Chapter Five
Hendricks
Field
1.
The School at
Sebring was activated pursuant to letter AG 680 (C-19-41), June 23, 1941, Subject: Establishment of Air Schools,
effective 26 June 1941, and designated Air Corps Training Center, Maxwell
Field, Alabama and given an exempted status and placed under the control of
Chief of Air Corps.
2. Hendricks
Field:
Pursuant to
letter AG 680.9 (1-5-42) MR-MAAF, 14 January, 1942, the Subject, Designation of
Air Corps Fields, the school was re-designated Hendricks Field, (
The field was named in honor of young Lieutenant Laird
Woodruff Hendricks, who died while on temporary duty in
There was considerable discussion prior to the final
designation as Hendricks Field, relative to a name for the new station. The City of
A curious error occurred prior to the field’s final
designation which resulted in the name “Kehoe Field” being used in certain
early correspondence with the new station.
According to Major E. Greer, who was attached to the field at the time,
use of this name dated from the passage through message center of a suggestion
that the name “Kehoe” be used. This was
the result, according to Major Robert E. Greer, or a rumor which resulted in
the message center, a clerk in this office evidently was the message in
question and the rumor started at that time.
In any event, mail and telegrams soon began to arrive addressed to
station personnel at “Kehoe Field.
It is interesting to note, also, that the name finally
selected was not among those (listed above) forwarded as suggestions by the
station to higher headquarters, a fact mentioned in First Endorsement, letter
dated 13 March 1942 to the Commanding General of Southeast Air Corps Training
Center from the Commanding Officer of Hendricks Field.
As indicated in the extract, the facility subsequently
known as Hendricks Field was activated on June 23, 1941, and was designated by
that name on January 14, 1942. The field
was inactivated on December 31, 1945, surplused on
January 25, 1946, and turned over to the City of
Michael S. Alba, Lt. Col. USAF
Through the
efforts and kindness of Mrs. Frank Crowder and Congressman L. A. Bafalis, this official history, as recorded at the
Ship #31 is a brand new B-17-F that flew out of Hendricks
Field. Photo courtesy of Sebring
Historical Society.
Excerpt from the
CITY
COUNCIL WILL ACCEPT
H.F. AIR BASE
Will Not Expend Funds Others Than
Receipts From Field
Hendricks Field will be leased (sic) by the City of
Allen Altvater, Executive Secretary of the Chamber of
Commerce, submitted a report on his negotiations for the field and with persons
and organizations desiring concessions on the field. He estimated that the probable income from
the field at $55,500 per year plus profits derived from the sale of
electricity. Probable expenses on the
field and its maintenance as required to produce the above income was estimated
at $50,000. It was stated that the
expenses could be held down if the income did not come up to the estimate and
if income was light the expenses would be relatively lower.
His estimate did not take into consideration the possibility
of the city using the sewage disposal plant at the field thereby obviating the
necessity of the city building such a plant which the city council says is
needed now and would cost in the neighborhood of $200,000.
Mr. Altvater informed the council that the two larger
organizations wishing to locate on the field will employ between 200-600 men
and they are desperately in need of a place to locate at once to take care of
their orders. The Council authorized him
to continue negotiations with the government and prospective users of the
facilities at the field. He left Tuesday
for
It was pointed out by one member of the City Council that
within the next few years the city would probably spend several thousand dollars
to develop a municipal airport on the land acquired by the city for that
purpose several years ago, if Hendricks Field was not available. He emphasized the fact that might entail a
financial obligation that would require the expenditure of funds other than
funds derived directly from the airport.
Copy of a telegram dated February 11, 1946
DAN R. STEVENSON
CITY CLERK
CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, WAR DEPARTMENT, HAS BEEN
AUTHORIZED TO ISSUE INTERIM PERMIT AND IMMEDIATE RIGHT OF ENTRY TO THE CITY OF
JAMES
E. McCORMACK
DIRECTOR
ASSIGNMENTS
BRANCH
WAR
ASSETS ADMINISTRATION
Excerpt from the
CITY
STARTS AIRFIELD OPERATION
Eighth Air Depot and Veterans’
Airlines Expected to Begin Operation
The City of
The companies that have been in contact with Airport Manager
A. C. Altvater are expected to be in operation at the field soon. One of the companies, the Eighth Air Depot,
will start work at the field Monday under the City’s right-of-entry permit
until final work has been completed on the permit giving the field to the city.
The revocable permit includes only that part of the field
that is necessary to the operation and maintenance of the field and
facilities. Included in the permit and
to be turned over to the city will be the landing strips, three hangars and
practically all the buildings immediately adjacent to the landing area.
Mr. Spivey, a former major in the Air Corps, told the three
members of the council present at the special meeting that the War Department
did not at this time know which field that they would want to keep, but that
they were issuing revocable permits so that the city could go ahead with
negotiations with the users of the field.
Robert Kiel and George Dumont, heads of the veteran company,
Eighth Air Depot, stated that they would immediately begin shipping material
here for their repair establishment that they will set up on the field. They expect to be in operation Monday.
Veterans’ Airlines, the other company that has been seeking a
base and lease to operate at Hendricks Field, announced Tuesday in
Saunie Gravely, president of the Veterans’
Airlines, stated in the interview in Miami, that they had leased the cold
storage facilities at the field to be used in processing fruit and vegetables
to be shipped north by air. Nothing
could be verified locally about these leases to the company.
The airline, organized last December by 40 veterans, with one
plane now has five planes in operation and will soon purchase 15 additional
C-54’s. The company operates out of
Gravely, a former sergeant stationed at
The permit turning over the field to the city does not
include the apartment or barracks buildings, which have to be negotiated for
through the War Assets Corporation.
The City Council is expected
by the acceptance of the permit to maintain the fire department and the water
and sewage disposal system at the field and to supply personnel for the
operation of these facilities for the duration of the permit.
Excerpt from the
AIR
DEPOT STARTS WORK
AT HENDRICKS
Veterans’ Airlines Heads to Arrive Tomorrow
to Start Operations
Work has been started at Hendricks Field by the Eighth Air
Depot and representatives of the Veterans’ Airlines will be in town tomorrow to
begin operations for that company at the field.
Little work can be done by the two companies at the field until the Army
Air Forces clear the hangars so that they may be occupied.
Saunie Gravely, president of the Veterans’
Airlines was in Sebring Saturday night with two of his key men, J. R. Taylor,
assistant superintendent of maintenance, and Bob Krohm,
district manager. They were here to
confer with Allen Altvater, airfield manager for the city, in regard to how
soon they could occupy the field.
George Harhan, personnel manager of
the company, will probably arrive tomorrow to get personnel problems
straightened out. Mr. Gravely stated
that all his key personnel are now with the company and will begin to arrive as
operations progress and space is made available to the company.
George Dumont, president of the Eighth Air Depot, said last
night that little will be done by them for about six weeks until the machine
shop could be put into operation. Local personnel
will be used but all highly skilled employees needed are either now on their
way to Sebring or will be shortly. Local
employees will be hired by the company and be trained by them, but he warned
that at present no one will be hired until space is provided where different
kinds of maintenance can be done.
Already here with Dumont are Robert Kiel and A. N. Dorman,
all former members of the 8th Air Depot Group stationed in
Dorman, treasurer of the company, is a former test pilot for
the 8th Air Group overseas and later transferred to the South Pacific where he commanded
bases at
Nucleus of the Eighth Air Depot will be skilled personnel of
the 8th Depot Group overseas. Remaining
personnel will be hired locally. Mr.
Dumont said that quite a lot of work was on hand to be done but that it would
be about six weeks before much could be done about it. Most of the overhaul work that is before them
now is for TACA, the largest airline company in
His company will do engine, accessory, instrument, propeller
and general aircraft overhaul and modifications. Eventually a parts depot will be established
by them, Mr. Dumont said.
The Veterans’ Airlines, Mr. Gravely said, have contacted Mr.
Dorman of the Eighth Air Depot and will work in conjunction with them at the
field.
Taylor, who will be stationed here with the Veterans’
Airlines was a master mechanic in civil life before joining the Army. Krohm was a
navigator stationed in
Mr. Gravely said that his company already had its key
personnel that they needed but that they would use as many local employees as
possible. “We will announce in the local
papers when we need personnel and the type of personnel we need,” he said.
“We hope to get to work here as soon as possible but it all
depends on the Army at Hendricks Field.
They have quite a lot of equipment stored in the buildings that we will
use and we don’t know just when the space will be made available to us,” he
head of the airlines said.
At present, the airfield is still closed to the general
public and a pass must be shown to get into the field. The two companies are only operating at the
present on the City of
Mrs. Opal Harris breaks a bottle of orange juice christening a C-56 cargo plane for Veterans’ Airlines, June 1946.
From left: A. W. Estes, Ford A. Heacock,
A. C. Altvater, R. B. Collins, Mrs. Opal Harris, Capt. Cal Quimby,
and Mayor M. F. McGee.