WWII Ferrying Command History

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This Page Declassified lAW E012958

of the

FERRYING

COMMAND

29 May 1941 - 30 June 1942

SCANNED !BY ISA

===PRj;p;».nEO 8),,==~

ASSISTANT CHIEF OF AIR STAFF

INTELLIGENCE HISTORICAL DIVISION

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THIS PAGE Declassified lAW E012958

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This Pa e Declassified lAW E012958

(29 Eny 19'*1-30 June 1942)

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lJ)UIlrIOTP, .. I'..TIVE HISTORY OF TLI: F::;P.RYIl~3 C,j~ID

The orig'l na.l of th'

doculI'ents fr~1TI v'hich "t a s ~ ~onogT!lph and the thE' US,\t' Hi<:<tor..l'c-l D~ ,W,t.:J written are in

BId u ~ lV..lSlor. Ar h

:r·914 Fax-r,",oil A" F -', elves Pr"l.nch

, , -- J.r orC',,; Bass , Alah:lf<l3. ~

Prepared by

;01i~~~nt Chief of )tir Steff. Intolll~enee HiotorioDl Division

June 1945

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Forur;oRD

This, study of tl~e orp,F.-llizr,t1ollEl.l development of the jl'erry-

lIlt; OO"r::w.nd ,.,:.,f l-.'l'itten ill the Eistoricnl :Crrnch, Intelli;;e>nce

describes pud rnplyzes the deciLions le~6in~ to the fornGtion of

tl:e cOl::."1cnd; relationslliTJF ",-!th otl er AK$ €'{;encies, Allied coun-

trie~, p~d civil rirl1nes; r~u the r~~id exreJlsion of domestic

r~d oversers Fot1v1ties. The story end~ ~ith the reorganization

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Oor.::nrnd. T:he PEO tiistoricpl BrEnch is now T,rel)ro'ing studie-s

which "till CE':rr~r i'or\\'exd tt.e history of the colt'Mrnd ~lnce th?t

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dPte.

Recaar~ familiar with the ~ubject ~~tter 8re iuvlted to

contribute ~dditio~~ f~cts, iuterpret~tioll6t nnd 8u;~er.tlcnc.

Por thir purpo~e, perfor~ted sheets ~~ve been plpced Rt tLe tR~

of the otudy. ~hir, histo17 .,.ill be h:-.ncUed in ~trict cOI:ly,ilif'nce

'd. th .AFt 330-S.



I

TEE E-STkBLISI:rlRNT OF TEE AIR ces-s FERRYInG CO~U . .bi'D •

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COlTTEl1TS

II

TDE DO~.[:3TIC PERIOD (29 i,~~y-30 Docen:.ber 1941) ••

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14

Early ~e£dqu&rtars Fersonnel end Orgunizntion • • • • " 14

Early Field OrcanizRtion for DOl'lostio Ferryin~ ••••• 18

Early Air 'Ir~,nsport Orr;anizncion: the

Atlantic tivioion • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • ., 27 P-E.,letionG with Other Air Force A:senoies • • • • • • • •• 32 R6l~tions ~~th Other ~~encies • • • • • • • • • • • • •• 42 ExpendinG Responsibilities ••••• 47

III

Ihffi EXPll1~IOU (30 Deoember 1941-30 June 1942) •

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61

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The 110W CrC;nnization in Cp3r~tion • • •

P.elations with the Civil Airlines • • • • • • Redefinition of the CQ~andts ~ssion • Steps tow~:.rd ReOrbf'.ni~fJ..tion of the Conmand ••••••• Rol~ttj.onship of' r'erryin3 COlIlI'"!.smd to

The&ters Defined •• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • The \ir Irusportetion Frob1ep1 •• ••

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62 78 86 89

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103 104

IV

SmrliffiY •

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112

GLOSSllRY

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116

B IELIOGRJ".PHY

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117

1. Changes in 00":1mend '::Tcn.'lnclnture • • • • • • • •• 122

2. Documen~s • • • • , • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• 1~4

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20

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Following

Or€aniz~tion ~nd Ooerrtions Ch~~t-~A1r Corps Ferrying

CO-~~lld (24 June 1941) • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 17

Air Eorcen Ferrying COmmPnd--?l~ of Organi~ation

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92

Forfdgn Routes -of the Ferr~in; OOI~.!!l.'1nd (15 June 1942)

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Administrativo Eistory of the FerryinG Commend

(20 l.:ay 1941-30 June 1942)

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Chv:oter I

The activities undertp~en by the Ferrying Oo~rndt even the fact

of its initial establishment, reflect decisions extending beyond the

military into fieldr. of internationE'~ reletions nnd domeetic politics.

~he b~sic factors underlyin~ these decisions must be statedt however

briefly, if the foundation of tee Oo~nd. its missiont and its organ-

ization are to be understood.

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]y the syrinc of 1£41 the ~uruo~e of the United States to give

8~1 possible help, short of ectue~ combat, to Eritpin ~nd the rpMnents

of her p..llies against tl:e ,Axis powers was clear. !i:he :passage of tl:.e

Lend-Le£1 se Act on 11 l'~a.rch of that year, after "ljroloDged :public dis-

ousaion, :provided a meens for implenenting thil:' intention rmd impres-

sively demonstrated the considered desire of the Congress and people 1

of the United Ste.tes. ~he :period of extreme d.elicacy t when aircrB,ft

~urehPsed by the Eritish ~~d to be pushed ~cross the Canadian border

in order to :proteot the neutrali ty of the United States, hE'd YE',ssed •.

~he 1de~ of developing a regulex military s~rvice for ferryiDg

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airerd·t was atimul:::.ted bf various factors, Aircraft, both for tl:e

British ~nd their allies nnd for the ~rowing American air force. were

eomi~ off the ~sserobly lines in increRsiDb numbers. As produced and

1. 55 llii. 31; ]ldwn.rd R. Stettinius, Jr •• Lend-Lease, '4ef'no:g, _for Victorz. 7l-85.


yet require a good desl more work before they were re~dy for combat

servicp• , Armament rniS,ht have to be inf't~lled or one or more modifi-

cationt ~!de to suit t~e nurpose of t~e designated recipient. In manw

caSBS it WP jC l!:ore f'.dvantp,geous to fly the :plrnes to points ,'here the

necessary pdditions were produced, fnd to hrve 1nst~118tions and

modifications done there, tb2~ to move these 1te~R nnd the needed

toolf pnd personnel to the f£ctories. Thus. as aircraft production

increased. there developed an ever-growlng nee~ for move~ent to various

~aints wlthin the United Stntes of pltnes derctined for the Army Air

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Forces or the British.

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:Bomber" cE.1)able of fly1z:g the rorth Atl?ntic were delivered by

factory ~ilots to British representrtlves at designated trensfer points

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in et!,stern ORnf'M. !>lanuf"acturers ",ere che.l'ging as much as $0,000 for

the delivery of f< slD€le ph ne fron the \';est Ooast to one of these

tren~fer points. From Canada the eircr~ft were ferried to the United

Kingdom b,y the civilian ul10ts of the Oanad1~ P~clflc Air Service

Depart~ent, o~erpti~ after ~~Ch 1941 under the control of the Atlentlc

:Ferry or{;~.n:i zation, IlAtfero, II of the :Sri tifch l!lnhtry of Aircre-ft 3

Production.

2.
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3.
r Memo for Ohief of Ordn-nce b~ COAO, 27 J~~. 1941, in AAG 452.1, Sale of Pl~nes Abroad: memo for AS/W (Air) OOAC, 29 May 1941, in .AAG 373.2A.

Unsigned report. tIS1l!:1l!lal'Y of Information Covering the Organizntion of the Atlantic Ferry ~omber Service b~ the Canadian PP.eific." 25 ~!arch 1~42i inclosed with letter, O. R. Dickins to Lt. Col. Fred O. MorgAn, 21 !~ch 1944, in ~O HIstorical

File; see below. 43.


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Kingdom wer e not Inrp;e. On 20 :':'~y 1941 the Deputy Direotor General of' the British lu.rcrai't Gor:unission reportod the.t "ao'buaL arrivals in

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u. :;r.1t to dabe were 12 :3-17C's, 13 B ... 24ls, 49 J1udsons, and 49 FDY

flyinG bonts. other liudsons had been shipped by water, ~nd ~d~itioncl 4

PBY's had been delivered by &ir to Australia and Sin~~pore.

li.nother of the i'aotors underlyin,s the oreation of the Air Corps

Ferryint:; COlllHl.and .."ras a shortage of mu1td-eni;ine aircraft for the

trninins of ~~erioan }JnnY pilots. This in turn was partly due to

the diversion of a large port at American plane production to the

hard-pressed British. American milit(~y crews, meamvhile, acoordi~s

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to L~Clj. Gen. H. tI. Arnold i Deputy Chief of Sta.ff' tor f.1r, were in need of Itthe trcining in ne:v1gv.tion, weRther and redio i'lyin.t'; that a

coast-to-coast ferrying service "auld give then--and on the latest.

hottest aquipn:.ent. U On 8 !.!ny 1941, S weeks before the establishment

of the Comm~nd, these consider~tions bore fruit in e note addressed by

Sir Gerald Campbell, British '::inister at 7.&sh1n~on, to Seoretary of'

State Cordell liull. $ir Gerald, on behalf of his ;.overnm~nt, consented

to the ~~lerican use of british aircraft for training purposes vdthin

the continental limits of the United States. "The scope and extent

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of such tre.inin'l; and the utilizo.tion o£ 1I1s l!ajesty. s Government's eircraft in connection there~~th ~er£7 left to the sole disoretion o~

the Government of the United States.lt It was further a;l.;reed that the

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4. C. P. Furey, Deputy Direotor Cenerel, British Aircraft Conmission .. to r:a.j. Gen. G. a, Brett, 20 k€;}" 1941, in .~_~G 373.2A.


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11101313 of or OPJ:lPge to any such aircre.:f't in the course of e:uch trein- 5

ing.

On 12 l'~ay the Under Secretary of '{s.T :\clvised the Ohief of the Air

Oorps that he was tlputhori zed. to utilize for trdning pur'Poses incident

to cross-country fliffhts Euch air!lll"ne~ of the British Government •••

P.S IroftY be "'1~de ava.ilable and exp-ressly clesigneted for such 'Purposes by 6

duly authorized agent~ of tr..e o"ner thereof. II

Throughout the spring months of 19?1. the offices of the Secret''lr~

of i:u and of his assistp.JltB. as \1eU as thor,e of hi~-ranking officers

in the Air OOT"OS, sholled. serious pnd gro\'.1.ng concern regarding the

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exieting Fystem of ferrying &lrcrp~t for t~e British. ThiR concern

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unquestionably reflected the conviction of the President 2nd his ad-

visers th<'3.t every ::':lep.f",ure tending to assure or aneed British victory 7

w~s ~ step in su~port ot vital Amerio~~ interests.

On 12 April ~~J. Gen. George R. Brett reported to the Chief of

Staff' the development of plr.ns for the conr,truction. of a IF..nding field

on the west coast of Greenlt;nd for the staging of aircraft vie_ New-

foundlr-;,nd, GreenJ.rnd, end lee1f1.nd to the United Kingdom. He anticipated

tha,t use of thif; route \lould wke -possible t.t.e f'erryiD.6 of medium and

light bo~bers ~cross the !~orth Atlantio, perhaps before the end of the

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5. Sir Ger:>ld Cp.Jttpbell to Cordell Hull, SecretPl,ry of Str-tte. 8 r.J:aN 1941, in AAG 452.1. General Arnold i~ Quoted cs Rbove in The Aircraft YeArboQki££~, 50. Of. Col. Robert Olds to T:-3. ]rpniff, Fresident. Br~xdff AirwRY~, 29 July 1941, in AAG 373. Perrying Cot',~~ nd; 2d Lt. R. L. Goerder to Chief, Me-inteDP.Ilce Com~nd, 10 June 1941. in AAG 321.9. Ferryin~ Co~~rnd •

6. !.!emo for CIAO by US /~r, 12 z,rD~ 1941, in AAG 353.9.

7. ~ ~n(t ~18rr' United St!'Jtes Foreign :Polic;y. 1931-1941 (U. S.

De-P2.l'tment of State Publication 1853, i:c..shint;ton, 1942), 96-98.

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$'IlmI!1.er. Reg£',rding th.e fli,.;:ht delivery of pur sui t plPnes to tl:e United

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Kingdom, he wet'; less se.nguine t\ud. urged that the eMphasis be pleced on 8 the use of na.val aircraft carriers for ferrying this type of aircraft.

The language used less than a fortnight later b~ General Brett,

as Actin~ Obief of the Air Oorps, in a memorendum aadressed to

Robert A. Lovett. A!3sietcnt Secretary of :'far for Air, reflects more

cleE'.rly a dedr~ on the part of the l;pr De;:-artr.en.t to a.ssist, "under

the yresent underst~n&ing ,nth the British, ••• in eccelerating the

delivery of &ircrci't to Irelnrid." He sUG{~eFt()d several lilies of action

which mi~'ht be followed in pro::lotiDG tbh desired outcome. To f~cili-

tate the opening of e school iu the United StRte~ for the trGini~ of

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overse?s r~rry pilots for the British, arrp~&ewents bed already been

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made with !rranscont1nental and ~:ef1tern Air t Incor"Oorated, to begin

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train1~ ferry pilot instructors as soon HS a B-1? airpl~ne could be

made available. Jack Frye, preFid.ent of' ~;tAI w:.?s Hskin;; the lOfn by

the Army of t\l10 qURlified B-1? pilots r..nu. a :B-1? mru.nten~nce crew t to

assist in giviIlt; tr?nsition trdni!l.:'~ to the TWA :pilots wile were to

serve a~ instructors and. to trl:"'in T"iTA m?,intemnce uersonne1. Beyond

thie. Gener~l Brett suggested the establishment of e ferry service to

return froLl. lrelr"od to 1:Tet~"fou.ndl"nd pilots engt'.ged in ferrying air-

craft across the Atle.ntlc. Steps mi~;ht also be tFke!l., where necea-

zary, be in[ic~tedt to supnle~ent the eQuipment ?~d mainten~nce

personnel Hat E'~l piraroo9s used in the transit of aircre..ft to

8. Uemo for Ohie-f of Stl?.ff by ~~rl,j. Gen. G. R. :Brett. 12 April 1941, in A.AG 373. 2A.

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N ewf oundlp.nd. II

On 5 ~~~ the Trninibg p~d Oper~t1ons Dlvipion of the Office of t~e

Chief of the _lIir Corps (OOAO) submtted. to General :Brett ~. docunenf

listi~ the esti~nted nuncer of ferry crews re~uired for the rem~jn-

ing monthr. of the cu.rrent yecr both to deliver two- and four-en~ine

aircraft for the :Bri Ush :from the fr.ctories to the l:orthef'.st and to 10 maintain the delivery of :plr.<nefl to A.."llerice.n ls.rtly Rir units.

On 7 ~!I?.y in a Jl1emorf'.nliwr. 1i:hich cleF.rly foresbrd.owf the establi sh-

nent of the Ferrying OO!:'J1<;'nd., General Brett slll!lmar1zed for Lt. Gen.

Delos O. :Bl'1."'1on~. CO:~JI~nc1ing General of the GHQ. Air Force. the develop-

Dents of the past few wee:"::s as far as the ferryinG problei.i W."":3 con-

cerned, He r'3T1ortf'tt thpt the OOAOt i?t the r eoues t of the :British

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governm!"nt tmel on orders from the ~lro' De!)art;nent, had developed a :plan

IIfor te-king over the tr;<>,ns-oceanic ferry of Bri ti sh aircraft by a

civilian corporation in this country. II This pla.n, the purpose of which

\'19.fl to rele:;o"'e :British conbat :oilots for Rlore ~.ct1ve service, he.d

nevertheless been rejected by Air Chief l~S\hal Sir Hugh Dowding,

representi~ the British ~inistry of Aircr~t Frouuct1on. General

:Brett bf'lieved, however t th,.-.t Sir Hugh 1 Ii: decision. WM the rer:uJ. t of

fpilure to un~erEtf'nd the \'bhet' of his ho!!:e government.

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9. Memo for AS/W by Gen. Brett. 25 April 1941, in 373, ATO Central Files. ~he "pronoEed T~rA school was oy.ened on 1 June 1941 at K2.nse.s City. "0. :>..nd. w.'\:" transferred to Albuquerquet 1T. !1. t 23 June. It Wt1.f, termed by the COJ:l.!jt.ny "the Ethle lrest Flight Center. II IIReport of .All .Activitiel', of the ]Jagla Ned Flir~ht Center for the Period June 1. to AU::-Ilsot 31. le41.n n.d •• in ATO Ri~toricnl File.

10. !<!?mo for Gen. :Brett by Col. ~;. F. RraU~t Exec" t TOO Div. t 5 Ma¥ 1941, in AAG 373.2A.

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!'ore recently, Gener~l :=rett conti nued , tr..e :ari thh h:ld ?~kea. 11

the United Strtes

to tFke over. with militar~ ~ilots, the ferryin8 of

:Eritish 8ircrC:'ft freo frctories il.l t1:e United Strter. to

P 'Ooint in. tj-:J' epst€'rn 'IT'rt of this continent. (H',is

reouest is opsed on tLe nre~ise tt4t euch rction •••

would rple?se R IprGe nQ~ber of ctvilirn pi1ot~ for duty ,doth the United. KingdoI: trens-.Atl?.ntic service. This la.tter service is cl.'Trpntl': extrE"I:!ely short of competent trans-ooean -pilots, rnd it becomes f'n)['xf'nt thl"t unless nrorrot 1'emedif'.1 lotion ir t2ken to ~ccel£rrtc tae delivcr~ of ]ritish Rircra£t, thf.t the 'Prodl;.cts of A.>;1eriCRn eil"Pl:=t.ne fr:,ctories ",ill not be delivered. to Grert Eri tain in tir1e to be of

an~ use in the current rction iu Great ~r1tain.

~b.e ~rt!r Der:nrtment Me iIl(.icated tucot tr:e Bri tish request for United Stntes .l',xrn.v nilote to tF'ke over the ferl'Yin?; of :B1'i ti sh fdrerpft in the oontinent~l Un! ted St!: tE'~ "rill rec<:'ive s~ r. );rn:'!..thetic condd.erp,tion. It is believed th:-t the GHQAir FOrce wlll ver~ nrobably be crlled unon to ~erforM the mi~fion inherent in the ~ritish r~~uest.

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In rnid-!ft,py, General Arnold if".:::ued. p iUrective ur:.der "'hich },.I'cy

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crew~ were to fly 20 trF~~~ort ~ircr8ft to [pkorpdi on t~e Gold Oo~st

for the FritiFh. [hese e1rcr~£t hwd beE'U ac~uir~d through Lpna-Lease

frotl t:he do:;~e£tic rirlices. GCllCrl"~ Arnold scon c.."u.nged. his ,u.ndt

hal-revert rl:d o.roY",~ed t1:.e "lan to use A:rmy :ferl'yin~ crews. Inflte~.d,

f'1'rf'.ngementa ~.Tere l"lnie vi th Pen .AJnericftll AirwF~tfl to crerte a eubsidlary 12

cornorr,tion, Atl"'ntic JdWfCYS, Ltd., 1rlhich did the job.

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11. l~emo for Lt. C "'0.. D. O. 'i:m::-one by Gen. Brett. 7 llFy 1941, in.!£!g. (A."O'O •• lC'5-?6). It is wortl:y of note tlut tLis "'le'Ilor!'!nti.um WPS dictpted by ;:".j. -:;:. :FI •• Uox.~nd.er w:Co 'beCClUlE" the first executive officer of the :rerryi~~: IJolliln.nd 3 weeks ll"ter.

12. !~j.;. R. ~~es~da to Dcrn G. ~\Chesont Asst. Seeret~IY of St~te,

13 ;~rly leH; ''!t''oo for Chiefs .... 4.11 Division£: by Col. G. ::.. Stratemeyer, :Jxeo., CO}.C!, 1>; HI"Y 1941; ',1""'0 for Gen. lre-tt by D. ',;. iomlinson, 15 ~<ry I9H; raemo for Ohief of Stt:ff by Gen. Arnold., 24 gay 1941; Gen. Arnola to JUfl.n ~ri~"I'Oe, l?r~siclent. 'PAA., '27 HFY 1941, in AAG 373 • .2.A.; drl'fh of Fgrpements. d.,ted 2£' Hay 1941. in -452.1, .ATe Centr~l Files. l!'or a fUller ~ccount of this subject, see ":B:1story of tl:e Crxibbe~n :Division, Air J:'rl'lnsnort Go!"a~l1i." Pp.rt I., IISarly :FE'rryine Oneutions Southep$t 1'1'01'1 Floricw, II 19-29.

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Tows.rd the end. of the month the War Department t apparently qui te

as zealous as the British government for the Guceeea of the trRns-

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atlantic ferrying service, cr~ne very close to proposing again that the

Army .Air Corps, ,,4th en .AmericaJl officer in :full cOl'lI'lBud, asauae

resyonsibility for ell ferrying of aircraft from factories to tne

United Xingdo~. Upon the recommendation of Erig. Gen. Carl Spaatz,

then Chief of the Air Corps Plans Divlsion. this proJJos8~ wes aban- 13

doned.

Instea.d, it Was decided to co~ply with tho more modest request

of the ~ritish government. Thi& called for the use of mi11tery crews

to ferry British aircraft from the factories to transfer points in the

Northeezt. On 28 M~ the Pre~ident brought the matter to a head with

a brief note addresr,ed to the Secretar,r of War, a document which must

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be considered the cornerstone of the Ferrying Coom?~d. It is quoted here in full:

Dear !-:r. Secretary:

I wish you would tf'ke the full responsibility for delivering planes, ot .. er than the PEYs, toot are to be flown to England to the !;>oint of ultilll.?te takeoff.

I am convinced thpt we c~n speed u~ the ~rocess of getting bheee bonber-s to ED«;b.lld f.nd I am auxious to cut through All of the ~ormk~ities that are not

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13. I·femo for :Brig" Gen. Carl Spaatz by Gen. Arnold. 26 May 1941; memo for Gen. Arnold by Spaat~t 27 ~ 1941; memo for R. A. Lovett by Gen. Arnold, 27 M~ 1941, in AAG 373.21. During much of May, General ~rAtt received ~ detailed daily report from the ~rit1sh Air Oommission on the status of aircrp£t intended for trensatle~tic flight delivery. Report~ filed in ibid"

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lege~ly yrohibitive ~~d hel~ the British get this job done with dispatoh.

I think that LeDd~Lease funds can be used to some extent in connection with fields in Canada. tmd :Bermuda.

For your confidenti8~ information I am suggesting that the R.A.F. teke the responsibility for the pl~~es at the point of ultiEBte take-off but whether this suggestion of mine is approved by the British Government or not I want t1:.e Army to wAke sure th~t these planes ese delivered speedily.

Very sincerely yours,

I~! Franklin D. Roosevelt

The Honorable 14

The Secrete.,ry 0;[' i1ar.

On the following de::! t 29 ~1ay 1941, 001. Robert Olds. an officer

in the Plans Dividon, OOAOt was called into the office of General

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Spaatz. It is not clear whether he was given his instructions by

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General Speatz or whether he spoke with General ~rett. He returned

to his office and told his secreter~, Mrs. Jennie K. Smith, "Well.

we have a new job." He had been directed to establish the ferrTing 15

service.

On the same day, steps were teken to esteblish an air transport

service, linking the United States with the United Kingdon:. .As a matter

of fact, General. Arnold had directed General :Brett to take the necessary

e.otion to procure eircl'a£t for such a servioe as early as 3 April. .And.

..

later in April. General Brett bad sug~eeted th~t it might serve as an

14. "Chronological File of Major Directives,1I ATe Central FUes; original in OS/W.

15. Interview with Y.rs. Jennie K. Smith, by Oapt. Oliver La Farge, Historical Officer. A~O.



10

16

adjunct to the transatlantic ferrying of aircraft. Mep~while the

BritiSh he.d shown little enthuBl~em for e variant plan. This called

..

for e British-operated service, utilizing three airplanes, to be trane-

terred to Eritish ownership under Lend-Lease, ~nd manned by civilian

crews provided by the United States through lithe discharge of pilots 17

and neehamcs" from the armed forces.

On 29 May there was submitted to the Depnty Chief of Staff for

Air a rE>CODtrllendation, prep~red in the PlEne Division, OOAC, for "the es-

tablishment of a ferry service between the United States and England

for the purpose of transporting officials of the United States and

the United Kingdomlt and of returning RAE ferr~ crews to this continent.

..

~he Attorney General had ruled. the cor~unic~tion stated, that military

per~onnel, aircra£t, and facilities might be used for tnis purpose •

•

It was ur~osedt accordingly, that the serviee be m~de a responsibility

of the Air Corps Mainterus.nce Co:~.nmnd end that Lt. Col. Oaleb V. Hqnes

be rushed from Puerto Rico and placed on tecporery duty as cOMm~ndlng

officer. The shuttle was to be inaugurated with a~15, though it was

recognized that this four-ei~ine bomber was not fully satisfaetor,y for

the yropoeed operntion. As soon as trnined crews were ree~~ E-24

service was to be sterted with one plpne already in the Army's pos-

session Rna one to be obt~ined from the British. Bolling Field Was

r ..

16. R&R. Gen. Arnold to Gen. Brett. 3 A~ril 1941t in AAG 373.21; memo for AS/W by Gen. Brett, 25 April 1941, in 373, ~C Oentral Files; memo for DOIS (Air) by OOAO, 29 M~ 1941. in 321.9, ATO Central Files.

17. Memo for Dols (Air) by 001. Stratemeyer. 16 M8¥ 1941, in AAG 373.2A.

-



to be the American terminus; fRcllitles were to be arranged at the

., .

-

Newioundlro.nd airport; and ma1ntenance crews were to be sent to Great 18

Britain •

Before this urogram wes ~ut into operation. it was altered by a

decision to assign the responsibility to the Ferrying Command rather

tJu..n to the !'!dntenF!.nce COl"mand.. That Colonel 01ds. as cOm:J1f1.nding

officer of the newly created organization. had a h8~d in this decision is suggested by a ~encilled nota.tion on p. "buck slip!! attached to the 19

draft plan. In any event. when the order constituting the Ferrying

Oomme~d was published on 5 June 1941 the definition of its respons1-

bi1it1es was broad enough to cover tbe operntion of the proposed

..

transport service •

•

~his order announced the oonstitution and establishment of the

Air Oorys Ferrying Corr.mp.lld, as of 29 r:ay 1941. Itunder the direct juris-

diction of the Ohief of Air Corps. If Published. substantially !IS drawn 20

up by Oolonel Olds, it stated the mission of the new Oommand in brief

but swae:oing terms: "... to move aircraft by t>..ir from factories to

,.

LB. Memo for Dols (Air) by OOAC, 29 M~ 1941. in 321.9. ATO Central Files. No written opinion of the Attorney General of the character indicated in this memorandum hEl.s been found. ~here is. however.

an opinion, dated 6 June 1941, in which the Attorney General ruled that there was no legal. obstacle to the War Department's employing "Army aircraf't piloted by Air Oorps officers for the purpose of transporting Army personnel to the British Isles and return." R. H. Jackson. Attorney General, to slW, 6 June 1941. in AAG 373.

19. !lIn view of our conversation this morn1ng should not this service be_under the same command that r'!:ps ,ihe Ferry Service in the U. S. ilf SiPaatzI7 to 001. Olds, 2 June-i1941/. 1n 321.9, ~C Oentra~ Files.

20. Cf. file copy, initialed "RO LRobert Oldi/.n of memo for AfJ. by OOAO, 3 June 1941. in Plens Div. files, AFIHI Archives.

.

..


11


If'

such tern:tnf".ls M !!f Y be c'iedGO,.<l.ted 'by the Chief' of' Air Corps, PJ" well

l'S to l"'rd.ntrin such spccit'l nil' ferry serv.i.ce r-s I:1r-~T be ren,:u:.red to

r:::.eet E'pecif'i 0 d tup ti ons ...

i'..ir Cor'nE nerf10nnel and detrtch.r;>f'nt~ were to be nr·;.vlded bY' loop~

com~,.:-nd.err. to the OOllUllFlJld.er of tt.c Ferryl~..; Oo;::---::-r.d, [-'s iollOl'rs!

!!. .M.l'cu.ft ferryi~ crews in ~n c u·fieient nunber to maint~1n t: condent flo,,; of r.drcrE'i't from ft'ctOl'i! to Cleetiurtion. l!. AirCl+r·ft O1'e"'f1 reouired to mp.intF'in Erecie.l '-- Lr fprry £"er,·:hce t's e~tl"bli r,iced by tl:e Ohief of ~';ir Corns •

.,2. ::rintenrnce dctl·cb.:,;~nts to insuro pdequllte rr.illtenf nee E'!i.d inST-Bction of' rdrcrd't involved in £. ::lnd ~ cbcve ,

:i3eyond Uds, IIC}13.efs of r'rr~t:' ~nd ~ervices. COi"!,"rJf'n&ing officers of'

"OostE' ••• I"-nd otter p::,"nncieE' tl.L.cler :;I"r :ren~.l'tn\e.c.t jurisdiction 1-;;er§.7

directed to ~ive firEt nriority to the ~ctivities of the Air Corns Perryinr COc'r1rnd l!cen a.!'Isir'tr.nce or cooTJerr'tion l-:;'pi! reouirl?o.."

•

:Sunde "'culd. be obtttined fro::! ::Ii1itf'ry n1O)jroyrhtions or from

Lend-Le~se sources. Tee Co~~ond€r wc,~ tuthorized to establish licison

with the British end Canpdi~n goveraTent£ ~~d other neceeG~~y agencies

and to det>~ directly with tl::.e A£sist~·r...t Chief of Stp.£f, G-2 ~;pr DePE'.rt-

ment t in m"tterr. rel~ting to the ~otivi ties of hie; 'Personnel outeid.e 21

the continentrl UniteQ St~tes.

Furtcer evidence reg~ding plene for the 7erryir.g Co~~~nd, es

conceive& by tho C~AC tn~ the office of the ~nsist~nt Secr~tpry of

..

',;p;r for Air tis cont!'ir~ed in n e'llm'!l.rxy of tho conclusiolls of [' con-

:British pircra:f't \o1E~rp to ~oe !":.ovpd by tho lteirnl~Jlo I'C'rry CO:'J!!'lrndu

.'"

21. AG to OG's, All Armies, £!~., 5 June l~{l, in AG 320.2 (6-3-41) llR-!1 (A'I'J:P. t 12'1-28) •

.. - ... -:~ r~ -~\""--

~!- -~ ~ ~ .....

• T"""~~~ " ",

~



13

from f~ctories to ~oints in the Americ~s design?ted oy the Eritish for

ei trer over£t!p~ sll..i'O'l'ent by bOP,t or ferry OVer(;eE s by air. In t'ccorCII-.nce

with the Preddentl s lettE!r to the Secretpl'p- of ',r~r, only la.nd :>lp.nel3

w~rA involved. Factory nilotD were to continue tt.eir deliveries until

the new ferry service ~hou1d be fully orgenized. ~ilots iine~ly re-

lease~ wer~ to be encouraged to enroll in Atfero for oversens ferrying.

Those who did. not join t!ere to be used by the new Oo~'c'nd pnd eiven.

J>A .Air Cor;Js school for ferry :oiloh Kould 'be ~et un pt :S,:,rk~deJ.e

Field. Lp,.» tp!;:im; pT)rroy.im~tely p- hundrfld trpinees from each clpss of

the Air Coros ~r~inin~ Center. Gl'rd~te~ of the E?rksd$le ~chool were

•
..
. .
..
~. to be tlfed in f't t.c..e bottom!! of the ferxvint,- service.. tJl timately,

vnen r sUl'yJlus of ferryir.f,; ;)erf'oDnE"l hF d. been ~ccunulated._ thE> !:lore

expericaced ~ilots would be releas~d for other 2ctivities, esvecip~ly

,,;1th the GnQ, Air Force. ~he Eritith Air Conwdssion "'ould coonerl'lte in

Incking 'Oossible this trp,ining :oroc,rmn by nrovidinc F mmber of Lockheed.

Hudson bOr"lberE. t;enerally servicerble for trdning. though thr·ir delivery

to E:ngl~.nd ",':'IF "being held un by R tlhortf'l':e of 'tArtf'.. For the th'le being,

£ny deficiency of -oilotro or ferry11J;';: cre\"lt \:~ .. to be "'!et b~'? dr~tllng

unon tl.:.e pilote of the Air Corns senerr~ly. in PCCOrt1RllCe d th e~tpb- 22

lirhed nrocE:'durel:".

"'uii tee br,dc oission of ti:.e Air OOl'1)S Ferryin.~ Cc;r,(',r..d. It is now

llecer,s"Xy to turn to t:t'E' d.E'velo"(lment of the or{:f'nizl"tion ' .. hich performed.

thi f lei ('sion, I nd to tr:::ce- its growth 6.urin<; tl:E' ~ucceedi;cg " months.



Chapter II

..

..

•

f!£lY Headquarters Personnel !2S 9reanization

A key factor in the early history ot the .ferrying Conmand was the character and personality of its com::Jander. Colone101da had behind him a fine military record" extending back to sorrice a.s a. pilot and instructor in the Aviation ::..ection of the Signal Corps in World i'lar I. His peacetime specialization had been in the field of

1

heavy bombardment aircraft. To his new responsibilities Colonal Olds

brougbt. unusual experience in long-range £lying ot military aircraft over both water and various types of terrain. According to those who

•

. -

. . '

knew him., he was a man of fire, drive" and courage. These qualities

and this experience proved highly useful :for the commander of an organi-

zatlon which was to expand in striking fashion, always under the necessity of haste. The situation demanded considerable darinz, not merely of flyers and crews, but of those who did the planning and assumed the responsibi11ty for pioneering vantures. This, Colonel Olds had in full measure and beyond it a broad grasp of the national and international significance of his mission •

•

.

IiIr

1. ACr'C Public Relations Office, uL!fiogra.pbical J::.iketcb o{/ Brig.

GenersJ. .t'i.Obert 01d8$ j, n.d.~ in ATC Historical File •

14

\. ~ ~_~.; ~ : - - ..... f-.o;

~ = ,~ I~..:{~~~, _.



15

In dealing with individuals. he was forceful, often abrupt, pepperY'.

intolerant of failure or obstructionism. quite unafraid to express him-

self strongly to his superiors when he felt that the situation reouired it. He possessed exce~tional ~bility to win his subordinates' loyalty.

He delegpted authority succeAsfullY', giving a men his assignment and

then trusting him to carry it out. He hR,d. a talent for int3piring

each subordinate wi tIl a. f'eeli~ t.lUa.t his I"ission was truly important

e,nd tJu>t his comme.nder had faith in him !',..nd would back him up com,pletelT.

A stroDg disciplinarian, he combined disci~linG with a friendly manner 2

which uelded his organization into an effective team.

On the first day of his nev duty- as ~o"IWI.nder of the Ferrying

Oo~£~d, he obtained the ~esi€nment of Mej. 3dward H. Alexander of

•

..

the ~ralning and Oper~tions Division. 001:.0, ;.1\ his executive o:f'ficer •

For nearly a month, Bejor AleUtnder served also ae ad,juta.nt. tlork

Ws,s begun at once in the space which Oolonel Olds alreac4r occu:oied

9,S an officer of the Plana Division. Within e. week the headquarters

staff was read? to move to rooms of its own elsewhere in the Vounitions

Eu11 ding. These quarters, however, were fpx fro~ satisfactor~t for

they were locE\,ted in the ca,sement ~.nd "rere accordingly dark, badly

ventilated, ~~d, in June, ve~· hot. B~ 5 June orders had been re-

quested for two Regul~r Army o£Iicers, five Air Oorps officers then

on active duty, on~ retired of:f'icer, Eni one civilian. ~he two Regular

•

Army officert3, Maj.. ; filliam H. Tunner, of the Mil! tary PersOlillal Di ...

Vision, 0011.0. e,..nd UaJ. Thomas I,. Mosley, of the GlIQ, Air Force, Laogley

2. W~yne H. Fisher. President, los Angeles Airport Oommission. to Gen.

Olds, 21 !~.,xch 1942, in~,,; interviews with 001. Robert M. Love. I-It<J.. A. F" dUPont~ rll.d !-:t-s. Jennie IC. S1I11 th, all of ",hem served iu the Ferrying Co:mnand under 001. Olds. by Oapt. La Farge.



l6

...

Field., reported for duty within a few days and were assigned to key positions. Uajor Tunner became personnel officer and, on 26 :3 June, adjutant, While Major Mosley became operations o1'ficer •

Meanwhile several other officers whose assignment had been reque1Jted reportE:d.. Lt. Col. s. ti. Hanks, who had served w.ith

the Building ana urounds Livision, OJ~C, became fiscal officer.

Lt. Col. Harold Hartney became materiel coordinator, and 1st J"t6

.Louis 'J:. fleichers, assistant opera.tions officer. 2d .Lt ... !.Obert 1..

Goerder was assigned as liaiBon officer at rerrying Command headquarters for the bintenWlce Conmand; ,ang Commander A. A. Adams for

•

-

the Royal. h.ir J;'orce, and 0. d. Jaller tor the ~ritish Air Commission •

Toward the end of t.he month 1st l..t&.A. ~elix duPont, 8ssbtant operations officer, and ldchard u • .L.owman, assi::;tant personnef, officer, reported for duty. At about the Barne time, lieorge 1". Brewer joined the organi~a.tion as special consultant. He soon became chief of

the Materiel ~ection and applied for a commission in tho ~pecialist t~serve. This and subsequent applications were rejected on account of minor physical defects, but Brewer continued to head the Jlaterie1

..

. '

"

3. AGl''C to 0/1.5, 5 June 1941, in ATe Historical .rUe; memo for lrlajor Alexander by ltaj. ti. H. i1lnner, 14 June 1941, in u:~ctivity Et.eports,U Commander's l''ile, ATe Central 1<11e8; interview with lirs. Jennie K. bmith, by Capt. La i"arge; ACre Personnel urders #1, par. 2, 7 June 1941" in 201 (Alexander), ~., par. 1; AC!<C Personnel Orders liS, par. 1, 26 June 1941, in 201 (Tunner), ATe Central .idles.


This Pa

e Declassified lAW E012958

4

17

Section.

These Ken con~tituted mont of the officer ~ersonnel et hesd-

quarters durin':; the first months of the Cooo:ud.' s history. It was a

small staff, bro~;ht together for c job which would later loo~ smell

..

,.,hen cOJn:i'::l.red ,.;i th the res~ond bili ties ul tltk'?tely imoo sed. uoon the

Air Tr~ns~ort Co~~~nd. The orgeni zation , wIth its five sect1ons, Ope~

,qtions, Fisc!:",l, Personn~l, :~p,teriel, e.ni Lipj,son, er.ch directly sub-

ordiru-te to the co:n."nfI.nding officer fend executive, W?s Enoropri~tely

simple. A.~ (1, lr.n.tter of fE',ct, business W€"S kndJ.ed. very 1nfor!1P~ly.

l!uch w~s done b~ word of mouth. Infort1al nobe s rnd documenus , c?sr1ed 5 from on~ officer to pnother without thou:ht of filing, were common.

•

The five sections ju£t referred to pre those which pnnear in an

...

.'

organizptlon c!1Prt, dated 2L June 19~1. .An unai{;ned analysis of the

~.

Co~~c~d organiz~tion. preDP~ed durin~ August. reveals the existence of

~ sixth Eection; the Administr~tive. ~his section, he~ded by D~v1d s.

Lehm.~Jlt f" career ci viliRn employee, included t: 01 vllian :Personnel

Unit, £" !,:ail r.nd Pile!:1 Unit, f·nd. p, Stenogra'Ohic Unit. 1'he O:oerp,tions

Section ":P.l3 divided into an Atlp.ntic O')')ere,tions Un! t =nd p, OM O:pera-

4.

AC?G to a/AS, 10 June 1941, in ATO El~toric~l iile; alAo to l~, 29 July 1941, in. AAG :?01 (Bre\ler); Ull£iened. ::::le~o for do1~ OlEos 25 JU!!.e 1941. in "Activity Reports, n Co:.:::o.nder' ~ File; LAOFSJ!, nO~'ficer Personnel on lhty rnd ReQuested for Air Corps Perrying 007T'1r ad, It n, d,.; in ATO 1\i stori cnl, File. Brewer fi lk?~ly received e commisdon. PS frli?jor, AUS, in febrlUlrj" 1942. AG to ~rej. G. F. :Brewer, 12 1'eb. 194~, in.AM 201 (:Sre\<{er).

AOFO "Org!?Jrlz?tion p.nd Operl'tions C:rFrt--~tir Clorns Ferrying Commplld, IT 24 June 1941. in.ATO ru.storice~ File; R&R, :'::xec. to Chief. Ins,))ection Div., 31 !~~7 1941; P££R, Ro. 3. ~I,.CFC to Chief, Ir.:.s~ection Div •• lB June 1£'41, in All!} 3'l3.2A; 1I0£f'icer Ff"rronnel on Duty nnd Re(1uestpQ. for f..ir Corps Ferrying Co!"r.~·nd.l! in ATO Historical File. On 25 June the total force on duty ~t Co~~rnd heRdoupxters consisted of eight officers and 24 civiliAnS. Un~igned memo for 001. Olds. 2:5 JunE! 1941~ in IIActivi ty Re:ports, II CO'f'l'1"ndert f, Ifile.

5.


18

tions Unit. (,I.lhe latter was concerneci with domestic ferrying. the

:tormer with the rttlantic air transport service to the United liing-

dam. The Fiscal Section was not divided and its £unctions were

what one would normally expect~ witn the addition of its reaponsibility for liaison with other government agenoies relative to LendLease funds. The lateriel ~ection, likewise undivided, was charged

with determining the cause9 of shortQges which impeded the produotion or installation of equipment on aircraft intended for the Eritish government, and "dth doing everything :In its power to eliminate them. The Personnel tiection, whose chief served also as ~djutant for nearly 4 months, h~d tour subdivisions, the Urders Unit, the UUitary C'er-

•

.-

sonnel Unit, the 1Jil.itary 1'errying filot Unit, and the Livillan Pilots 6

,.

Unit.

.uarJ.:l .lliJS Organization M 1;om9stic .ferrying

To carry out the primary .mission of the COllll'llEUld, the ferrying of British aircraft from factories in the .~est to transfer points on the East coast, it was necessar,y to establish a field organization and to

mark out routes over which the aircraft should pass. As conceived

•

and established in the early days of the Gocmand" the field organization consisted principallY of a force of control officers on duty under f~rr,y1ng Command jurisdiction at aircraft factories and otber control

7 points designated by the commander.

,

6. The UIlsign,;d analyis of the Uommand orfanization here referred to contains six typewritten pages] it Was forwarded with l-i&.R" udministrative lJiv. to A';.t'U, 19 j,u£". 1941; fl&RJ No.2, I.CFC to Administrative Div., 19 Aug. LI9J+J::.7, in 321.9, li.TC Central t'iles.

7. OCAC Circular 55-20, 30 June 1941.

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S1:t1. mrv l1\''FOlt;t1..\ 1'101'{

The obvious stE'rtiD8 :ooinh, at which pl1\n.es had to be received,

were the severel eircrRft fectories, ~rticulRrly the ~oeing factory

d Seattle and the southern Ce.lifornla 'Olanta of Lockheed, Oonsolidated. f

-

~-

nougle.s, North American, and Vultee. To iwndle the r~spons1bllitf.es

of the Ferrying Commend in the le.tter area, the COr.'.mr'nd established

a 'iestern Division, with het'.dq,ue..rters initial1~ at SantE!. Monica. Cdif.

Until 1 August Lt. Col. Cr~lee~. Bransbaw, supervisor of the Western

Air Cor~s Procure~ent District. a Materiel Division organization,

functioned as chief of tho Western Divioion of the Ferryiug COmm?nd. Serving under him as o~erntions officer for the division was Lt. Col.

R~~~hE. Spru~e. Control point officers et tbe fectories reported

dPily to the ~est~rn Division he~dquarters, giving a statement of

::-.ircrpj't depp..rtures pnd eApected l'I.ircrftft movements for the next '/

. "

dAye. In !I,ddt tion they were individually res-ponsible tor the assign ...

ment of crews, the acceptance of aircrRft from the Air Corps procure-

ment re~resentative, the prepe~ntion of proper clearance forms for

A.ircl"l'ft on civil airul'l~a, the suboission to pilots of weather in-

£orro~tion for the route to be flown. the control of crews while in

the locp~ity. rna fine11y. for the snfe exrival of the eircreft at 8

the first intermedi~te control point on their roates.

oM

8. AOFe G.O. ~2. 13 June 1S4l; ACFC to C/AC, 16 June 1$41. in AAG 373.2A; Lt. Goarder to Chief. MaintelWnce COn'Jllpnd. 19 June l!?U. in AAG 373, Ferrying CO~ERnd; AOFO to Lt. Col. Oharles E. Branshe.w • ., Aug. 1941. in If Western .AO Proourenent DiT •• " Comrnt.nder's File; ACFO Operation Instruction. 10 JUly 1941, in ATO Historical Fi.le.


19


20

In mid-July t during an inspection tri:p to the West Coast, General

ErBtt, Chief of the Air Corps, directed tee esteblisbment of a new

..

erraDgenellt. In. order to break up an existing bottleneck: at the aircraft factories in the vicinity of Los Angeles. the Long :Beach l{unic-

i~al Airport w&s to be made ~ concentration point for all aircraft.

except ;s..24f s , to be ferried. from tbnt area. "Oivilian pilots. con ... ducting the final tests on aircraft, II vere to end their le.st flight

at Long ]each. There the Air Oorps procurement repre~entative was to

accept the plf'..nes ~nd turn then over to the Ferrying Comma.nd. ~he con-

centration point WBS deAie.:neted P-1~ Head.quarters, Western Division, .Air

Corps Ferryi~ Oom~~~d, and Lt. 001. Rauhael Baez, Jr., ColonelOldsl

~erEonal choice, wes ~~de commsnding officer of the division. UDfortu-

..

net ely, del~¥s in the completion of the nececsary construction at Long 9 :Beach harn:Pered the fulfillment of the program as outlined in July.

The routes utilized in ferrying aircra.ft from the \'lest Crest

,"

changed from time to time, but as initially l~id down they were as

follows (See V~ l):

~~, for hee..vy-type bombergt Seattle. ·,Jf'.yne Oounty Airport (Detroit) to Montreal;

~ Two, for heavy-type bombers; Seattle. S~lt Lake Oity.

Omaha., \layne Oounty to Montreal;

.r ..

9. J.leesage, Gen. Erett to CO to AOFO. 15 July 1941, in "Long :Beach. II COmlllPnder' B File; Lt. Col. L. F. Whitten to Chief. Z:aintell.?nce Oomrn~nd, 23 July 1941, in AAG 373.2A; George E. Baker, Oity Engineer, to Carl R. Erickson, City Manager, Long Beach, Calif., 18 Sept 1941, in IILong Beaea, II Comm!',nder's File.

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21

Route Three, for short-rrulGe light bOl:J.b2.I'Wnent-and trainer-t:r,pe - ~ft: Los Angeles, Albuquerque, ~1lls~ t Pfltterson Field, and Wayne County to 1>~ontreal .... 1.th an alternate route. Patterson Field to New York;

...

~ Four t for short-range light bOr.lbarc1ment-~nd tr8.iner-t~e EI.ircr!l:ft: Los Angeles, !tucson, Midl'Uld (Tex.), ('.nd DallA..EI to New O1'1e008;

~ ~ A, for short ... range light bombardment-and trainer-type aircraft: L08 Angeles, Tucson, Midland, !rul. Sll. , Scott Fleld, Patterson Field, and tray-ne County to Montreal;

~ ~~, for short ... r~Dge light bomb~.rdment--and trainer-type a.ircra.:ft: Los Angeles, Tucson, Midland, Dalla.s, Jackson, A.tlanta, Fort :Bragg, and :Bolling Field to New York.

Training~tyPe aircreft tor use in Canada were to be delivered only at

Winnipeg, Toronto, ¥Tindsor, or !!ontreal, 1n order to facilitate the

return of ferrying personnel on American-operated airlines. which were

. 10

prepared to honor Ar~ transportation re~ueets.

The terminus of B~ch of these routes was one of the designated

" .

...

transfer or delivery points ~t which final inspections were accomplished

and the alrcra£t handed over to the authorized representatives of the

Erit:tsh Ferrying Oomm8~d or the British Air Oommission. New York and

New Orleans, of course. were used for the delivery of pl&nes to be

shipped by seagoing vessels. For aircraft capa.ble of proceed.ing 9.cross

the North Atlantic under their own power, Montreal continued to serve

as the tr8~sfer ~oint. The Ferrying Oomm~.nd, however.imnediat~ly

initiated a. program for the deve1o~ment of three large airports in

"

..

10. Lt. Gaerder to Chief, M~inte~nce Command, 19 June 1941. in AAG 313, Ferr.1ing ao~~nd; R&R, Exec. to ~nieff Inspection Div •• 31 MBy 1941; B&R, No.3, ACFO to Chief, Insyection Div., 18 June 1941. in AAG 3·/3.2Ai AOFO "Organiza.tion and Operetions Chart-Air Corps Ferrying Comm!':1nd,1I 24 June 1941; AOFC Operation Instruction, 10 July 1941.

.. -


northern Maine. some 300 miles nearer the United Kingdom.

~he points

selected were Presque Isle. Houlton. and Millinocket. &1 on the :BaDgor and Aroostook Railroad. ~he Millinocket yroJect was soon abandoned,

but the Presque Isle and Houlton fields. after prolonged construction

del~., were opened for service early in 1942. At each transfer point

the Ferr.ying Comcand control officer was responsible tor the aoceptance

PLd delivery of aircre£t ferried to his station for tr~t purpose. He

weB to return ferrying crews to their st!".rting points by air or rail without delay. Be was to submit a daily ~rrivel report and oon801i-

dP~ed monthly traffic reports and maintain control over personnel in

such a way as to nreserve good relations with British and Oanadian 11

ru-.tionala.

Patterson Field at Dayton. Ohio, was first picked as the instal-

lation point at which all eqtti:pment not available prior to the d.ep~,rture

of aircraft from the factory might be installed. From the start,

however. it was plpnned to transfer this activity to the W~e Oounty

Airport, near Detroit, as soon P-S t~t installation could be made rea~.

and before the end of July this move was made. Nashville and Chattanooga.

were proposed ~s installation points for planes which might in the fu~re

..

11. Lt. Goarder to Chief, Maintenance COmInrnd, 10 June 1941, in AJJJ 321.9, Fe~rying Command; R&Rt AOFO to ~ Dlv.t 20 June 1941, in ~C Historical File; memo for O/AO by AOFO, 23 June 1941. in Oommanderts Policy ~ook. AfO Oentral Files (App., 129-35).

AOFO Operation Instruotion, 10 July 1941; Presque Isle Air Base. nWeey...l.y Activ1t1' Re1)ortt Week ending 17th, January, 194211; memo for CO, Pres~ue Isle Air Base by 1st Lt. Oroclcer Snow, Oommending. North Atlantic Sector, 14 Feb. 1942, in "Presque Isle, II Mosley File, ATO Centre~ Files. For the develo~ment of a transfer point at UiPJIli, see below. 49.

.. .

-~~. ~;I I ~ -- -~ =; .-:::: :_~ ::~~-

*" ~ .·,....M.i',_~ ..... .- _. '_ .... 1. #2_'"



RESTRICT-ED

SECl'ttftt'!:' 1;;I;S}'~M . .1. 'tIO~

23

be routed across the Atlantic by way of South America. Oontrol officers

~t the installation points were responsible for the performance of a

lo~ list of duties. Most fundamental, they were to teke all yossible

.

'" ,

steps to expedite the clearance ot completed aircrei't to their transfer

pC~~t8 and of crews baCk to the factories or forward with planes ready

to proceed. They were to keep the Ma1nteDP~ee Command informed of ex-

pected aircraft axrivals and of the shortages on each, coordinating 12

also the prospective movements of com~leted planes.

~ne other points listed in the routes were Arm¥ stations desig-

nated for ferrying purposes ~s intermediate control points. Here stops

were oade for gas and oil, ~nd here Ferrying Command control officers

•

were st~tioned to clear aircraft to the next stopping place and to 13

represent the interests of the Command generally.

•

."

~ " ."

Among the documents relating to the ferr,ying operations of the

Oommrnd in 1941. there exe a few references to a Northeastern or Nort~

east Division. Thus an Air Corps OircUlar of 25 S9!Jtember 1941 sum-

merizes the orgeniz~tion of the COmmR,nd as follows:

~he Air Corne Ferrying Co~nnd will consist of a commanding officer and staff with headque~ters located in the Office,

..

12. Hemo for cIAO by AOFO, 23 June 1941. in CODll11(::llderT s Policy Book;

ACFe Operation Instruction, 10 July 1941; AOrO Oontrol Office,

Wayne Oounty Airport, to CO, AOFO, 2: Sep .. , 1941, in A~O Historical File. Ohattanooga was never ~sed as an instelletion point, but Inste~lation Unit No. 2 was activated ~t Nashville as of 30 September 1941. ABO G.O. #9. par. 2. 1 Dec. 1941. <tuoted in "Historical Record, 31Gth Sub-Depot, Air Service OOlllJ"l."'nd. ,Army Air Forces. RomUlUs Army Air Field. from July 18. 1941 to January 1944. II

13. OOAO Oircular 55-020, 30 June 1941 (A~p.Jll6-37); AOFC O-peration Instructio~ 10 July 1941; Lt. Goerder to Chief, M~inten?nee Oommand. 10 June 1941. in JAG 321.9, Ferry1ng Commend.

_ ~~S~Q-"',,""'-1 -4~"'-~ .,..""--~~~



24

Chief of the Air Corps, ;;ashington, D. c,. t a. Western Dividon with headquerterf at Long ~each Airport, Long Beach, Oalifornia, a. Northeast Division, with hea.do,ua.rters at Freso_ue Isle, l!aine, to open epproxim~tely the fifteenth of October; control officers 9,t certain intermedig,te :ooints along the route of flight, adj~cent to selected f~ctories, and at transfer and instAllation points RS design~ted by the Commanding Officer, Air Oorps FerrJing OO~3nd.

During the latter part of the year, 1st Lt. Crooker Snow, 1n charge of

Ferrying OomM~~d interests at Presque Isle, signed a number of documents

as I·Oontrol Officer, Itorthea,st D1 vi don." (lfu1 s Northeast Division

was intended to :tncludl3 the tri'lnsfer points at Presque Isle a.nd Houlton.

No document defining its functions has been found, however, nor any

evidence to show thnt aD10ne was evpr eppointed to the position of

comm~dlng officer. Indeed. by the time the transfer points in ]·:81oe

. -

.~

were reRdy for any l~rge amount of traffic, the Oo~~nnd had been reorganized (30 December 1941). end Lieuten~~t Snow ~~ed oo~ndi~ 14 officer of the North Atlantic Sector of the Foreign Division.

It 1s t~~e t~~t eome installations were prep~red for service very

slowly E..nd that the oJ)erfl.tion.~ of the Ferrying COlllIlU"nd during 1941 seem

small by later struldards. Still the Oommand was justified on 25 Septsn-

bar 1n ~olntlng with some pride to the fnct th8t on the previous day 73 :ari t1 sh :planes hp.d been in flight toward the Atlantic sea.board.

while 41 pilots were returned to the ~est Coast to pick up additional

14. Unsigned memo for Col. 01ds, 3 July 1941, UProgress Report (June 23-00. 1941),11 1n ATe HistoriCal File; nOff'1cer Personnel on Duty p.nd Rea1J,ested for Air Co~ Ferrying COlMlRndl1; ACFO Daily Di~y, 6 Nov. 1941, in ATe Historical File; OOAO Oircular 55-20. 25 S91l. 1£'41; Pre$que Isle Air Base. 1I:;eek!y Activity Report, "Teek ending 17th, Je.nlUll:'Y, 1942, II in "Presque Isle, II J.losley File. See "PresClue Islell l!:nd IINorth Atl~.nt1cil folders in MoBley File, ~O Oentral Fl1es. S~e below, 69.



25

airore£t. At the clo~e of businets on 7 Dec~mber 1941, the Comme~d

had deliveren the Imyressive tot~l of 1.331 pl?nes to their final 15

domesti0 destinations.

A badc considereti I,n in the ferrying organ:1zA.tion was the

charBct~r. stPtus. ~nd source of it~ flying ner~onnel. A major obJac-

tive of' the FE'rrylng OO'l"rnand WPl'I to releese P.S m:'fny civilian :pilots as

~o5sible from service in ferrying aircraft from factories to transfer

points. in or~er to mPke them aveileble to the British Ferrying Oommand

for trRnscceanic ferrying. At the same time it was desired to give

American cODbat crews RS much exoerience as ~osslble in flying the 16

Ittest types of militoX7 aircrn£t.

~o ecccm~li5h these ends. the

Air Corns Ferrying Co~~~d pro~osed to utilize milit~r~ crewe drawn

•

fro:n two c~t'eborle~. emerlenced crew,; furnished on reouest by tl:e GBQ.

Air :Force (ren~~:t'ed the Air Force CombRt CornrlPLd, 20 June 1941)ruld

trp~nee~ grpduated frow the edvanoed two-engine school at ]erksdale

Field. ~hese crews were to be rot~ted through the Ferrying Comoand

to the Combat COl'llL'1RIld as reyidly as the E'.vE'.ilabil1 ty of newly trained 17

crews for fer~,"i~ duty would -ncrmi t.

Thus the job of dcnestic

ferrying uould be done, A'l1eriean A:rmy erfi'WS would secure valuable

15.
..
~ ...
16.
.. 1" •
" AOFO D~dly D:tttl7, 25 Sept < l~':;'l; "AOFO Daily Flight Report As Of 1800,11 1140,6-7 De-c. 19iL1, attf.!ched to ACFC Daily Diary, 6 Dec • 1941. It shoUld be noted t~~t Ferrying OOMm~nd usage consistently cOllnted flights to CP.,nFtd:i.;l.D. points as "d.ol:lestic1' £It:hte. Alaska, on the other Mnd, was considered IIforeign, If or "overseas. 11 de~till!ltion.

See above. 3. 12-13.

Memo for 0/.\0 by AOFO, ?.3 June 1941, in Commander'" Poliey Book (A~p.,129-35 ); AOFO D~ily Dipsy. 23 July 1~41.

THIS PAGE Declassttled IAW'E012958


training. and se~soned e1vilian pilots would be made available for

overseas ferryi~~

-

.,., .

These objectives were not immedia.tely a,ttRined.. At late as 1 July not a single plFne bRd been ferried to A trAnsfer point for the BritiSh

.Iwith strictly Air CorpS! Ferrying Commn.nd rersonnel," though all such

movements since 6 June bad t~ken pl~ce unaer the general control of the

Command. Some Army men bed funchioned as co-pilots in the delivery of

LoCkheed Rudsons. The big obAtacle in the wny of a complete per£onne1

shift lay in the :f'dlure to reso1 va tl:e legal difficulties which had

arisen between the pircrait ~~nufeeturer6, the Co~nnd, end the Eritish

representatives regarding such que~tlons as transfer of titles, state

sales tp-xes, and insurance. On 12 July the President authorhed the

•

SecretAl'y of WE'.r to accept from the Ine.nma.cturers title to, and posses-

.. .

sian of, specified numbers of Britieh ~irera£t. Army crews of the

Ferrying Oonm~nd thereupon began to take over the domestic ferrying of

aircra:ft destined for the Bri tiah service. On 20 August the ~-Ie.ehington

repreRentEl,tive of the British Air Commission agreed to inform all air-

craft fectories that the ]ritish government would no longer accept

aircraft from pilots other tLan those assigned to the Air Corps Ferry- 18

ing OOl'1l!l~.nd..

"

18.

Memo fo!, Ge~. Brett b~ OASt'S (Air), 3 July 1941; memo for S/W by cIAO, L:luly 1941], in 321.9, ~c Central Files; unsigned memo for Col. Olds, 3 Jul:r 1£'41, I1Progress RfI:port (June 23-28, 1941)11; memo for Col. lc!1l1er by ACFO, 14 July 1941; 001. \'i. F. Volandt, Oontr~cti~ Officer, to Lockheed Aircraft Cor~ •• 10 July 1941; Fresident Roosevelt to S/W, 12 July 1941; ACFC Daily Diary. 14.

~3 July, 20 Aug. 1941; 001. Olds to R. L. Doughton, 16 July 1941, in 3'/3, ATO Central :r11es. Aircraft delivered to the :British under Ferr~ing Oor~e~d control. 6 June-4 August 1941. totaled 198

(contd~ )


~ - ~.

SECT~rlT;' 1xr~0l1J\.l:rI:o~

. I '~ ! ! , •

27

..

As eR.rly RS 16 June the Oomme.nd, in ~.n effort to procure enough ferrying crews for its needs. arranged to have Hudson bombers for the trr1.llsi tio,n training of GHQ, Air Force personnel sent to llurb~t iJe.J.if.;

..

McOhord. Field (Tacome" ~lTash.); Me.cD1l1 Field (!ram!)a. Fla.); Save,nnpll •

Ga.; and L?»gley Field, Va. Ten crews were qualified on Liberator aircraft in the TI'lA four-engine school s.t Albuquerque durini July, and

other military personnel were trained there later in the year. In

addition, the twoNengine school at ]arksdale Field turned out some

200 pilots for the Ferrying Oo~nd between 11 July and 1 November

1941. The Oo~mpLd itself operated a transition school in connection

uith the hel".dquerters of the tlestern Division at Long Beach. in order

to provide crews with familiarization flights prior to the ferrying of 19

specific types of pl~nes.

. .

..:'

Early Air Transnort Orgsnization: the Atlantic Division

~he discussion in the yreeent chapter has been concerned thus far

with the movement of a.ircraft from £fl,ctories to American transfer points

and with the organiza.tion established and tr;;lining undertaken as a means

to the acco~lishment of this mission. At the same time the Oorr~.nd was

..

18 (contd). Lockheed Hudsons. 109 Douglas Eostons, r~d 123 North American Harvards. Memo for AS/W by AOFO. 5 .!:ug. 1941, in AAG 3'/3, Ferrying Con:mand.

19. AOEC to C/AC, 16 June 1941, in AAG 3'13.2A; OOAC to CO, AFS. ]arkedale Fie-Id, 18 July 1941~ in AAG 210, Ferrying OOI'llIlW.nd; OCAC to .AG, lti SelJ. 1941, in.AAG 352.1'1, Bs.rksdPle; ACrO Four-Engine llrensition School, AlbuquerQue, N. M., to OOt ACrO, l'l Dec. 1941, in AAG 300, FerryiDg Corr,rnz,nd; IIReport of All ActiVities of the Eagle Nest Flight Center ••• June 1, to A~st 31, 1941, II in .A!l!O Historical File; Col. C. T. Phillips to Col. Olds. 31 Oct. 1941, iA 45~.ll. ~O Central Files; R&R, ACFC to cIAO, 26 Aug. 1941. in AAG 373.2»; MR. ACFO to Reserve Sec., ~alitary Personnel Div., 9 Sap. 1941. in AAG 210, Ferrying Commend.


..


28

at work on its other major assignment. the establlshment of an air

ferry pervice for the transportation of key rPrsonnel Pond mail between

the United St~tes and Great Britain. It ~ be remarked at this noint

..

that during the earlY' months of the ComntAildls history the term IIferX7"

was used in it~ correct, PS well as its now accepted. ch~~gedt meani~

Thus it covered the whole of the Oomm~~dJs mission, as originally laid

dOlnl. Mer e recently the AD MS edopted the Eri tish usage , developed during World 'ila:r II. by which 11ferryingU is distorted to mean l'-t one-v~y

flight to deliver an ~irpl~ne, while back-~nd-forth service for the

trans~ortRtion of passengers and CRrgo--true ferrying--is referred to

broadly as air trans'!)ortation. or more BJ.lecifiCt:'~lY' as Et Jlshuttle. II

Lt. Col. Caleb V. BBynes. the officer seleoted to head the trans-

p.tlsntic "J!l. ssenger servioe, reported for temporary duty with the Ferry-

..

ing Command by mid...June 1941. He and the small staff at Command head-

quarters s}u>,red. in handling the nUtleroue d.et~l& which had to be cared

for before the ~rojected service coUld be i~~ugurated. On the morning

of 1 July the first flight of the trAnsatlantie shuttle, piloted by

Oolonel Be¥nes, took off from Eolling Field. ~he Ship used was a new

]3..24. Routed by way of Patterson Field, MontreaJ., and GAllder Lake,

NeV£oundl::>.nd, it landed at Ayr in Scotland shortly after midnight, loct'..l

time, on 3 July. On the return run the plane left Scotland early on

B July Md reo.ohed Bolling Field on the 10th, a£ter an over-night stop

at Montrea1~ Patterson Field w~s not on the nor~a1 ronte, and Frestwick, 20

nepx ~, soon bec~e the usual British terminus •

....

20. !-!emo for }.iPj. Ale:Jl:'..'mder by HaJ. Tunner, 14 June 1941; unsigned memo £'01' 001. Olds. 25 June 1941, in "Activity Reports," (contd.)

-



29

~e crews which cp~ried on this service from July into October

wi thout an flccident were officers ~,nd enlisted men of the .Air Force

Combat Oommnnd, on temporary duty with the Ferrying CO~Dnd. ]y

..

November, when regular flig~ts to Cairo ~~d return were replacing the

.

"" .

N~th Atlantic shuttlet their numbers included 23 ~11ot9t 18 navigators,

gOO 25 radio operator-mecha.nics. They, 'Plus a small force at :Solling

Field and tiny detachments at Prestwick and Gander Lake, constituted

the yersonnal of whrt was v~xiously ter~ed the l~rth Atlantic. the

Atlantic, or thf' Trans- .. "l.t1Rntic Division. All three names were used

intercnaugep,bly within thp, CO;:mJ.p.n.d, and no one can be called more

correct than the others. ~o evidence of formal Fctivation of the 2J.

diVision, however named, he.s eeen found.

At headquarters the control of the Uorth Atlantic flights was

..

'l'lartieularly tll~ province of ~~aj. ~b.omas L. Mosley, Oommand operations

()fficer, of ;!r2. Kina G. A'Uchincloss. 'Who 'Was responsible for passengers,

and of the assistant operationo officer. 1st Lt. A. Felix duPont, who.

UD.d~ !-!ajor !~osleYJ wns responsible for ooerations generally. At the

r

20 (contd.). Commander's File; trip record m~intained in loose-lea£ notebook by office of 1st Lt. A. F. duPont, 1 JUly-19 Dec. 1941. in ATO Historical File; Lt. 001. O. V. Haynes, Pilotle Re~ort il, in duPont File, ATe Central Files.

21. Memo for on, lSCO by ACFC, 19 Aug. 1941, in IlAt1antic Personnel," 1-1osely File; Capt. A.. O. Keen. Exec., Atla.ntic Dlv .. t to Maj. T. L. r.;ofllay, 23 gep. 1941, in "Atlantic Divis\Pll~ Hosley File; .E&Rf T&O Div. to Exec., OCAO, 8 Hov. 1941; E.g; "ACFC to CIAO, 11 Nov. 1941, in 321.9, ATC Oen.tral FiJB fl.; Lt. 001. O. V. Haynes. 111n_ struction£ to Crews Atlantic Division Air Oorps Ferrying Oommand, II n.d •• in UTransatlentic," Mosley File; AOFO Daily Diary. 23 July 1941. For e renort of the o~erption of the service through 6 October 1941, see memo for Gen. Arnold by AOFO, 5 Oct. 1941, in

ATO HistoriCal File.



36

BOlling Field terminus. the diviaionfs personnel by October inoluded

..

an executive officer, Capt. Curtis A. Keen, who also reported to Major

...

..

Mosley. an operations officer, an. engineering offioer. ~nd So suppl;,

..

.

.. .

officer. in addition to the enlisted ~ersonnel eng~ed in maintcini~

the Liberators used in tbe service. Ey that time ~ ~mall operations

building h~.d been erected ~,-t :Bolling Field for the use of the division,

repl~cing three nachine-shop trailers which had served its needs 22

earlier in the season.

The ralationf'!bi]'l of Colonel RlJynes to the division was h?..rdly a.

normal COMM~.nd relationshin, for he was at. fay from V8.shington as pilot

of a series of l~ortpnt flight~ durine much of the ~eriod of his con-

nect10n with the Ferrying Oo~and. From 1 July until 10 July pnd from

..

26 July to ? August he was pbsent as pilot of the first and fourth

" .

regulp..r flights over the north Atlantic route. From 31 August until

7 October he was engp~ed in a pioneering flight to Oairo by way of the

South Atl2~tic, with Generpl Brett ~s his ~rincipa1 passenger. Upon

the conclusion of the latter m1ss1o~ he was relleve~ from temporary

duty with the :rerrying COmDlElnd e,.nd ordered to return to his home station

22. Memo for Col. Old.s by Maj. ~osleYJ 24 July 1941. in I1ll'ransatlantic, II Mosley File; Cn:nt .. Keen to Uaj. Mosley, 23 Sep. 1941, in. tlAt1p.Jltic Division, II Mosley File; jI.OF(l "PerS) nnel on duty with North Atlantic Division of the Air Cory.s Ferrying Comm~d (as of August 21 t 1941) til n.d., in ".Atlantic Personnel, II Moseley File; AOFC Daily Diary, 29 Aug. 1941; undgned dreft. IIRequirements Reference Move:nent of Aircraft :from :Bolling Field to Africa or the U. K.ttl D..d., in "Instructions," Commander's

File •

.. •



31

23 in :Puerto Rico.

~he North Atlantic service was 8us~ended on 18 October 1941 •

..

..

p~ter 20 round-trip flights had been made over what the ~ritish termed

..

"the Arnold Line. II in honor of the Ohief of the Army Air Forces •

Oonditions encountered as winter a~pro~ched made further continuance

of the service seem almost fluicidal. Low temT.Ieratures Cl'tu13ed the coo-

gealing of oil lines ~nd re~ult~t reduction of oil ~reesure in the

un~winterized E-24's mpking the run. Lack of essential meteorological

1nfornntion m@de reliable we~ther forecasti~ for the east-to-west

crossing impossible. Pilots. without ade~uate weather reports, were

forced by stress of wenther to fly at lev~le too high for the available 24

oxygen su:OPly.

Of

,"

Though the sus~ension of the service was intended to be only

" -

tem~orp~1 ~onding the winterization of ~ircraftt the inst~~lation of addition-ql oxygen e~uipmentt nnd the provision of adequate com-

munications between NewfoundlPAd and Scotlnnd, no further transport

flights over the l~orth AtlflD.tic to the United Kingdom were made under

23. tuPont tri~ record, 1 July-l9 Dec. 1941, in ~C Historical File; Dlemo for Col,. Olds by Ma.j. AleXAnder. n.d •• IIProgress Report

( October 6-11,1941)," in u.A.ctivity Reports,lI Co:nmnnder's File. In recognition of Oolonel Eayn~sl services, Oolonel Olds recorr~~ended the award of two Oak Lep£ Clusters for his Distinguished Elyi~ Cross. ACFO to AG, 14 Oct. 1941; AOFO to AG, 18 Oct. 1941, in E61 (Haynes). A~a Central ]'iles,

24. Memo for CIAA'? bY' ACFO. 23 Oct. 1941, :1n AMr 3'/3.2B: Lt. 001.

J. K. Gowen, Jr., "Gowents Log," 1:33. 50-51; mess8{;e, ].!aj. Alexp,nder to AaFO Control Officer, G?nder Lake, Newfoundland,

16 Oct. 1941, in ATO Elstorical File. •

.. •

..,.- 101" j"- •

I

~ ) "" l' '

,.~ T_ 1_' ..... -:.-!\ ..

THIS PAG-E Declassified lAW E012958


'Fr) ",]\,~ ':.r~ 'r~ -1,:~J;T-l:1~""'l"t\l .i~.Lb,~}J~ -i.\LJ"0.~ ~...::.dl'

~, . -"-- 'I

Sl'::;::V?: l'''r .. It!i t )k~l :t T!t):2{

25

32

Ferrying Oo~~nd au~ices until A~ril 1~42.

~e changi~ nersonnel of the Atlantic Division, which had

h.".ndled t.t.e ~Torth Atle..ntic flif;hts, also too?: responsibility for the

operati on, beginning: 14 Uove .... iber ~ of fa round-trip e.ir trans)"ort service

between Bolling ~ield pni C~iro. This shuttle. which received General

Arnold' s e::'!provel on ? !-TOTember W,'" s desir;ned ini tlal1y to tr?nsport

personnel pod. ecp.l.ipment oecicu. at 08,11'0 by the United States Eill tL.1'~·

rorth .African !-!hsion. The service. or the route which 1 t followed.

'{;rc often referred to as the South AtlEll1tic Divisionf though this

designation wa~ not intende~ to indicete p~ formal orhE'~ization of 26

."

Re]..., tiono ~ ~ ill Force flgencies

.. -

From the dt>te of its crepti on until the MnJ'Y reorgp,nizrt_tion of

9 ~!~rch 194.2 went into effect. the Ferrying ao:nnw"nd~ as its full DADl8

indicded. wt;!£. "under the direct jurisdiction of ti:e Ohief of Air

001'))S.1I In the letter eonsbf tuting the Ferrying Co:mmand he wa£: given

the resl!onsibili ty of selectil'.g tho terlr'li%U?~€ to which e,irora£t were

to be ferried. He W~£ to designate the Co~nder of the Ferr¥ing

."

25. ACFC Daily Di!C.ry, 18 Oct. 1941; Naj. Alexender to Oapt. James Rooseve1 t J 23 Oct. 1941 f in Mil 3'13. a:s; R&R. Foreign '..ring. FO to 00, AA'F. 31 l~e.rch 1942; R&R. Foreign 'wing, Fe to ~G, AAF , 1 April 1942, in "liorth Atll:>.11tlc , II l(osley File.

26. ~remo for c/_~o by Col. R. A. Dunn. Project Officer, Middle East, 4 Ifov. 1941; memo for cIAO by .ACFO, 4 Dec. lSl41, in 452.1, A~C C~ntral Filee; R&R, ACFO to CIAO, 4 F,ov. 1941; R&R, No. a, o/.AJJ' to OOAC, 7 Nov. 1941; :a&R, lIo. 4t Exec. to AOFO, 8 Nov. 1941. in Comr.~nder's Polic~ Book: duPont trip record, 1 July-19 Dec. 1941t in ~O Historical File.



33

OOIr,Jliand and issue detEiled instructions. Headquarters of the CO!r.mfllld

were to be ::aintein.ed in '.,'a.l!hington, !lin close 'Pro::x:1mi ty to the Office,

..

Chief of Air OorTls. II Eee,dquarters and liaison personnel were tp be

essigned lIe-r euthorized fron tiI:le to time" by that officer. He was

the chPnnel through WhiCh funda were obtpined for the expenses of the 27

Ferrying Command.

!l:hia relationship was no eMpty form, in spite of the vigor and

initintive of the fir~t Co~~rnder of the Ferrying Oo~~~d. Colonel

01da himself had been 8 member of the Plpns Division of the OOAO.

NumerouE doc~~ents testify to th~ fect of const~nt su~ervision ~nd

control by the Ohi~f of the Air OorPS pnd his st?£f ~nd reference to

..

them by the Ferrying Oo~nRnd of numerous questio~rel~ting to its

.. -

r

daJ-by-d~y ectivlties. An off1cie~ ~ublication of the OCAC in Septem- 28

ber 1941 ~rovided specifically that

In carrying out tke duties ~s~1gned to the OOTn~ndert Air aorp~ Ferrying Corr~nd. • • • the services of other divisions of the Office of the Chief of the Air Corps will be utilized to the m~~mum extent nrecticFble. The issuance of travel order~. estimate of funds required. procur~ment, disbursement. ~d accounting for funds 5he~1 be eccomulished through the Channels normal to the Office of the Ohief of the Air Corps, excerJt when cpecific F1uthori ty may be delegated. by t.t.e Chief

27. AG to CGls • .All Armies, !.:!!.l!:!., 5 June 1941, in AG 320.2 (6 ... :3-41) ~ffi-Y.. (App. 127-28 ). The first a11oc~tion of funds for the Ferr)"ing eon:ma.nd wes made on 19 JUIle lS41, when $197,600 wa,s

made F.veJ.l!:ble for tl:..e ule~fie of ground and construction. of :racUi ties e,t Wp.yne County Airport t Michigan. II The first 1erge ellocation for the ove~81l needs of the Oommand wee mnde on

30 June, in the amount of $31,546,000. President Roosevelt to S/W, 19 June 1941; WD Budget Officer to cIAO, 23 June 1941; rresident Rooeevelt to sjw, 30 June 1941; Fisc~ Officer. ACFO to O/AAFt 27 Oct. 1941, in A~C Histo~ical File.

28. OOAn Office MeMO 10-10C, 24 Sept 1941.

,. •



34

of the Air Corns. ~nd found to be necessary for the efficient o:oore.tioll of the Ail' Corps Ferrying Coomc.nd.

"

Nor did the su~erv1sion pnd control of the Ferrying Command stop

wi th the Chief' of the M.r CO!'J'ls. On 20 June 1941 ~ less than a. month

after the cr~Rtion of the Ferrying COMmand, General Arnold was appointed

Ohief of the Army Air Forces, with responsibility for coordinatl~ the Rct1vities of the OOAO and the Air iorce OomcRt Oomocend (formerly the 29

GR~ Air Force). On more than one occasion General Arnold intervened

directly 1n the a:r:rp.1rs of the Ferrying COIIlme.nd. and in many eases

mp,tters referred to the Ohief of the Air Oorps came ultimately to him

for dec1sion.

All branches rnd. subordinRte C01'U"~!lders in the AAE. and indeed in

the Ar~ generally. were enjoined to give the Co~~der of the Ferry-

ing ao~~nd requisite assistance in the ~erformence of his mission.

~ith certpin P€en~i~s. however. the relationship waG particularly close.

Thus the Air Force Combe.t Comm~.nd we-a the source from which the Ferrying

Oomoend obtained the assignment on temporary duty of most of the officers

who flew its trensport ~lRnes and of ~y of its ferry pilots, prior to the Pearl Barbor attack in Deoember 1941. Ooordination between the two

organizations waS required conc~rning the q~~ifications of pilots and

the iss~41ce ot ths requisite orderFo to crews. ~his re1ationchip seems

to heve worked very well. For e time in the sumrrer the sUFP1ying of

add!tio~ crews was held up, pending tLe completion of maneuvers.

Officers were returned to their proper st~tions soon after the expiration

29. ~ 95-5, 20 June 1941; AAF G.O. 41. 23 June 1941.


35

of the go-day periods for which they had been deteiled to the Fer~iDg 30

Oommand..

With two agencies, subject like itself to the jurisdiction of the

Ohief of the Air Oorns, tho relations of the FerryiD€, Oow~~nd were

decidedly close. These were the l!a.teriel Division and its offshoot,

the Maintenpnce Commend. It will be reoalled that the Materiel Division

permitted Lt. 001. C~~les E. Branshaw. Su~ervisor of its Western Air

Oorps Procurement District, to serve temporarily in Juno ~~d Jul~ 1941

es Ohief of the Western Dividon of the FerryiIlg OOJ""me..nd.. in addition 31

to his other duties. The l'~aterie1 Divisiont a.s the procurement agency

for tee air arm, wa.s also involved directly in other early problems

relat1n~ to the dome~tic ferrying of aircre£t. It Wp.s agreed in June

1941 that the listerial Division would keep the Materiel Coordin~.tor on

the Ferrying Co~.nd he~dquerters Gt~f informed of the n~~berB and

types of aircraft to be ferried which would require a.ddi tions.l inetal-

lations, p~d of the e£tim~ted time needed to accomplish them. It was

responsible, 11kew1F:e, for lithe timely shipment of equipment dei'icien- 32 eies for each aircraft £cheduled. to arrivE' l=tt instp-l1ation :points."

30. AG to OG's, All }.rmies. n. J!l., 5 June 1941, in.AG 3f;O.:3 (6-3-41)

Ua ... M; (App •• 1:'7-28 ); AA':t Reg. 550-1, 17 Sept 1941; GOAD Circular

55w20. 26 Sap. 1941 (Aup •• 138-40 ): memo for 001. Olds by V~.

~unner, 15 June 1941, in ~O Historical File; memo for 001. Olds by Maj. Alexander, n.d.. "Progress Report (Sep. 22-27 t 1941), II IIProgress Report (October 6-11, 1941),11 in "Activit~ Reports, II Oommander's :File; R&R. ACFO to CIAO. 10 July 1941, in 321.9, ATO Centrel Filec; ACFO Daily Dier,r, 15 July 1941.

31. Lt. Goarder to Ohief, V.aintenar.I.CE' COlnlll2.nd. 19 June 1941. in AAJl 3'/3, Ferrying Co~'~~nd.

S2. 1-:emo for 0/ AC by AOFC. 23 June 1941. in COmnlellder's Pnlicy Book (A,.,."., 1~9-35).

,"



36

An even more imoortant resuonaibility of the I~teriel Division

was the acceptance of aircraft from the ~ritish in tne case of ]ritlsh

..

"

contracts, or from the factory in other cases. At the outset, this

...

function wes nesigned to the Ferrying Oo~and control officer at the

factory in question. It wa.s seen almo~t ixnn:ed1a,tely, however, that it

beloD€ed :prc.r-erl~ to the Mp,teriel Division. !mis waG recognized in a

Ferrying Command Operations Instruction, issued 10 July 1941, and when J

the basic OCAO clrculer governing FerryiAg Comm~nd operations was re-

vised in September the '01'0'061' chango was !fade therein. !Ehis provided

plainly that the Ferrjing Oocmand representative shOuld receive air- 33

craft only from the repreeentatlve of the Materiel Divi$ion.

The I-Ifl.teriel Divhlon was involved, also in the procurenent 01:

unusU2~ equipMent rl?a,uired in Ferrying Oommand o'Peratlon13. Thus, in

October and l!ovet1ber 1941 it W&S res;ponsible for sBcuriXig extra fuel

t8m~s to enp~le the Oommpni to fly 16 Liberator aircraft to the BritiSh

in Africa. First proposine to secure the 32 t~~s required by a rush

order to Oonsolidated Aircraft, the Materiel Division finally deter~1ned to substitute 48 :8-26 bomb bay tanks.. .Again it was the !-fateriel Divhion

which was responsible for the winterizing of transport aircraft for the 34

lrorth £1.tlantic run.

." •

33. OOAC Circular 55-20, 30 June 1941 (App.,. 136-37 ); OCAO Circular 65-20, 26 Sep. 1941 (App., 138-40 ); ACFO Operation In~truct1on, 10 July 12~1; B&R, Materiel nav. to cIAO, 11 July 1941, in IlInstructions. II C01l".mnlldert s File ..

34. ACFC DlUly Diary, 30 Oct. t 4. 6, 10, 13 l~ov. 1941.; R&R, AOPO to Ohief, Hateriel Div., 29 Oct. 1941, in "Liberators (16),11 .commander' ~ File.

.. <



37

\'i1 th the Me.in.ton."ulce OOn'.lll::'.11d, the relations of' the Ferrying

Command were most intl~te. Indeed for a tine it was essumed that

the Ferrying Co~?~d woUld eventuP~1y beco~e e subordinate unit of the'~~nte~.nce ao~. A closel~ related ieeue was the location of

Ferrying Oo~~d headquarters. On 10 July Colonel Olds submitted to

General Brett, Chief of the Air Corps, his reconmendation tha.t it be

retained in ;iashiogton. He urged that "the efficient operation of this

CQmmand is de'Psndent u:oon frectuent contactll and complete liaison with!!

DOAC, headquarters of the Air Force Oomb::l.t Cormand, the :Sri Ush Embassy, the Oivil Aero~utlcs Administration, the o~erations terminal at Eolling

Field of the Oomm~d's North Atlantic service, the Liaison ~ranch, G-2,

of the War Department General Staff, and the BritiSh Air Oommission,

."

p~l of which were located in Washington.

Col. George B. Streteme~erJ Executive to General Brett, in present-

ing the matter to hir cuperior, admitted some uncertainty in the matter.

It was his recollection. however, that the original intention ~\d been

to move Ferr~ing Comnand headquarters after some months. probably to

Patterson Field, "s,s it would then be a part of the Headquarters Maintenance Comr:l. .... nd." In reply, Genera1 J3rett indicA.ted that it should be

moved "when well eEt~bl1Shed &: atter :Sri Ush Contracts are cor.plete."

On 23 July Colonel Str~teme~er r.e~sed this d~cision on to Colonel Old •• with the proviso tha.t "when the CO~';1:md is well est~blished and working.

then it is intended to nlace the Air Corps Ferrying Co~m~nd under the 35

Maintenn.nce OO'l1!!lNld for operations.1I

~hat transfer, of course. never

0"

35.

Lt. Goarder to Ohief, Mainteo0nce Conw~,nd. 10 June 1941, in JAG 321.9, Ferrying OOlllllk"l,nd; :R&R, AOFO to CIAO. 10 July 1941; R&R, Uo. 2, olAO

to ACFC. 23 July 1941, in 321.9. ~C Central Files; memo for Gen. Brett by 001. Stratemeyer. 14 July 1941. in Microfilm ~eel *1, ATC Central Flles.

...~ ... ~~~ .... __ -p -f~~\""-."'-

~. -- ~~ . ~~-~~~ - -'>---



38

took place. nor did the removal of Ferrying Co~nd head~uarters from Washington. There is reason to believe that Colonel Oldst force of

..

character end hie clear conee~tion of hi~ Oo~andle mission were impor-

tent factors in preserving it as an independent organization.

It should be understood that the Maintenance COMmandfs functions

extended considerablY beyond the responsibility. auggested in ita name, for third and fourth echelon :nainterutnce of aircraft for Air Corps un! tl

within the United States. :Broadly speaking, it was the Air 00l']» supply

agen~. As such it was responsible for the storage and issue, es well

f'S maintenance and re'Oair, of Air Oorps equipment and suuplies. Its

commander, Col. H. J. F. Miller, exercised command over air de~otB and

... .

sub-depots at stations operating under the control of the Chief of the Air Corps. The Air Corpsl freight transport organizationt the 50th

.. .

Transport ~ling. whose reapoJ1si bill ty it was to conve~ Air 001'18 technical

suppl1e s from one a.ir depot to another t and el sewhere aa required, was 36

c vital part of Maintenance Oommand machinery.

AMSintenROce Co~~ officer assigned to headquarterA of the

Ferrying Command as liaison officer, 2d Lt. Robert L. Goerder, was one

of the first officers to reyort for duty with the new Command. m.

first report to the Chief of the Ma1ntena~ce Command shows that as earl~

as 10 June 1941 that OommOlld had notice that it was expected to SUPPlY,

•

.-

36. OOAO to OG, GHQ AF, !!&!., 14 Feb. 1941, in ~23.61. Organization ASC. ABO Centt;al Files; JfJ to OS. GHQ..AF, .!!J!l., 29 Apl"il194]., in AG 320.2 Air Oorps (4-25-41) M (Ret) M; OCAC to 00' a, Training Oenters, ~ Al., 28 Aug. 1941, in 323.61, Or&anization ASO, ASC Oentra.1 Filesj Leonard Eherer. "Arnw Air COl'}:S Outhauls All Domestic. Carriers in Volume of Freight Shi:oments, II in Americ8.l\ A!iation, 1 Aug. 1941. p. 6.


39

37

as far as possib~e. all shortages of equipment on ferried aircraft.

~o days later Colonel V~ller and Oolonel Olds reached an accord

..

regarding certain 3)olnts of mutual concern. lfhey agreed that instal-

lations a~d te~~-do~ checks shOUld be made at the proposed installation :Doint (Wayne County Airport) a.nd that the traneter points should be service and check points for "trouble-ahootiog any smaJ.l d1ff1cUl ties develoJB d during flight to those points. II A method vas arranged whereby

the requisite enlisted personnel at transfer pOints ShoUld be made 38

available by the Maintenance Command.

All this suggests, without stating, the ba~1c responsibility

clearly assigned to the ~ta1ntenance Oommand in B. circular published on 39

30 June:

~he Air Corps Maintenance COmo£nd will be responsible tor all maintennnce. inspection and installation of eQui~mant being ferried by the ferr,ying commaud and will designate such installation end servicing poi~ts as are necessary. Such sE'1"vice as is necessary to :permit aircraft to continue flight will be rendered Bt all Air Oorps stations.

:By way of proviaiXlg the necessary p! rsonne1 to carry out these

responsibilities, provision was made in August for the activation of

one materiel squadron (speoial), oonsisting of 10 officers and 348 enlisted men for servIce at long Eeach, Calif •• headquarters for the

iiestern Divis1on, l'I,nd of one for duty a.t the Wayne County Airport

37. Lt. Goarder to Ohief. Mpinteru<,nce Oom:na.nd. 10 June 1941. in AAG
oJ. 321.9, Farrying Command.
/I 38. Lt. Goerder to Chief, MaintenRnce Oomm~ndt 14 June 1941, in AA.G
300. Ferrying Command.
." 39. OCAO OirCUlar 55-20, 30 June 1941 (App,. 136-37 ). Of. exp!Ulded.
&tatoment in OCAC Circular 55-20, 26 Sept 1941. CAPP., l3t:1-40). THIS PAGE Declassified lAW E012958


40

installation ~oint, Detroit. Prom time to time additional organiza- 40

tiona of the sort were reauested.

...

By aatumn of 1941 some questions had arisen regarding the relative

responsibility and authority of the two cODmk~nds. so far as the perso~

nel at Ferryi~3 OOmm@~d facilitie~t ~reeent ~~d ~rospective, were con-

eerned. In this matter the Ferrying Comn~nd had from the start taken

'"

a very modest yosition. It desired to have such service organizations

as the materiel s~uadron8 plF~ed definitely under the control of the

Ohief of the ~!e.inten:).nce OO!!llru::~d and to he.ve their commanding officers

serve as post co~~~nders of the stations to which the units were p-s-

signed. Only the Ferrying CO~And control officer at tb0sC st~tion~

•

wouJ.d. report to the Oozmunder of the Ferr;rine; Oomma.nd. An llgr~ement to

this effect had. been ren.ched by General Uiller of the Maintelk'1IlCe

Oo:runand p.nd Colonel Olds D,S ee,rly as August, aocording to the latter's 41

understpJlding ..

On 8 October 1941, followi~ a series of conferences

between Genere~ l:iller, Colonel Old.s, and represente.t1ves of the Chief

of the Air Oorps. the duties of the two cO!:l.'llends were divided in R manner

subate.nt1ally 1'19 decired b~ r tbe Ferrying Command. A direotive of the 42

Ohief of the Air Corps provided tho.t:

~. The Air Corp~ Ferrying Co~nd, smong other things, 1s charged ~~th the res~onsibility of transferring aircraft fron the points of acceytance to points of transfer.

40.

AG to OG, 9th Corpg Are~, 00, Selfridge Field. 19 Aug. 1941, in

AG 320.2 (8-13-41) !o!R-M-.AA.F;. memo for Ohief, Maintenance Oommand by AOFC. 8 Oct. 1941, in nAir Service Oommand." Oormnander's File. Acro DailY' Diary. 21 Aug .. 1941; R&R, .A.CFC to P1E'.D.s Div ... OOAC,

.M Sen. 1941, ill AN1 321.9, Ferrying OO1llIlP.nd; unSigned draft,

ACrO to Chief, Western DiT., ACFO, ~ ~., 26 Sap. 1941, in 321.9, AreO Oentral FIles. ~he bacic Ferrying Co~pnd polley goes beck to June. Memo for Col. 01ds by Maj • .Alexnnder, 14 June 1941, in "Activi ty Reports, II COl'llIll:U1der's File.

OCAC to Chief, ~mintenence Co~~oc and Co~wandert AOFC, 8 Oct. 1941, in 321.9. ATe CentrAl F11e~; ACFC Deily DiArY, 30 Sep., 8 Oct. 1941.

~~\t[~f~t ~ ~~~~~'_~~1 ~l~-~


41.

42.


41

...

J2.. The!J.r Corus l,k'intenr'nce 007"CUCi., f<JIlODg other things. is charged tIith the ras"l')onsibility of operR.ting ell bases, stBtions ?nd other facilities created to meet tne reo,uire!'lents of the Air Corps FerryiIlt; Co:nm:md. •

s. ~he ?ersonnel as~1gned to the Air COrpE Ferrying Co!rm:.?ud who t!re nOn Dutyll st Air Corps Ferrying Oommg.nd. activl ties o!JorRted. l:y the ~ll..ir Carr's l~inteu nee Comreand shR.11 while on eueh duty be att!.ched to the Air Corp' !~lntellf~ce Co:m~nd unit~ far p~inistrRtive ~urnoses. Such Fer~onnel shall re~nin under the Co~mnnd jurisdiction of the Commnnder ~ J.ir COI7J13 Ferrj'iIl£' Oormr.r'nd.

Shortly after the "Qublication of th1F deoision, E' reorgr,ni2P..tion

occurrHQ in which the Air Ser~lce Co~nu was created to teke over the

reEl3mnsibili ties of the Air Oory.s !~!"cintelU',nce OOFJ!'J:Xld l' nd to acsume

i~ortBut edditlonal duties. The division of l~bor between the Ferry-

iog Conur~r:i.El end the .l11r Servlce OOl!l::""nd, however , w~!'! the s~me as that

prf':i.\cri ted for the l!?.lr .. tenru:.ce end Ferrying COf'jF.~nds.. Indeed the de:fi-

. -

nition insu~d on 6 October was reaffirmed on 4 Nove~ber without change 43

other than the substitution of the new npme.

To provide a convenient ch24mel for comnunicstion between the

Ferrying Jor:mi[-l,Ii,d FD.d various Air Corp~ agencies in and around DR~rton.

Onio, the Ferryins Co~]~nd in A~~st 1941 established a liaison office a.t i'Fright :Field. The lif'J.son off1cE>rt s duties werp as brMd t?s tlle

rolf>,tions of the :s'erryir;.g OOr"Jr.£'Xld "1th the rest of' the Air Oorps. He

Wf:.3 '(articUlarl:,- 1'e$'Oonsi ble for :follow-uti prClc.edures regp.rding the

progress m~de by the l-!aintenF·.uce Oor:-,!!1:>.nd in reT.lairil:.g daJ:t8~ed p.ircraft,

..

thus seouring for the Ferrying Cor~nd e~vanoe notice of completion

•

dates in order to eXgedite the delivery of ferried pinnes. Another of

. "

~3. AAF Reg. 20-4, 11 Oct. 1941; eOAD to Chief. !SC nnd Co~~nder.

ACrO. 4 lTov. 1941. in 321.9, M:'O OentrBl :Files.

- ~ --- -

./- - -'- ~~-l

"" J ~~ ~ __ /

~~-~--l..t: ... l-,- \1.c 1~L:-"--~~ 't.;ooi:I~ ..... """'-,-+{



42

his specific duties was to secure frD~ informed ~ersonnel in the

l~e.teriel Division the probable conpletion d!:1.tes at the fectories of

aircrf~t to be ferried. Bea~Quarters of the Western Division was ex-

..

...

pected to keen him informed of all aircraft tend.ered with eq,uipment

•

deficiencies. BDd he. In turn. wes to keep the WeEtern Division informed

of ch~~ee in nolicy regarding such deficiencies. He mrintaineQ con-

tact ~lth the ExoerimentRl Section regarding test ~~d alterations of

pltnes now by the Fel'ry1Dg COltl!l~..ndt pnd with the :Budget Section on ficcal matters. He was c~vstently eng~ged in facilitating the flow of

suy~11es and flight eQuipment needed in Ferrying Cor~?~d o~erationst

including special flights. and the first of the COMm~dfS overseas 44

ferrying misEions •

•

. -

Reh.tionc ~ ~ Mangies,

Q-<ltside the loAF, the Ferrying Cornm:uld inevit~bl~ became involved

in rela.tions with a number of' organizstions, concerned for one renson

or another with its specialized mi£sion. Dail~ contact with the British

;;;;!!'b~.flSY end with the :British .Air Comclssiont for eXt;.lllJ)le. was of vital

neces~ity in clearing the numerous contrpct~~ nnd mRt~rlel ~roblems

Affeoting the prep~~tion of ~ireraft to be ferried. ~he British Air

CO~~iEsion nrovided in&~ectors at the aircraft factories, who ~hared

with Air Corps representatives the responsibility for accepting British

44. ACF~ :Deily Diary. 21 Aug. t 19 ~Tov. 1941; ACFC to Lt. Col. R. E. :Beez, Jr •• Western Div •• ACrO, lZ Sap. 1941. in IINorth Atlant1c,U Com.'rlf"llderl s File; A~O to Liclson Officert ACFO. ''fright Field,

10 ~ov. 1941, in 321.9, ATO Centrel Files; message, Liaison Officer, ACre to co, ACFC. 28 Oct. 1941. etc •• in "LiberHtors (16) ," Oommr.n1~r' s F11e.

_ __=~_ 1 ..... ......""'--""- ~~~



...

-, ~ -~ ,~ ,r \:~lt -~ r-.ClX~"~ 43

i·"k } J' ,t ;",.tL_ \..1,.,_ ).:JJ

,a- ........ ,... 1.. ~ .. , '~-~0.r'\

_ ~"-- -:3~ ... '!i..,t 1 "' -,1 , .... i "j~ "' •. , ,-..,,-,iC"~,'-> I,.\s:

S'''':l.''-I.t .. L' ~. 1. ' .'. .

plpX1ee. It T!l?inte.1npd nt each instelle,tlon point a. representative

who!3e duty it was to :pass aircre£t as complete, leEs over-we.ter equipment, beforp they should be permitted to proceed from installation to transfer points. It wa.s elso responsible for accenting B.irera£t which

• ;jO

had been flown from factories to seanorts where they were to be dis- 45 mantled p~d crated or loaded for shipment by cargo vessels.

Relations with Atfero of the Ministry of Aircra£t Production and

with the BAr Ferry Commc~d were partiCUlarly close. In a certain sense

these e6encies, which were successively charged with the res~onsibilit1

of ferryiug British Aircraft across the Nor~h Atlantic. were the customers

of the Air Oorps Ferrying Oommand. The contact between representatives

of the two orge~izations at transfer ~o1nts was of vital importance

. .

to each.

.-

The transoceanic ferrying of aircraft for the British was first

undertaken by the C~di~n Pacific Railroad's Air Services Denartment.

under contract with the ~ritish V~nistrf of Aircraft Production. The

first delivery by the Air Services De~rtment took place on 11 November 1940. In the ~ring of 1941 it was determined to transfer direct con-

trot of the opert.'.tion to the Uinistry of Aircraft Production. Atfero,

the agency of the I-!1nistry for this Job, actually assumed control as

early RS March 1941. though the official notice to the C8~dian Pecific

of the proposed cancellation of that orgAnization's agreement wns not

..

45. Memo for alAO by AOFC, ~3 June 1941, in Co~nderJs Pollc,y Eook. ~a Central Files (App •• 1Ze-35 ): R&~, AOFO to CIAO, 10 July 1941, in 321.9, ATO Central Files.

- .... r " --~ ... -~-\,- --,..---;,""--

1 II 4.-

r ..... -- II'"""' ;' ........ "'1 1

THIS PAGE-Declassified lAW E012958


44

sent until 27 V~ 1941. I];he formal trA.D.tlfer wa.s made on 15 July. 00.

...

1 August the RA'F Ferr;y OOIlll!lf>Jld, under the cotlllle.nd of Air Ohief Marshal 46 Sir Frederick W. Bowhill, in turn took over the operation from Atfero.

...

As early as June, however, Sir Frederick had been a party, in his

official cRpaoity, to a general agreement regarding the movement of

Brithh aircrfl£t from factories in Engla.nd. ThiEl understanding clearly

contemplated the aSB~tioo. of Atfero's responsibilities by the RAF

Ferry COmmPnd, whope chief ~roposed to eeteblish headquarters, ehortly,

a.t !-!ontrea.l. It wa.s egreed that the ":Sri tish Ferrying Oomlllf'.ndt 8" inspeotors should be pr~sent at the final inspection of aircraft at

ee.cb transfer point, :prior to the ectual tranGfer of the plpnes to the

British organization. It was agreed, too, that construction at the pro-

posed new tran~fer points in Meine should be adequate to meet the needs

•

of both the British ~nd tbe Americen aomM~nd~. Each was to provide

.-

responsible officers to taka charge of its intere~ts at those staions.

It was pllinly stated that the first objective of the Air CO~B

Ferrying OOMmand I1from a yersonnel stend-point is to release a.s !Il8q

eivilieD. :pilots al:· possible ••• to the ::British FerryiXlg Cotl!nE'..nd for

transocea.nic move!:lents of aircrei't. II The lUF Fer%7 COmIIlE',nd agreed to

continuo the exietiQg arrengements between Atfero and the ~iA sChool

for the transition trpininB of first pilots for this service. It alao

..

46. trneigned report. "Sum~y of Information covering the Organization of the Atlantic ferry bomber service by the Canadip~ Pacific. n

25 March 1942, inclosed with letter, O. H. Dickins to Lt. 001.

F. C. !,:orga.n, 21 !:f.arch 1944, in ATC Historical. File. Much of the 'J')ersonnel 'Orcvided in1 tiell)" by the Ce.nedie-1l Pacific continued to serve Atfero find the R.A:F l!'erry OOmID.l'.nd •

... - J ": '" tt 4 1 <. ,- ....... ~ - -

.. ...- .~~'~_J. _' __ ....... IJ .tl i ::»



45

~sreed to stpnd 'b? t:r,B terl'1n of' the con.trrctf; coveric£ rc-tp(O of nry 4.7

rnd con~itions of e~nloyn-nt for such ~ilots.

"

..

Althou;;h tl1e yrine.ry ob~iective v= s not il;!"'1edif'tel~r e.ttrineG.. for

..

. .

T.lA trEnsition rehool ior nrorr.ective trcnfocer~ic nilots Pt Albuquer~ue.

Towe.rJ. U,c. cull of June. E.e?x f~C: ... lnirpl John 1I. Towprs, Chief of the ITfiVY

~ure~u of ~eron~utics, objected to u~lr-~ PS instructors ~irllce nilot~

holdir.;S 17n.vt>1 Resarve cOJ::>.i:11sdoDS, ~7or .. 'ere the aOi:1l11ercial airlir.es

er>;er to c;;)or.cr,?,te in YIZ'ovi a.ir<e tl:e school 'i!;i th tilE" necess~r:, !Jersonnel.

'I:hen inforr:ed of thef-e ooftacles, th~ l!'errying CO::l'1~ nd reco:n::-:ended tat

stopa be trl=~n i:;t""'ettintely to eX!Jldn the s1tu?tion to the navel euthor-

i ties end to secure e.ssist1'.Xl.ce fro:", the E1,1rlinest if r.ecesze.ry by cnll-

.~

ing to Rctive duty such of their pilots t: s ,"('re t"lemberl<: of the Air Oorps 48

Reserve.

At the stze tir:e -preszure Wi'ri brought to bear uoon cert~'in reserve

officers th~n flyins lor the pircrr~t ~tnufpctur~rs.to p~cP.~t em~loy-

ment for At:f'ero 'Jork. :t'he nl ter:w'tl'1"e Y')resenteti \O;r f1 'the nrob:>bili t;~r of

b~ine c;lled to rctive duty ?t consi~er~~ly lower r~te~ of rendnerption.

~:hatever the effect of the severo.l steps td:en. the hu.ntp seen- to hPve

been "Ijt!f'spd by the rnd of Jul.;l. At tr~t til'16 eno'llt;h civilifl.n pilots

~ ~7.
-
~~
48. !!er:.o for 01 AD blf AOFC, 23 June 1941, in Corr...·y ndal" s Policy Eook, .6.5:0 Ccntrpl Files (lA'O!='., 129-35). ~hic aOCu.~"'nt, f'i~ned b~"

Col. Olds. oe1".rs tile signed. f!."Qurovd 1'160 of Ge-ner.r.l Erett, O/AO; GenerPl .. qrnold~ Del S (;..i1"); Robert A. Lovett t AS/it (Mr) i Lud

Air Cbief }.:~tl'E'b."1 Sir F ~ .1, ::CO'i7hilL

F~~~, ACFC to elLc. 28 June 1941, in 3~1.9, ATC Centre~ Files. See abovc~ 25-26.

~ ... -,., - ~

I 11 1.

lJ )_ .. '~J ___

~~~.:: !::_~L i . ..!..._.l.Li$ i I



had enrolled with the TWA school to supplr transoceanic ferrying needs 49

temporarily •

•

A new side to the yroblem was presented to Oolonel Olds, early in

..

August, when he flew to Montreal for a conference with Sir Freder1ck W.

I

Bowbill. There he learned thPt the RAF Ferry OOmmP~d hP,d not employed

~ of the graduates of the TWA school ?nd t~~ none would be employed

under the terms of the contract agreed u~on between Attero and the

trainees prior to the beginning of tneir tr:>inlng at Albulluerqu.e.

Colon.el Olds might, no doubt. have conclud.ed tw,t this wa.s none of his

affair. Instead, he urged Sir Frederick to send O. H. Dickins. Atfero

operations manager, to Albuquerque at once to explain the reasons for

the changed poli~' ?~d the terms of the contract which the RAF Ferr7

Oommand WEtS now yre!lared to offer. He aJ.eo reco:'1lllended that emyloyment

under ter~s of a new oontract be offered to those trp~nees who had 81-

ready finished their tr~ningt and that those who felt unable to accept

the new terms be reimbursed im cash for the loss of tlme and salary

they had incurred.

The new terms were far from niggardly. !l)hey called for an eJ.low~ce of $10 a day to student ~ilot8 in treining. Graduates rated a! first pilots were to receive $500 for each round trip, with a month17 guarantee of $1,000; co~ilots. $400 a round trip; navigators, $300 a

50 round. trip •

..

49. ACrO to Ohief, Western Div., 30 June 1941; ACFC to Ohief. Western Dlv •• 29 July 1941. in AA!Z 210. Ferrying COmJn€lJld.

50. ACFO Daily Diary, r, 9, 11 Aug. 1941.


46


47

!lore significant in relation. to the assigned mission of the Ferrying OOn'mo.nd were its connections with the Oivil .Aeronautics

Administration. Almost as soon ~s the Command assumed responsibility

for domestic ter~'iog, arr~ements were made for the use of OAA tele-

II:

type circuits 61 p~d 62 for the transmission of flight pleAa and other

messages !'lertaining to ferrying opera,tions. Duloing the summer of 1941.

too, the Comm?.nd was repeatedly called upon to ferry to various points

within the United St~tes tranenort aircraft acquired by OAA for tranB- 61

fer to the ~ritish under Lend-Lease.

lilxoanditlP,' Res'7)ons1biUties

During the BUOMer and autumn months of 1941. the interests and

. .

activities of the Ferrying Co~nd were multiplied. On 23 July Oolonel

OldB WOoS in conf'erence with hie former colleague, 001. :8:. A. Oraig of

. -

.w

the Air War Plans Division~ regarding plans for the development of a

satisfactory route for the flight delivery of short-range aircraft to

Great Britain, a project which had been under consideration as early

as A!>ril. It was hoped to es;taolish a chain of stations to handle

this traffic on a. line far enough north to p.void the trough of bad

weather between Newfoundland and the United Kingdom. Locationc under

consideration were Northwest River and Fort Chimo in Labrador; HOletein-

borg~ JulianehAa.b. and Angrnagssalik in Greenland; encl Reykjavik in

..

Iceland. Wne carr,y1ug out of such a program. however. was not yet

..

51. ACFO to o/Ao. 16 June 1941, in AAG 373.2A; OOAO OirculAr 55-20. 30 June 1941 (A'OP., 130-37 ); OOAO Oircular 55-20, 25 Sep. 1941

(Ap'P. t 13.3-40 ). See also the file J'Oivil Transport,'1 in

Oommander's Pile.



wi thin the cO'llpetence of the Ferrying COr.ll'!lallif., and. it had to wai t in

~ event for the co~letion of the necesspxy surveys. The Command

furnished a »-24 and a crew for one survey conducted by Capt. Elliott

..

Roosevelt during the latter part of the sumu£r. Meanwhile steps were

t~ken to estebli£h weather end commun1c~tions personnel at Fort Chimo. 52

Frobisher Bay, Cumberland Sound, and Northwest River.

Repre$entfitives of the Ferrying COmM3~d had a voice, too, in

~lann1og the establishment of facilities for the long-range ferrJ1ng

of land plpnes over the South Pacific at Oe~ton Island, Suva, and

New Caledonia. Informed late in Augu.st of the wi shes of Air Staff

in the premises, the Ferrying Clo::nrnand i1"1'llediately took ster.s to secure

It suffic1~nt increase in the Ferrying Oomm~d budget of Lend-Lease

funds to cover the cod of this ~,nd of the North Atlantic :project

for a better ferrying route. The :funds secured for the Pacific terry ~rogram, in the amount of ~5,OOO,OOO, were allocatea to the C~mmand1ng

General of the Re.wa.iit>~ De-partment, Lt. Gen. Walter O. Short. The

Hawaiian Department 1~ediate1y took ste~s ~ooking to the completion

of the Minimum fpeili ties on Ohristmas and Centon Is1rulds by 15 Jan- 53

In August the War Deuartment moved to su~port British operations

in the Med.l terranean theater by making a. seriee of contracts with Pan

..

American Airways pnd with its subsidiaries, created for the purpose.

,"

52. AOFO Daily Diary, 23, 24 July. 2, 21 Aug. 1941; memo for Col. Olds by Cn.-pt. J. 11. Rothrock. 6 Sep. 1941, in fll'ransatlant1c. II Mosley File. See above, 4-5.

53. AOFO Daily Diary. 21 AUG., 11 Oct. 1941; Ha.wll.1ian Dept. to AG, 22 Nov. 1941, in 351. A20 Central Files.

, I

; .

TH-IS PAGE Declassified lAW E012958

48


49

Pan American Jdrways-~6.fricR,.. Limited, and Pen American Air Ferries,

..

Incorporated. ~he latter organization was to ferry british Lend-Lease

airora:ft from the United States to Khartoum in the Sudan.. Pe.n American

AirWa1s-_~rica wa~ to provide the necessary route facilities FAd operate

an air trp~sport service Rcross Africa for the delivery of Lend-Lease

cargo and the return of the ferry pilots to West Africa, whence they

could fly back to the United States to ~ick up nore nlpnes. On Zl

October FAA inaugurated a regulex tr~nsport schedule from Accra to

Khartoum. Its personnel were stationed at the primitive airports

along the route and were thus in a position to assist the Ferryiog

OOllUll?Jld. crews which :f'lew from Bolling Field to OR-iro in ~rovember and 54

December 1941 •

. "

Service of this charecter was hardly contemplated by the contract. ~he relationship of the Air Co~ps ierrying Command to PAA's new enter-

priees was at the outset intended to be aiwilar to its relationship

1'1i th the R.AF Ferry OOmI:l.."l.nd for aircraft to "be ferried across the Ncr tb.

Atlantic. It w~a agreed e~xly in Se9tember t~~t the Ferrying Oommand

should establieh c. trane:f'er point a.t Miami. where it would turn over

to Pan A.'!leriCM all pircraf't destined :for the Mediterranean theater.

It was understood, however. that, as soon ~s possible, the transfer

'Point would be moved southward, ultimately to ~rinidad. Pan AI:lerican

pro'l')osed to employ civilian pilot~ and WE',S to be given tb.e Bruns prior-

i ty as the R.AF Ferry OO!"JI1.~,nd in procuril:ltS them wi thin the United. States.

54. Contrnct~f DA \'i 535 ec-415 p,nd DA ~"l 536 ao-416. 14 .<\~. 1941. in ATO Organization ~a Oontraet Su~erv16ion Siles; 1202d AAF.BU CEAD ATO, "Historical Report, Jr..nua.ry 30. 194-2-June 30, 1942." 3-5, and Annex 1-0.

55. AOEO Daily Diary, 5 Sa!). le41.


55


'O-t-..., .. ~ .... ..-..- .. - - ~ .,. - .-~t"";~il·'-""1~~

l. >.. ~ --lli ",~· ... ·_.il.·It,

r, ,',,' ~....; . ~ 11. '. '. J. '.. J ~: -If;

2,'-. L'~'" 1.:<' f16"~.'ti·(h):~

Esteb1ishinc the transfer ~oint at r~~~ was not as simple as it

sounde~t pni the Ferrying Comm~no p~d the Contr~ct Section of the

V-nteriel Divifion became in701ved in a series of knotty discussions

with P?A Americ8n, which w~s seemingly none too e~er to share its

facilities nt the 36th Street Airport. Ultimately a board of offIcers

repreFent1n& vezious interested Army agencies wes sent to Florida. and

came bee"!:: ,,;1 th f' re'Port reco!11mendillg the use of the International Air-

port. 'lhis renort ",ps anproved by Colonel Olds on 15 liovember. By

th."'!,t tine a detachment of the 313th Materiel Squadron h?d been sent to

r~ltud; Capt. Frcnk N. :~1ghtingale hed report8Q. for duty l'.S control

officer on 12 ![ovem1::er;: :wd tl:.e firf.t ferried eircr!'lft werA being

..

routed through a trr~afer Foint established temporr~i1y at the EO

!~unicinel Airport •

..

!'~et',n'l'lhile, in it:::: own rlF;ht, under the terrrs of its mission es

origi~11y de ted, the Oo:rmr..nd 1::ece:::e concerned \d th li~.i ted trrumport

or.er(l,tion~ on the w:o.,.v to t1:e l:eex ::Jast end thence to P.uesia. ]lAxly in

October a directive f'rOr:1 General 5:paatz, Chief of th') Air Ste£t, w[-'~

received, reouirlDil the esteblishment of n bimonthly air trF~sport

service by the CO);ll':j?Jld between Khartoum rtnd MI)f;COW, effective 10 Ootober.

Nothing er>Jne of this directive. On '"I liovem'bel', however, under orders

from Generp~ Arnold, the Oo~~nd c~$umed responsibility for establlshi~

..

. -

56. iliA., 1", 18, 29 oee ,; 27 Nov. 1941; :Boar (1. report on N:1.t:1mi, FIE. •• a;pnrovecl 15 l~ov. 15'41 f ill OR:BD Historical File; P.&R. ACFCl to ASOI 28 Uov. 1941, in ''l-Iip.mi :frocurementt" S&S Q1~ :Srench Files • .ATe OentrBJ. )i'Ues; re.essree. Cent. F. N. nightingale to co. AtPC.

12 l{ov. 1941; Aore to Oontrol Officer. ACFO, MipJUi, 19 Nov. 1941, in 201 (N1ght1~~e), ATe Central File£; ACFO Oontrol Officer, V.ipY.ii to CO, AWe, 5 Jan. 1942, in 11~:ismi. II !':osley ]'ile.

" I

,

_ ~~",--Ji.->'''':~-''---'=~ i~~~>1£~~"'"-~rl~l~l _



51

the ai:r transport service linking War,.h1r..gtOl'l fl.nd Cairo, ~.nd a week la.te:r 67

the £iret flight left Eolling Field.

, .

It if:! clear thpt Colonel Old!ll. fal' :from tP.king a :passive :part in

these develoF~ents~ bed an active hE~d in plE~lng the extension of

his Oot"!!C.rnd.' S mission. It iE aoparent the.t he WRf:' in frequent com-

munication, not only with OCAC ~nd with the office of t~e Obief of the

Army Air 1'o1'ces. bu.t al.so with the War Dere-rtment General. Ste.ff, with

the A$sist~nt Seerfltnry of' i'far for Air, Robert A. Lovett, and with 58

Edwe.rd R. Stettinius t Jr., the Lend-LeaEe Administrfl,tor.

;rith their

a:PPl'obatlon, to\.,nrd the end of Septe!tber he outlined e. yrogram which

re~ui:rea an extension of the bn£is of the FerryioS Co~mnndts reeponsi-

..

bilities, as contflined in the 11"esidential, directive of 28 l-!ey 1941 to the Secret~ry of \tar.

lie recorrll"lended thnt the Co::::mc.ndt s authority be expanded. to inolude

the delivery of aircr('.ft and the provision of such facilities as stE\ging

fie1~.we&tber and communications stations. air tre!fic control points,

end instal1F'.tion PAd trMSfer pOinte, "where nece~sEU'Y in the interest

of our o~n str~teglc a~fense in (e) the Western He~a6PhereJ including Erazil, C8~.dR. Greenland and Icelp;ud; (b) A~erioRn possessions, aueh ~,S Ale.ske., E'.nd t1:.e Phil1winee; Blld (0) the Du:tch Best Indies e.nd Aus-

tralip..."

Should suoh authority be granted, he :proposed the inauguration of

the prev1ousl~ discussed service to Iceland. by way of points in Labrador

57. AOFC Daily Diery, 6 Oct., ., t 14 1Tov. 1941. See above, S2.

58. ACFC DRily DieX7, 1 July-7 Dee. 1941, nnssire. See also documents cited below, 52-54,notes 69, 60, 6l, 62.

- ..- ~ ~ j~ T ~ ~ - .,. .... - - -- ~ - :

_, I I '

~~~ 1 ... -'- ~ -----L --...,~~~- ....... ~~-



52

pnd. Greenland, which would ul timp.tely permit the flight delivery of

..

relRtively chort-range aircraft to Britain or Arctic Russi~. He urged

. "

that the use of such points as Alas~~. Haweii, W8ke I£l£ndt ~nd the

....

Phillw1nes would greatly speed the delivery of :pl~'nes to Russia, the

Netherlpnds, Oh1na. or Singa~ore* Further, the extension of authority

reG,uested would faci1itp.te IItrdning American pilots in areas which might become the scenes of A.l"leriaan military o:r:erations."

Supported by a m~morandun from Stettinius to Harry L. Hopkins.

the dr8~t directive r9que~ted went forward to the President and was

duly issned. over tte Free1dentts signature. on 3 October 1941. The Secretary of War was now empowered to deliver airoraft nto any territory

,r

Bubject to t~e jurisdiction of the United States. to any territory

..

within the ~estern Hemisphere. the Netherlends East Indies and Austr81ia,

on behalf of any country to which I shell have authorized the delivery 59

of defense ertic19£ under the Lend ... Lease Act.1I

The int wes hardly dry on the presidential directive when another

line of planning required a further extension of the Ferrying Command's

authority. As eerly as Se~tember. General Brett. then in Ceiro. had

recommended the diver~ion of 20 Liberator aircraft to the bard-pressed

Britl~h forces in Egypt. From London. a fortnight later, following

consultation with Prime !,rini€:ter Churchill ~,nd .a..ir Obief Narshal S1r

OhP~les F. A. Portal, he repeated the r~commend8~ion, though for a

59. J1emo for HArry L. Hopkins by Edward R. StettfntuSt 30 Sap. 1941 (·\w. ,141-42 ); Presid.ent Roosevelt to S/W t 3 Oct. 1941, in Comm~derfs Policy Eook (Ap~ •• 143).



53

reduced toteJ. of 16 :plfl.nes. General Arnold e.dopted the :propo~al end

..

at once sought specific authority tor the delivery of Lend-Lee.se e.ir-

w ..

craft to pOints in Atrica. Again Stettln1us submitted a detailed

justification through Hopkins. He cp~led attention to the fact that

the approach of winter made the northern route to the United ICingdom

"dFllgerOUB, unde-pel1dable. and alowll; the opening of a. southern route

woUld ease the burden u~on it. At the tame time. it would hasten the

•

delivery of plUles to Africa, including Egypt. "where they are ant to be most needed during the wintert II end wou1d give .American pilots ":further familiarity flnd tra.ini4i:t:ly:tng in erep,s strategically importoot to Americl2'.n defenze." The desired direetive was signed by the

60

President on 29 October.

Finally, in Noveruber the COll"JIt,;;ud requested a still further grant of authority which would enable it lito l'rep~.re for such extensions of

its present deliverr service as it m8¥ eventually be called u~on to mfl.ke. tI With the blessing of the Aasiste.nt Secrete.ry of War for Air and

General Arnold. the yropose~ went forward to the President with an

~~proviDb rnenorandum b~ Stettinius. The new directive was broed enough

to cover oper~tions the world over. It authorized the Secretary of War

to deliver aircraft "to such other ylace~ and in p-uch manner as may be 61

neeessarY' to carry out t:te Lend-loease program. II

..

60. Mess~e 105, Drett to ArnOld, 29 Sey. 1941; messpge 752, ]rett to Arnold. 1" Oct. 1941, in lI16 Liberators.1I Oommander's File; memo for Hopkins by Stettinius, 23 Oct. 1941; President Roosevelt to S/Wt 29 Oct. 1941, in Commander1s Policy Book.

61. Memo for AOrO Sq. Staff. ~ ,!!. •• by CO, ACFC, 14 Nov. 1941, in 321.9, ATe Oentral Files; memo for President by Stettinius, 24 Nov.

1941 , (App.~ 144 ); President Roosevelt to S/W. 24 Nov. 1941,

in Cowm~~der's Policy Book (A~p.t 145).

,I?'" - - ... t - I""

~, - ~I~ _'/

~~~-......~"-



Thus a wey was opened, even before the shock of Pearl Harbor,

..

for meeting n new wave of demands u!lon the Ferrying Com.rnand. Alre!",d¥ •

•

following discussions between the Lend-Lease Administrator, the Assist-

...

ant Secretary of ~;e.r for Air, r.nd General. Arnold. the Ferrying ComIllP.nd

was studying the feeslbl1ity of taking full responsibility for all flight deliveries of aircraft to the United Kingdom. On 24 November

it rendered a report on this ~ropo~Rlt which. it will be reme~bered.

h8.d been rejected in !'!flY. Now Oolonel Olds recommended tbat the burden 62

be assumed, effective 1 April 1942.

MeF~while the COmDoudts personnel ~d exp~nded somewhBt in res~onee

to the increasing responsibilities which it had shoUldered. Headquer-

tere in mid-N'ovember includ.ed 20 officers r-.nd '10 civilian employees.

In domestic ferrying. 262 pilots, lZ n?vigetors, and 41 radio operator-

mechanios wer~ engeged.. "North Atlantic ferrying t II in ot.ner words.

the Atlantic Division, lu-,d t:>. total per~onnel of 66 men. Sixty-four

offioers F~d 22 civilians were employed at the several control points.

The materiel squadrons which supported FerrJ1r~ Comman~ actIvities at

its more import~nt stations included 59 officers and 900 enlisted men.

63

~e pressure of expanding resyonsibilitles wp.s felt ~ost severely

at Ferrying Com:nrnd headquarters. There t severaJ. changes of importance

took place during the a~tumn months. Early in October the headqU8~ters

offices werA moved froro their crrmped OUArters in the bpsement of the

-"

62. Memo for CIAO by ACre, 24 Nov .. 1941. in 321.9, ATO Central Files.

See above. 7.

63. MR, ~&O Div. to :Exec. t COAC, 8 rev, 1941; R&'~, l!o. 3, ACEC to a/AO, 13 Rov. 1941, in 321.9, ~O Oentral FIles.

- - - - '" ,-

"{ -

"

- --


55

Muni tions :Building to the second floor of Temporary Building H, 23d

..

and. 0 Streets, ~;. \':. From 10 October until 12 November Colonel Olds

. ~-

was absent from her-dquertcrf., receiving medical treatment et the Army

nnd l:Tp~vy Generf!~ Eosyi tal at Hot S:t>rings, Ark.. DuriXlg his absenoe t

. ,

the executive officer, Major Alexander. ~£ in chPrge. On 28 October

1941 Y.ajor Ifunner wns relieved of hi" duties RS RdJut~nt by the e.ppoint-

rn.ent of MpJ. Robert O. Hnmlett, -previously an. officer in the Infantry

Reserve. V..a.jor Tunne,. continued as personnel officer. Short1~ a£ter

Colonel Olds' return to duty, t:a.jor Alex!".nder. by way at a. change from

hiG he~da~t~r~ labors, vent out to Oairo as co-pilot of a B-Z4

transport. He arrived at Cairo on 27 November. Generel ]rett, Chief

of the Air Corps, who ranched C-dro froT1\ England at about t"p """''!l6 time.

took l~Jor Ale~nder p-nd his ulftne on a special mission to 6hungking •

..

!Eb.ere he left him on 22 December. in aceoreaace with cable orders frolJl

General Me.rshal.l, who had direoted that MAJor Ale=mnder be attached to

the staff of Brig. Gen. John l'!agruder t Chlef of the Un! ted St.'l.tes J:rmy

mission to Chinn. Not until 1 December 1942, \,rhen he became co:mnE'.nd1n.g

orfi car of the Air TrAnsport Cornm.."=Uld" s new Ind1.a-Chin.A. Wing, did he re-

turn to serv1ce in the organization which he had helped create. Meanwhile he was sueceeded as ~xeeut1ve officer b~ ~bjor ~unnert a~ointea

to this duty on 25 N'ovember 1941. 'When in September the OomlJlaud vas

called u~on to reFort the nnmes of its 1ntelli;ence officers, Major

~~er was deslgnnted for headquarters. 1n addition to his other duties,

as were the ~everRl st~t1on ndjut~~ts in the field. The headquarters responsibility w?~ trnnsferred on 12 December to Capt. Louis S. Gimbel~

Jr., of the Materiel Section. Late in October Lt. 001. Phili~ G. Kemp

.. -- --Ir- --'---"', ,,- ... --~~ -..

- Ii

~ ....... "" .. ,,* ..... T.Il..... 1-.... i..llr..-.L--l. .... + .. J JI2. k



was aupointed chie~ of the newly created Plans Sect1on, and Lt. 001. 64

..

Horace P. Orl~dy of the Projects Section •

· ..

As ips ba.clr as 8 August, an Air Cor:r,l1:~ Reserve officer, already on.

'"

· ·

~~tive duty. was ordered transferred to the FerrJing Oommand to serve.

beginning 15 October. ns control officer for the proposed transfer

:point at Houlton, Ke. This was 1st Lt. Robert H. Love, who was to

becone one of the mo~t imQorte~t figures in the history of the OOIDmanQ.

'~'hen it beesae a~'Parent that the Houlton base would not be open to

traffic at the deslg~ted date Rnd thnt additional officers were gravelT

needed at Washingtont the ao~?nd on 30 October soueht to hPYe him trans-

ferred to he~.dC1U'3..rters. The ~:1li ta17 :Personnel Div! sion of the OCAC

obJected, howover, on the ground t~t the quote of officers for duty

in the OOAO was filled. Oolonel Olds thereupon requested the establish-

ment of a separate quota for Ferrying Oo~~d head~uarters under a~provea

manning t~bles. He also requested that yrovision be m~de for two aesist-

ant executive officerfl., "in view of the added requirements end missions

presented to the .Air Oorps Ferl'}~1Dg Command for accomplishment on recent

-

daten. II FinallY7 he repeated his request for the trpnsier of Lieutenant

•

64. OCAC Personnel Orders ~234t par. a, 6 Oct. 1941; Army and 1>Iavy General Hos!,ltal to 00, AOFO, 8 Nov. 1941, in 201 (Ol-is), .A.S:C Oentral. Files; ACFe D~i17 Dipxy, 12 Nov. 1941; Atlantic Div., AOFC, Operations Order +147 t 21 l:rov. 1941., and other documents in 201 (AleJtmlder), AmO Central Files; duPont trip record, 1 July-19 Dec. 1941; "Gowen's Log," 1:119, 129, 150, 153, 182-83, in ATO Historical File; ACFO Personnel Orders ~57. nar. 1, 28 Oct. 1941, in 201 (Hamlett); #62, ~ar.Z, 85 Nov. 1941; #58, par. 1. 1B Dec. 1941; OOAO to Intelli&ence Officer, AOFC, 19 Sep. 1941, and 1st Ind.t AOFO to Ohtef, Intelligence Div., OOAO, 26 Sep. 1941. in 201 (~er)t ~O Oentral Files; me-n.o for_Ool Olds by !!.oqJ. A1exander, n.d., "Progress Re'Qort (October 2'l-ll~o~"'J, 1941),11 in lI.Activ1ty Reports," Oomme.nderls File.

-- -, -7~ r--\.-""'"--:''' +: ....... ~..- -,- 71"-

4-". _ fit,! :: .' J '_l ... :"". __ ,

THIS PAGE D:~f~~ijfi~'iAw ~()'1~958


57

Love to flrFllieve tIle trel'r'endou.s lot'cl now nlrced on thE' ::::xecutive. II

,.

~\£t€r so~e do1~y. Oolonel Olds won hi~ point, ~nd Lieuten~nt Lovels 65 trf'LLsfer to he~d('l_u:'rterE ii, ~ oi'i'i ciplly oruC'H!U on 4 LecE'::lber.

T1:.e f"ntr;r.r of th" tTnlted Shtes i:r;,to tho wr:r ~"S r..D. petive 'belliger-

cnt ('iter the Fer.rl E:~.rbor rtt~ck on 'l Decenbar- 1541 1r.evi tably con-

fronted the Co ":'l r: .ud \dth fI host of new de:::;~nd.~ ['no. ehanbed ::lateriEllly

the %:rturt) of its vorl::. Pl" 1llli.ug for oner{",tionr, L" world over was

e'l')eec1ee. u:n. It WilE d.ec1ded U.l't c'J.1 t'ircrp..i't on h:"~i rud sched.uled for

December deli very ahouJ.d be rptF·ined, b;'ir the United Str te$ to r'lE'ct il-!'J.e-

die.te re(luirer-er..tr; of the ~A,rr>Y' p.no. lh,,'V"'.!. The t"'erryiq; Oo:_opn13.. tJhOf;e

major mi~don hitherto twd been the dO:-:'6stic ferr~~ing of e.1rcrl'.ft des-

."'

ti4ed for Er;tirh service. now c~~;ed thp direction of its flights

rnd nCSlL~eo. control of the delivery of :>ircrnft from factories to AAF

.-

to the Bri ti sh in :8gypt were ferried ir~stet'd to the t:est Oor_st for

fliu;ht rcros£. t:c.o J;£'.cifio by knericFL con:bd cr ewe, ArrangcJ:'lents were

or'de for control Faints at K"lrE'chi, to h" ndle Pircrf'i't mov1n::..~ to the

beleAgUerEd forcE'S in the F~r ~[1st, ~nd nt rl".:!'ilton Field, C8.1if., for

~l~nes en route to Y~w~ii. Pilots on t~~orcry ~ut~ ~~th the Ferrying

Oon,,: nd ver e suddenly orderf'd return~'d. to t:b,e Air Yoree Oonb?t COmInPx..d.

S'l')6cinl r-issions "lerA orr,l'Ir.dzed to move J.:f'y nerf'onnel elld e('!uinoent to

•

the fig-htit £: front£;. Ste."s , ... ere tnbm to eecuee the 1prf;ely increl'sed

.. .

65. .A!3: to C3-, l~t CorpfI .-U-E'P., 8 A:u;~. 194.1; ~\fJ to 1st Lt. BO'oart 11'.

Love, 4. Dec. 1911; RtiR, A01'O to !·:Uitrc,ry Ft'reonne1 Di v., OOM, 30 Oct. 1941, in 201 (Love). A~C Ccutrpl Files.

. ...., ~ . t I ~ !

THIS PAGE~ Declasslfled lAW E012958


number of pilotB which the Ferrying Commrni would need to fulfill its

expanded mission. For e few ~s 1n the latter part of December, the

. ~-

Oommandt as directed, conduoted an office which handled ~riorities for

traffic on domestic and foreign airlines. On 30 December. however.

this resyonsibllit~ Wp.!': tr"neferred to G-4 of the Wtrr Dey.artment Gen- 66

ert"~ Sttd'f.

It wa~ immediately obvious that the emergency needs for air trans-

portation could not be met without recourse to the services of the civil

eirlines. On 12 December the ASBistant Seorett?..ry' of WIU' for Air and

General Arnold directed Colonel O)ds to trute control of the execution

of all air tr~n~nort contrnot~ between the War Department pnd the civil

pir eerrier~. On 16 December, the Command began a series of discus-

,"

sions with !I!\'1A. looking to the pssu.mption of overseas tra,ns'I)ort respons i-

'" -

bilities by th2~ corporation, And a cont~act was signed $nd a~roved on

24 December. Meanwhile. on 13 December 1941 PAA had agreed. to extend

its transport pnd b~~e services from Africa to Teheran or to a point,

possibly in Russia, to be agreed upon subsequently by PAA and the con-

tracting officer. A similar extension was mnde in the routes over

which Pan American Air Ferriea wae to deliver aircraft. Ferrying of

planes to the Ohinese and Russian governments, as well BS to the British,

WEtS now contemplated. On the B?me dsy the Wro- Depa.rtl!lent entered into

..

a new contract ~~th Pan American for trane~ort service between the United

States and SingB~oret via either L~gos or Leopoldville (Belgian Congo) •

..

66. ACFe DRily Diary, 9-13, 17, 20. 21. 29, 30. Dec. 1941; AOFO

"Staff J.leet1ngt II 8, 22 Dec. 1941, in IIStaf:f Neetings, II Moa1eyFile.



59

Kf'.re.chi. Jodh~ur. CaJ.cuttEl., ~n:i Rncgoon. Thi£: servioe wes to be ren-

dared with PAA' e fleet of eight Boeing :8-314'8 .e.nd two Martin M-130

~ ..

Flying Boatz, whioh FAA agreed to sell to the Government. Almost

..

immed.ie.tely, however, an inforrr:al agreement W!'.s reaohed between the Wax

o.nd Np,vy department£. under which the Martin F1yin,; Boats and a.11 but

three of the Boeing ylanes were tran~ferred to the Navy. T.hose retained

in Army service were dis~atched Almost at once to the Far E$st. The

first carried P oprgo of P-40 part~r while the others were loaded

chiei'17 with .EO-cBliber ammunition. Becs.use of the advancing Japanese

offensive, th~ never flew beyond Oalcutta. Following the initial flight~

to India. their nor~~ use was on the route from New York. via l-liami p.nd

.~

Natel, to L~~os, with an extra shuttle or two between L~~os p-nd Natal 6"

... ..

before returning to liew York for overhaul.

Again~t this background of new responsibilities and frantic emergency

planning. a progrp~ for the reorgp~zation ~Jnd expansion of the Ferrying

Commp~d, now essenti~2 to its effIcient functioning. wa~ pushed forward.

An inforlllE'~ dividon of l~,bor had p.J.reBdy been worked out at headct'lU.>X-

tere, whereby ~{ajor !'~oElley WaS hendling overseas operations and Major

~unner. Qomestle. ~n1R prr~~ement furnishes the key to the proposed

reorganization. l!ejor Tunner, 8,$sisted by a smAll fttaff. was to take

..

67. AO:E'C DailY" Dbry, 12, 16, 1". 20-31 Dee. 1941, 1 Jan.-8 Hareh

1942; minutes of Special Avl~tion Committee, 14 Dec. 1941, in

A!!O HistoricaJ. File; Contrect, DA ,i 635 ae .. 9l4; Supplemental Agreements, 13 Dec. 1941, to Contr~cts, DA W 535 ac-415, DA W

535 flc-416; Sunplemental Agreement, n :tee. 1941. to Oontract,

DA 'ii 535 ac ... 9l4; Oontrv.ct DA ~: 535 ec-10E~2, 24 Dec. 1941: meao

for Chief, Navy :Eurea.u of AeroD8,uticR by a/AS, 17 Feb. 1943, and. incloeure, in ATO Orgnnization ~ni Contract SUpervision Files; memo for Lt. Oo~dr. O. R. Schi1dbauer by ACED, 22 Dec. 1941, in 452.1, _~O Central Files. For tho earlier contracts between FAA r~d the lkx Depf~t~€nt, eee above, 48-40.

...

.-



60

ch::!.rge of the Domestic Dividon; l'of'.jor Ko~ley, 01' the Overr.e~.:$ or

Foreign Division. COl""'r.:.-~Ii.d head!lup~ters prop>r would be e:r.;oanded and

. ..

bro~ht under a conventionp~ .~~ mrnning tpble. The ~ro~o5ed organ~

iz~tion c~~t 8nd ~~nning table were submitted to the Chief of the Air 68

Oorp~ and to tl::.e .Air Stuff on 23 IJecenber.

Apr.'rovf.:.l of the. manning t~.ble by the Ohief of the Air Staff was

dele¥ed until 10 Januery 1~42t but on ~O December the basic elements

of the reorgpnization plt'll \Tere :put into ef'feet, with the publication 69

by Colo~el Old8 of Generp2 Or~er~ No.3:

.~

The .Air Oorps FerryillG CO'1l.""l"'nd it. hereby reorr;:>.nized

to includ.e P. Ger:.ercl. Readquartern and two subordinate divisions, Domestic Division rnd Poroten Division. The Headquarters of

the Air Corns Fer1"',{ing OOmJlif1,nd 8Jld the Readquerters of the Domestic and Fcreign Divicions will be locnted in ilsshington,

D. C. ~ho Domestic nna Foreign Divisions will be organized

as deeced necerspxy by the Oo~~nnd1ng Offlcera of tho~e divisions, which organizdion '\111.11 be publ:hlhed und.er oraers

of the diviaione concerned.

'" -

,."

..

68. InterviellS with 001. R. M. Love :By MFI,j. La Parge, 27-28 July 1944, notes in ATO Historical :File; :a&Rt AOFO to 0/ AO and Air Staff I

23 Dee. 1941. in AAG 321.902.

69. l-!al1nitlf.; Table, !lair Oorps Ferryirl€?-00ll'.m::.nd.." indorsed. "Approved by Ohief of Air St?Sf 1/10/42 SSH1~:nky, II in ATe Historical l!'ile~ ACFO G.O. #3, 30 Dee .. 1941. !;:his is a eorrected order. The first ed.1tlon, :pub1illhed earlier the eame ~, used tl:.e term uOverFoeas" instead of "Foreign" Division. Haj or 'Z'Unner actually- assumed com:nr'.nd of the Domestio Division on 29 December. M~jor Uosley

did not ~ssume co~nd of the Foreign Division formally until 30 December, but he cignedt ~s Division Commander. a set of instructions to control officers of the Foreign DiVision. dated 29 December. Dc~e$tic Div. G.O. *1. 23 Dec. 19A~; Foreign Div. G.O. *1. 30 D~c. 19?1. in 300.4, ATD Oentral Files; Foreign Div. to AOFO Control Offieerr.. :Foreign Div., 29 Dee. 1941, in "Directives,!! Mosley File.

.1:

- -,f" - - - ~, .... I- ...... ~""-

{f ~, ~. \ , ,,' ,

.ttj'-lli';I __

~~ ...,

,~,-,-,' ~ , 'I :,'" ',-,., , 1

.- ,

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..

. . .

Ohapter III

The second half year of the Ferrying Command's history, like the

first. wa£1 a !leriod of trerilendoue exoened on, New res:oonei bill ties were

imposed upon the organiz~tion, end new ~ersQnnel somehow procured to

fulfill bhen, The totru. aceom:oliebn-ent of the COJ'l1I'!lC.nd. measured in

terms of pjrcraft f~rried. personnel. mail, and materiel transported,

ahot up corres~onding17. During 1941, the Commrnd flew to their final

do~egtlc de£tinations a totp~ of 1.469 aircra£t. Durl~ the first half

of 1942 a total of 12,104 planes was simil~1y ferried. During the

sane 6 months 633 airoraft ware delivered to foreign destinations in

contrfs;t with 8. mere handful the previous year. The total number of

military personnel f,elsi.sned or attached to the Commni rose from 1,443

on 13 november 1941 to over 11,000 f't the end of June 1942. Far and

away the greater portion of the 1,920 tons of cargo. mail, ?'~d passen-

gers trane~orted by the Oo::nm('~d during the first f1 seal year of 1 ~ ex- 1

i stence was carried during the months folloldng 1 January 1942.

1. AO:FO "DAily Flight Report As Of 1800. II #,160. 31 Dec. 1941. attl10hed to AOFO DBily Diary. 31 Dec. 1941; memo for Maj. Love by Air !lIra.nsport Sec., 13 June 1942, in ATe Historioal File; ATO to CG, AAF,

21 July 1943, in 320.2, ATe Oentral Files; R&R~ T&O Div. to Exec •• OOAC, B Nov. 1941; R&R. No.3, AOFC to a/AC. 13 lTov .. 1941. in 321.9, ~O Oentral Files; Statistical Control Div., ~O, "Total Cumulative Deliveries of Ferried Aircraft to Final Destination.1I 20 June 1944. in Summary .2i. Onera.tioneo ,gf the A!!: I2rans~ort Contnlitnd. S5.

61

- ""l ~ \

, '



62

..

ThoutJh the period opened with a forw~ reorganization of the

. " &

Ferrying Oo~mnnd. the atmosphere in which its nersonnel oper~ted oon-

tinued thro'UfJhout to be thorow .. ~h1y inforil::?l. During the first weeks

..

of t~e new year the organizet1on ~as still small. ~he manning table,

as ayproved on 10 J?nuary 1942, called for p total of only 39 officere

in aO~'l'Iand headquarters ):Iro:oer, :plu~ 12 and 15. respectively. in the 2

headquarters of the Domestic e~d Foreign diVisions. All were then

housed in half of the top floor of ~emporary ~p~ Department Euildlng

IIRI1, at 23d. p.ud 0 Streets, N. W. The organization was obvious1;y small

enough to ~ermit ~ good deal of freedom. The OOnmk~diog General was

accessible to n~l his subordir~teR, ~~d business was most often trans-

acted by ~~p~s of TerBonal contact~ within tho rather cr~mned quarters

...

occu~ied. Ap~Arently, too. none of the men who held key ~oBitlons in

the C0111l'lClld Wed'! by nnture inclined to think in terms of organizatiOnal

charts PJ1d a rigid distribution of functions. Emphasis was placed on

getting a job d,one, E!.nd the ttructure of the organization which did it 3

was a Becondp~y con~lderation.

~he set-up provided b~ the menn1~ table followed conventional lines.

Headquarters of the :PerryiXl€) Oo:r.m.?.nd wes to lnclade the OOlllll8.nder, an

•

2. Manning Teble, !lAir Corpf3 Ferrying Co:mnMd. II la~proved 10 Jan. 194i/ • in ATO Historioal File.

3. Memo for All FO MilitArY Per~onnel by FO, 23 June 1942, in ~O Publications File; interviews with 001. Love by Maj. La Farge. Zl-28 July 1944,· notes in ATO HistoricAl File; interview with T/Sgt. Lawrence NA.varra, NCO in charge of ATe Oentr8~ Files, by 1st Lt. Frank H. Heck, 31 JUly 1944. Sergeant 11'p;cre.rra. was a civilian emplo~ee of the Ferrying Command in 1941-1942.

"

, ,



63

executive, and an REsistant exe~~tlve. ~he Commander was to be adv1sed

by a general end a epecip~ staff. The general steff wa.s to include a.

..

Plans Division, in edditlon to 6-1, 5-2, 6-3, ana 5-4. The special

staff WltS to include E\.D. edjutant, and ordance, medical, fiscal and bud:-

get. communic~tlon8. signal, engineering, legal, quarterma~ter. inspec- 4

tion, And liaison officers.

~fuell the manniDg table was apprO-Ted the he::tdquarters :r;:ersonnel was

still incomplete. Colonel Olds, who was pro~oted to the rank of briga-

dier general on 20 January, continued RS aOlL~ndert w1thLieutenPnt Love

e.G e.eting exeeutive. Lieutensnt Love also doubled as s..3. Capt. Richard

c. Lowm~ was S-1 and Oapt. Louis S. Gimbel, Jr., 5-2. ~be position of

S-4 was occur-.i.3d by George F. :Brewer. who 00 com:ni set on as lllaJ or. AUS,

was not issued until 12 Pebrua,r:l. :-II'tj. :Robert O. EBmJ.e tt was adJutant

and Lt. Col. Rowland w. Fixel functioned as legal officer. Lt. Col.

s. S. Ranks continued as fiscal ~nd budget officer only untll 21 Janu-

r!'~y when he 'W'lV': returned to duty in tbe :Buildings end Grounds DiVision, OOAO. His successor as budget and fisce.! officer, Lt. 001. Paul:N.

Montague~ ~,d. served lU~ his t"s!listp,nt since l:ovember. Lt. 001. Frederick

Pillet was commonicationr offic&r. 001. James f. O. HYde, CE, had not 5

yet reported for duty as engineering officer.

~he newly created Domestic Division ~s resoons1ble only for domes-

•

tic ierrving, but its functions within this sphere were very broad •

• 1

4. )~[Jnn1Dg Table, !lAir Corns Ferrying OO''!:'l£'.no t II in ATO H1storical Fl1e.

5. Information contained in this J)fU"agranh is based on e, "Headqwu-terE! Rostor, II dttted. by internal evid~nee between 26 February and 11 March 1942. in A!l'C li1storicfll File. nnd on scattered dccunent s in tho 201 files of the officers concernea.

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THIS PAGE- Declassified lAW E012958


64

I' r

-,-..0,...1-- .. --

After 15 J~ll.uary it was to ferry all Army aircraft from factories to

.

• w

~ts stationed within continental uAited States. Meanwhile it was

ch.nrGed ,dth the domestic ferryinG of Bll lll'.JlU ... engine .Army aircraft

and all British ~nd Lend-Leare aircr~£t. nnd with monitoring all move-

~ents of troops by do~estic airlines. For the ~erformance of this m1s-

eion, the division was authorized, in Dddit10n to the smell ate£f at

head~uartere 1n We~bington, 600 ferryine crews, as well as 122 officers

and 2,/20 enlif:ted men :for operational and c>.d.llinistrPl,t1ve tiuties in the

field. 'lIhe£\e totnls inolu.ded. t.b.e 30'lth, Sllth, 313th, and 314th Uaterlnl

Squ<:"&l'onr" vhos e trr...n~ff:"lr from the Air Service CO:TI!!lPnd. to Ferryiog Com-

mAnd control wn~ now desired. The fi~ldpersonnel w~s to be divided

."

between the old ~{estern Division, with headq:uarters at Lo[.lf; :Cep,ch,

08~if.; six trAnsfpl' !,oints, 1~ontreal, 1,Jest Palm Beroh, :Precque Isle

end Houlton, !·fs. t SavslllUlh, and New Yorl: Ci t:r; three im~tal1Rtion

points, ',ipyne County Airport et retroi t, JEc1::Eonvil1e, Fla., A.nd liash ... ville, !i!enn.; p.nd three interme~cte T.lointF:, Hensley Fie1cl, ~m Springs j C~lif •• and YUJ::£I., Ariz.

On 3 Je:nur::ry 1942, however, p, week before the m:prove~ of the nan-

nir~ tpo1e$, the OCAC ~dpublished e circalE~ dividiDG the Domestic

Dividon into dx seetcr-s , and Maj. 'Iiillifll!l H. ~er, division clJm-

m~~der. ~d naned tneir cO~<LdiDG offic~re. ~he sector~, ~dth their

6. !l.ftnning !ZRble, !lAir Oorps Ferrying CO~t..nd, II in ATC HistoriCal -File; ACrO Stflff r.~eetilJg, 22 Dec. 1941, in liStS.:!:'!' Meetings," Mosley File. See above.39-40; below, 'll-"2.

. - , - - ---



65

?

hee.dque.rterE r.nd COfLllllA.nders. lrere ns follo\'!!':!

..

~orthwe~t Sector; BoeiOb Piela, Seattle, Waih.. Oap~ • Lloyd. ~trigL.t :Earle

Oru.iforniE!. Sector. l:u.n1ciyal Airport, Lon.~ :'-eR.oh, Ct'l~i1'.» Lt. Col. Rn1~hE. S~pke

~~idwest Sector. Eensley Field, Gr~.nd.. Prdrie, Tex., Ma.j.

ThollJt9 D. Ferr,uson

lTE'.shvill e Sector t Il.unici'P,ru. Airnort t Nt" shville t ~l"I1Il. I Lt. Col. ~ugene Stovens

Detroit Sector, liflyne County Airport, Detroit, ~!1eh. t l?t Lt. Joel Y. Ledbetter

lTortheaot Sector t Logan Field, 1181 timor€'. Z,'d. t l-WJ.

Robert H. BrUtel'~

~e O~1forni~ Sector serv~d the Consolidated, North American,

.-

Vulteo, DouelRs, Lockheed, Ryan, TIorthro~, rnd Vega f~ctories in Cell-

.. '

forDia. The M1dwe~t Sector W8~ r~sT-ons1ble for fprrying the ~roduct of

plf'nt at ':Luls(~, Okla.., the !forth .rur.erican fE".ctories at DallE.S and Kan-

sac Oi t~r t the Oon~olideted :!)If'.nt et Fort Worth, Rnd the 1!e.rtin f'acto:y j

et C~.. The l\orthep.st Sector served the ~:$.l'tin ple.nt at :Baltimore';

tho Fdrchild factory et Hageretolm. Md., the P1:per concern at Lock

1I?ven. Penn. f pnd the GrumnF'Jl ~Jld Rel)ublic :plants on long Isl-~d. The

Detroit Sector took Qeliveries frc~ the Curtiss Wright €stRblishmentE

7. COAO Circular 55-aDA, 3 Jo~. lS42 (A~~ •• 146 ); memo for All Personnel. DOr:ler:::tic D1v. by Domestic Div., ACFO. 1'( Je.n. 1942, in

~O BistorlcC1 File. DomeEtic Liv. S.O. ~l, pars. 1-2, 30 Dec. 1941, which antedc~es the OOAC circulAr, does not include the Northwest Sector £nd indicf'tee:: thP.t l~ortheRet Sector Hesdquarters wes loo~te5 te~orarily at ]ollir~ Field. ~hi~ document is in 300.4, ATe Central F11es.

- -



66

at Columbus. Ohio. and :Buifalo~ the Ypsilanti :nl[>,nt at Ypsilanti, Mich.~

..

End the Eell fRctory at Buifalo. The Northwest Sector wes res~onsible

for ferryin& ~oei~ elrcr~£t frOF Se8ttle. while the Nashville Sector

~Uldlea Vultee pl~nes produced at ND~hvil1e and Curtiss ~right aircraft 8

from St. Louis::.

~he circulE~ whichnrovided for the est~blishment of the sectors

authorized the CO~'!'Il:lld.1ng oificer of each to "desiBnate trru:o.sfer. in-

stflllat1or:. end intermediete control 'Point$;' in his Sector for the de-

livery of drcreft fron ffctories to det;tinations a.sdgned.,ff Dna to

tlp,ssign a renretentf)tive at each of these 'Ooints who wlll be rE'BTOnsible

for the £ub~sg1on of arrival and denarture notices, the iSEue of neces-

Sf.'sy oJl'erf.tion~ order!:., the cle~rance of a.1rcreft, and the admnistra-

..

tion of "Oerllonnel of the Air Corps Ferry1ng Oont'lll",nd st?tioned in or 9

Pr':.PE'itlg through his Sector. II

On 20 JD~UArY the Co~~~d r~Q~ested tho official constitution and

nctivation of a very modest sector headauarters organization, totaling

eight comm1~6ioned officers for each sector of the Donestic Division,

now re:fured to F.!:! the DOn9f!.tic \-ling. A s1n:ilar request \i8,S !'tpde for

:Fora1cn ',iiDS S "lctor hE'adcI,11a.rters fit i'ie$;;t Palm Beach. Presque Islet

Eolline Fields pnd SacrFmento. AlF.O ~ro~osed wa~ the establishment of

21 Air CorT)~ ferl"',ring sqtwdronc, 9 for the :i!'oreign "ling, and 12 to be

8.

Domestic Div. to Sector COt'"cm~.nders. ? Jtln. 1~42, in Me Historical File.

oeAO Cireules 55-20At 3 JBn. 19~2 (A~~.,146 ). It is clear that tile intent was to give tl:.e sector cOrlUIlP-uders control over Ferrying Oocm~~d ~~rsonnel at existing Fer~~ing CO~~Rnd st~tions, as well a£ at such new ~ointE as they =dght have occasion to des1gnP_te.

9.

, - -

.'

1 , _



--'

67

di£trib~ted v~ong t~e sevpral sect~rs of th~ Do~estic '{ine; of e~ air

base fj(lW'dron for cRch Domestic ',:ing Gectar exce!'t the NorthweE>t Sector;

and of pir bf'3E' sqwd.ront:'. for ~:cct Pal~ lleech, Houlton. find :Preroue 10

Isle •.

. .

Lest:: tbt-.n eo "'llonth lr..ter tLe War De-oartment took offioirJ. Rction.

reder:.igDEting thr- PorE'ign p,n[ Domectic divisions f)J". winCf\, eono;titutilJg

r..nd ~J.lthor1zing the early activfltion of the 6 Domestic iling sectors and.

2 of those reQ.uested for thE' Foreign l'i1ll5, nl'! well as the 21 ferrying

~~U£.drons. Of thn l~ttor, three e~ch wera ~rsiG~ed. to the C~lifornia

nnd r.:tciwe at sectorE y two each to the Detroit clJ.cl )7orthe-:;.st aectaI'l'.l, and.

one each to the !~ltshvil1a P.1l.C ''''orthY.''(>ct zectvl's. Of those intended for

the Forei~n \ling, three eRch. 'Were to be ~ctiva.ted at ':ief't Palm :Beach

~nd ~t S~crzmentOt pnd one e~ch ~t ?olling ~ie1d. HoUlton, ~naPresque

I sle. The Elector he,."dqurrterr. authori2:ed. were ;!1cti'\'"t'tt9d of£'ici~ll;'l' on 11

113 :Febru.,."l':: 1942.

Do~e~tic ;ing. Its responsibilitiG~ inelu~ed the ferrying of aircrs£t

over~en;;,; tho o-r;er~ti on of trr-.nMort services to the 1Jni ted. Zingdomy

.1.

10. !'~emo r'nl r'tt"cl:r"Ent~ for OI.A.XF by Gen. oia«, 20 Jan. 1942. in _~O Eistoricql File.

11. }.G to CG, JJJ:"C. 14. ~C'b. 1~.i2. itt JS. 320.? (1-13-42) l'"2-:I-~\.~1 A.-l; J.G to 0G, /~.'J?O. 18 :?eb. 19~2, in ) .. G 2:20.? (2-9-42) !a-~"--i .... \.·r;lA-1; ACFC to CO's. FO!''''li.:;n !iiv •• Dome~tie Div., 13 :$'eb. 104~. ir, ll.AG ~21 .. 9; J'1f':JO for CO, Forei::-n DiT. by AG!:'O, 21 Feb. 194~, in 321.9, ATe C!?L.'l:rnl FileE. See 1::ele\-/' fer the pctivptlon of' thp ferrying SquedrvllS. ~he of£ici~ PCtiV3tjOU doc~ents here cited use the term "!-add1.e 're!~tn rp.ther t}-.l[·n uMij.we~tn [ector.

p

>. .. - '!. "~ I -<-

"'" - '. ~ I I

i ~ i ,

• I ,

" j



S8

re~uirea; the su~ervizion of the operation of FAA &nd T~A contracts

..

,,<1.th thl:' :'It'lr De!,AXt':1ent for QVeree[l3 transport: thl'l monitoring of all

. .

trooD ~ove~eAts by do~~~tlc pirlines outside tee United St~teG, pnd of

-

-

e,ll l"lover:ontf!l of eO"lbftt !ll~ne!! over the COl~"'.nd.l s overseas routes.

For this breath.takir.g assigr.:nent the mooing t~b1e allowed the

Foreign ~1v1s1on 100 ferryinG crews, eo ~~~~1 hendquarters cont1~entt

And e tot~~ of 127 ofiiccr~ rnd 660 en11~ted ~en for ouerptionp~ Rnd

adninistrative duties in the field. Aside from 10 officers and 348

enlisted ~~n ~t Bolli~~ Fiel[, t~e~ were to be scpttered in tiny eontrol

grou~s of 3 officer~ ~nd 8 enlisted m?n at pach of the 39 foreign sta-

tions. Most of these lOCB.tions ultimately becMA stations of the Fer17-

ing Comm.."'Ud. or the .Ur r.l,'rens:oort CO:1'1t"..ll.d, though some, like Singanore

.w

and SoerabaJa, :::::b.ortly fell into enemy WInds t while others, like four

r

~med field~ in northe~~tern Siberi9. never c~me under Unitei St~tes

control. T".I1e list, however~ included such nlp.ees 2S PreRtwioY.: in

Scotland; l:f'.tal ill Br8zil; AccrEl, Khartoum, Illld O~.iro in Africa;

K~...ra.chi and. :EADgalore in India; Christmas Islr'nd. iJp.nton, and :rew Cale-

donia in tha P~eific--stationr throueh which V~gt n~bers of Army ferr,r- 12

ing crevs P.LO rircraft were to 'Ones in the monthfl ~hend..

Flpns for the Foreign Division, like tho£e for the Domestic DiTi-

sion, hPd repched. be:rontt the fr",mework cont'"l.in~d in the lll?nning table

by the ti~e tt3t docum~at wa~ a'Qproved. On 15 Janup~ 1942 Lt. Col.

~ - .

ThomP.os L. Hosley, COr.lw'Ilfllng officer of the :s'oreign Division. anncunced

. "

12. !·i">.nning t .... ble. n~Ur eoru; Ferrying Oomm~..no,t II in 1&'0 Historical File.



69

of tne wir.:gs into which the CO;1ll'll.:--;.nd was ultiill?tely to be divided. ~he 13

..

seators and their he~.d,q>.larterB wna RS follows:

. :

north }.tl~nt1c Sector, Pre~aue Isle, !<!e. Sou~h Atlrntio Sect:lr. -'eft FnJ:ll LeRCh. Fla. Tr~~s-Atlantio Sector, 3011in3 21ela, D. C. ?ccific Sector. SRcramento, enlir.

1eEt Africau Sector, Accr~, ~rlti5h Gold Coa~t

:i::s.~t Airicp....n Sector, Klk'lrtomn., .A.nglo-Ef~ynth.n Sud.!tn Indian Sector, KIU'('chi t India..

One is not .iu.stif1ed~ hovever , in essw:linr, that General Olds: and

Colonel Mosley, in thus outlining the organization of the Foreign Dlvi-

dont :;.ctu..qllt env1 doned the imposing structure of wing and subordinate

stations which ul ti:nR.tely developed.. Intra-OOIllnl:'lld. correspondence and

other evidence indica..te~ thl'.t their intent \Ins to send. control o:t'fieers

•

(IS soon ae T-lossible to kezr points on the routes lead.lng to the several

eorbat zon9S. Officers nt tLe most critical control ~oints were desig-

netad GS seotor cO~[nders. ~n~~ Lt. Col. Phi1in G. Ke~t who had

been s@rvine as chief of the ~l~Ls r-~d Projeots Seotion at Ferrying

Co~~d head~unrters. wet assigned as control officer ~t Accr~ ~nd as

control officer or sector eO:"'J",r-ne.er of the \'I'est Af'riCA.n Sector. including 14 Freetown. Sierre. Leone9 Nonrovia, '.iJekorad.i. ~<\cora. Lagos, and Kano.

..

13. Foreign Div. 0.0. ':'2, 15 Jl''I.n. 1942, in "Directives," ~Iosle:r File • .A still eC"..rlier :plp.n, supersed.ed. by 0..0. #2. cp..lleo. for the first four ~ectors here npmed and for an A1a~kan sector, with headquarters ~t Seattle. Foreign Div. G.O. ~l~ ? J~n. 1948, in ibid.

14. !~emo for Col. Olds by Foreign Dlv., 1.:.1. J~,n. lS42; memo for CEt!"t • E. O. Lowma.n, 5-1 by Col. 010.13, l4 Jon. 19429 in "l,ZUitary ferEonnel," Noelpy File; lntervlew with 001. Love by !faj. L~ FArge. Z7 July 1944.

II, [, A - '-.--

-



70

Other sector CO;Wf'nd.el~s, Foe ennonnced on 23 ,)'anU3.I"',f 1942, ,,'ere

Lt. Crocker Snoll for the liorth Atlnntic Sector, Lt. Col. F~Ul B. J3urrows

for the SG11th Atlf'.nt1c Sector, Lt. Robert A • .Ping for the Pacific See-

tor, Lt. Col. RRph@el ~aezJ Jr., for the Indian ~ector, and Maj. George 15

P. Ohampion for the ~rans-Atlantie Sector.

The inforr.al nature of the Foreign Division and the tent&tive

char~~ter of its pl~-fis pre indicated by the fRet tbet the War De~artrnent

order of 14 February 1942, which called for the ~ct1vation of all six

of t~e Donestlc DivisionIs Fectors, provided for only two of those e~-

reBdy announced for the Foreign Division. These, the South Atlrntie snd

~ranE-Atl£'.ntic ~p:ctors t were n~ned the Hest Palm Beach and Bolling Fie1 d

.-

Bectors, resT.lective1y, !lute contrary to the intention of Colonel Hosley

anQ. Generp,2 Oldt:. Two wee~s l.?ter the Ferryi~ CC1"l.."':l~n(l, lmvin:; asked

thP.t these desit;nntions be rectified, 1311'10 reQuested the official acti- 16 vatlon of hef'nau&'tere for the ITorth /l.tlantic and P~'tcific sectors.

II

15. 1ore1gn Div. S.O. +3. 23 Jan. 1942, in 201 (Burrows). ATe Central rilea. Colonel :2aez Wftfl kJ:en sick on the d~ of' his arrival at ~.racbi ~.Jld never served as cOmPk~nder of' the Indian Sector. ~hough he was returned to the United States ~s soon ~s ~oss1ble, he was

not for~ally relieved PS sector eo~~r-nder until 22 A~ril. Col.

~~ez to Col. OIds, E6 J£~. 1942; Poreibn W1nt; S.O. ~35. par. l.

22 April 1942. in 201 (:5aE\:2\'), ATO Centrru Files.

16. AG to CQ, AOFO, 14 7eb. 194P, in AG 320.2 (1-13-42) MR-M-AAF!A-l; R&R. ACFC to CIAO. 26 heb. 19A2, in 321.9F, AXe Central Files; F~B.. AC:E'C to r,!ili tary PerEonnel DiT., 00.11.0. ;;?a Feb. 1942. 1n 320.2, ,ATO Oentral 'li'iles. ~h~ !i.'ran.s-Atl(.~tic Sector wa.s in f~ct the direct eucce secz- of tl:::.e A-nantic (or Trans-Atlantic, or ~Jol'th Atle.ntic) Division, whose rnilitar",f orallS h8.d flown t.M OOrt.'!!<?ud's p1on~er tr~n~port ilight~ during the second h3~f of 19~1. 26th Tr~nsl)ort Grou'!), uJ:-mua.ry 1944 ;-istoricru. Renort, II 1-2. in AIO Historicf'~ :!:'ile; folder, ".A.tl[i,utic Division, };ollillG :E'ield," in ;~o81ey File. See above , 2?-3:=!.

. ~ • : -=-':'1-"': :

f it iJ ... __ u



71

The miSll.aKed aectors were officially redesignated on 4 A~ril 1942,

end on 14 A.::oril 1942 there epr-earad a. ;';ar DepartmerLt order for the acti-

vAtion of hendq~~~ters of the Pacific Sector. A~pnrently this was the

..

. .

llU'lt of the f:ectors to be estc.bl1shcd by ~:nr DepEl.rtment authority •

~'Then in t.=ay 1942 the Ferryi:oc; Commr~nd. reauei1ted author! t~· for the

estab1islrnent of five win.;St it t>r}::ed. tbe tI.irbe.ndment of its lIorth

Atlantic, South Atlant5 c. "l-n6. Ppcific ~ector heFda..lU'.rter~. The ':iar

De~p~tment order provided in due course for the constltution and

activation of t~e orgE'~izations pro~oFed, but for the disbendment of only

th~ South Atlantic pnd Pacific sectors. no evidenoe hr s been found to

indicate tj;l_",t the :Torth Atlantic Sector was ever officially constituted

or ncti vated. It \;P£ Ii" [;oing concern, however, and on 13 ~tarch 1042

. -

its co;,nmding officer issued eo directiva outlining its organization 1'1

f.:'..nd functions •

A step in tho direction of fuller autonomy for the 7erryin~ Com-

mnnd \,!~$! trdcen on 3 Fporu.a.r;r 1942. At t.h.at time cU.l .Air Corps fao11i-

ties e.t the :¥'ayne County Airnort. Romulus. It.ich. (except Instnllation Un! t l~o. 1); at too t:un1cipaJ. Airport f Nashville, 'renn. (except InstAl-

lc.tion Unit no. 2); e-t Presque Isle o.ni Raul ton, l~e.; at LOll6 :Beach,

C!liif .. : rmd P.t the ~.;U!l..icipal Ail':!JOl't, ~,!iI'~i, Fla., were tl'3.D.3ferred

fro:n Air Service OO'i~t>.ni to Ferrying COT1"':1.?,oi control. The two instrtila-

• . ,

1'1.. ,N} to ce, .a.OFC, ~ E!., 4 Anri1 1£'4:?, in AG 320.2 {4.-3-4Z' l~-M-AF; in to CG, ACFC, 14 A~ril 1942, in AG ~~O.2 (4-12-42) 1·:::t-!!-.I!.:5'; FO to QQ. AJ.J!'. 25 Mf'-Y 1£142, in 320.2, ~0 Central Piles; A'J to C3-, ro, 12 June l£'42t in A'J: 320.2 (6-12-<.2) KR-~!-A?; memo for Hq., Frer~ua Isle Air Base, !!£!., by North Atlcntic Sector. 13 !'~~rch 1942. in "Presa.ue Isle, II ~osley File ..

. .

.~

, ; :;w~ t, ; : ~ ... Y f ~~:?-;' t -- .. cit. -1 l~r~ f

___ ~~ '....!..!..--l-L __



72

t10n units becr~e sundeoots. nnd rccordingly rerr.~ined under the eon-

..

trol of the Air Sel''t'"icE Ct:<: ,f"rno.. l~t the Sl"Jli.9 time the severnJ. ma.teriel.

..

£quPdronc which ~nd been establi~Lea to provide ~~intenrnce ~~d repp~r

• : L

personnel for Ferrying COJ:l.nr-nd illElt~llE,tione uerE' also tro.noferred to

the control of the Oo~~nding Generr~ of tho Ferr~ng Coonp.nd. fheze

were the 307th, c.OSthy 311 th, 312th, 313th. end Sl4th !'irteriel SQuadrons.

With tLom W~8 trp~zferrpd the Ee~dou~rters end Heeinuprtert Sq~dron of

the g4th Air Ir~e Grou.", FrAI:"(lU(l Ide. ~hc£'.c tr~nEfer' repref;ented a

rever£~l of the policy for~erly advocpted oy the FerryinG Oo~~~~d,

which ~d ~voie~d the p~sucntion of r-tetion comMrnd. A ie~ months'

experiC"tlce "Ii tr. the rys;tem of eli vi deo. centrol ~r'd Ipd. however t to 1 t s

".b~.l1dCir.ncnt nr. 'JPdeful p-Jlci ineffeotive. As t! metter of :foot the two 11:.1 eOI"".?'fl:".nds h,.:-d. r{;recit U'Don thr, chr nee re er~ly t'.5 2:> :Dece:::ber 1!?-1l.

....

!,~eanwhil" f' developr.,eut of llO'.l'C;er dg.ai:flcance in the hiSl;OI7 of

the Ferrying Oonn~.t".nd. ('nd of the Alu generp.ll~,occurred, \'lith the

petiv~tion during ~prch ~nd A~ril of tL~ dozen ferrjing ~qtk~drons which

hE..d teen REsigned to t.he DOt:.9lOtio ~ang rnd of the nine intended origine.lly

for PGrvice ,,:i th the I'oreisn ~allG. ~!l,. disth.ctly r.e-w type of flying organ-

i~~tion, ino~irea by tne needs of the ~oment, now took its placo ~~thin

under it£'; control e; serier of subordit~f'te flying units. orga.nized 8.11d

..

•

18. OCAO to OG1~, ABO, FO, 3 Feb, 1£'42. in }!j:O Perf.'onnel Pilesj report by l,~pj~ Gen. R. L. George. "Dif'!.cUMion of AKi' No. '15, II 120 Aug. lPIz'f?l, in ATO H1storiCfll File; ACFO Stl1i'f' HeE."ting.

22 Dec. 1941 t in nStpf'f l.~eetin~s , II l'!oe-;ley File. See obove , 39-40.

_, -_; ~ - ,-~ - - .-.,,-!,--;c.-'

~ ~ , , .. ',.... I 1_

, -

' ..

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~



73

19 desi~nPted in ~ccorGPnce with norm~~ AAF no~enclature.

At oversees stations the situption wee confused throughout the

fir~t half of le42. _~r trnneport~tion pnd some ferrying operr.tions

..

. ". ~

\]€-re conducted by civil a.irline~ under contrt;.ct with the :'ia:r De-rart-

)!leont .. nOnillf"-11y subject to tl::.e supervision of the Ferrying Commnnd ..

Ferried aircrpj't cPJte through, flOtiffi by cO!:lb~,t crews. pcrhf'Ys with

FerryiLg Cor.m~d p~rconnel in le~d plpneH. The Ferrying Comn?~d

itre1f utilized both military @~d civ11ipn pilotE. Some of the latter 20

..

19. ~rAnE-At1antic S~ctor G. o. 41. 1 Mp~ch 1942. in 300.4, ATe Centre~ Filef; Houlton Air ]~se G. o. ~3t 2d Feb. 1942; Pr~Saue Isle Air :E~M to CO, Forei""n ~:illg', '/ l·~nrch 1942; Pacific Sect'or to CO, Foreien ',lir;g t 27 Anril 1942, in tlJ:O I'ersonnel File; R&R. Domestic ~aXlg to AFH!P~ 14 A-pril 1942. in 3Z0.2. ATe Oentral. Files •

The 3d. 6th. PAd 13th Ferrying S~uadrons were activuted at Pope Field, Port Bragg, HlrC., on" !!!",rch, instep.d of At ~;eF.t Pe~m 2each es ori~inDlly ordered. Before tLeir ~ctivetlon they were tr2~sf'erred from the jurisdiction of the Ferrying Corrmrnd to t~t of

the 1st Ferrylne Grouu. which in turn was conctituted by the AdJutant GenerF.l on 3 M~.rch 194.2. The let :?err~ng Grou'P p.nd ita tilre-6 ferrying squadrons \'lere clertined for trF .. JlElYOrt service in

the China-:Burrnn-Indie thee.ter [nd left the United States by boat

on 17 !Ir.rch. They fI.rri ved in Indit:l in }.!P.y I'n(l. therel?'.fter oucreted. tlIld.er the control of' the Con'-12ndillb GeneraJ. of the S:enth Air Force until the este,b1ishment of tho Ind1£.-Ohinn l'iing of the .Air ~ra,nsvort Coru::~,nd on 1 Decem1:>er 1942. AD: to CO, Pope Field, 3 l'~.rch 1942,

in .. a..G 320.2 (2-28--42) IlfE.-V.-JJ,F!A-1: M to OS, ACFO. 3 !·lp.rch IP4?,

in AG 320.2 (3-3-4:?-) t·1R-M-AAF; "History of' St"tion }io. 6, ICWJ..TC, .APO #622, "; uHlstory of St:.>,tion 1f.J I 1m'rATO. APO 1490, II; IIHif.tory-

of !i:lhirtp(>nth Squedron, Str.tion,If?, II in ATe Irhtorica1 File; IIBbtory of the 2nd Ferrying GrouT'" Ferrying Division. Air

'IrE.lltr-ort CO!l'l'1fllCl., fI 15.

20. Gen. Old s to brig. Gen. "J .. E. Adler. 14 Feb. 1942. in ~O Histor1ct~ File; Col~ O. J. Kel1YI AAF ~echnicr~ Supervioort to CO, -~,

28 I·~rch 19'{:?, in 321.9, ATO Central 3'11es; memo fr.·r AG by ACFO, 5 Mc..rch lS4:?t in AAG 300, Ferrying CO:ntlE'n.d.

. "

•

.-

,- ~ , ...... , -~ -

fi,I" .- .... _ J

_ 1 .. ~ _'" --'



I£he field.s ~.r;.d fRcilities tl:el:lselves were often ina,deq,up.te for

the denfnds yl;-'cf'd unon then. Some,like Ep..sre ~nd Cairo, werA under

]riti~h control, with the Americp~n ~r~sent oaly by suf£erp~ce. At

•

other J)oint~t ~uch as the Pacific atE.tiona at Rono1.ulu. Falmyra Ish..nd.

. ' . ..

CP.utOIl Island, SUVI't, and 1:oume2, the Ferrying COIlir::ri'.nd had no permanent

personnel, but w~s dependent UiJon the s~rviees of the Navy or of the

Hawaiian Defense Ooro~nd. Still other fields. such as ~ekorad1, AccrR,

l'..n.d Khnrtoum, Oonrtructed I),r.d oo.nar.ed. by fl,. civil a1rlir.e, were onerp.ted

with more concern for the future pl{<.tll'l of the corporation than for the

progrem of the AAF. Airline personnel were freouently dispo~ed to ~ct

independently of sector cor--lT.I.' nder s ana. stntion control officers. taking 21 orders only from tbeir su~eriors within the airline organization.

Thea.ter And p,l'ea co:rmc>,uderf1 often coI:ltlfndeered pl~lnes A.ad crews

."

~nd otherwise iuterfered ~dth Ferrying Con~~nd activities. As late as

9 Februezy 1942, Brig. Gen. Elmer Adler, Ohief of the Air Section of the

r.:111 tp..l'Y ~1orth African Kit;sion. n~su."1ed that dl Air OorFs activities

in Afrlcn, including those of the Ferrying Comm~nd e.nd of Pan American

21. AGIO to Uortheast Airlines, 3 Feb. lP:.t2, in 361, Me Central rUes; A. A. Berle. Jr •• A~st. Secretary of State, to S/W, 7 Feb. 1942,

in AAG 373 .. 23; Oontrol Officer. \:adi Seidna to CO, Foreign ~/ingt

14 April 1942, in UKhartoum, II Mosley File; memo for Ca., J..A:F by Fe. 12 May 1942. 1n 320.2, .ATe Oentral Files; Intelligeuce Sec •• 1'0, "Interrogf'tion of C!l:"te.in E. Funk on Hhdon to Austral!" Le8viog :Bolling Field, 1;E'fhington, D. C. on December 6, 1941 r.nd Returning MRrch 31, 1942,11 1 A!'ril 1942, esreciplly "Daily RE'-port of !rripll; Lt. Col. P. 1:. !~onte.gt'.e. uRe!,ort on Sl=ecie~ .Assiste.nt's

Tri'P ~ough Ct'trihbep.o lang ('.D.d south At1~ntic iYing (July 23 to August 20,11101.,1942)," in ATe Histcriod FUe; interview with 001 .. F. ~,! .. Byprly. pioneer Ferrying llo!"!!!."nd officer in Africa.,

by Haj. La F~rg~~ 11 June 19-14, notes in l:5!C Ril"t'.)rice~ :File.

'i~t---·-, -

...- $ -.- _ ~'- _ TO' I- __ .-i _ .. J... ..:.-.{~ __

, r



The OO1:\::::;Uld. found it exceedingly difficul.t to nrocure qualified

control officer~. In m~ ceses traffic ~d been ~ssinG through a

...

. .:. "

control point for sevflral weeks before a control officer ~ut in his

fI~:per-rcmcE'. !-io~t of the control officers Lr cked, enough r:.ilitr-u-y

nvi~tion ~XNerience to oue~ify thc~ for the ~rave re~nonaibilities

which were their~. Oorrm~na he~a~u£~terSt fully aware of their ~hort-

co:r:iDbS, sent them out relucte.ntly (n0.. as 8, te!'n"Oora.ry e:roecl.ient. It

did not nrove ~oasiblet however, to relieve them during the ~eriod under 23

oonsid.erAtion.

~he division of re~nonsibility between ~ector co~~~der2 and

•

ctption control officerf> Wns not clee.rly n".&l'l!ed. Oontrol officers ";lere

on ~ore thr~ one oo~~cicn instructed to exerci~e jurisdiction over crews

."

at t~eir stntion ~nd to re~ort directly to head~~~ter~ of the Foreign

'lang ,,:i thcut ~.ny reference to tl.t.eir severnl £leetor commr.nders,. Dirp.ct

co~uniCf1.tion between Foreign ',~ing herda\U1,rtE>rz f'nd control officare 24

in the field wns ~ore nearly th¢ rule th~n the exception.

c'ne officer

.'"

22. IntE'rvle~- ,nth Col. John de P. T. Eillr. detRchment cO~~2Lder at Frestw1ck, Sep. 1941-Jpn. 1943, by 1-!n,J. Arthur J. Lar sen , 26 Jf'n. 1945; interview with Col. :Byerly by r:a,i. L~ Faree, 11 June 1944;

Lt. Col. p. Go. t:emo to CO, Foreign Div., 9 Feb. 1942; Lt. 001. t(f!'m;P to CO, Foreign Div., 11 Peb. 1£<4::::', in !lAccre.," l-Io£1ey ::11e; me-mo for Ohief of St,.,.f£ ty AAE, 29 ~~f'y 1942, in AAG 3!?l.~, FerryinG Oon:mand.

23. }.CFO DEdly Dlr.ry, IS ii'eb. IH42; =eno for Gen. Fit~Gerald by i"'oreign ~HElg, 6 Mey 1942, in liMe-mot, Il~Jor ~lol'e1..v-t"Utgoing,!' l'!oaley PUP.

24. !>:emo for P.OPO ContrOl Officer~ by ~<\.C3'OI 26 Jrn. 1942. in IfDircctive£.1! !.~osley File; t:less~.ge. Gen. Olas to Col. JtJ~"Per ~l. Bell, Control Ol'ficE'r, Borinql.:.en Fleld~ F .R., 26 l-:p.rch 1942; Lt. 001. !~osle~r to :Be.ll, ., .P.-pril 1942, in IIPt::.erto Rico I" l~od ~y File; Lt. Col. I~osley to Cr-nt. ~~. p. J3.orden, Control Officer, i:f'no, 'f A:oril 194~\ in tl}{pno, II !~odey Fila. See pIso lE'tterr, pr ore d.-l,te, to other control officer':., in ~:osley ?lle.

- p -- --- -

,

-


75


76

in l..fr1c~ becane involved in conflict inc orderl!' emane,ting from Colonel

..

Colonel ;:osle;y h1:iSSl:f' ayparently- for.;ot th.~t Colonel l:e~ had been

. -

~ w

~;r.r:ooillted !;lC"ctor co-::.r.nder = c \'Jell C,IO control officer rt AccrA., for on

7 Ayril ho wrot~, pccu~in5 him of oversto~p1n~ the boands of his Ruthor-

i t~ in C1.ctl.u\~ as (ector co:-::;;:;!'nder. In rt;;:ply, Colonel :rem:.o wnc c.ble, of

course. to cite tLe orderc in which he h?d been R:'po1nted co~~,nding

officer of thf.; ':e"t ll.iricrJl ~!:ctor. Stens "feru pccrordingly tn!:en to

revoke tho"le or';!erf', lerwins hi:n, .however, ae control ofl'lcer at Acero .•

Oolonel ~,!o E'-ley ul t1::4ntely took tho pori tion th?t Colonel Kern' £ orot'rs

DR (lector co,:l-::.illder were oal'e1;y the result of an inadvertent slip for 25

t:h1ch he (Colonel 1!orley) h;·d no res}:1onsibi1ity.

1:0 evidence h.:>r- been :round which wouJ.d su:;;ge:::t that Oolonel :Burrows

.'"

of the South Atl~tic Sector or Lt. Col. K~l Truesdell. Jr., of the

Pacific Sector exczcd cea. C'.o;r CO';-J.;'ll~'nti. e.u~l::or1 til' beyond tl;,e boundl:l of

often dii'ficul t to Qr;::>l>' the lic~ beh'l?en 0010i.1e1 :E,urrows' ectivi ties f;'S

b~50 com:1-.nd.er f'.nd PG sE'ctor CO'1',;Y'.nder, for he served in both cEI''"!f'cities.

. -

25. lntervi;"''i': with Col. :Eyerl;,,- 'by ~:f'.j. La 'Jorge, 11 JUIle 1£'';'':';

:Foreign ',;ing to Control Officer, .\ccra. 7 A-r.ril 1942. Hull l~t Ind.. t Ef'!., ',:e-;t Ai'ric.?.D. Sector to CO. I Foreign ',iillg~ 22 Ayril 1£4i?; ~'i.G

to Lt. Col. Y.f'mn, 14 r'eb. 1942, in AG 210.482 (1-:::0-42) OA;

:::"oreicn \il",,",~ S.O. '¥35. '9?x. 2. 22 .April 19'12; R&3., FC to }I.?i-~,::r".

~~ A~ril 19~2t in 201 (Ke~J). LTJ Centrr~ Files; ~e~o for Gen.

:Pi tdJer21d. by :Forei,~n ~ang, 6 ~:f'~~ 1£'~8, in '%?n;,Oli, !-1~j or t:osl~yGutgoiagt" ~~o~le:l FilA •

....

-- .... -. _ .........

"'" l' I

1'1"1) .l, ... f' I " ,



7'/

26

clee~-cut divi~ion of functions oetween them •

..
~
.
~~ The
..
.. .9 . hie
~ !i:he situation in the :lorth Atlnntic Sector WaS even more anomalous.

section comrpJnder, Orocker Snow, a first lieutenant at tue time of

appointment, was ~romoted to a captaincy during the snringw Fir2t

and lnst, however, he was definitely Junior to the Presque Isle base

ooromnnder, Lt. Col. Henry J. Welt~er, a veteran National Guara officer

who bed hPd no e~erience with the AAF until he renorted at Pres~ue

I sle. Lt. Snow wos en ?.,ggressivEl officer who not unnatura.lly became 27

involved. in controversy ",ith Oolonel ',{el trr.er.

!Ihl. s led Ferrying

Oo~and hecd~U2~ters to i~8ue a directive, dated 2 Febr~y 1942,

which W8,S intended lito reliave the confusion of COTI' .. mand of Presque

Isle and Houlton Air :BF'.ses.11 Tho position of the base com:l"anders was

first stated, as followt:

The ranking officer on duty at Presque Isle or Houlton regardless of bre.neh of service will be the con"'landing officer of that base p~a will be reenonsible in eo £~r as existing p:rm:r regulations nre concerned as to the duties and resDonsibilitie$ of a commanding officer of e~ army bese.

~he directive t~en indicated that Lt. Snow wee the Ferrying CO~1r~dI3

•

26. Preliminar1 Draft, "History 0:1' the Caribbean Division, A~Ot II cha:p. 4; "The ''lest Coast iilng. A..~ Air 'l.'rancport COlll!O.R.nd (Originally

the South Pacific ifine; Later the Pe.ol.fic i'ling), a History, II 1-32, in J~O Historical File; interview with 1st Lt. J. D. Oarter, CRBD Historical Officer, by Oapt. Heck, 26 Dec. 1944. Oolonel Trues~ dell re~laced Lieuten8~t Ping a5 com~~nding officer of the Pacific Sector several weeks before its formal com~titution and active,tion. liThe i;est OOflst '.'ling ••• a History." 13-14. 20.

27. Officers Q}1estionndre, Lt .. Col. R. J. ITelt!..'1.ert in 201 (Weltn:er), A:1:0 Central Files; Lt, Col. 1)elt:ner to CG. ACFO. 31 Jan. 1942; memo for Chief, Foreign :;1ng by 1st Lt. Orocker Snow, 6 Feb. 1942, in "Presque Ide, n l-fosley File •

. .

.. .

---,,~ .... -1.- .... 1" .. -, ... -

I 1< .... -;. f- I ~

... p --~~! .'.,. .. ~ t 1.1 .... : _' ... "'""_t .. _/

..... - - .. "\...~ --'- I;.. -;;" ,. ~... - "'-- -~ ji-".I



Pf"',) "r.' t--i'-:-, r).,~ :c ... !p:'f,;nt."f\

/~,. :;/~ Ji-1Cy..':v .l ~1~

:£t€t.I'~_~ ~L~ \ 1- .!~JllUtt \l·~1~~~: ~ -'-

78

28

anpointee RS sector co~~~der ~nd proceeded to outline hie st~tus:

•

This officer i~ resnonsible for the movement of aircrei't under ACFO jurhdletion through PresClue Isle and Eoulton Air Bases. His dutiep consist of mrtters thqt nre relative only to teo ACED. The Co~~~niinc Cfficer

of bheee baees • • • will cooper-ate in so fpx as nOBslole wi th any re:o:tsoD.."f.ble real1est suomi tted b~r the AOrO Sector OOT~~~der rel~tive to t~e move~~nt of aircrRft tI~ollgh ~ubject b:u;eA.

. :- ...

th1lJking of Ferrying OO"1I"l~.nd lenderGhi"O regE'rding the sect()rs. In

the first nl~ce, although the eo~n~nders of the Presque Isle and Houlton

air brtes were un~er Ferrying Co~~~nd control. tA~t orgenizationfs

ehief~ left the sector co~~andert whom they nade re~ponsible for the

move:r.ent of Ferrying COr:ll"4'n'i f'.ircr:>£t through those bases, to treat

with the b~se co~~pndern virtUk~ly e~ thoUGh the l?tter were the r~~re-

•

centRtivcs of pn entirely ~enpxete co~~nd. In the seeond~lncet there

."

is no sut:gestion that tee sEctor cODlmP.nderJ s reSrJonsibilities extended

beyond the Presque I~le pnd houlton bEses.

Reletions J!ill the Civil Airlines

It 1~ ~n~arent t~~t t~c re1~tiona of the Ferrying Co~nd with

airlines undor contreot to furnish eir trensportation services to the

~ipr :Cenqrtment "rere ,£p.r frOM sa.tisi'e.otory. They were. howe'Ver, of vi tal

irrport"lnce. On 12 .December 19-1-1. it will be recalled, the Co;:;"",l:1"ni bad

28. !'esseee, AC!'C to CO. ?resquA I Ele Air Ep,se t :3 Feb. 1942. in Itpresoue ble, II MIJs1ey :rUe. Of. me"TlO :for Ea •• Fresoue Ide Air :Ease •

.2!:. !l,., by North At1c.ntic Sector, 13 1-~arc:h 19.{~t iu i.!2!.9:.

• '* ~ ~::-= ,:(' ~~..--~

,_' ........ 'J~_

> -



79

been ehnrged with controlli~ t~e execution of F~l nir trans~ort con-

•

tracts between the !,}px Iie:pRl'tment p.nd the civil air carriers. On 14

Janu,~y 1942, with the conourrence of tte Ferrying Co'_'!!I;>.nd, there was

lIestablishf'd under the i!"!'ledbte direction of the Cfnief of the Army. Air

Forces an office for the coordination of Wp~ Depextment relations with

civil avin.tion end for litdson loli th other Governrr:ent ~encies responSible

for aivil e.viation aativl ties. II In charge, as t.~ilital'y Director of

Oivil Avl~tiont was Brig. Gen. Don~la R. Connolly. In spite of the

i~licotions of this title. aeneral Connolly's organization was e~sen-

tially R liaiton office. the 9£taolishment of whiCh by no means relieved

the Ferryi~ Ocrr~~~nd of its responsibility for su~ervising the execution 29

of contr;tcts oettoJeen the ~;ar Deoartment p.nd the civil airlines.

At the openinG of the new ye~x such contracts were in effect only

." •

with PAn ~\mericn.n AirwfWs, Inc. and its subsidiaries, t'nd. with ~r~ns-

contb,gntal & ;ip.stern Air, Inc. D-t.U'ing the followiIl{; monthe additional.

contracts were dr£lwn for service by Hortheast Airlines, Inc. ani l~orth-

we~t Airlines, Inc. Without ~ contr~ctt the aonzoli~~ted Airoraft

Corporetlon in~ugurated n transp~oific s~rvic~ on beL£~f of th~ Ferry-

ing CO~MP.nd. ProviFion for a degree of control nnd ou~erviaion by the

Ferryinr, Oommand over t~e onerntionc oontracted for et ite inste~ce

\]('..fI incoX"Por;.>,ted into t.te contrcctl;l with 'Z~;A. l;ortheast AirU aes , pnd

•

~orthwe~t ~\irlincs. In ~nch c~se oonGiderab1e cuthority was reserved

. .

to the contr,'"Icting officEoJr. Col. ',~. F. Volanat. Assist?..nt to the Chief

29. !:eP'to :for 001. St. Clair $treett by AOiO, 3 Jl'.Jl. 19~2, in .t.!ZC Historic~~ File; ~~ Reg. ~O-5, 14 J~n. 194~.

~ --.--~

>-~ _ IJ ~ ,... _ ~ .... ",

_ .. ~ I 1 ,_ ':.J ... _



80

..

•

. ;- ~

Co:::'::-cc,nder of thE: Ff';rryir.:r Oo""ypud vr s ded,r;npted ~~, an authorized 30

re,rMent?tlv() of th~ contrpctill,.; ofl'icf"r. Finplly, three officers

Love, in Fddltion to Ge~erR1 Cldst were de5ign7ted £5 ~urchqsicg ~nd

eontracting o£fieer~. Thus ~uthorizedt General Ol~5 ~nd Lieute~7nt

~ove t m'l the cccr-r Lcn tlrof'-c, itiEued (' series of directives cnl11D€:

u~on t~e contr~ct cirli~c~ to de v~sicus f~ecific thing~ under the

t"enereJ. puthorit~r of th", contrcct5. III dlditioCl, Ifcr:ereJ. Oldf': i."uthorheJ.

c.t lcr.rt OLE' f'!('ctor COl ·n"'.ndar in the Ford$n 'i\iXl.gt Colonel KeMp, to direct

PI:I.n J.a9ricf'L to ur..J.ertpJ::e sucb io:nrcNc!'"entl'l to rur.~·cys r.nd. c:on1\truction

:for housine: :"Jer~(jnnel end teohnic!?l eoui-p:nent r e l'l'tel".t 'be re(lu.ired to

31

~u"p~ort the tlovenent of n.ircrRft oorer the rO'lte 'Wlder hiEl jurhdietion.

C"I(>epinr: docu"-ent. :oroviding for trplltlnort cervice Pllyt"1bere in the world

•

30. Contr~cb DJ. ~l 535 nc-1C62y 24 Dec. If'4.1--DA 'jl 535 ec-1476, 20 Jt'n. 19~2-D"4. ii 535 (>c-1'165, 20 Fflb. lS42, in .<,(lIO Orgp..ni2ation r.nd CO~ trpct Su:cervision :B1es; Frl'..nk ::phGn, Contlol1CiC"lted Aircrnft Cor!l. to Gen. George, 1 A'J£",. 1942, in "Oorres""ondence FUe for Contract #'3377P,11 ATO OrGru:U :O::Eltion f"nd Contract Sv"ervi don F11ec. On the contr~ctuv~ Fituetiou to 1 Jnnuary 1e42, see fcove, 48-49. 58-59 •

31. R&1t, :57.(,;0., OOAC to Mpteriel Div., 26 Yab. 1942; R&R, Fo. 3, Exec" COAO to CG, ACFO, 27 Feb. 1942, in ATO Or~an1zetion and Contract Sunervision FileE; msp:., (jer.... Old~ to Col. 'Ye"TJ, n Feb. 194.2, in "AccrE', It r:otley File. See ul:lacered dlrt:'ctives fllC?d with contrnct DA V E35 Dc-1062. in A~C Orgnnhntion ~nd Contr1'lat Su}'p.rviGion Filu".

•



81

and for the flr.o1c to the p,overwent of t,he f1 ve :3oeing Strf'ltoliners

..

~ith which the service W~F to be initiFlly r.rovidpd. Two ~onthF l~ter

t1e fir~t ~L\ flitht ULd~r ~erry1I1{; Co~m~na ~u~pice~ took off from

';Pf'b.ingtou vi th C"iro PZ its destinr-tion. thUrl ins;llgur~ting a through.

round-tri~ service. Co~lying with R Ferryi~~ Oo~~~nd directive under

the F~~? contrF.ct. T;A-o~er~ted ~ircreft re~tore~ tne trp~r.port service

to tt~ United Kinedo~ With tLP co~1~ of euri~. ~tree of t~e Strato-

!inert o'Oerptet1 rllgulA.rly th.erppfter over ttll? :~orth AtlMt1c =nd two on 32

the "'~Pt.hix:.p:tot.. ... Cclro run.

On 31 J(>,m~ru';rr 19l~2 r. contract ui th l:7orthenst Airlines for service

be spec1tieCi. ('It a Ipter date cy the cOl1trflcting officer WP$ ernroved.

The contrrct Etinulpted thpt tbe gover~~ent ~hould £urlli~h the contractor

",1 th the requhi te flircrnft. Zc.e en.rl;.' fliGhts unler the c'J.l.tr?ct

contr~ctorJs ~rsonuel and su~ulles ef£entie~ to the construction of

8D. pirnort adequate for the flo;; of tra£:t'ic 1"hich, i t W~ $ e~ect,ed,

R reb~RT link connpcti~: the United St?ter ~Ld t~e Arericpn forces 33 in C?nqciF, Newi'o'\.1:.1dlF>Xld, ?Ld ult1n'~tely, Greenlp.nd pr:..d. IeE'l1'l..nd •

•

::::2. Oontrrct, DA ~i 535 ac-10G2. 24 :Dec. 1941, ;"'lld Dirf!'ctive 1'0. 9.

4 .A.nril 1942, in ~() Ort~M.iz~tion Fnd Contract SUTlcrvh'icn Files; L'rf:u!;. Fu'blic RelF.tionf:l Offic!}.!, lI'I:W.A!s Oontribution to the WrJr, 1 • Thf' lntercontinf:'nt~-1. Divir.ion, n l-fl in ATe RistoricrJ. :nle.

33. Oontrrct, D~tA 'tr 6:35 ~.c-1476, ?O s-«, 1942, and SU"I):'lemental .~reer,~nt l~o. 1. 27 June 1942, in }}IC OrgRlliZf'tion r-nd Contract Su!>ervit:ion Filel;'\; n:emo for 001. Anderson, A:)PD. b;V Gen. Olds, 3 Feb. 1942. in AAG 373.a~.

.. ~

. .

! - •

; .p ...,. ~ ... - -'1": ---.- 1 _ ~I ~



82

Towprd the end. of February n contra.ct WP.E :t:[',de \w"i th l:orthwet1t

•

.Urline£ for serviee from Farr;o, :T. D., to Fairbanks, ~4J.R.15kaf pnd !J~ints

- .

in C['W"'.c!s.. AC1 ef'.rly ns :2 J.:(l'ch the conte!l!!Jlcted onere.tionr began, with

the first of 8, ~eries of shuttles between :points aJ.Ol:lb the route for

pilot familiexiz~tion end the dictribution of personnrl ~nd materials.

!~~nwhile r des~ertte dc~~d for scheduled air tr&n~~ort s~rvice

to ~ove b~d1y ngeded fBrrying crews FUd. ~.teriel over the Ppcif1c crOSE-

in{; to AUstrslip led to the itlfl.ugurr~tion of regulr.r o:ger?,tion~ 'by the

Oonsolid?~ed Aircrp£t OorporAtion in A~ril 1942. ~he eelection of Con-

soliCit.tetl :for thir. re[?,),)onsicility w;,\s lO;f;lco,l in view of' tJ;.e frc'ct that

,

itt pilots h,'=1a ~fl.ined cons:l.c1ere.ble e:roerience during t:t:.e previous year ~

in ferrying p~rcr~t ~cros~ tLe Facific. The new tran~port service

w~,!:;': begun pod continued for several montt!s 'ltri tl:out a contract, though

on 16 April COl. ~~~o1d L. George, who bed cs£~~ed co~~~~d of t~e Ferry-

ins Co~~p~d on 1 A~rl1f pddreeEed to th~ CODnt~Y a letter of intent 35

coverinG the operation.

In the ~-by-day relations between the contract s,irlines f'nd ti:.1?

Perryir~ OO~8~d ther~ were numerous occasions for friction. Airline

. .

::.1, OontrFct, DA ii 535 M"'1765, 20 Feb. 1942. in A~O Organi:zatlon anc.

Oontrrct Sunervision ::!iles; Ji'rl',r,Uc Oald"rell to I'!a.j. Love, 22 A'9ril 1~<2, in ATR 31S.1, Renorts. G~ner81. ~O Centre! Files; interoffice c01'l"Jm.nicrtion, miA, ji.J. S. Roe to R. z. Geror, 21 A1')ril 19t12, in :ii'O Operf'~tion:;; :B'11e.

35. !·:en:o for C. A. V~n Du~en by F. A. LeFl"~ant Oonsolideted Aircraft Oorr-~ 1 Dec. 1941, in ~ 361D, Air Routes; Col. George to Con[;~lOidPted Aircrdt Oorp. t 16 Anril 1£'42, in 161 t Cons olid£ tf'd,

&. Oentral File~; FrF'.nk ·,~e.tson to Gen. George, 1 Aug. 194.2. in 'ICorreSTlondence File for Contract ~~Z3'n9 t II Ail" Ore?..niz~.tion f..nd Oontract Super .. ~ll;ion Files. On Colonel George't apJ'lointr"ent ana nro~otiont see below, ~9.

~}i:n~~"-~ ~::.JL"~~1.~~~~-:--~:-_ ~



R~£TRICTED

SE\'T:J~fl·t- Ji\Wt tJt '\~~17I!)N

~ ... J- ...... '" l " I t I I

83

personnel wera someti!:les resentful of what they termed inter:t'erence by

..

Army ~~n PAd were often coCksure of their own superior qualifications •

..

Tee adv~nh..ge of the ~drlinec and the convenience of thair emplc.yees

•

. ~

•

seem on occpsion to h~ve been the controllinc fnctors in the determi-

nation of policy p~d the ~erformp.nce of dutf by airline representatives

in the field, if not in the ho~e offices. The rersone~ behavior of

some airline pilots seens to have been concistent1y offensive. Ferry-

ing CO!1'lJTl",,~.nd officer~t for their :np~t, ,.,rere by no means blMeless.

Contr~ctor8 co~lp.ined tr~t UDE.utLori2ed ner~onnel frequently icsued

instructions to the cerrier~ on mntteX'B which pro~erly required a 36

directive frotl one of the Con:n:~md's four contra.cting officers. So

..

serious did the ~tter beco~e the.t on 2b A~ril lS42 Cornm~~d headquar-

..

tars is~ued a memorPAaum on the subject, stRtir~ t~t ~ny teleuhonic

instructions issued to the contrnctors should be supported by letter

direct! ves froe one of the eontrR.cting officer!!!.

~his memorflndum serves in D mepsure to c1p~ify the relntionship of

the Ootnnancl to the contrA.ctors and to the ~>1~teriel Dividon. The :fintl.l 87

paragrpph rends:

Du.e to the fAot th.':I.t all Etudi ting and officiF~ ad.ministration of oontr~cts dr~wn by the War De~Brtment on

.. .

:36. Lt. Col. G •. A. :;)rownell to H. r! .. :Bixby. Vice Fresident~ PAA System, 2l l!erch Hl{2, in 161, FAAt ATO Oentral Files; U. S.A. Ne~tional Oensorship. extract from letter. FAA. System to 'if. I. I>~orrisont 18 May 1942, in 311.7, ~O Central Files; intervie~ with Col. Byerly by !iP,j. La Fe.rp:e. 11 June 194.4; Lt. Col. Mont~ue, iJRenort on Snecial Assistf'nt1 s Tri" • • • , n in ATe Eiatoriccl File; Control Officer. Wadi SeidnA to CO, Foreign ;'liI'.g, 14 A!lril 1942, in 1IJ{hp.rtouo, II Mosley File; report for CG, FO by Lt. 001. Louis S. Gimbel. Jr.,

3 !.fp..y 1942. "Slttvey Tri" from t~:! s hington to t-f'xaehi, 1 ndi s. • • • ,II in (1l-!hcellF.tI.COUS (Reports), II I&S File. A2C Centrel Files.

3". !~emo for All Ooncerned by PC, 25 A:!lril 1£!42, in 161, ATe Central Files.

" .

. "



84

..

ber41f of t:t.e F€'rr:rilli~ ~o:n~l:r'nd if! throu,:;h the Vot:!teriBl

Di 7i::1on rt -:ri,-ht Fiel.i, such inr-truations to OOl1- trf\ctors flG involve tI.irective~ should be ::ent to an ebsolute ~ini~a~, exce?t in CR~e of pn €~~r~ency. ihe~e directives ~~Et in all CRses be coordiA2ted with the Contruct Section of the !!ateriel Divhion, find p.ny r.la.jor 1'equirenents p~a1n~t th~ contr~cts EDculd be orl~lnated directly by the Contr~ct Section of the Materiel Divirion OIl the b",d s of Ry.r.ropriatl' ?&.t f; or :1<·m':>rnnd..o from this COl"!:::'.ni.

.,

In view of the reaudre~~llt that ~ll imnortFnt inst1'uctionc on

beh?lf of tho :Ferry-in£: Oot"':1~.l1·i to the C!ontrf'.ct :rlrlineE' ce i ssuei by

the orit~ll'l.""~ contrF.cting oUieeI' in the !!t'.teriel DbiE:'icn or by one of

tho four contrl!.ctio{; o;t'fiCArr in the Ferrying CO:::'''''''.nd, it is notewort'ty

of the four. Po~~esd~ brood, reFi'Oonoibil:i. t~J" 1'0.1' the for~i.:;n trnnsport

01')ernti ons of' the Co::.r:i.lld. nad. ~Clre s!,ecific resnonsi bili ty for cuneI'-

visir~ the onerations of the PAA &n~ ~NA contr~cts. h~ ~~S not in a

.~

T-I~f1i t10n to tnJ:e re:nedial potIon in biR own right hut was obliged to as

~rG'pef'l to oae of tl:.e four nF!"'!':d officers. :ilien, hOWAV~"', th9 ::!irlines

h.~d queries, rE'o'~ert~. or co~lr Ints in ccnnectf on with their coo.trt'.ct

to Ge:aerr.l Olds or Gener~l George9 "nd often to tr.e contracting officer 39

in the :'ateriel Divis1on, Colonel Vol:mdt.

.. .

:;9. !·:"nning Tpble, flAir 'JOrrlr-; Ferrylng OO!:1 .. n~nd"; aemo for 001. lIaJrJ.ett by Maj. A. G. Dingw."Ill, Ad..jut!lnt, FOl"f'i:;n '<!i.ag, 4 April 1942. in '1:'~1scell;:>lleou~. u :~oEley File.

39. See, for ex:c"""Ole, R. :,1. :Bixby to 001. I!o1:l1p~"" '/ M~,rch 19~!2. and rp"ly by Oapt. Love. 19 ~:arch 194Z, in 3131, .4!10 Central Filer; p~U end ~AA-P£ricp. Ltd •• to Col. "~~. V~lRndt, P3 April 194~t in 161, 'P~"-\I ATe Central ::;rilef:; l"l"lg. 9 lGeor@.j Gardner. IfJiA. to Gen. Olds. 5 r:r1'ch 1942, in 361, A~C Centrol Files.

r -

, ,

* ~f r· ~ .,. ~\ ..-'~/~-



85

•

Aa early es Febr~1 1942 General Olds received instructions from Gellerp.l Arnold. to Ilprovld.e coq:olete military control over t'I~l yartstl of

the Fprrying CO:"''''ttni o:rere,tions. Shortly theren,fter a War Department

• n •

order W~~ issued, providing in somewhat greeter detail for the termina-

tion, within 6 months at the outside, of all Wex Lepartment overse~B

oontracts ~d. the ~illte~12ation of contract activities, exce~t in the 40 Atlantic bnr~~t Greenlpnd, South America, Hawaii, Panama, and Alaska.

;11 th reference to the Ferrying OO:!lw ... !'tnd route from I'~ie.m1 to Karachi.

Generp.l Olds pnd his st~lft were ready with ~n elaborate program for

militarization, thoUbh they proposed t~~,t Pfn ~erican be permitted to

continue n li~tad eommerciel o~eration over portions of the route in

order to -provide a "means whereby other t~A United States Government

perEonn~l end cargoes involved in the uroaeoution of the w~x and com-

" . .~

merc1e.l rlt',ils mpY' be trans"ported at norm;!l cO!:1l'1erci'1l rates and not at 41

the total expense of the United Sta.tes Government. II

~he c~rrylng out of the program was dependent, however, upon the

trRining And shi~~ent to Afr1ca~ of e considerable nunber of ferrJing

groups and squadrons pnd the commis3ionir.g or enlistr:ent of much of the

Pan American narsonnel in Africa. ~he ti~e li~it was extended by the

j-lp.x Depart;:1~nt in July 1942, and the :project was not actually completed

40. Memo for Gen. 01ds by DO/S (Air), 12 Feb. 1942, in "Ohronological.

File of I·!a.jor Directives, II NLO Oentral Files; AG to OQ.' s, Field Forces, et ~l •• l~ Feb. 1~4? in AG 160 (2-15-4a) MSC-D-M.

41. Memo for AS~ (Air) by Gen. Olds, 13 Feb. 1942; memo tor 001. :Brownell by Fe, 10 If.areh 1942, in 361. ATe Centre! Files.

~ -



86

42

until December.

"

"

~hrough the winter rnd A~rine of 1941-42, e~ergency conditions

reeulting from the fact of globp~ war aLd the $uccessas of the enem~

in Man~ t~eRterc ke~t Army nersonnel everywhere, certainly in the

Fcr~;iog Co~~~d organization. working at a feverish p~ce. Changing

condi tione nevertheless reouired e.. reconsideration of the division of'

responsioi11ty between AAF ~na otner War Depart~ent agencie~. On 9

V-Arch 1942, the sweeping reorganization which establiShed three Arny

brRnches--ArMY Ground Forces, *~my Air Forces, and Services of Supply--

w~nt into effect. ThiA reali~nmentt amonc othor things, eliminated the

.-

OCAO (l.nd left the Ferrying Com.."l'~d. now officially terll1eii the If Ferry

.. . .~

Co'C"~nau for F' :cariod 01' 3 l~eekst directly subordinate to General 43

Arnold es Co~r~nding General of the AAF.

',a thin the next feu df,:,s serious tho'!lf:ht wns directed toward

br1ngiog ebout a more efficient p~d rational division of lRbor in the

utilization of the ~dmittedly limited yersonue1 and fecilitiee for the

ferrying of plrcr~ft pnd the ~ir tranSDortntlon of ~ell ~~d materiel.

In this connection 1t Should be pointed out that whgn the United States

became clirectly involved in hostilities the Air Oorps alread¥ h..q,d in

4Z.
• .r
.. ..
. ~
.*
43. £0 to .. 4.0/S, G-1, 80 !{ay 1942. in AAJj 210. l'errying CO::1M"".ncl; AG

to OG's, AAF. 50S, 17 July 1942, in AG 160 ('1-16-42) MS-D-M;

~i to 00, ATCl. :;2 Dec. 19"12, in "Oorrespondence File for Contract ;r415, II A:l'O Orgf!m.za.tion and Contract Supervision Files; Freriklin Gledhill to 001. Volandtt 11 Aug. 1P42, in AAG 373, PersouE; Gledhill to Lt. 001. :Ierrick, 1" Dec. 19?~t in 161, PA.\, ATe Oentral Files.

!:D Circulrr 1;0. 59, 2 :1.0.l'ch 1942; FO Office l·!emo 40-13. 9 !':::>.l'ch 19~2. See A~P.,.1~2-23.



87

or.eretioll a \Olell-estnbl1Ehed domestic trans),)ort service, which in the

first h?~f of 1£1';1 hod flown r;:ore freight than ell the eorn:.1ercial nir

cr..rriers ~d.th1n the Unl ted Statef:'.. This onerntion wa.s c?..rried on by

the 50th :1:renr;rort 'Jilng, l,ho~e plfl.ne!?" werA :flo~1n by mil! tary pilots,

..

under the coatrol of the Air Service Co~nd. It~ major functions in-

eluded the tr~nc~ort~tioa of technical .~r Oorps sU1)plies, such as eng1ne~. ~ro~ellers. ~!'fft~~i~hcd eircr~£t eaui~mentt between the

~ev~rclArJ:)":! !.lir depoh. n€ well f!'l fUl"niEhing trar.~Mrt a.irerd't f'nd 44 ~11ots for use in trriniDG ~arachute trooys r~d airborne inicotry.

At one stec~e of tile d.iscussion in Mprch 1£>402, Gf'ueral Arnold fief-me

to haVE' been (I,bO'lt to p>;flif.;a ta.s Air Service Oort1;:nd. full responsi bili ty-

:for f'..ll dr tranr.portetion f-.Il.d ferry-ing within tJ:le ~;estern lIewisphere,

lenvi~ to the Ferrying OO-~Rnd oFPl'rtiono overseas. At a series of

.'"

meetill[::s on ~O and 21 I-~~ch, hONever. re1"resentatives of the Air Staf'f't

Ferrying OO'1'r.cnd, ~..nd Air Ser.-ice OO-::ltrn'.nd e.rrived ftt Mother division 45

Of res~oLsibility.

Th~ir p~reeMent, with ~light eb?neest was on

2·~ ~'~flX'eh e::-:bodied in a dlrective f'rcm Genera.l Arnold. !1'he trEUl;;:porta- 46

tion m!~Fion of the Air Service Oo~~nd WPS ~tate~ RS follows:

Here~ter the Air Service C~-.mpnd will trf,nS1)Ort b;.r air Fuch f';.·!p.ti.:;m ti"chnicl'_l EU"Jilie~ as fpcili tips nermi t to

44.

leonr--~I..l Ei~erer. ".P.rq Air Cor;rJs Outhauls .All Domestic Oa.rrierf! in 701u:'18 of Freight Sh1pm(H·J.~S. n in 1>-.,.,er10(:'11 .AviRtion. 1 Aug. 1941, 6; excer~t frc~ lettert R. E. Rotz, Public Rel~tlon~ Er •• to Chief of 3t~£f~ ASO, 14 FRO. 1942, 1n 1~ 3~O, ~q4C CeAtrp~ Files.

l:emo :for CG, :ro b~". O~:pt._Lovet IIDaily Activl ty R(l!"orts. Hr:.rch 19th, l:t..rch 20th, l:~ch ?.If;'t lig4g7t" in fiActiv1ty I!.eporte, II CO;Jr.;.",;"der't; File; re=o for a/AS by ~Ot :?3 I!Exch 1?42, and 1nclo~ed redraft, I'rent~tive .Agreement for Dlvieion 01 :CUtie~ of Air Service OOl'".::!Ia.nd p.nd Perry Co;~:-ntl ('Let tl::.e Utilizl'ttioD. of CO"':l:1ercia.l .. \1rlines. II in 321.9, ATO Centrp2 Files.

l:S!l!lo for 001. George b;<." 03-, AJ:3, 24 :·:p.,rch 194:2. in nChronologic;t~ File c,f l:~Jor Directives." ATe aentrp~ Files (A'O'p •• 147 ... 48).

.. .

46.

~ ..... i..>c



8S

..

unitE or b(;'ses in the \:estern Hecis!)here i:ncluding IcelRnd. GreenlendJ ~rinidRd, r~d the Caribbepn ~rea on the ~ast,

and Ala~ka on the ~e~t. A~ ~oon p~ possible air ferry service for sunplies Rna. "erflonnel \>;111 be onened up \ . .'i th Honolulu.

~ile ref"'Pond oili ties of the Ferrying Oot'J'TIr nO., in turn, were

s~sized ~s follow~:

:lee Ferry Oo:n"''('nd trill onera.te, ei -L,her directly or by" contrE ct. ell transpn't line£ exteadine beyoud the ',lectern EeMis~here. It will gradually r~lite~ize ~ll of its varsonnel outside of tee I1nits of the Unltci States. SUQA pction "rill be coordinnted with. the St~te De'C'ro'tment. For the tir'1e being. it will ferry nll airpVnee: \<.1. thin the United StAtes r-nd tho!:.€ [~oipS to destir~~tions Ol~tside of the United Stnt~£. !!~teriel de£tined :f'Qr !;tC'tiOUfl outside o:f the Urrlt~d $tnt~f, will ba delivered by tne Air Service ao~cna to the =erry Co~~nd Rt r.oints ~t~~ly ~;reed u~on.

Er'ch c(m-:~.L.a., in i"uJ.f'i.lling its duties, >;1.?'f· to :v'.ke rr>Elxi:rr.l;!1. ~os$i J;)le

WttS directed to mr'ke :'l. snecip.l r.;tud~l lookiuf; towprd the o-,erp.ti on of a

ferr;r line oet\"leen tlle Uni teo. Stf'ltefl pnd Austrp~i(t. lJ:'.he Air Service

c&'r.Ir-blc of cerr:::in..~ O".lt missio.(l.s with eirborLd ir.£antry, glider troops, 4'1

m~·.nd b:.~ Geuer?l Arnold'f: ~irective of :?.; I~~.rch l['e~{ed a note of fi~.,lity.

~he b?~1c function of ferryiog e~roraft within the United Stnt~s rnd

Qver!'1e: s 'I''PS li"1.1tf'd by the '!)hrp,re, "for the tine being. II ~:!'le Air Ser.-

ice Oo::r..mr.nd.l s nrouo<'l.eJ. "dr ff:.rr~r service :for r-'J.'t'r,lles f'.nd :r.ersonoelf' to

. "

Honolulu WpS ~ctua.ll~" in contr(-'vention of the Perr~-1..ng Oom:::::rnd.' s broad.

-.

47. ~.

"'-- -j ,-~ - ~ ..... -, -- --..~ _ ...... "- -...~~-

i ,.. ~,..~).- I "lc ~~ '!' "f ~ ~'.'" r-:-~ ..

. l f.,.." ... , .... ,/ ~ _ "; 1'10-1 _'.. ~ • ..:.., _ /



89

re::!lon'Ji'bili t;\~ to "oY';erE'.ta • • • flll trA.n~r.ort 11r.es extending beyond

t.i:..e ~.:ef'tern :FTe:ri orbere. II In :coint of i'(,ct, the duties of the Ferryir.g

..
..
iii:
.. -- -
.. Oor-...:l!'.nd rer:ained t>ubstfllltic,lly Wi1P,t thEW i".ui been :credously. Still tl:e

:or:l"tif'J.ly clftrif'ied 'b~' tr .. e i(;sUL'l1ce of H (liUC10 f'.uthorite.tive stt'tement

rede:f'iniu,:::; the nhdcn of' botn the lierri<-illg Coru;:"'nd p,nd the Air Service

Througn the s~rl~ months of lS42. schemes for the internal re-

orGanization of the Ferryi!',£; OO".::flnd ~1ere rm.ch under discussion. On

13 1!nrch Genart'~ Old.s, f\ccoTm"-'.nied by Oololl('ll Hyde, engineerine: officer,

Thompf F~tehcockt chief of the Air ~r~n~nort~tion Section. and

Col. H. C. :Ef'rbcr of' the ~i'ar Fl::.!LO :&1 vi don of the GcnerB.l Stp..;t'f, d.epp.rted

.-

on a epecip~ ti~Fion to South A~erie~. Shortly bofore G~nercl Olds'

~ep~~ture. ~enerp~ ArLold ~~si~ned Col. Hnrold Lee Geor~et Assist~nt Chief

of the Air SteSf, Air ~kr Plp~s Division, to te~~or9ry duty with the Ferry-

iug Con:;",rm.c1.. Ge-nerrcl Old(1 pt once -:-rde hi ":l (!Em~J.ty CO"1i'.c·nder, let,vi~

him in full c~~xge duri~ his r.d~occe. During that ~erio& thd threatened

chtn£e in the Cowrr-cu~ts udtsion WPS =et ~d the redefinition of its fune-

t10ns obt"h:.eu. on 24 l:l1l'oh. Two days lc.ter f A.J.;J' :;';Qecipl orderf.: were

issued. n.}">l:lin.:; Oolonel George !l.S cOr:'.t"."n1:1 DB officer. in sueee ssf.cn to

.. ,.

Generp.l Old~. On 1 Anril he es£,umpo cow~;.nd. rnd before tee month was 48 out his :.r-ronotlcn to tee r .... nk of briGadier generr.l w:o,s announced.

48. FO S.O. #20, :rnr. 1, 9 !/Jt'.rch 1942; .A.AF G.O. frS, 9 l-~e.rch 1£142; '4D S.O, ~llO, n~r. 1. 2ij A~ril 1942; FC G.O. ~3t P~~. 1, 1 Anril 1942.



90

In t~Q COurS0 of his Arrr.y cexeer oetween two W~XSt General George

•

had I:C'('n elo~ely It:.entii'ie-d with thp develop::nent of the technicues and

d.octri uee of (l(.>rip~ bor:b~,rJ.:::d:nt f'lld hod =:?de e. record whioh ><::a.rked hi,,:;

..

RS r~ officer of outst~ndir4 ability. Fro~ July 1941 until his 88Sign-

~ent to the FerX1·1~~ Co~~ndt he ocoupi~a the icroortf~t nost of Assistant

Ohief of the Air Staff for FIr .ne, Ee wa~ not yet 4B yel:-rs of [l.f;e when 49

he took over the ferryine Oo~rr,nd.

GE'nE:rd 010.' 3 relief froll~ the 7E'rryiDg Cor;,n.<';.nd did not imply ar;:y

dispeti2f~ction ~dth h1~ ~prvice. He wa~ shortly pro~oted to the rpnk

of ~~jor gener~~ vnd e~~ointed Oo~~ondine GenerF~ of the Second Air

Force. By "'ley of recogni tioD. for hie f'cco..,pli tth."ll.enh in orc."ani zing the 50 :ferrying OOrl"!'~nd., he ¥PS ~W'<U'lied the Distint,"U.isteo. Service !1edr~.

In the meantime, General Arr:.old h8d f!.T(":,roved a sweeping new plan

for the reorr,nnize.tion of the OO .... ~-..::..l:Id. on. ~3 lIe,rch.. 'rhis program 000.-

te~lRted tho cl.o:-.!?p,tic ferry of mil! tr-...ry aircrfl£t r-o.nd the o"Ceration of

both S'oheiiuled_ services rnd tee ferryit¥; of mil! tary aircrflf't in the

South Atl~nt1et l10rth Atlr.ntic, Alas-1.ca £,n.d l~orthwest, and Pa.cific ares.s,

as well ar ~ comprehensive trein1ng ~rogrF~ to be carried on nr- a ~Rrt

of these operetlons. ~e plen. bated on the acc~~nted experience of

the COMmercial ~ir11nes. propoEcd elso ttnt key leader~ in air trB~S-

:nort-etion be co!;:.::issic·ned. for service on tl:e operp-t1onru. stf\.ff of the

49.

l~emo for CG. AKF by l.!aj. Gen. L. S. Kuter, AOtAS, :Flr.n£!, 1"11 I-f'Y 19~, in AAG 201 (George). Cf. offici~ rpcord forra, in ~. AKE S.D. 1f130. J)r.r. 2, ;;S lA.ay 1942; "0it;::).tion for Distinguished Service HodRl." n, d., :end otb.cr d.ocu:-cnts, :in A}Jj :ZOl (Old Po). Gen~r~l Olds died nt Tucson, }xiz •• of Lib~n-Saeks syndro~~ eiaepset 28 .auril 1943. ~e W(lS then ocly 4" yerJ:f' of EJ.ge. StFtion ROE:pital, Davis-::out1:pL. Field to co, A..r.:F, 30 April 1£43, 1n ibid.

50.

....



RESTRIeTED

SECI"rRTT'r G':FON1\~ATION

91

Ferryin~ ao~~n6, at heHdqua.rters end in tl:e field. Tenbtive assigfi-

~eD.ts for a. long 11 rt of n,";mes were ia.cluded. ~hUSt Thomas O. He.1'din

. •

of the United Aircraft Oo~any weE to be in charge of operations in the

'South AtlF.ntic; George Gerd.ner, operations :rp.nA~er of the !~ortbwest

Air11ne~, in the 1,orthweEt; Jack Joynes of the Civil Aeronn.utics Ad-

miniEtr~t1on in the North Atle~tici and either H~~old He~rie or Douglas

Cp~bellt vice-~residents of P~n American-Grace Airways, in the Facific.

Oolonel [unner was to retain direction of domertic ferrying. ~ach of

the geogr~;phic sectors 'Wtl.F' to be set up as a self"'con.tained onereting

unitt to th~ fulleEt extent pr~cticabl:, pnd for aRch sector men were li~ted for fliGht supervision, aircreSt ferrying, ~~intenrnce. ground 5l

service, ~nd com~n1cRtions.

In vieu of the fret t14'1.t the nen n~;med in the :plf!ll had not been

ap~ronehed regarding the assignnents for which they wpre designated.

it is not sUrprising tbe~ sooe ot them never entered military service

and that some of t~ose who were com~isploned ultiF~tely teok over Ferry-

ing CO:1'"!'.",,nd pOflitions quite different from those for wh1cn they \-lera

here reco~ended. Cn the other hPnd, Geuer?l Arno16 ~ersonally Relected

for the poaition of executive officer of the Oo~nnd an outstanding Air-

li~e e~eeutive. O~7US R. Smith, prer.ident of' American Airlines. whose

.o.ame WPS not ir.cluded. in the plf'Jl. Upon Gencrf'.l Arnold's request. the

board of director~ of ;~ericp~ Airlines made Smith's services avai1eble.

he \':(1.a co:r:.'li sr!oned with the rank of' oolonel, and on 14 A'Prll 1942

-,

.'"

51. R&R. R.R.,A[rnol§:.7 to Gen. Hfl,l'mOn, 26 March 194.2. and inclosed II:Han of Orgnnization,lI in AAG 321.9, FerryiLG COMrror>.nda

--~ ""..- .. -... - ... ~ .... ~ - _ .. ~ -~ ... ~-.

..... I !;" r " ~ 4 ~_ j1 t! i'if; t _'~ ~\

~~\ ~,..,._ ~ .... _ ~1~ - ..... .J .J' .... _'~"~_J,"

~J.:-,- ::!"'lrI- ........ ";,O::- i: tC"-.t.\\!}""_~'i'L-..·t ~


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