DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Dalhart Army Air Field — and friend, this one's got layers. Now, if you're driving through Dallam County right now, cast your eyes out at that flat, wide-open Texas panhandle sky. That sky — dry, clear, stretching forever — along with some thermal activity and terrain so level you could set a level on it and go get coffee, all of that caught the attention of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II.
And the people of Dallam and Hartley Counties didn't just wave hello — they floated a local bond to purchase more than three thousand acres of land southwest of Dalhart. More than three thousand acres. That's not a nudge, that's a full commitment.
In May of 1942, Dalhart Army Air Field — DAAF — opened as a glider school under the U.S. Army Air Forces. Now, while the place was still being built, the command's temporary headquarters was runnin' out of a tent city in Amarillo.
A tent city. Which tells you something about the urgency of the whole enterprise. By September of 1942, cadets were arriving to train on the Waco CG-4A, a glider they called the Hadrian.
And when I say train, I don't mean a gentle afternoon float. These men learned takeoff, flight while in tow behind C-47s on three hundred and fifty feet of nylon rope, holding position on a double tow, and recovery techniques that involved being snatched right out of the sky by a tow aircraft flying overhead. Snatched.
Out of the sky. Above the Texas panhandle. On top of all that, they were expected to fight as combat soldiers once they landed, so infantry skills were part of the curriculum too.
But the war had a habit of changin' its mind about what it needed. In March of 1943, the glider school transferred down to South Plains Army Air Field in Lubbock, and DAAF got a new assignment: training B-17 bomber crews as replacements for losses suffered in the European theater of operations. Cadets flew training missions over practice target areas in the panhandle, and fighter aircraft cadets practiced bomber escort duty out of two satellite fields — Auxiliary Number One over in Hartley, and Auxiliary Number Two in Dallam — both built in 1943.
Then the war shifted again. By early 1944, America's strategic bombing needs had swung toward the Pacific, and several bombardment groups training on B-29s came to DAAF. Now, here's the part where you might want to slow down.
One of those groups was the 393rd Bomb Squadron of the 504th Bombardment Group. Later — and I mean later, after their time at DAAF — that unit was selected by Colonel Paul W. Tibbets, Jr., and served as the core of the outfit trained to drop atomic bombs on Japan in 1945.
Let that settle for a second. Out here on this flat stretch of panhandle, under those clear skies, with that local bond money holding the whole thing together, the threads of one of the most consequential moments in human history were being quietly woven. In a little more than three years, DAAF had been a glider school, a B-17 training ground, and a staging point for the men who would carry America's most devastating weapon across the Pacific.
In December of 1945, Dalhart Army Air Field closed, and the USAAF presence in Dallam and Hartley Counties came to an end. The sky out there looks the same as it always did. Flat land, thermal air, dry and clear.
But it's seen things most people never know to look for.
What the marker says
Dallam and Hartley Counties’ generally flat terrain, thermal activity, dry, clear skies and a local bond to purchase more than 3,000 acres of land southwest of Dalhart resulted in the opening of a training site during World War II. In May 1942, Dalhart Army Air Field [DAAF] (U.S. Army Air Forces Glider School [USAAF]) opened. While under construction the command’s temporary headquarters operated from a tent city in Amarillo. In Sept. 1942, cadets began arriving for training on the new Waco CG-4A “Hadrian” glider. Cadets honed their skills––takeoff, flight while in tow behind C-47s on 350 feet of nylon rope, holding position on a double tow & recovery techniques involving being snatched by a tow aircraft flying overhead––above the Texas panhandle. Cadets also learned infantry skills, as they were expected to serve as combat soldiers after landing. DAAF’s training mission changed in March 1943, when the glider school transferred to the South Plains Army Air Field (Lubbock). DAAF's new assignment became the training of B-17 bomber crews as replacements for losses suffered from sorties in the European theater of operations. Cadets flew training missions over practice target areas in the panhandle, while fighter aircraft cadets practiced bomber escort duty at two satellite fields––Aux. #1 (Hartley) & Aux. #2 (Dallam)––built in 1943. However, combat needs late in the war once again altered DAAF’s mission. By early 1944, America’s strategic bombing needs lay in the Pacific and several bombardment groups (B-29s) trained at DAAF for deployment in thePpacific. One of these, the 393rd Bomb Squadron, 504th Bombardment Group–– later selected by Col. Paul W. Tibbets, jr.–– served as the core of a unit trained to drop atomic bombs on Japan in 1945. Thus, in little more than three years, DAAF and Dallam & Hartley counties were all impacted by the evolving demands of the U.S. war effort. In Dec. 1945, DAAF closed bringing an end to the USAAF presence in Dallam & Hartley counties. TEXAS IN WORLD WAR II – 2009