Taylor Field - Montgomery County, Alabama
Posted by: 
trodman
N 32° 18.579 W 086° 07.025
16S E 583116 N 3575101
A marker commemorating Taylor Field, a WWI era training field of the Army Air Service in 1917.
Waymark Code: WM9W42
Location: Alabama, United States
Date Posted: 10/03/2010
Views: 23
"Montgomery's first military flying installation was established 200 yards of this spot in November of 1917. The facility was named for captain Ralph L. Taylor, who was killed in an airplane crash at Mineola Field, New York in August of 1917. The primary flying school here included 16 hangers, repair shops, warehouses, quarters, a hospital, and nearly 200 JN-4 and DH-4 aircraft on its 800 acres. One hundred and thirty-nine fledgling pilots completed the eight-week course and some served in France during the First World War. Taylor Field closed in April of 1919 and reopened as Gunter Axillary Air Field No. 5 during World War II. It was closed again in July of 1946.
Erected by the Montgomery Chapter of the Air Force Association and Founders Flight, Order of Daedalians."
Marker Name: Taylor Field
Marker Type: Rural Roadside
Addtional Information::
Little further information can be found on the web concerning this training field, however, some very nice aerial photos of the site during its time as an airfield as well as the decades after it had been abandoned can be found here:
http://www.airfields-freeman.com/AL/Airfields_AL_Montgomery.htm#taylor
Date Dedicated / Placed: 1993
Marker Number: Not Listed
|
Visit Instructions:
Please post a photo of you OR your GPS at the marker location. Also if you know of any additional links not already mentioned about this bit of Alabama history please include that in your log.