Bryan Air Force Base is a former

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

base in

unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...

Brazos County, Texas Brazos County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 233,849. The county seat is Bryan. Along with Brazoria County, the county is named for the Brazos River, which forms its western border. The ...

, located just west of Bryan. Today, the location houses The Texas A&M University System RELLIS Campus. Bryan Air Force Base was originally activated in 1943 as a

U.S. Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

installation known as Bryan Army Air Field. The base housed a flight instructors' school and was assigned the task of developing a standardized system of instrument flight training. The Full Panel Attitude System developed at the base was one of the most significant contributions the base made to pilot training. The instrument training school at Bryan AAF was the only one of its kind in the United States Army Air Forces. The installation became Bryan Air Force Base upon the establishment of the

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

as a separate service in September 1947. Assigned to the

Air Training Command Air Training Command (ATC) is a former United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command designation. It was headquartered at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, but was initially formed at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. It was re-designated as Ai ...

, it conducted advanced flight training in the

T-33 Shooting Star The Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star (or T-Bird) is an American subsonic jet trainer. It was produced by Lockheed and made its first flight in 1948. The T-33 was developed from the Lockheed P-80/F-80 starting as TP-80C/TF-80C in development, then d ...

. Deactivated in May 1961, the land and buildings were leased to the Texas A&M University in 1962, and in 1988 full ownership of the former base was transferred to Texas A&M University at virtually no cost.

References

* Manning, Thomas A. (2005), ''History of Air Education and Training Command, 1942–2002''. Office of History and Research, Headquarters, AETC, Randolph AFB, Texas * Shaw, Frederick J. (2004), ''Locating Air Force Base Sites, History’s Legacy'', Air Force History and Museums Program, United States Air Force, Washington DC.

External links

Bryan Air Force Base, The Handbook of Texas Online, Texas State Historical Association (TSHA)
{{Authority control 1942 establishments in Texas Installations of the United States Air Force in Texas Military installations closed in 1961 Defunct airports in Texas Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Texas Buildings and structures in Brazos County, Texas Bryan, Texas 1947 disestablishments in Texas 1951 establishments in Texas 1961 disestablishments in Texas

See also

References

External links