McCook Field
McCook Field
Dayton, OH MAP
McCook Field was home to the U.S. Army's Airplane Engineering Department, later named the Airplane Engineering Division of the Army Air Service. It was the center of all Army aviation research, development, and procurement activity. McCook Field engineers and test pilots pioneered or advanced a broad range of aviation technology. A few examples are the variable-pitch propeller, the turbo-supercharger and the modern freefall parachute.
The United States entered World War I in 1917 with only 200 airplanes, none combat worthy. Dayton Industrialist Edward A. Deeds, commissioned a colonel in the U.S. Army Signal Corps Reserve and appointed Chief of the Signal Corps Equipment Division, selected a site north of downtown Dayton for a temporary experimental engineering field where the Army would consolidate its aircraft engineering and procurement functions. It was named McCook Field for a local family that had sent 17 men to serve the Union in the Civil War.
McCook was a small field and its missions quickly outgrew the facility. In 1927, Its functions were transferred to Wright Field, now a part of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Major organizations at Wright-Patterson that trace their history to McCook include the Aeronautical Systems Center, Air Force Institute of Technology, Air Force Research Laboratory, National Air and Space Intelligence Center and National Museum of the United States Air Force.
The old airfield is now occupied by industrial buildings, public housing and playfields. Although McCook’s name still graces a local street, its rich history is largely unknown to Dayton residents (McCook is also the name of a local adult entertainment store). A 17-acre Salvation Army community center is reviving interest in the neighborhood.
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