Dale Mabry Field
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Dale Mabry Field was an early airfield located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States established in 1928 and replaced by Tallahassee Regional Airport.
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[edit] Location
Dale Mabry Field was located at what is now Appleyard Drive and W. Penscola Street at what is now the campus of Tallahassee Community College.
[edit] History
[edit] 1920s
In 1928 the City of Tallahassee purchased a 200 acre tract of land for $7028 for its first municipal airport. It was named Dale Mabry Field in honor of Tallahassee native Army Captain Dale Mabry. The airport was dedicated on November 11, 1929 with its first manager being Ivan Munroe. The airfield had one grass runway and was built with the assistance of federal WPA funds.
Munroe was part owner and eventually full owner of Tallahassee's first airplane and was a flight instructor. Munroe also formed the Tallahassee Aircraft Company with Jeff Lewis, Frank Lewis and Dick Weeks after serving as a Navy pilot in the Jacksonville area during World War II. The company offered flight training, aerial photography and charter service.
[edit] 1930s
Atlantic Gulf Coast Airlines began commercial flights at the new airport during its first month. By 1934 the airport had 4 sod runways with the longest at 2600 feet. (Department of Commerce Airport Directory, 1934).
In 1937 Dale Mabry Field had 2 paved runways with a single hangar at the northwest corner of the airfield. In 1938 Eastern Airlines began service from Tallahassee to Memphis, Birmingham, and Montgomery, Alabama with 4 daily flights. National Airlines began service to Jacksonville, Pensacola, Mobile and New Orleans that same year.
In the photo, left to right, are Ben H. Bridges, Mayor J.R. Jinks, Honorable Robert Ramspect, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, Mrs. Joe Giddens, Wilet Moore, Mrs. Jewell Puckett, City manager H.P. Ford, Ralph McGill, Colonel C.L. Waller, W.B. Hartsfield, Smythe Gambrel, C.F. Palmer, Paul Brattain, Sidney L. Shannon, Captain W.S. Dawson, W.V. Crowley.
In 1938-1939, the U.S. Army's 3rd Air Force established a fighter pilot training school at Mabry and developed three runways to serve their needs. The field was described as having 2 paved runways. One runway was 4,000 feet running northwest to southeast and a second was 2,500 foot running north to south. Another 3,400 foot sand & sod runway ran east to west. A single hangar was depicted on the field. The manager was listed as Ivan Munroe and the operators were Ivan Monroe, Eastern Air Lines, and National Air Lines.
[edit] 1940s
In October of 1940 military activity began with the construction of a railroad siding and drainage improvements to overcome the swamp conditions at the site.
In 1941 U.S. Senator Claude Pepper and Florida Governor Spessard Holland influenced the Army to make Dale Mabry Field an Army base. Aircraft and trainees arrived in May of 1941. Mabry also had satellite fields at Thomasville and Harris Neck near Savannah, Georgia. On May 8, 1941, the 53rd Pursuit Group from Tampa was transferred from MacDill Field in Tampa to Dale Mabry.
[edit] Aircraft Assigned to Dale Mabry
During the early part of World War II, P-39 Airacobras, P-40 Warhawks, and P-47 Thunderbolts were used with training on the P-51 Mustang fighter occurring later in the war.
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In 1942, the 99th Fighter Squadron under the command of Lt. Col. Benjamin Davis received advanced training at Mabry Field. In 1942 and 1944 Chinese & French cadets trained at Dale Mabry Field. Students at Dale Mabry used a gunnery base at Alligator Point and a bombing range at Sopchoppy on the Gulf for their training needs.
[edit] Photo Gallery of Dale Mabry Events
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Eastern Airlines and National Airlines continued to use Mabry despite being closed to general aviation during World War II. Originally 530 acres, the airfield grew to 1,720 acres and 133 buildings during the course of the war. Training activity peaked in mid-1944 with base complement averaging 1,300 officers, 3,000 enlisted men & women, and 800 civilian employees.
A branch Prisoner of War compound at Mabry held 150 POWs who worked on the base.
In 1945, Mabry was placed on inactive status and eventually resumed its role as a civilian airport after WW2.
[edit] 1960s
In 1961, Dale Mabry Field was abandoned when a new Tallahassee Airport was built several miles to the southwest.
