- Dorr Field
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Dorr Field Part of Army Air Force Training Command DeSoto County, east of Arcadia, Florida Type Army Airfield Coordinates 27°12′26″N 081°40′12″W / 27.20722°N 81.67°W Built 1917 In use 1917-1918; 1941-1944 Controlled by United States Army Air Forces Garrison Army Air Force Training Command Dorr Field is a former military airfield located approximately 12 miles (19 km) east of Arcadia, Florida.
Contents
History
Dorr Field was named after a pilot, Stephen Dorr, who was killed in a 1917 midair collision. The airfield was established during World War I to support flight training operations at nearby Carlstrom Field, being closed at the end of the war. Training aircraft used were Curtiss JN-4s
Reactivated in 1941 and opened on 4 October by the United States Army Air Forces as a sub-base of Carlstrom Field. Assigned to the USAAF East Coast Training Center (later Central Eastern Training Command) as a primary (level 1) pilot training airfield. Operated by Embry-Riddle Corporation under 54th Flying Training Detachment primarily as a training airfield for Royal Air Force flying cadets.
Flying training was performed with Fairchild PT-19s as the primary trainer. Also had several PT-17 Stearmans and a few P-40 Warhawks assigned. Inactivated 16 October 1944 with the drawdown of AAFTC's pilot training program and was declared surplus and turned over to the Army Corps of Engineers. Eventually discharged to the War Assets Administration (WAA). Sold to Desoto County and was redeveloped as a county prison.
See also
- Florida World War II Army Airfields
References
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.
- 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.
- Manning, Thomas A. (2005), History of Air Education and Training Command, 1942–2002. Office of History and Research, Headquarters, AETC, Randolph AFB, Texas ASIN: B000NYX3PC
External links
Categories:- 1917 establishments in the United States
- USAAF Contract Flying School Airfields
- Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Florida
- Buildings and structures in DeSoto County, Florida
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