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Library > Fact Sheets > Brooks City-Base History 1910 - 1959
BROOKS CITY-BASE HISTORY 1910 - 1959
1910s
In 1916, the U.S. Army Signal Corps, with funds from Congress, began to develop a military aviation program which by 1917 included numerous airfields across the country. The United States' entry into World War I in April 1917 accelerated the Army Signal Corps efforts at training new pilots for the war. As part of this war effort, Brooks Field, named after the deceased San Antonio aviator, Sidney Johnson Brooks, Jr, was formally established on February 16, 1918.
Utilizing Curtiss JN-4 (Jenny) aircraft, instructors at Brooks Field trained cadets in the essentials of aviation. In addition, Brooks Field was home to a unique training program using the British Gosport System, which consisted of specialized equipment to allow instructors to speak with students during in-flight training. The wartime use of the Gosport System at Brooks Field facilitated its rapid adoption by all Army flying fields, a development that improved training efforts and reduced fatalities among student pilots. Flight training continued at the field until May 1919, at which point balloon and airship training was introduced at Brooks Field.
The contributions of Brooks Field during these years were vital to the country's war efforts and its contribution to the development of military aviation.
1920s
The 1920s were an active period for the young Brooks Field. Established in 1919, the Balloon and Airship School at Brooks Field was one of five national training programs using dirigibles for military purposes. The use of balloons and airships was very important to the U.S. Army Signal Corps, as they provided crucial aerial observation information required for military planning. Due to several spectacular balloon explosions, however, the program at Brooks Field was canceled in 1922 as the U.S. Army reevaluated the usefulness of balloon and airship observation programs.
Shortly thereafter, Brooks Field became the Primary Flying School for the U.S. Army Air Corps and trained all new Army aviation cadets in the basics of flight. Training was rigorous, with fewer than half of the students selected to move on to advanced training. During the Primary Flying School's tenure at Brooks Field, 2,237 students graduated from the program including many notable figures in aviation. Brigadier General Charles Lindbergh, the first man to fly non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean, received his first formal aviation training at Brooks Field. Other important aviators graduating from Brooks included Nathan Twining and Thomas D. White, both of who became prominent Air Force commanders during World War II. For nine years the school operated at Brooks Field, helping to form the basic structure of the Army Air Corps for decades to come.
In the 1920s, Brooks was also home to the first demonstration of paratrooper warfare. Witnessed by a large audience in 1929, personnel from Brooks Field demonstrated paratrooper tactics by parachuting from planes and setting up combat positions on the ground. The tactic was later used by several military forces in World War II.
In 1926, Brooks Field became the new home of the School of Aviation Medicine (SAM). The school supported the Primary Flying School in a variety of ways including medical examinations for all cadets. Flight surgeons at SAM also performed important research in aviation medicine that helped to ensure the health and safety of future aviators
1930s
The 1930s marked a transition for Brooks Field. The Primary Flying School and School of Aviation Medicine continued operation until 1931 when both moved to the newly created Randolph Field in San Antonio. Before the school's departure, however, one of its instructors, Colonel William C. Ocker, developed an innovative system allowing aviators to fly "blind," or in adverse conditions that prevented visual flying. Colonel Ocker's system eventually became known as instrument flying and transformed the practice of aviation.
After the Primary Flying School's departure, Brooks Field became the new home for the Aerial Observation Center which had been stationed at U.S. Army Fort Sam Houston. The new contingent included six observation squadrons which flew Douglas O-43's and other planes to perform reconnaissance duties. The presence of the Aerial Observation Center at Brooks Field attested to the importance that military planners assigned to Brooks in the 1930s.
As the decade progressed, however, aerial observation lost favor to other functions of aviation like bombardment and pursuit. As a result, the program at Brooks Field gradually diminished, with only one squadron left by the late 1930s.
1940s
The country's preparations for World War II transformed Brooks Field in the 1940s. During World War II, Brooks Field housed multiple training schools that greatly aided the war effort. One school trained pilots in observation roles: the School for Combat Observers and the Advanced Flying School (Observation) both trained pilots who could serve as co-pilots, navigators, bombardiers, and aerial gunners. The program remained in operation until 1943 when the U.S. Army Air Force reevaluated the requirements of military aviation and disbanded the school.
In 1941, Brooks Field became home to an Advanced Flying School training pilots in combat maneuvers using single-engine aircraft. In 1943, training in the school switched to twin-engine aircraft; as a result, Brooks subsequently trained pilots to fly the new B-25 bomber. Both of the Advanced Flying Schools at Brooks Field were instrumental in supplying trained aviators for service in Europe and Asia.
Brooks Field also trained civilians to serve as instructors in pilot training as part of the Student Instructors' Pilot Training School. Students were taught Army pilot procedures and techniques with the intention of teaching at Army Primary Contract Schools.
After the war, Brooks Field was home to several tactical and reserve units. In 1948, Brooks Field formally became Brooks Air Force Base.
1950s
The 1950s saw a continuation of reserve training efforts at Brooks Air Force Base (AFB), which hosted the 259th Air Base, 2577th U.S. Air Force Reserve Flying Training Center, the 2577th Air Base Group (ABG), and the 3790th ABG from 1949-58. Training activities increased with the demands of the Korean War (1950-53), but overall, the base was relatively quiet compared to other periods in its history.
Since the early 1950s, however, Brooks AFB had been chosen as the home for a new Aerospace Medical Center, which would include the School of Aerospace Medicine (SAM). In 1957, construction on the new campus-like complex began and two years later, SAM scientists moved from Randolph AFB to the newly completed center at Brooks AFB. The presence of SAM at Brooks AFB signaled its changing mission from that of flight training to aeromedical research. In 1960, the final aircraft took off from Brooks AFB.
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