Hoffman - Randolph Field

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RANDOLPH FIELD

Capt. William Millican Randolph (18931928) was the namesake of Randolph Field. Having attended the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (now Texas A&M), he entered the Army in 1916. He finished pilot training at Kelly Field in 1919, too late for World War I. He was a member of a special committee that was seeking a suitable location for the new training field. Unfortunately, Randolph was killed in the crash of his Curtiss AT-4 at Gorman, Texas, on February 17, 1928. The War Department agreed to name the new field in honor of Randolph seven months later. Captain Randolph was buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery. (Courtesy of the Air Force Education and Training Command Office of History and Research.)

ON THE COVER: No picture of Randolph Fields iconic Administration Building, known as the Taj Mahal, would be complete without a host of airplanes flying overhead. In this case, at least 18 North American BT-14 training planes do the honors. The huge, 48-star garrison flag adds to the effect. (Courtesy of the Air Force Education and Training Command Office of History and Research.)

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of America

RANDOLPH FIELD

Lt. Col. Michael P. Hoffman (USAF Retired)

Copyright 2014 by Michael P. Hoffman
ISBN 978-1-4671-3233-6
Ebook ISBN 9781439647929

Published by Arcadia Publishing
Charleston, South Carolina

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014935199

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To my father, Lt. Col. Charles L. Hoffman Jr. (USAF-Ret.), and mother, Georgia Papageorge Hoffman, members of the Greatest Generation; and to my wife, Kay Kirklin Hoffman, who put up with all the time I spent at the computer keyboard.

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The beauty of the buildings on Randolph Field and its unique shape made it a well-photographed subject.

The author would like to acknowledge the assistance of the staff of the Air Force Education and Training Command (AETC) Office of History and Research, especially command historian Gary D. Boyd and art program and museum curator Robert V. Crawford. Their cooperation in allowing me access to their archives was essential to the compilation of this book.

All photographs herein are from the United States Air Force, courtesy of the AETC Office of History and Research.

INTRODUCTION

On a flat tract of former farmland about 17 miles northeast of downtown San Antonio, Texas, the Army Corps of Engineers, in its biggest project since the Panama Canal, built in fewer than three years a permanent airfield that resembled a Spanish village. That airfield was known as Randolph Field from its dedication in 1930 until the Air Force became a separate service in 1947 and retitled its installations as Air Force Bases. By the mid-1930s, Randolph Fields fame had spread, and it was known as the West Point of the Air since the Army Air Corps had no national military academy devoted solely to producing aviators. Because of its architectural beauty, Randolph is now called the Showplace of the Air Force.

Randolph Fields roots were planted in controversy. After the loss of the Navy dirigible USS Shenandoah in 1925, outspoken Air Service general William Billy Mitchell accused Army and Navy leadership of almost treasonable administration of the national defense. As he was already a thorn in the side of Pres. Calvin Coolidge, the president ordered Mitchell to be court-martialed. Mitchell used the resulting trial as a sounding board for championing military aviation and criticizing military leadership. He was convicted and sentenced to suspension for five years without pay, which Coolidge later adjusted to half pay. Mitchell resigned instead.

So much public criticism arose over the state of military aviation during this period that Coolidge appointed a board to look at the issue and make recommendations. Called the Morrow Board because of Dwight D. Morrows chairmanship, the panel made recommendations that led to the US Army Air Corps Act of 1926. One of the results of that act was that the Air Service became the Army Air Corps on July 2, 1926. A major part of the act was the authorization for the Air Corps to begin a five-year expansion program that would begin July 1, 1927. The goal was for the Air Corps to reach 1,800 airplanes, 1,650 officers, and 15,000 enlisted men by mid-1932.

At the time of the Air Corps Act, flying training was conducted at Brooks and Kelly Fields, on the southeast and west sides, respectively, of San Antonio. Brooks conducted primary and basic flying training, and Kelly had advanced flying training. The commander of the newly designated Air Corps Training Center was Brig. Gen. Frank P. Lahm, one of the Armys original two pilots. Lahm was tasked to make recommendations on what the Air Corps would have to do to increase its output of pilots.

At first, it was assumed that Brooks and Kelly Fields could handle the increase, but Lahm soon discovered that there was not enough operating room at the two bases to handle the load. Consequently, he began looking for a location for a new airfield that could handle all primary, basic, and advanced flying training. Various sites were scouted out around San Antonio and even in other parts of Texas. When the word got back to San Antonio leaders, however, they became worried that the new airfield, if built elsewhere, would lessen the importance of Brooks and Kelly and might even lead to closures. So, city leaders worked to not only find a location near San Antonio, but also to help purchase the land and give it to the Air Corps, if it would build the airfield there.

Lahm finally settled on 3,319 acres of farmland in northeast Bexar County near Cibolo Creek, located on State Highway 3 between the two little towns of Converse and Schertz. City leaders formed the San Antonio Airport Company to buy options on the needed land, and eventually two dozen farms were purchased for $546,000. On August 18, 1928, the War Department accepted San Antonios gift.

Now that land had been procured, it was time to design an airfield. Lt. Harold L. Clark, who was a motor pool officer at Kelly Field but had architecture training, became intrigued by the idea of a new, permanent airfield (no temporary wooden buildings) and began sketching out ideas of how he thought this Air City should look. He came up with the idea that the buildings should have a Spanish Colonial Revival style. It was proposed that the airfield should be square in shape, with three sides devoted to the three phases of flying training: primary, basic, and advanced. After much debate, it was also decided that all living quarters would be inside the square, with officers quarters in a circle within the square. To provide a centerpiece for this airfield, Clark designed an administration building with a tall tower. This building, after some modifications, became known as the Taj Mahal because of its Spanish, Art Deco, and Moorish features. Clark showed his ideas to another officer, who immediately wanted to show them to General Lahm. Lahm was so impressed by the plans that he put Clark on his staff, and Clark began to design the Air City. Later, Clark was assigned to the chief of the Air Corps, where he continued his work.