Victory Field (Texas)
Victory Field |
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Part of Army Air Forces Training Command | |
Wilbarger County, near Vernon, Texas | |
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1994 USGS photo
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Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
Type | Military airfield |
Site history | |
Built | 1941 |
In use | 1942-1945 |
Victory Field is a former military airfield, located approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) south-southwest of Vernon, Texas. It was closed in 1945 at the end of World War II.
History
Part of the Army Air Corps build up for World War II, Victory Field was built and activated in 1941. It was assigned to the Air Corps Flying Training Command, Gulf Coast Training Center (later Central Flying Training Command).
The facility was a primary (stage 1) pilot training airfield operated under contract by Hunter Flying Service & Richey Flying Service. Fairchild PT-19s were the primary trainer at the airfield. Thousands of cadets were trained and made their first solo flight at Victory Field. As the Army Air Corps succeeded in Europe it decided to draw down training and scheduled the closure of Victory Field in 1945.
Current use
In 1950, the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation (MHMR) took over the facility, opening it as Vernon Center, a unit of Wichita Falls State Hospital. It remains today a Texas Youth Commission facility.
See also
References
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Victory Field (Airfield). |
- Shaw, Frederick J. (2004), Locating Air Force Base Sites History’s Legacy, Air Force History and Museums Program, United States Air Force, Washington DC, 2004.[not in citation given]
External links
- Pages with broken file links
- Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- Commons category link is locally defined
- All articles with failed verification
- Articles with failed verification from March 2010
- 1941 establishments in Texas
- USAAF Contract Flying School Airfields
- Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Texas
- Buildings and structures in Wilbarger County, Texas
- Post-World War II aircraft storage facilities
- USAAF Central Flying Training Command
- American Theater of World War II