Official cadet flag of SMAAF.

Cadet and squadron commanders report to their Command­ing Officer before formal review of cadets and enlisted men.

THE ROAR of powerful aircraft eng ine• over Son Marcos Army Air Field is more than the steady

drone of flHI, silver-winged training ships. It's the omlnout th11nder of things to com-when Son Marcos-trained aerial navigators guide America'> powerf11l new air fleets into llmillou horizons lo hit the enemy wherever he Is.

For San Morcos Army Air Fleld , one of the Air Force" thrH largest navigation schools, it producing the sharp-witted young men who will d irect the llght· nlng weapon of air power when It 1trike1 the Axis again and again.

Located five miles from the pretty college town of Son Marco• In the rolling hills of Southwest Texas, SMAAF Is the home field of hundreds of navigators now plotting courses over the aerial ba ttlefields of the world.

The city of Son Morcos, located in the sceni< and colorful section of Tuos made famous by Spanish and French legends, 11 a forming and education center. Southwest Texas State Teochen College and San Morcos Academy for boys ore both located there, and the city Is known all over the Southwest for Its fine climate and verdant surroundings.

From all over America , hundreds of the notion' s finest young men come lo Son Morcos from pre-flight and other training schools to learn the sharp science of aeria l navigation. From Son Marco>, they go 011! equipped with the mental might that will guide great battlesh ips of the o lr over Axisdom lo the kill, then bring those proud ships homeward 1ofely.

Early In Its history tho Army Air Forces Navigation School al San Morcos, chalked up one of the out· tlandlng records In the nation's war effort when It grad11ot~d it> first class of skllled aerial navigators In leu than a year after constr11ction of the fleld was started.

A War D~porlment directive to acquire the site for the school was luued In Moy, 1942, but it was not until late in J11ne that the first construction got 11nder way with the beginning of work on 1treets and cul· verts. Captain U. E. Hubble of the Corps of Engi· neon hod arrived earllor In the month lo 1uperviH the <onstr11ctlon.

Only a few days leu than a year after the ground was broken for the tlreots, the first clan of naviga­tors was graduated on June 24, 1943. With this record to mark Its first year, the school continue• lo f11nnel a new clan of skilled aerial navigators Into the Allied wor effort every thrH wHks.

Site for the school-Hveral hundred acres of good black Central Texas farmland-was purchased by the City of Son Marcos with the proceeds of a $100 ,000 bond luue and presented to the govern· ment. The site oncompaued several farms and homes and barns and fields of corn and cotton had to make way for the now Air Forces etlablishment.

Contracts for the major con,1r11ctlon work, totaling In exuu of $5,000,000, were let late in J11ly. Ere<· lion of administrative buildings, classrooms, bar· rocks, hangars, meu halls and recreational b11lld· Ing• went forward 'PHdlly. In September Lt. Col.

J . 8 . Olson, projects officer. arrived to auume gen· e rol charge of the field until Its completion.

The flog was raised at the field for the first time on November 2S, signifying that the Army hod moved in and was about ready to toke over the establish· menl. Lt. Col. J . M. Hutchison, new commanding officer of the field, prHided at the <•••monies.

Activation of the field took place on December 1 S when Colonel Hutchison formally o«epted the post and administrative functions from Major Hubble of the Corps of Engineers. Major Hubble presented a key to the post to Colonel Hutchison lo symbolize the transfer of jurisdiction from the Engineers to the Air Forces. Members of Colonel Hutchison' s staff who participated in the ceremony were: Lt. Col. William I . Wimer, executive officer; Major Wiiiiam K. St. Claire, post adlutont1 Capt. William D. Doughty, Jr., provost marshal, and Lieut. Henry K. Orgain, post engineer.

Construction work continued and officer and enlisted personnel lo administer and operate the field and school activities kept pouring in until in late Feb· ruary th• estobilshment had reached the point at which it could begin the work for which it hod bHn created, the train ing of aerial navigators. The first class of cadets arrived on February 22 and each three weeks since, another has arrived to spend 1 8 weeks In the intensive military, athletic, academic and practical navigation training necessary to pro· duce the skilled aerial navigator the AAF must hove to fulfill Its mission of carrying the attack to the enemy wherever he may be found.

The role of the navigator In modern aerial warfare Is a vital one-and growing more and more Im· portont as the air offensive of the United Notions mounts In Intensity, It ls the responslblllty of the navigator to tell a bomber pilot how to rendezvous with other bombers at a point 1 S,000 fHt above the Mediterranean, soy, and then to direct him HY· erol hundred milH to o target somewhere In Hitler's Fortress Europe and bock to base again.

During his 18 wHks at the school, the cadet Is taught four methods of navigation : Radio, pllotage, dead reckoning and celestial.

The navigator relies most heavily on celestial navl· gation. To old him in guiding his plane he Is armed w ith a Hxtant, a Mercator chart, a Weem's plotter, a computer, a pair of dividers, an air almanac, a book of tables, scrap paper, log book and pencil . With these he plots his course thro119h the trocklou skies over oceans, mountains, or deHrts to enable his plane to f11lfill lh mlulon-blasllng on Axl1 e1tobli1hment Into oblivion.

" The world's most exacting sclentish ore the Army Air Forces' novl9otors~ said Major General Gerald C. Brant, commanding general of the G11lf Coa1t Training Center.

And because of the exact science of aerial naviga· l ion that Air forces ' navigation students are learn• Ing at Son Marco1 Army Air field, and with San Marcos-trained navigators finding the woy, the Axis partners ore going to find plenty of thing• to regret.

Out with the primary, on with advonc:edl Cadets arrive at SMAAF for final train­ing before commi•· 1ion1 and wings.

Mare eodeh, and

Cadets and enlisted men pan in review before their Commanding Officer and visiting Officers.

Major E. J. Ingram, Inspector General's department, inspects the troops of SMAAF.

All out for San Marcos and 18 weeks of train­ing. Cadets arriving at SMAAF.

Soldiers relax in the post librory ond catch up on their newspape r and maga ­zine reading.

Tha .. sands of boo ks n tn. Po•t Library 9••8 every sold ier o chonca to read for enter­ta inment or study.

X-roy eou>pment Station Hospital.

Main entronc:e, Station Hos­pital. Here the finest equip­ment ond best medic:ol core assures every mon of the best attention possible for any and oll ills.

Cadet men. No food wastage her-those plates ore left spotless!

Manners ore included in a cadet's curriculum. No one sits down to eat until his men motes arrive.

Officers aren't immune from 9a1 alerts, either.

Air raid alert? No sir, open post for the week and dreu as you go.

A cadet gets his rest where he finds it ond the search usually ends at his bunk, even if it lasts only ten minutes between classes.

where I muse: es oc:he, b ut grow.

Craig Holl th for workouts . e g_ymnosium, read in sia sports. y

Codeh ot c:or hours of •t isthenic:s. Th for I I ot SMAAF t ey get ong, straining h ~ prepore ours in the oir.

The obstacle course, where sore muscles and borked shins are grown.

link troiner don with in· structor-operoton and trols ot left.

Li nk trainer-the plane thot flies without leoving the clouroom floor.

•

By radio o cadet checks his bearings, computed during o classroom solution of o mythical fl ight.

To simulate the navigation of o plane, this training gadget aids instructors in explaining the use of the compasses.

With drift meter and compass, he checks his " plane's" fl ight .

In close formation, three tr~ a training mission. J

This formation gains altitude for

{ning planes wing their way an

~

a difficult problem in navigation.

Homeward h training sh' ound/ Back f hy . 1P nea h rom I na"•gofio rs t e co a ong t .

America's l n cadets I mpletion of raining f/1' l, A nea earn· a " · gn, th·

rmy Air F ">'weight b tn9 to h mission " '. ts aerial . 0 rces Na . . om hers.

/ c art the ' guided

no"'9otion to "•got1~n Schoo/ n ships like courses for America's of Son M these the

)'oung oir orcos feo h men, c es

Instructor teaches the theories of novigotion mopmoking.

Navigator, bombardier or pilot, Uncle Sam's plane crewmen must know and recognize enemy or ally in the a ir. Codeh toke o les­son in plane identifi­cation.

An officer student re­ceives his bearings b~ rad io and checks his course on fl ight mop.

Instructor's desk serves as on ofter-clou con­ference on the right and wrong answers of the day.

The prini:iple sextant is explained to o cadet by instrui:tor. The books and the charts are all tools of the navigation student.

With drift meter and compass, navigators get their lessons with the aid of this improvised training gadget.

A clan of navigators get their in­structions for o hypothetical course via radio, from an instructor o few feet away.

Clanroom floor serves as the "sea" for instruction on ma­neuvering o life raft. A model "rescue" plane flies overhead to lend realism.

Clonroom problem in navigation.

"Here's the spot, yo get us there," on instruc:t<

tells o student c:rew, ond the computing will dec:ide their grade

In the misty hours of down on instruc:tor ond his navigation crew head for their ptane ond the doy's problem

Instructors and training flight.

The drift meter is "right hand" oide of the navigator. One of the most essential tools of his trade.

has ot hi1 fingertips all the

0

Pilot and student become a team in the air, as shown by this cadet, sHk­ing the advice of his pilot instructor.

"Navigator to pilot •.. " By radio­phone the novigator coils changes in the plane's couue to the pilot.

I

Two cadeh aboard a problem in navigation.

At hi1 plotting board, a cadet navi­gator check1 hi1 course on a training plane. Oxygen mask and fur-lined coat kHp him comfortable ot high altitude1.

In flight or on the ground, the in1tructor stand1 ready to explain to or correct the cadet navi­gator in training problem1.

Cadet, instructor ond pilot, ready for a training flight.

A student officer uses the drift meter.

Pilot and navigation instructor disembark after a training flight.

In flight an instructing officer explains o point in navigation. No room for errors here-a fraction off the route may send you miles from your destination.

A typical navigation cadet-olert, confident, and anxious to do his job as part of the U. S.' pilot, bom­bardier and navigator team.

An instructor explains a navigation problem to his cadet crew before toking off on a training fl ight.

To insure the sof who fly, ground ety of the men every workin crewmen c:hec:k planes. A gt pho~t. of training

t t ec: n1c1on ·

es meter t h using o rodlo system~ c eek o plane's

Enlisted tec:hno· . h coons su h . t er.e. c:hec:king o ~lo c' as t~1s ra dio expert ra1n1ng planes i ffi ~· s radio system, keep

n • icoent order.

Motor tuneu s olert that puh mgo k on despite o gos a mec:honic:ol c:re:s s o~e~ the faces of serv1c1ng o trainer.

'

Three new members of the "Caterpillar club" thank the girls who folded their chutes. Forced to bail out, theJe three cadets parachuted to safety.

Enlisted men drawing a bead on the pistol targets.

An officer tries his eye on the pistol range.

"The Doy" for every cadet comes when he con hove hi5 mother, wife or girl friend pin on those silver wing5. The job is in good hands for this new lieutenant.

(left) A proud mother ond 5i5ter odmire new silver wings on groduotion day.

Another thrill that goH with being a succeuful cadet-getting fitted for on officer'5 blouse just before graduation.

For Son Morcos' fir5t graduating class, the chef cooked up this onnivenory culinary job, but the kitchen wolves never let it get out of the kitchen.

The Post Theater,

lntrasquadron basketball game at C raig Hall.

Offic:en and their ladies, like Gl's and their gals, like that Saturday night danc:e, suc:h as this ane at SMAAF's new officer's c:lub.

Enlisted men and their girls dance at the Service Club.

(below) Civilians coll 'em "rug cutters," but the Air Corps calls them "wood choppers" because the Army doe1n't hove rugs. A couple of Jiver1 at a GI dance.

"Coreleu Hill"-mock grove1 that remind SMAAF personnel that care­lessness costs lives and mone)'.

The SMAAF orchestra, swing furnish the music for all

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Planned and printed in Gravure by The Ullman Company, Brooklyn, N. Y. We acknowledge with ap­preciation the courtesy and cooperation of the Public Relations Office of San Marcos Army Air Field.