Dodd Army Airfield was an airfield located within the current boundaries of Fort Sam Houston in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

. Dodd Field includes the area bounded on the north by Rittiman Road, on the west by Harry Wurzbach Memorial Highway, on the south by Winans (formerly Dashiell) Road and on the east by the

Fort Sam Houston Fort Sam Houston is a U.S. Army post in San Antonio, Texas. "Fort Sam Houston, TX • About Fort Sam Houston" (overview), US Army, 2007, webpageSH-Army. Known colloquially as "Fort Sam," it is named for the U.S. Senator from Texas, U.S. Represen ...

Reservation boundary.

History

Known originally as Remount Station #1, the area was used as a

U.S. Army Remount Service A part of the Quartermaster Corps, the U.S. Army Remount Service provided horses (and later mules and dogs) as remounts to U.S. Army units. Evolving from both the Remount Service of the Quartermaster Corps and a general horse-breeding program unde ...

depot which supported the cavalry troops assigned to Fort Sam Houston. Aviation started at Dodd Field about 1915, and continued through the early years of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Most of the first aircraft assigned to the Army were based here with the 1st Aero Squadron when it transferred from Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in 1915. The squadron deployed in support of the 1916–1917 Punitive Expedition into Mexico from the Remount Station. On 1 November 1916, the 3d Aero Squadron activated there and flew the

Curtiss JN-4 The Curtiss JN "Jenny" was a series of biplanes built by the Curtiss Aeroplane Company of Hammondsport, New York, later the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company. Although the Curtiss JN series was originally produced as a training aircraft for th ...

. The 3d departed the Remount on 5 April 1917 to establish a new airfield to the southwest of San Antonio. This new field became Kelly Field by the summer of 1917. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the aerodrome served as a supply depot. Aviation returned to the airfield in June 1925, when the 12th Observation Squadron transferred there to support the 2d Division. On 10 May 1928, the field was designated Dodd Field in War Department General Order Number 5. It was named in honor of Colonel Townsend Foster Dodd, Air Service, who was killed in an aircraft accident on October 5, 1919 at Bustleton Field near Philadelphia. At the time, he was serving as Commander of

Langley Field Langley may refer to: People * Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name * Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer * Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perfo ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. The 12th remained at Dodd until 31 October 1931 when the squadron transferred to Brooks Field, south of San Antonio. In the 1930s, the Coast Guard briefly used Dodd for air support, and Kelly used the field to train bombardiers. During

, the 63d Troop Carrier Group based

C-47 Skytrain The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in f ...

transport aircraft at Dodd Army Airfield from September though November 1942. The departure of the 63d ended flying operations at Dodd. In 1943, a prisoner of war camp was established there, and it held Axis POWs until 1946. In 1949, Dodd was converted into a government housing area for Army personnel stationed at Ft. Sam Houston. The area eventually was absorbed into Fort Sam Houston.

References

* * {{Cite web , last=Freeman , first=Paul , date=November 22, 2021 , title=Texas: Northeastern San Antonio area , url=http://www.airfields-freeman.com/TX/Airfields_TX_SanAntonioNE.htm , url-status=live , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220707003022/http://www.airfields-freeman.com/TX/Airfields_TX_SanAntonioNE.htm , archive-date=2022-07-07 , website=

Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields is an online database detailing information and first hand memories about airports in the United States which are no longer in operation, or are rarely used. The website was started by Paul Freeman in 1999 a ...

External links

*An extensive history can be found on th
Fort Sam Houston website
Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces I Troop Carrier Command Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Texas Airports in Texas Military in San Antonio History of San Antonio 1911 establishments in Texas 1945 disestablishments in Texas Joint Base San Antonio

History

See also

References

External links