With the United States entering war just a few weeks ago. The Army Air Force moved quickly to establish a modern airfield in Northwest Arizona. By the end of the year, the Kingman Gunnery School was opened. This was one of the largest schools in the Army Air Force. Before closing, Port Kingman was used to trained cadet pilots for the Army Air Force. The military lifestyle was growing all over this small community.
January
1-The past several weeks, more flying students are arriving to hone their skills in flying, because the coast has the possibility of an attack by the Japanese. Port Kingman is buzzing with training activity, for there is a 150-mile ban from the coast into the interior. The Needles field is the first to have a temporary camp set up for this training. (mcm)
There have been aircraft activity at Port Kingman. The local airport has become a training site for flying students from the coast. The placement of a ban on flying on the West Coast has to lead to civil flying schools to come into the interior. (mcm)
4-The flying cadets were honored on the afternoon at the Elks Lodge. Some cadets were going to other assignments. (mcm)
6-The American Legion Hall held another dance for the flying cadets who were leaving for other assignments. (mcm)
8-There will be more aviation training at Port Kingman. Thirty cadets have left with thirty cadets still training and more will be here in the next few weeks. There are looking at the use of the former Berry field (southeast of town, part of the Western Air Express). This program is part the civil aeronautics and is managed by the Junior College of Long Beach, Ca. The local American Legion Post # 14 is setting up the 12th District Organizer of Ground Observation Corps, Auxiliary War Service through the state's American Legion. (mcm)
19-The Kingman Volunteer Fire Department conducted a class on firefighting for the auxiliary police and air raid wardens. Former Fire Chief Bentley Marshall ran the class of close of 70 people. (mcm)
25-Bentley Marshall conducted another class on poison gases for the air & black-out wardens. Also, Dr. Walter Brazie gave first aid instruction for the gases. (mcm)
27-Harry McIntyre, the captain of the police, gave another talk on deadly gases and described how they work. Along with the topic was a film of the December 7th bombing of Pearl Harbor. Reverend Morris Singer showed the film and narrated it. This is the first of films shown the devastation of Pearl Harbor. (mcm)
28-There was an event held for the soldier hospitality. It was held at the Methodist Church's Social Hall. This was the first in a series of "Soldier Sings" concerts. (mcm)
29-The aircraft warning area organizers are named, Henry May is in charge of Kingman and will set up six districts in the area. Six other men were named along with Mr. May and the will do the same. (mcm)
February
5-The local aircraft observers are now in place in Mohave County. E. Ross Householder is the 12th District Organizer. The 3rd Area Organizer, Norman Chapman has placed the people into the positions in his jurisdiction. (mcm)
12-The Mohave County Chamber of Commerce is asking for extra furniture and other odds and ends for a club room for the soldiers that are training here. (mcm)
17-C. D. Jones, assistant director of the Scott School of Aviation, informed the Lions Club that Port Kingman was classified as a "Designated Airport". This means that Port Kingman would become part of the military. (mcm)
26-The aircraft warning observation post volunteers are being placed in their respective positions. The local commander of the American Legion Post #14, Kirk Tatum is progressing well. They are working in conjunction with the 4th Interceptor Command at Riverside, Ca. (mcm)
March
2-Kingman is also in consideration for Army Hospital, along with Prescott and Winslow. The hospital would have a thousand beds in it. Kingman has the mainline railroad, Route 66 and few other positive points. Lieutenant Colonel Crandall from the Surgeon General's office made the inspections. (mcm)
5-Entire State of Arizona is included in Military Areas, Western Defense by Executive Order (headline from Miner). Southern AZ is in #1 & Northern AZ is in #2. (mcm)
12-Port Kingman becomes a certified basic training field by the Civil Aeronautics Authority. Civil Pilot Training Course is for the Army's Primary Flight Instructors, which is done by Long Beach Junior College & Scott Flying School. This is an eight-week course. The Chamber of Commerce set up an aviation committee to work on the local aviation issues, four members where placed on the committee. (mcm)
19-More students are arriving at the present students are finishing up their courses. The Civil Pilot Training Course is to help build up the pilots to 120,000 for the Air Corps. Some students will enter in the Navy Air Wing. (mcm)
April
6-Army Observance Day, it was declared by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The American Legion Post #14 did most the organization for the patriotic observance. There was a parade at 5:45 pm and open house of the old Harvey House. (mcm)
11-A board of officers met in Kingman to give its preliminary ok for the construction of the school. The site has to accommodate three 6500 foot runways, which can be expanded to 7000 ft. The cost would be over $9 million, they were using the Las Vegas Gunnery School for an example. (bh)
16-The local 12th District Air Raid Warning System is close to being finished. A few more people are being placed into volunteer status. (mcm)
25-The first test of the air raid alarm was sounded. The whistle was blown at 12 noon. (mcm)
29-New courses are added to flying school's contract. They will instruct an advance CPT and cross-country flying. (mcm)
May
7-The Scott's Flying School will keep training new students. These students will enter into service with Army Air Corps Flight Training Command, Army Air Corps Ferry Command or any CPT school. (mcm)
14-The supervisors are working on clearing titles for the future of an aerial gunnery and range for the War Department. (mcm)
21-The supervisors need to clear one more hurdle for the airfield and gunnery range. (mcm)
27-The board gave approval for building a base at Kingman. It would be eleven miles north of town. (bh)
28-Banner Headline from the Miner: Kingman Air Gunnery School Given Approval. (mcm)
June
1-Lieutenant Colonel Harvey P Huglin left Las Vegas Aerial Gunnery School, NV to visit Kingman, along with Major Harry C. Billings to make contact with civic leaders. He selected the newly renovated Harvey House to use as temporary operation center for the new school outside the town. (bh)
18-Construction of the base had started. The fence around the site was the first to go up. (bh)
25-Miner reports on the work on the air field. Saying a fence was going up and giving the location of the new airfield. (mcm)
29-Three million dollars is the cost for the new Air Corps installation and will be supervised the Los Angeles District Office of the Army Corps of Engineers. (mcm)
July
8-The bids for construction of the new airfield will begin. (mcm)
16-L. F. Robinson has been appointed to handle the Air Cadet Screening Test. The local V. F. W., which Mr. Robinson is a member, is the sponsoring organization of the test. Ira B. Rawlings was appointed Flight Leader of the local Civil Air Patrol. (mcm)
23-Cameras have been banned from Port Kingman. The aviation cadet exams have arrived at the local V. F. W. Lieutenant Colonel Huglin will use the old Harvey House for the new headquarters. (mcm)
30-All pilots, cadets and airport workers started caring identification cards at Port Kingman. Ford and Covington won the bid for constructing a railroad spur to the school future warehouse buildings. Sundt and White got the bid for laying the sewer and water systems along with doing the streets of the base. (mcm)
August
3-The base's airstrips & runways were started. (bh)
4-The Army Air Force Flexible Gunnery School at Kingman was activated, by the General Orders #59, Headquarters, Army Air Forces West Coast Training Center dated 10 August. (bh)
5-The approval of the ground to ground gunnery range was granted by the Traffic Control Board in Washington, D. C. The Kingman Aerial Gunnery Range site was disapproved for the infringement of airways between Las Vegas & Phoenix. (bh)
6-Morrison-Knudsen and M. H. Hasler have won bids for other construction projects at the new gunnery school. Visitors are welcomed at Port Kingman with some restrictions, they can only be there during daylight hours and special section has been set up for observation. They also need some id to enter the airfield. (mcm)
8-The base's streets were started. Lieutenant Colonel Oliver D. Keese arrives on station. (bh)
12-In a letter to the West Coast Training Command at Moffet Field from the Las Vegas Gunnery School, a new site was submitted for the aerial gunnery range. This site was Yucca. The activation of a Medical Detachment for Army Air Force Flexible Gunnery School at Kingman by General Orders #66, Headquarters, Army Air Force West Coast Training Center dated 25 August. (bh)
14-The Station Complement with Lieutenant Colonel Huglin in command was activated as the Kingman Army Flying School, by the General Orders #1. (bh)
18-The Lions International had two guest speakers: Captain Sanders of the gunnery school and Mr. Saunders of the airport. (mcm)
20-The first unit of enlisted flying students has arrived at Port Kingman.(mcm)
24-The activation of the Post Engineer was completed. The Post Engineer took care of Kingman, Yucca, & the auxiliary fields. (bh)
September
1-The construction of the base hospital had begun. Major Harry C. Billings arrives on station. (bh)
3-Major John H. Hanny was in town from the Army Air Base at Albuquerque, NM on recruiting civilians for the gunnery installation northeast of town. Scott's Flying School was purchased by the United Nation Flight Academies. Scott will remain in Kingman to keep operations going. The new school teaches American pilots for the Canadian Air Force. (mcm)
4-Lieutenant Colonel Huglin & his men arrived at Kingman. The station complement consisted of four officers & nine enlisted. Their job was to prepare for base operations out the Harvey House. (bh)
14-Captain Olen D. Ball arrived from Stockton Army Air Field, CA. He was the Acting Surgeon. (bh)
19-By Special Orders #3, Lieutenant Colonel Keese is assigned to the Base Range Officer & Base Utilities Officer, Major Billings is assigned to Base Ordnance Officer with other duties of the Base Executive Officer, & Base Motor Transportation Officer, & Captain Ball is the Acting Base Surgeon. (bh)
22-Special Orders #72, activated Detachment 14 of the 909th Quartermasters Company at Chino Army Air Field, Chino, CA. (bh)
25-The Department of Interior gave permission to the Army to use 583,865 acres of land near Yucca for a propose Sub-base. This later became Yucca Army Air Field. (bh)
28-The first Medical Detachment arrived from Santa Ana Army Air Base, CA. (bh)
29-A letter to the Commanding Officer, West
Coast Army Air Force Training Center from Headquarters, Army Air Force Flexible Gunnery School, Kingman, and Lieutenant Colonel Huglin was asking for units trained in flexible gunnery school. So it would be easier for them to step into job positions here at this school. (bh)
30-Lieutenant Colonel Huglin speaks at the Rotary function. (mcm)
October
1-The Area Engineer & staff moved to the school. The station complement increase to eleven officers & thirteen enlisted. (bh)
5-By General Orders #77, the establishment of 460th Base Headquarters & Air Base Squadron, 1100th Guard Squadron, & 334th Aviation Squadron from Headquarter, West Coast Army Air Force Training Center, Santa Ana, CA. (bh)
6-Detachment 14 of the 909th Quartermasters Co. was officially transferred to Kingman. (bh)
8-The new flight academy introduces a new Army-CPT program. The new classes will have 25 or more students and consist of 8 weeks of training. Also every 4 weeks there will be a new class to start training. (mcm)
12-The Detachment Finance Department was established when Master Sergeant Kelly S. Dale transferred from Santa Ana Army Air Base, CA. (bh)
15-Colonel Huglin requested that job assignments of 50-50 basis on the units at the airfield. He wanted equal units at the school for training. (bh)
16-By Special Orders #9, Captain Harry S. Endicott arrived on station and is assigned to be the Intelligence Officer. (bh)
21-By General Order #78, the establishment of four Flexible Gunnery Training Squadrons: the 1120th, 1121st, 1122nd, & 1123rd from Headquarters, West Coast Army Air Force Training Center, Santa Ana, CA. (bh)
29-By Special Orders #13, Colonel Huglin, Major Billings, Lieutenants Manis, & Wilson are the Post Exchange Council, Lieutenant Robert H. Frazier is assigned to Base Ordnance Officer, & 2nd Lieutenant Rupert B. Kendall is assigned to Personnel Officer. Captain Endicott had orders to go to Austin, TX for Military Intelligence School for Officers of the Army Air Forces. Lieutenant Myrle Wilson was Acting Intelligence Officer. (bh)
November
1-The Las Vegas Aerial Gunnery School, NV activated the four Flexible Gunnery Training Squadrons. (bh)
6-The Kingman Sub-Depot was activated by General Orders #1; this came in a form of a letter from Army Air Forces, Headquarter, Air Service Command, Patterson Field, Fairfield,OH. (bh)
More students are added to the new Army-CPT program. George L. Moser of Oatman has enlisted in the Army Air Corps. He also could be the first Mohave Co. resident to be trained at the school. There was a scrap metal drive which accumulate 145 tons will be sent to Fontana, CA to the new Henry Kaiser steel plant. (mcm)
16--The total cost for the five emergency fields is $202,800. Site #1 is north of Red Lake, Site #3 about 17 miles northeast of the base, Site #5 is outside of Topock, Site #6 is fifteen miles down from Topock (later became the Lake Havasu City Airport ), & Site #7 was south of the Yucca Aerial Gunnery Range. Site #3 & 6 were to have two runways built & the others would have one. (bh)
19-By Special Orders #22, Captain Frank Winkler is assigned as the Post Quartermaster, 1st Lieutenant Harold A. Manis is assigned to the Post Exchange Officer, & Captain Robert W. Isaacson is now the Personnel Officer. (bh)
21-Lieutenant Colonel Huglin wrote a letter to the Commanding General at the Army Air Forces West Coast Training Center in Santa Ana, CA requesting an underpass be built at the school. (bh)
25-In a letter to the Commanding Officer at Las Vegas Gunnery School from Army Air Force West Coast Training Center, that the transferring cadres being organized for Kingman Gunnery School should include fifty men each of certain specification serial numbers. (bh)
26-In a letter to Commanding General, Army Air Forces, Washington, D. C. from Headquarters, Flying Training Command, Ft. Worth, TX, was on housing problem at the new base in Kingman and
in the town of Kingman. The Utah Construction Co was building the
Davis Dam on the Colorado River and the employees were residing in
Kingman. (bh)
27-Captain Edward Liston arrived to take on the Base Surgeon's duties. (bh)
30-By General Orders #2, ordered the disbandment of the Kingman Army Flying School. The station complement grew to forty-four officers & one hundred sixteen enlisted on the day before they move to the airfield. (bh)
December
1-All personnel working out of the Harvey House moved to their respective workstations and were assigned to the 460th Base Headquarters & Air Base Squadron at the airfield. The activation of the 460th Base Headquarters & Air Base Squadron was done at Las Vegas Gunnery School and arrived that day in a convoy of truck 1400 hrs. The 1100th Guard Squadron was sent from Las Vegas Gunnery School to secure the new Kingman Field. 1st Lieutenant Frank L. Martin became the first Provost Marshall and commander of the 1100th Guard Squadron. Captain Lawson Clary became the first Base Operations Officer when he arrived on station. (bh)
2-The Base Communications was activated on the base. With no equipment or building, it would be sometime for its operation to be useful on the base. (bh)
3-The Detachment 14 of 909th Quartermasters Co. arrived on station to begin their work, supplying the units & personnel with supplies that they needed. By Special Orders #34, the base chaplain was appointed. The first chaplain was Captain William E. Walker, Jr. (bh) The formation of the 382nd Sub-Depot was for the new training base. Captain Homer L. Bredouw is the commanding officer. It is where the entire civil workers are assigned to and there are located at the old Harvey House. Ben McKinney enlisted into the Air Force Finance Dept. and has been assign to Kingman for duty. Mr. McKinney was employed the local Valley National Bank. (mcm)
4-By Special Orders #35, Major Frederick E. Edwards is assigned to Base Executive. (bh)
6-The first chapel service was held in the only open mess hall. The chapel was not completed for any type of use. (bh)
7-The Detachment 2053rd Ordnance Co. Aviation (Serv) was assigned to the school. The men came from the Las Vegas & Santa Ana Army Air Field, CA. Captain Endicott arrived back from Austin, TX to organize the Intelligence Operations at the airfield. Captain Dilliard F. Zimmerman arrived on station to take on the duties of Finance Officer. (bh)
9-The War Production Board issued a "Stop Work" order on the Davis Dam project to help complete the base housing at Kingman. Detachment, 1st Weather Squadron had arrived on the base from Minter Field, CA & Williams Field, AZ. (bh)
10-By Special Orders #3, Colonel George E. Henry took command of the new school. (bh)
12-Lieutenant William F. Shutt, Jr. arrived on station to take over the duties of the Medical Supply Officer. (bh)
13-By Special Orders #44, 1st Lieutenant Walter H. Cronk is assigned to Base Signal Officer. (bh)
14-By Special Orders #45, Colonel Huglin was assigned to Director of Training & Base Projects Officer, Colonel Keese is assigned Base S-4 Officer along with Base Range Officer, Capt. Isaacson is assigned to the Base S-1 Officer along with Personnel Officer, 1st Lieutenant Fred L. Miller is assigned to Base Statistical Officer, & 2nd Lieutenant Paul H. Wise is assigned to Director of Physical Training. (bh)
16-Captain Ball speaks at the local Rotary lunch and asked the businessmen to help keep out the undesirable element of Kingman. (mcm)
18-Seven ambulances arrived on station and turn over to the base hospital. (bh)
22-The Synthetic Training Department was established at the school. It had two Jim Handy & four Waller trainer buildings for classroom training. They were nearly completed without equipment to be installed in the building. (bh)
23-The Publications Department started as a separate unit out of a barracks. (bh)
25-The Christmas Service at the school conducted at the State Theater in downtown Kingman. (bh) There was also Christmas Dinner at the base. (mcm)
26-The first flexible training squadrons assigned to Kingman: 1120th, 1121st, 1122nd, & 1123rd. They arrived from Las Vegas that day, around 1130 hrs. The airstrips & runways were completed. Detachment 25 of the 858th Signal Service Company (AVN) arrived on station from Las Vegas Gunnery School, about 1000 hrs. (bh)
27-The 334th Aviation Squadron was assigned to the school. They were the black unit on the base and were activated from the 53rd Aviation Squadron at Mather Field, CA. Chapel
Services were held in Barrack #116. (bh)
Captain L. Clary flew an AT-6 trainer from Port Kingman and landed it at the Flexible Gunnery School. The plane is known as K-26 from Stockton, CA. (mcm)
28-The first training aircraft assigned to Kingman. Thirteen AT-6s came in from Las Vegas. Lieutenant Colonel Huglin had his own plane, which was a BT-15. The Main Merchandise Exchange was opened for business. The Public Relations Office was opened for business. (bh)
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