Air Materiel Command

Air Materiel Command (AMC) was a United States Army Air Forces and United States Air Force command. Its headquarters was located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. In 1961, the command was redesignated the Air Force Logistics Command (AFLC) with some of its functions transferred to the new Air Force Systems Command.

The logistics function can be traced before the earliest days of the Air Service, when the Equipment Division of the U.S. Army Signal Corps established a headquarters for its new Airplane Engineering Department at McCook Field, Dayton, Ohio.

The Airplane Engineering Department on McCook Field at Dayton, Ohio was established by the Chief Signal Officer, U.S. Army, and the Equipment Division of the U.S. Army Signal Corps on 13 October 1917. Its task was experimental engineering. The department had a Foreign Data Section by 1917. The Department established the Air School of Application in 1919. After World War I, the department was renamed the Airplane Engineering Division on 31 August 1918, under Lt Col Jesse G. Vincent (Packard co-engineer of the 1917 V-12 Liberty engine) to study and design American versions of foreign aircraft. Re-designated the Engineering Division of the U.S. Army Air Service in March 1919, it carried out the research, development and testing of military aircraft, engines, airships and accessories.

In 1920, the Engineering Division's Bureau of Aircraft Production completed the design of the Ground Attack, Experimental, (GAX) aircraft built as the Boeing GA-1, and designed the VCP-1 that won the initial Pulitzer Race in 1920 at Roosevelt Field. It also designed the TP-1 and TW-1.

Early on, the department's focus was flight testing and training. The department was renamed the Airplane Engineering Division (AED) following World War I. The AED continued its mission of flight testing and training, but also began development and engineering. One early native model, the VCP-1 was designed by resident engineers, Alfred V. Verville and Virginius E. Clark. Another aircraft tested was the MB-1, eventually used as the standard mail plane. The division also expanded operations to Wilbur Wright Field. The division also pioneered aviation safety with the use of free-fall parachutes and the development of protective clothing, closed cockpits, heated and pressurized cabins, and oxygen systems. As the stockpile of aircraft and parts grew the division was able to spend more time finding ways to enhance tools and procedures for pilots. Advancements include things like an electric ignition system, anti-knock fuels, navigational aids, improved weather forecasting techniques, stronger propellers, advancements in aerial photography, and the design of landing and wing lights for night flying.

In 1925 the division's role shifted from design and building of to acquiring and evaluating aircraft prototypes submitted by the commercial aircraft industry. This left division engineers were left free to concentrate on developing standards unique to military aircraft, reviewing designs, modifying and testing procured machines, and developing ancillary equipment to enhance military aircraft.

The Engineering Division merged with the Supply Division in 1926 to form the Material Division. The new unit required more space than McCook Field offered, so in an effort to keep the Air Service presence at Dayton, a local interest group led by John H. Patterson and his son Frederick bought 4,520 acres (18.3 km²) of land, including Wilbur Wright Field and donated it to the Air Service, creating Wright Field. From Wright Field the division continued to work on aviation advancements including engine design, navigation and communications equipment, cockpit instrumentation, electrically heated flight clothing, and in-flight refueling equipment. The Physiological Research Laboratory led pioneering research in pilot exposure to extremes of speed, pressure, and temperature. Specific advancements of the division in the 1930s include the Norden bombsight, internal bomb bay, and power-operated gun turret.

The Materiel Division was set up near Dayton, Ohio on 15 January 1926. The Materiel Division, controlled by the Office of the Chief of Air Corps (OCAC), possessed many characteristics of a major command. It brought together four major functions performed previously by three organizations: research and development (R&D), procurement, supply, and maintenance.