What on (Google) Earth... ??

[GM]

Hi all in US glider land,

I was cruizing eastwards out of Marfa, TX (only on Google Earth,
unfortunately), when I came accross this feature that looks like a
gigantic Airfield. Go to N30°15'35", W103°52'50". What the hey is
(was) this?? Anybody?
Just curious.

Uli Neumann

[vontresc]

On Mar 26, 9:24 pm, GM > wrote:
> Hi all in US glider land,
>
> I was cruizing eastwards out of Marfa, TX (only on Google Earth,
> unfortunately), when I came accross this feature that looks like a
> gigantic Airfield. Go to N30°15'35", W103°52'50". What the hey is
> (was) this?? Anybody?
> Just curious.
>
> Uli Neumann

I believe that is the original Marfa WWII Army Air Force airfield.

http://members.tripod.com/airfields_freeman/TX/Airfields_TX_BigBend.html#marfa

Pete

[Tuno]

That is actually the one and only Marfa Army Airfield, where Neil
Armstrong earned his FAI Silver badge.

Read more here: http://members.tripod.com/airfields_freeman/TX/Airfields_TX_BigBend.html#marfa

Or: http://tinyurl.com/335389

2NO

[Frank Whiteley]

On Mar 26, 8:24 pm, GM > wrote:
> Hi all in US glider land,
>
> I was cruizing eastwards out of Marfa, TX (only on Google Earth,
> unfortunately), when I came accross this feature that looks like a
> gigantic Airfield. Go to N30°15'35", W103°52'50". What the hey is
> (was) this?? Anybody?
> Just curious.
>
> Uli Neumann

Marfa Army Air Field began in 1942, when the War Department selected
the Marfa area as a site for training United States Army Air Corps
pilots. By February 1942 the department had let a contract for a Class
A airport, costing $2,281,794, where training in the Cessna AT*17
would provide an intermediate step from single-engine to multi-engine
planes. McGough Brothers of Houston was the general contractor. Marfa
and nearby Alpine each voted $10,000 in bonds to buy the land for the
airfield, 2,750 acres, from T. G. Hendrick of Abilene at $6.50 an
acre. The towns, in turn, leased the property to the War Department
for twenty*five years at one dollar a year. A federal court directed
C. T. Mitchell, Mrs. Bertha Holmes, the John A. Lawrence estate, and
the Gage estate to deliver 1,809 acres for four auxiliary landing
fields. In June 1942 Col. Gerald Hoyle, project officer, arrived and
set up his temporary headquarters in the Marfa National Bank building.
Hoyle served as base commander until June 1943. The first cadets
arrived on December 5, 1942, and entered flight training two days
later. Members of this class completed their courses by February 12,
1943, and received their silver wings. A class completed training each
month until the final graduation in May 1945. Some graduations were
without fanfare, but a majority were thrown open to the public, with
aerial demonstrations, tours, refreshments, and a dance. The base at
first was designated Marfa Army Air Field, Advanced Flying School, but
at the arrival in June of Hoyle's replacement, Col. George F. Hartman,
the name was changed to Marfa Army Air Field, Army Air Forces Advanced
Flying School. Hartman served four months, and was replaced by Col.
Donald Phillips. In October 1943 the scope of support personnel was
enlarged, when two Women's Army Corps officers arrived as a vanguard
of enlisted WACs. Phillips promoted public relations. For example, in
April 1944 he arranged a Pan-American Day celebration, with military
and civilian dignitaries from Mexico and the United States attending.
In June 1944 Col. A. J. Kerwin Malone assumed command, and the War
Department transferred Marfa Army Air Field to the Second Air Force,
headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado. During Malone's tenure
(ten months), 2,500 cadets were graduated. The classes included
regular trainees, Chinese nationals, and Air Transport personnel. On*
the*line pre*pilot training and mechanics courses were added, and B*
25s, AT*11s, and AT*6s were added to retrain pilot returnees. In April
1945 Col. Henry R. Baxter, the fifth and last commander at Marfa Army
Air Field, arrived. He supervised two graduation services. On May 4,
1945, the local newspaper announced that the May graduating class
would be the last. In June Marfa Army Air Field became a redeployment
center for the Troop Carrier Command, with some 2,400 men to be sent
there to train with C-46 and C-47 aircraft. The field was renamed the
818th Air Base Unit. The end of World War IIqv halted these plans.
More than 500 veterans from various squadrons arrived at the base for
redeployment or discharge. By December 1945 Colonel Baxter was one of
only two pilots at the field.

On the thirty-first, Marfa Army Air Field was closed.

[[email protected]]

On Mar 26, 7:33 pm, vontresc > wrote:
> On Mar 26, 9:24 pm, GM > wrote:
>
> > Hi all in US glider land,
>
> > I was cruizing eastwards out of Marfa, TX (only on Google Earth,
> > unfortunately), when I came accross this feature that looks like a
> > gigantic Airfield. Go to N30°15'35", W103°52'50". What the hey is
> > (was) this?? Anybody?
> > Just curious.
>
> > Uli Neumann
>
> I believe that is the original Marfa WWII Army Air Force airfield.
>
> http://members.tripod.com/airfields_freeman/TX/Airfields_TX_BigBend.h...
>
> Pete

Flying commercial between PHX and San Diego a few years ago, I noticed
several "A" shaped patterns in the wide open deserts, and they weren't
marked on my aviation maps. The commercial pilots said they were
probably old WW2 training fields. They were similar to Marfa, and
quite a few airports today seem to have started as those old training
fields.

[Tuno]

Arizona has a dozen or so of them. El Tiro is one. Luke AFB has
several defunct WWII auxilliary fields that all match the description.

[Scott[_1_]]

Tuno wrote:
> That is actually the one and only Marfa Army Airfield, where Neil
> Armstrong earned his FAI Silver badge.
>
> Read more here: http://members.tripod.com/airfields_freeman/TX/Airfields_TX_BigBend.html#marfa
>
> Or: http://tinyurl.com/335389
>
> 2NO

Who? Just kidding ;)

Scott

[[email protected]]

> Who? Just kidding ;)
>
> Scott

you know, Louis Armstrong's brother!

[GM]

On Mar 27, 7:12*pm, wrote:
> > Who? *Just kidding ;)
>
> > Scott
>
> you know, Louis Armstrong's brother!


Thanks to all those who replied!
I was just struck by the almost 'ghosly' image of an airfield embedded
into the vegetation. It is amazing to see how nature reclaims all
these structures. Just a shame that not one of these defunct
facilities are used for the sole purpose of soaring. Just imagine
having an 8,000ft runway set aside just for winch launching or auto-
towing!
Just dreaming...

Uli

[[email protected]]

On Mar 27, 9:32*pm, GM > wrote:
> On Mar 27, 7:12*pm, wrote:
>
> > > Who? *Just kidding ;)
>
> > > Scott
>
> > you know, Louis Armstrong's brother!
>
> Thanks to all those who replied!
> I was just struck by the almost 'ghosly' image of an airfield embedded
> into the vegetation. It is amazing to see how nature reclaims all
> these structures. Just a shame that not one of these defunct
> facilities are used for the sole purpose of soaring. Just imagine
> having an 8,000ft runway set aside just for winch launching or auto-
> towing!
> Just dreaming...
>
> Uli

It WAS used for soaring but the desert has taken it over. The Sunship
games was filmed there but now all gliding is at the new Marfa airport
north of town. Burt took me on a low level tour of it a couple years
ago in the C-150. Some of the brush was 20 feet high at least! You
can't even see any of it from ground level. You land there you die.
There is another one west of Marfa that you can find on sat photos.