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Fort Worth Army Air Field

click image to enlarge Certificate of Proficiency

Transition Training
Four-Engine B-24

F.W.A.A.F. - Fort Worth, TX
June 44 - October 44

The successful completion of pilot training was a difficult as well as a dangerous task. During the four-and-a-half year period of January 1941 - August 1945, there were 191,654 cadets who were awarded pilot wings. However, there were also 132,993 who "washed out" or were killed during training, a loss rate of approximately 40 percent due to accidents, academic or physical problems, and other causes.

Those who graduated from flying school were usually assigned to transition training in the type of plane they were to fly in combat. Some were assigned to specific squadrons already scheduled for overseas duty, while others were assigned to replacement training units for subsequent assignment to squadrons already overseas. Regardless, it required 2 months of additional training before a pilot was considered ready for combat.

R E S T R I C T E D
SPECIAL ORDERS ) No.        166 )	HEADQUARTERS 2519TH AAF BASE UNIT (Pilot School, Specialized 4-Engine) FORT WORTH ARMY AIR FIELD      ic Fort Worth, Texas, 29 June 1944
** EXTRACT **
1. The following-named Officers or Flight Officers, AC, having been asgd this sta as students in compliance with authority indicated, are atchd unasgd to Section H for approximately five (5) weeks pre-transition phase of B-24 tng in Class 44-4-G, preparatory to entry into B-24 transition training, which will be an additional ten (10) weeks, pending arrival.

How To Mix A B-24 Dad carried this (on the back of a guest check) for a long time. Here's an update for a B-24 Bomber. Ingredients: 1/2 oz Vodka, Rum, Tequila, Gin, and Triple Sec. 1 oz Orange Juice, Pineapple Juice, Cranberry Juice, and Sour Mix. 1 cup Ice and 1/4 oz 151-proof Rum. Instructions: 1/4 oz 151-proof Rum Blend all ingredients except 151-Proof Rum. Pour into a glass and float 151-Proof Rum on top.

As Fort Worth's name implies, the city has had a long association with war and the military. Since its beginnings as a frontier outpost, Fort Worth has enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship with first the military, and then, the arms makers who enable the military to make war.

Tarrant Field Airdrome originated in 1941 and became Fort Worth Army Air Field on January 2, 1942. The site of the base was originally selected in 1941 as a Consolidated Vultee factory for the production of B-24 bombers. A separate contract was let for a landing field, Tarrant Field, to be built to support the aircraft factory. The construction of an air force base on the east side of Tarrant Field was authorized after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and Tarrant Field Airdrome was assigned to the Army Air Forces Flying Training Command in July 1942. The base became one of the first B-24 transition schools to begin operation. After more than 4,000 students were trained in B-24s at the base, its mission was changed to B-24 transition because of the nearness to the Consolidated factory. In 1945 the mission was changed from B-24 to B-29 aircraft training. The base was assigned to the newly formed Strategic Air Command in March of 1946.

The airfield was renamed Carswell Air Force Base in 1948, to honor Fort Worth native Major Horace S. Carswell, Jr. Carswell Air Force Base was one of the first Strategic Air Command bases and was also the site for filming the James Stewart classic "Strategic Air Command."

Personal Business
1937 Ford Tudor: 85 hp V8

It was here that Dad had Uncle Julius buy him a 1937 Ford. The car appears in several
pictures at Chatham AAF.

Air Corps Business

M E M O R A N D U M   R E C E I P T	MEMORANDUM RECEIPT
OFFICERS' MESS	OFFICER'S MESS: RECEIPT

PILOT TRANSITION TRAINING RECORD	Transition Training For Pilot
Transition Training For Pilot (Con't)	Transition Training For Pilot (Con't)
C E R T I F I C A T E	Office of Weights and Balance Control

Flight Manual for B-24 Liberator Pilot Training Manual [Page 4] Pilot Training Manual [Page 38] Pilot's Check Chart Page 46] Power Plant

Penworthy Note Book 1. mixtures auto rich 2. high R.P.M. 3. check instruments one engine out Air Speed two engine out Air Speed 4. determine cause 5. feather 6. trim 150 140 & 9° flaps 1. turbo off 2. throttle off 3. mixture idle cutoff 4. low R.P.M. 5. hit feathering button 6.   cowl flaps closed 7.   booster pump off 8.   switch off 9.   gas off 10. check auxiliary equ. 1. gas on 7. feather button to 8 R.P.M. 2. switch on 8. pull mixture on 3. turbo off 9. 12 R.P.M. 12" hg. until 50°c. 4. throttle cracked 10. above 50°c 15" hg 15 R.P.M. 5. mixture idle cutoff 11. 120°c use engine 6. check low R.P.M. (#9 is manifold pressure)

Pilot Flight Record

And Log Book

29 Jul to 24 Aug 1944

26 Aug to 14 Sep 1944

15 Sep to 2 Oct 1944

NAME, SER. NO., RANK                                   DATE FIRED      SCORE    
                             EXPERTS (DISMOUNTED)
HARRELL, FRANKLIN, 01317163, 2d Lt.                    8/17/44         87
JOHNMEYER, HILLARD E., 02063636, 2d Lt.                9/29/44         87.1

Ralph White Ralph grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, attended the Minneapolis School of Art from 1939 to 1942 and after graduation enrolled at the University of Minnesota. His education interupted, inducted into the Army, Ralph served as an instructor on the B-24 at FWAAF.

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