Texas City, Birth Place of U.S. Air Force.
One for the aircraft fans that frequent my stream. You know who you are! As you know I'm not a fan of planes on poles, much preferring them either in the air or undercover in a hangar museum so they are not rusting away. However, this was an unexpected "discovery" at Texas City. So this week's Saturday Timewatch goes back a century.
The historical claim by Texas City, though open to different interpretations, has some validity. Previously the U.S. Signal Corps possessed a small number of balloons and a dirigible. They also tested an airplane at Fort Myer, Va. in Aug 1908. Within a month, Lt. Thomas E. Selfridge, flying with Orville Wright, was killed when the plane crashed thus becoming the first military aviation casualty. After more testing with an improved Wright Flyer, the U.S. Army Signal Corps formally accepted this airplane, identified as "Airplane No. 1," on Aug. 2, 1909. By October 1912 they had 9 active aircraft.
This is where the story moves to Texas City. The 2nd Division of the United States Army deployed from Augusta, Georgia to Texas City in 1913 to guard the Gulf Coast from incursions during the Mexican Revolution. Nearly half of the nation's land military personnel set up camp! This was due to the perceived double threat that the Mexican Revolution might spill over across the border or that the neighboring country might become a German ally in the incipient World War. It was from within their ranks that the 1st Aero Division was formed, the Wright brothers trained over a dozen soldiers as military pilots. It is this official formation of an airborne unit upon which Texas City claims its place as "the birthplace of the U.S. Air Force".
However, it wasn't until 1947 that the U.S Air Force became a separate military service.
Texas City, Birth Place of U.S. Air Force.
One for the aircraft fans that frequent my stream. You know who you are! As you know I'm not a fan of planes on poles, much preferring them either in the air or undercover in a hangar museum so they are not rusting away. However, this was an unexpected "discovery" at Texas City. So this week's Saturday Timewatch goes back a century.
The historical claim by Texas City, though open to different interpretations, has some validity. Previously the U.S. Signal Corps possessed a small number of balloons and a dirigible. They also tested an airplane at Fort Myer, Va. in Aug 1908. Within a month, Lt. Thomas E. Selfridge, flying with Orville Wright, was killed when the plane crashed thus becoming the first military aviation casualty. After more testing with an improved Wright Flyer, the U.S. Army Signal Corps formally accepted this airplane, identified as "Airplane No. 1," on Aug. 2, 1909. By October 1912 they had 9 active aircraft.
This is where the story moves to Texas City. The 2nd Division of the United States Army deployed from Augusta, Georgia to Texas City in 1913 to guard the Gulf Coast from incursions during the Mexican Revolution. Nearly half of the nation's land military personnel set up camp! This was due to the perceived double threat that the Mexican Revolution might spill over across the border or that the neighboring country might become a German ally in the incipient World War. It was from within their ranks that the 1st Aero Division was formed, the Wright brothers trained over a dozen soldiers as military pilots. It is this official formation of an airborne unit upon which Texas City claims its place as "the birthplace of the U.S. Air Force".
However, it wasn't until 1947 that the U.S Air Force became a separate military service.