Maxwell Air Force Base
Toward the end of February 1910, the Wright Brothers decided to open one of the world's earliest flying schools at the site that would subsequently become Maxwell Air Force Base. The Wrights taught the principles of flying, including take-offs, balancing, turns, and landings. The field served as a repair depot during World War I. In fact, the depot built the first plane made in Montgomery and exhibited it at the field on the 20th of September 1918. Repair activity at the depot was sharply curtailed at the end of the war. The Aviation Repair Depot's land was leased by the U.S. Army during World War I, and later purchased on the 11th of January 1920 for $34,327. Diminished postwar activity caused the U.S. War Department in 1919 to announce that it planned to close thirty-two facilities around the country, including the Aviation Repair Depot. In 1919, the Aviation Repair Depot had a $27,000 monthly civilian payroll, and was a vital part of the city's economy. The loss of the field would have been a serious blow to the local Montgomery economy. The field remained open into the early 1920s only because the War Department was slow in closing facilities. After this initial reprieve, the War Department announced in 1922 that facilities on the original closure list would indeed close in the very near future. City officials were not surprised to hear that Aviation Repair Depot remained on the list, because 350 civilian employees had been laid off in June 1921.
On the 8th of November 1922, the War Department redesignated the depot as Maxwell Field in honor of Atmore, Alabama native, Second Lieutenant William C. Maxwell. On the 12th of August 1920, engine trouble forced Lieutenant Maxwell to attempt to land his DH-4 in a sugarcane field in the Philippines. Maneuvering to avoid a group of children playing below, he struck a flagpole hidden by the tall sugarcane and was killed instantly. Taking up the cause of Maxwell Field was freshman Congressman J. Lister Hill, a World War I veteran who served with the 17th and 71st U.S. Infantry Regiments. He, as well as other Montgomery leaders, recognized the historical significance of the Wright Brother's first military flying school and the potential of Maxwell Field to the local economy. In 1925 Hill, a member of the House Military Affairs Committee, affixed an amendment to a military appropriations bill providing $200,000 for the construction of permanent buildings at Maxwell Field. This amendment did not have the approval of the War Department nor the Army Air Corps, but as a result of this massive spending on Maxwell Field, the War Department kept it open. Hill recognized that to keep Maxwell Field open, it needed to be fiscally or militarily valuable to the War Department. In September 1927, Hill met with Major General Mason M. Patrick, chief of the Army Air Corps, and his assistant, Brigadier General James E. Fechet, to discuss the placement of an attack group at Maxwell Field. Both made it clear that Maxwell Field was too close to Montgomery and was not a suitable location for an attack group.
In July 1928, word via rumor of the decision for the establishment of an attack group came out that Shreveport was indeed the victor of the final decision. In December 1928, after much debate and political maneuvering it was announced officially by the Assistant Secretary of War that Shreveport would be getting the attack group and that the Army Air Corps Tactical School (ACTS) would be coming to Maxwell Field. The move to Maxwell Field from Langley Field was initially expected to increase Maxwell Field's population by eighty officers and 300 enlisted. It was expected that the ACTS would be to the Army Air Corps what Fort Benning, Georgia was to the infantry. On the 15th of January 1929, it was announced that the ACTS would be twice as large as originally planned. On the 11th of February, it was announced that $1,644,298 had been allowed for ACTS construction. This was not including an additional $324,000 the Secretary of War had approved previously for non-commissioned officer barracks and a school building after a conference with Congressman Hill. On the 17th of September 1931, the first ACTS training occurred at Maxwell Field. Forty-one students met at 8:40 a.m. in the operations office conference room for general instruction. Classes were divided into sections, with some pilots sent on check flights, while others were sent out to become familiar with the surrounding countryside to become familiar with emergency landing field locations. The 1931-1932 faculty included Army Air Corps AC, Army Infantry Inf, Army Chemical Warfare Service CWS, and Army Field Artillery FA instructors.
In 1940, it was announced that the installation was to be converted into a pilot-training center. On the 8th of July 1940 the Army Air Corps redesignated its training center at Maxwell Field, Alabama as the Southeast Air Corps Training Center. The Southeast Air Corps Training Center at Maxwell handled flying training basic, primary and advanced at airfields in the Eastern United States. An Air Force Pilot School preflight was also activated which instructed Aviation Cadets in the mechanics and physics of flight and required the cadets to pass courses in mathematics and the hard sciences. Then the cadets were taught to apply their knowledge practically by teaching them aeronautics, deflection shooting, and thinking in three dimensions. In June 1941, the Army Air Corps became the U.S. Army Air Forces. On the 8th of January 1943, the War Department constituted and redesignated the school as the 74th Flying Training Wing handling pre-flight training. During following years, Maxwell was home to six different schools that trained U.S. military aviators and their support teams for wartime service. As World War II progressed, the number of required pilot trainees declined, and the Army Air Forces decided not to send more aircrew trainees to Maxwell Field. The following known sub-bases and auxiliaries were constructed to support the flying school: Passmore Auxiliary Field, Troy Auxiliary Field, Autaugaville Auxiliary Field.
Training at Maxwell continued until the 15th of December 1945, when the Eastern Flying Training Command was inactivated and was consolidated into the Central Flying Training Command at Randolph Field, Texas. Air University, an institution providing continuing military education for Army Air Forces personnel, was established at Maxwell in 1946, prior to the U.S. Air Force becoming an independent service the following year. Today, it remains the main focus of base activities at Maxwell. Maxwell Field was renamed Maxwell Air Force Base in September 1947 when the Air Force was created. In 1992, the 3800th Air Base Wing 3800 ABW was disbanded and the 502d Air Base Wing 502 BW took over as the host wing, which two years later gave way to the current 42d Air Base Wing. As home of the Air University, Maxwell became the postgraduate academic center of the U.S. Air Force. Air University evolved first as an institution influenced by air power as shaped in World War II, then by the Cold War under the threat of nuclear annihilation, and by air power as applied during the Cold War's Korean and Vietnam conflicts. In the early twenty-first century, the emphasis shifted to air power's role in confronting international and transnational terrorism by both state-sponsored and non-state actors.
Over the years, other activities were established or relocated to Maxwell AFB, to include Headquarters, Civil Air Patrol USAF; the Air Force Reserve's 908th Tactical Air Support Group 908 TASG, which evolved into the present day 908th Airlift Wing; the Ira C. Eaker Center for Professional Development; the Air Force Financial Systems Operation office SAF/FM; the Center for Aerospace Doctrine, Research and Education CADRE; and the Air Force Historical Research Agency, a support organization and repository for air power scholars and AU students. In 1994, Air Force Officer Training School OTS was also relocated from Lackland AFB/Medina Annex, Texas to Maxwell AFB, joining the national headquarters of the Air Force's other non-Academy officer accession source, Air Force ROTC. Detachment 3 of the 58th Operations Group activated at Maxwell during January 2024 to train crews on the MH-139A Grey Wolf. In November 2020, the Air Force announced that Maxwell AFB is its preferred choice for basing the MH-139A Grey Wolf Formal Training Unit. The Grey Wolf training mission will replace the 908th Airlift Wing's C-130H Hercules mission, with the first of the new aircraft expected to arrive during 2023.
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Common questions
When did the Wright Brothers open their flying school at Maxwell Air Force Base?
The Wright Brothers opened one of the world's earliest flying schools toward the end of February 1910. This location subsequently became Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama.
Who was Second Lieutenant William C. Maxwell and when was Maxwell Field named after him?
Second Lieutenant William C. Maxwell was an Atmore, Alabama native who died on the 12th of August 1920 while attempting to land his DH-4 aircraft in a sugarcane field in the Philippines. The War Department redesignated the depot as Maxwell Field on the 8th of November 1922 in his honor.
How did Congressman J. Lister Hill save Maxwell Field from closure in the early 1920s?
Congressman J. Lister Hill affixed an amendment to a military appropriations bill in 1925 providing $200,000 for the construction of permanent buildings at Maxwell Field. This spending convinced the War Department to keep the facility open despite initial plans to close it.
What major training unit arrived at Maxwell Field in December 1928 and when did its first classes begin?
The Army Air Corps Tactical School moved to Maxwell Field from Langley Field in December 1928. The first ACTS training occurred at Maxwell Field on the 17th of September 1931 with forty-one students meeting at 8:40 a.m.
When was Maxwell Field converted into a pilot-training center and what was its new designation?
The installation was announced to be converted into a pilot-training center in 1940. On the 8th of July 1940 the Army Air Corps redesignated its training center as the Southeast Air Corps Training Center.
When did Maxwell Field become Maxwell Air Force Base and what is its current primary function?
Maxwell Field was renamed Maxwell Air Force Base in September 1947 when the Air Force became an independent service. Today it serves as the postgraduate academic center of the U.S. Air Force through Air University.