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Freeman Army Airfield
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Freeman Army Airfield is an inactive United States Army Air Forces base located 2.6 miles (4.2 km) south-southwest of Seymour, Indiana.
Established in 1942, the base became the first military helicopter pilot training airfield. In 1944, black bomber pilots were trained at Freeman. It was the scene of a racial incident that outraged many Americans which led to the military re-evaluating its racial policies. After the war, captured German, Italian and Japanese aircraft were brought to the base for evaluation and testing. It was closed in 1946.
Freeman Army Airfield was named in honor of Captain Richard S. Freeman, a native of Indiana and a 1930 graduate of West Point. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Mackay Trophy, and was also one of the pioneers of the Army Air Mail Service. Freeman was killed on 6 February 1941 in the crash of a B-17 Flying Fortress (B-17B 38-216) near Lovelock, Nevada while en route to Wright Field, Ohio. The aircraft was equipped with the top secret Norden bombsight and sabotage was suspected as the cause of the crash, but was never proven.
Initial surveys of the area were made in April 1942 and the present site of Freeman Municipal Airport was selected for construction. The selected site was announced on 3 April 1942. Army Air Forces officials met with local landowners to obtain rights to a single tract of 2,500 acres for the main airfield and support base, along with five additional tracts for auxiliary landing fields near Walesboro 39°08′34″N 05°55′25″W / 39.14278°N 5.92361°W, Grammer, St. Thomas 39°02′40″N 85°36′23″W / 39.04444°N 85.60639°W, Kentucky, Zenas and Valonia 38°46′37″N 86°06′52″W / 38.77694°N 86.11444°W, Indiana. Of the five auxiliaries, Walesboro and St. Anne were to have concrete runways. Only three of these can be located today.
The first construction for the new airfield began in late June 1942 with construction proceeding throughout the summer. It included more than one hundred buildings, all intended to be temporary. Station buildings and streets were also constructed, the buildings consisting primarily of wood, tar paper, and non-masonry siding. The use of concrete and steel was limited because of the critical need elsewhere. Most buildings were hot and dusty in the summer and very cold in the winter. Water, sewer and electrical services were also constructed. The airfield consisted of runways in a "star" layout consisting of four 5,500 x 150' runways laid out in a north/south, northeast/southwest, east/west and a northwest/southeast direction. An extra-large parking ramp was constructed to accommodate large numbers of training aircraft, several hangars, a control tower and other auxiliary support aircraft buildings.
War Department General Order Number 10, dated 3 March 1943, announced that the airfield was to be named Freeman Army Airfield in honor of the Indiana native killed in a 1941 B-17 crash. Captain Freeman helped establish Ladd Field which is today's Fort Wainwright just outside Fairbanks, Alaska. He was Ladd Field's first commander.
The airfield was placed under the jurisdiction of the 33d Twin Engine Flying Training Group, Army Air Forces Training Command. The 447th Base Headquarters and Air Base Squadron was activated on 2 October 1942, and the airfield was activated on 1 December 1942, with the first troops began arriving on 8 December 1942.
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Freeman Army Airfield
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Freeman Army Airfield is an inactive United States Army Air Forces base located 2.6 miles (4.2 km) south-southwest of Seymour, Indiana.
Established in 1942, the base became the first military helicopter pilot training airfield. In 1944, black bomber pilots were trained at Freeman. It was the scene of a racial incident that outraged many Americans which led to the military re-evaluating its racial policies. After the war, captured German, Italian and Japanese aircraft were brought to the base for evaluation and testing. It was closed in 1946.
Freeman Army Airfield was named in honor of Captain Richard S. Freeman, a native of Indiana and a 1930 graduate of West Point. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Mackay Trophy, and was also one of the pioneers of the Army Air Mail Service. Freeman was killed on 6 February 1941 in the crash of a B-17 Flying Fortress (B-17B 38-216) near Lovelock, Nevada while en route to Wright Field, Ohio. The aircraft was equipped with the top secret Norden bombsight and sabotage was suspected as the cause of the crash, but was never proven.
Initial surveys of the area were made in April 1942 and the present site of Freeman Municipal Airport was selected for construction. The selected site was announced on 3 April 1942. Army Air Forces officials met with local landowners to obtain rights to a single tract of 2,500 acres for the main airfield and support base, along with five additional tracts for auxiliary landing fields near Walesboro 39°08′34″N 05°55′25″W / 39.14278°N 5.92361°W, Grammer, St. Thomas 39°02′40″N 85°36′23″W / 39.04444°N 85.60639°W, Kentucky, Zenas and Valonia 38°46′37″N 86°06′52″W / 38.77694°N 86.11444°W, Indiana. Of the five auxiliaries, Walesboro and St. Anne were to have concrete runways. Only three of these can be located today.
The first construction for the new airfield began in late June 1942 with construction proceeding throughout the summer. It included more than one hundred buildings, all intended to be temporary. Station buildings and streets were also constructed, the buildings consisting primarily of wood, tar paper, and non-masonry siding. The use of concrete and steel was limited because of the critical need elsewhere. Most buildings were hot and dusty in the summer and very cold in the winter. Water, sewer and electrical services were also constructed. The airfield consisted of runways in a "star" layout consisting of four 5,500 x 150' runways laid out in a north/south, northeast/southwest, east/west and a northwest/southeast direction. An extra-large parking ramp was constructed to accommodate large numbers of training aircraft, several hangars, a control tower and other auxiliary support aircraft buildings.
War Department General Order Number 10, dated 3 March 1943, announced that the airfield was to be named Freeman Army Airfield in honor of the Indiana native killed in a 1941 B-17 crash. Captain Freeman helped establish Ladd Field which is today's Fort Wainwright just outside Fairbanks, Alaska. He was Ladd Field's first commander.
The airfield was placed under the jurisdiction of the 33d Twin Engine Flying Training Group, Army Air Forces Training Command. The 447th Base Headquarters and Air Base Squadron was activated on 2 October 1942, and the airfield was activated on 1 December 1942, with the first troops began arriving on 8 December 1942.