aviation school site to Santa Maria Junior College for $1 per year. Before then, the college, founded in 1920, had conducted cramped classes at Santa Maria High School. Four years later, voters approved a bond measure that financed the purchase of the land and facilities, and construction of the first new buildings at the college campus, which was renamed Allan Hancock College.

 

 

http://www.militarymuseum.org/HancockField.html

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For the Hancock Airfield here is your answer. http://www.hancockcollege.edu/public_affairs/capt-hancock.php

 

Capt. G. Allan Hancock was a sea captain, oilman, explorer, developer, banker, aviator, scientist, businessman, farmer, railroad engineer, musician, and philanthropist.

He is perhaps best known in the Santa Maria Valley for the college that bears his name. Allan Hancock College stands on the site of the former Hancock College of Aeronautics founded by Capt. Hancock, where thousands of pilots trained for service during World War II.

Capt. Hancock's involvement with the Santa Maria Valley began in earnest in the 1920s when he started an experimental crop irrigation program on a 400-acre farm, raising corn and alfalfa as feed for cattle. The farm was eventually expanded to more than 5,000 acres.

Capt. Hancock also bought and expanded the Santa Maria Valley Railroad, which was originally constructed in 1911 for transport of asphalt from a refinery at Betteravia to Guadalupe, connecting there to the main railroad line. Hancock developed a 29-mile system of railroad right-of-way and tracks and turned the Santa Maria Valley Railroad into the busiest short line railroad system in the country. The railroad still operates between Santa Maria and Guadalupe, and is used for transportation of feed to Rosemary Farm, Hancock's egg-production facility that lies just east of Santa Maria, which Hancock founded in 1925 and named for his daughter.

His passion for aviation developed while he still lived in Los Angeles. That led to the founding of the Hancock College of Aeronautics--not long after he financed the 1928 flight of the "Southern Cross," which made the first historic non-stop flight across the Pacific Ocean. Hancock built the aviation school and private airport on 200 acres within Santa Maria's city limits, opening it in 1929.

In 1939, Gen. Henry "Hap" Arnold, chief of the Army Air Corps, requested that Hancock's school be used to train pilots for the Army. Germany's Luftwaffe then ruled the skies over Europe, and the U. S. had few pilots and no aviation training facilities. Between July 1, 1939, and June 30, 1944, more than 8,400 aviation cadets and student officers were trained at the Hancock College of Aeronautics.

After the war ended, the school was rented for $1 per year to the University of Southern California (USC), which then offered a four-year degree in aeronautical engineering at Hancock's aviation school.

In 1954, Hancock leased the aviation school site to Santa Maria Junior College for $1 per year. Before then, the college, founded in 1920, had conducted cramped classes at Santa Maria High School. Four years later, voters approved a bond measure that financed the purchase of the land and facilities, and construction of the first new buildings at the college campus, which was renamed Allan Hancock College.

 

 

http://www.militarymuseum.org/HancockField.html

 

Steve, thank you for providing another piece to the puzzle!

 

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