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Strother Army Air Field

Basic Flying School

S.A.A.F. - Winfield, KS
February 1944 - April 1944

During basic flight training, a cadet received approximately 70 hours in the air during a nine week period. The basic cadet made military pilots of those who had learned only the fundamentals of flight in primary school. In addition to operating an airplane of greater weight, horsepower, and speed such as the BT-9 or BT-13, the cadet was taught how to fly at night, by instruments, in formation, and on cross-country from one point to another. Also, for the first time, he was operating a plane equipped with a two-way radio and a two-pitch propeller. This was the point in his career where it was decided whether he would go to single-engine or twin-engine advanced flying school.

The Vultee BT-13, played a vital role in training many USAAC and USAAF pilots. This is manifested in a total production run of 11,537 aircraft in five variants. In fact the BT-13 production run outnumbers all other Basic Trainer (BT) types produced.

It was back in 1938 that Vultee Aircraft's chief designer, Richard Palmer, began the design of a fighter. At this time the USAAC issued a requirement and design contest for an advanced trainer for which substantial orders had been promised to the victor. Palmer began to adapt his design concept from a fighter to that of an advanced trainer and the result of this was the V-51 prototype.

The aircraft made its maiden flight sometime during March of 1939 as a cantilever low-wing monoplane of all-metal construction. Despite the use of metal throughout the design the control surfaces remained fabric-covered. The prototype was powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-1340-S3H1-G Wasp radial rated at 600 hp (447 kW) driving a two-blade variable pitch metal propeller. Other features included an enclosed cockpit for the crew of two, integral fuel tanks in the wings, and a hydraulic system for the operation of the flaps and retractable main landing gear. The V-51 was entered into the USAAC competition as the BC-51 during May 1939.

The USAAC instead chose the North American BC-2, but purchased the BC-51 prototype anyway. Despite the disappointment, Palmer was not finished yet. He continued to refine the design of the VF-51 into the VF-54 in an attempt to meet the expectation of an export market for just such a trainer. The VF-54 used the same basic airframe as the VF-51,but was fitted with a lower powered engine. No export sales were made. From this design, evolved the VF-54A. Instead of retractable gear, it had fixed gear very nicely faired and a revised power plant of a Pratt & Whitney R-985-T3B Wasp Jr. radial rated at 450 hp (335.5 kW) and the Vultee BT-13 Valiant was born.

The USAAC was made aware of the improvements made to the aircraft and in August 1939 the type was ordered as the BT-13. The initial order was for 300 aircraft with a Pratt & Whitney R-985-25 radial and the first of these was accepted by the USAAC in June of 1940. The BT-13A was produced to the extent of 7,037 aircraft and differed only in the use of a P&W R-985-AN-1 radial engine and lack of landing gear fairings. There were 1,125 BT-13B's produced and differed from the A model in having a 24-volt, rather than the original 12-volt electrical system. The next variant was actually designated BT-15 due to the fact that Pratt & Whitney found it impossible to keep up production of the R-985 engine. Instead a Wright R-975-11 radial was substituted into the 1,263 aircraft produced.

The US Navy began to show an interest in the aircraft as well and ordered 1,150 BT-13A models as the SNV-1. In addition, the Navy ordered some 650 aircraft designated as SNV-2 roughly equivalent to the BT-13B. Once in service, the aircraft quickly got it's nickname of "Vibrator" due to the fact that it had a tendency to shake quite violently as it approached it's stall speed. The BT-13 served it's intended purpose well. It and its successors were unforgiving aircraft to fly, but were also extremely agile. Thus the BT-13 made a good aircraft to help transition many hundreds of pilots toward their advance trainers and fighters yet to to be mastered.

An airport, jointly owned by Arkansas City and Winfield, was under construction in April 1942 when the Army Air Force indicated a need for the airfield. The facilities were rushed to completion with the first class of cadets scheduled to arrive for basic training in the BT-13 on December 14, 1942. The Air Force asked the Cities to use their money to purchase an additional 920 acres, less tracts occupied by. This brought the airport holdings to 1,356 acres, which the Cities leased to the Air Force for $1 a year for 25 years. Within the year, the Air Force also selected four auxiliary fields: 480 acres five miles southeast of Strother, 640 acres six miles northwest of Winfield, 654 acres six miles west of Arkansas City, and 640 acres five miles northwest of Geuda Springs.

March 1944: Aunt Grace, Uncle Julius, Aunt Bertie, Dad & Grandma in Winfield, Kansas.

Work was rushed to complete Strother as a basic training field with the first class of cadets arriving, for nine weeks of intensive schooling. At the peak of operation, there were approximately 3,400 air force personnel and 400 civilian employees at the field, with married officers and their families residing in both Arkansas City and Winfield and USO and Cadet Clubs maintained in both communities.

On November 13, 1942, The field was officially named Strother Army Air Field. It was named in honor of Captain Donald Root Strother. Strother, a Winfield native and graduate of Winfield High School and Southwestern College, was the first Cowley County Army Air Force pilot to lose his life in World War II action (February 13, 1942) on the island of Java. He was the youngest of four brothers, all involved in the war effort; Dean, eventually an Air Force general, Kenneth, an infantry captain, and Robert who served in the Office of War Information.

The field was dedicated January of 1943 by Governor Schoppel, local officials and the Strother Field Commander. During the ceremony which included a military and aerial review, The Distinguished Service Cross and Purple Heart were presented to Captain Strother's three year old son, Colbert.

WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots) flew C47, C-53, UC-78 on administrative flights and ferried cadets and pilots to other fields for training. During World War II, a select group of young women pilots became pioneers, heroes, and role models ... They were the first women in history trained to fly American military aircraft.

The field was deactivated in 1945 and eventually returned to the cities.

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Pilot Flight Record

And Log Book

16 Feb to 5 Mar 1944

6 Mar to 24 Mar 1944

25 Mar to 3 Apr 1944

4 Apr to 14 Apr 1944

Certification

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