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95-595: Selfridge Air National Guard Base or Selfridge ANGB ( IATA : MTC , ICAO : KMTC , FAA LID : MTC ) is an Air National Guard installation located in Harrison Township, Michigan , near Mount Clemens . Selfridge Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the United States entry into World War I in April 1917. The host organization is the 127th Wing (127 WG) of

190-744: A wheel . In addition, a foot bar was added to control the rudder . The 1st Aero Squadron of the Aviation Section, US Signal Corps received eight JN-2s at San Diego in July 1915. The squadron was transferred to Fort Sill , Oklahoma , in August to work with the Field Artillery School, during which one JN-2 crashed, resulting in a fatality. The pilots of the squadron met with its commander, Capt. Benjamin Foulois , to advise that

285-485: A 24-cent 1918 US Air Mail postage stamp printing error in which the blue central vignette of US Army Curtiss JN-4HM #38262, the nation's first mailplane , appeared as "inverted" on a single sheet of 100 stamps. In 1921, Lee De Forest made a short film Flying Jenny Airplane in his Phonofilm sound-on-film process. The film depicted a JN-4 flying, and recorded the sound of the Jenny, as well. The short documentary

380-530: A 33-year chapter in the history of Selfridge came to an end. The 94th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron prepared to move to Wurtsmith Air Force Base near Oscoda, Michigan, and elements of the 1st Combat Support Group were re-designated the 4708th Air Base Group on 1 January 1970. The Michigan Air National Guard's 127th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing moved its entire operation from Detroit Metropolitan Airport near Romulus to Selfridge in December, 1970. The 127th became

475-503: A black driver. Following the incident, accusations of several other improper occurrences at the base including misappropriation of government property, procurement of unlawful transfers and exchange of goods for transfers. Colman was found guilty of careless use of firearms after a court martial and demoted to captain. However, he was acquitted of 23 other charges that included authorizing illegal transfers, accepting bribes and theft of government property. The 477th Bombardment Group (Medium)

570-460: A commission. Then they were on their way as instructors to the front or to the other flying schools. being established throughout the country. Training units assigned to Selfridge Field were: Flying was considered impractical in Michigan during the winter months, so student pilots were sent to Gerstner Field at Lake Charles , Louisiana as well as to Chapman Field at Miami, Florida. Selfridge

665-654: A large tract of land on Lake St. Clair , Michigan was acquired by the Packard Motor Car Company at the urging of Packard president Henry B. Joy , who took a great interest in aviation and led the company to begin developing aircraft engines for use in aircraft engaged in World War I combat in Europe. In the spring of 1917, lobbying began in Washington to locate a military airfield at the site of

760-612: A machine gun mounted in the rear cockpit) as an improvised bomb sight that was lined up with the long axis of his aircraft, loaded a bomb in a canvas mail bag that was attached to the JN-4's belly, and launched a single-handed raid at treetop level, in support of a USMC unit that had been trapped by Haitian Cacos rebels. Although the JN-4 almost disintegrated in the pullout, the attack was effective and led to Sanderson in 1920 developing further dive-bombing techniques to provide Marine pilots with close aerial support to infantry comrades. Although

855-567: A new airport is built, replacing the old one, leaving the city's new "major" airport (or the only remaining airport) code to no longer correspond with the city's name. The original airport in Nashville, Tennessee, was built in 1936 as part of the Works Progress Administration and called Berry Field with the designation, BNA. A new facility known as Nashville International Airport was built in 1987 but still uses BNA. This

950-469: A school building. On 9 July, the first training aircraft, a Curtiss JN-4D , arrived at the new airfield, and the base was gearing up to train men in flying, bombing, radio, and photography for the war effort. The first pilots were members of the 8th and 9th Aero Squadrons , and Captain Byron Q. Jones was the first commander at Selfridge. Actual pilot training began on 16 July 1917, three months after war

1045-758: A series of biplanes built by the Glenn 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 the US Army, the "Jenny" (the common nickname derived from "JN") continued after World War I as a civilian aircraft, becoming the "backbone of American postwar [civil] aviation". Thousands of surplus Jennys were sold at bargain prices to private owners in

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1140-605: A top speed of 75 mph (121 km/h) and a service ceiling of 6,500 ft (2,000 m). The British used the JN-4 (Canadian), along with the Avro 504 , for their primary World War I trainer using the Canadian Aeroplanes Ltd. indigenous variant. Many Royal Flying Corps pilots earned their wings on the JN-4, both in Ontario and later in winter facilities at Camp Taliaferro , Texas. Although ostensibly

1235-488: A training aircraft, the Jenny was extensively modified while in service to undertake additional roles. Due to its robust but easily adapted structure able to be modified with ski undercarriage, the Canadian Jenny was flown year-round, even in inclement weather. The removable turtle deck behind the cockpits allowed for conversion to stretcher or additional supplies and equipment storage, with the modified JN-4s becoming

1330-509: Is GSN and its IATA code is SPN, and some coincide with IATA codes of non-U.S. airports. Canada's unusual codes—which bear little to no similarity with any conventional abbreviation to the city's name—such as YUL in Montréal , and YYZ in Toronto , originated from the two-letter codes used to identify weather reporting stations in the 1930s. The letters preceding the two-letter code follow

1425-601: Is also home to Detachment 1, Company B, 3-238th General Support Aviation Battalion , which currently flies the CH-47 Chinook . The on-base Selfridge Military Air Museum is operated by the Michigan Air Guard Historical Association, exhibits photos and artifacts of military aerospace history, and has an outdoor Air Park of over 30 aircraft. Selfridge Air National Guard Base is named after 1st Lieutenant Thomas E. Selfridge . He

1520-554: Is available. However, many railway administrations have their own list of codes for their stations, such as the list of Amtrak station codes . Airport codes arose out of the convenience that the practice brought pilots for location identification in the 1930s. Initially, pilots in the United States used the two-letter code from the National Weather Service (NWS) for identifying cities. This system became unmanageable for cities and towns without an NWS identifier, and

1615-523: Is different from the name in English, yet the airport code represents only the English name. Examples include: Due to scarcity of codes, some airports are given codes with letters not found in their names: The use of 'X' as a filler letter is a practice to create three-letter identifiers when more straightforward options were unavailable: Some airports in the United States retained their NWS ( National Weather Service ) codes and simply appended an X at

1710-513: Is in conjunction to rules aimed to avoid confusion that seem to apply in the United States, which state that "the first and second letters or second and third letters of an identifier may not be duplicated with less than 200 nautical miles separation." Thus, Washington, D.C. area's three airports all have radically different codes: IAD for Washington–Dulles , DCA for Washington–Reagan (District of Columbia Airport), and BWI for Baltimore (Baltimore–Washington International, formerly BAL). Since HOU

1805-543: Is not followed outside the United States: In addition, since three letter codes starting with Q are widely used in radio communication, cities whose name begins with "Q" also had to find alternate codes, as in the case of: IATA codes should not be confused with the FAA identifiers of U.S. airports. Most FAA identifiers agree with the corresponding IATA codes, but some do not, such as Saipan , whose FAA identifier

1900-416: Is used for William P. Hobby Airport , the new Houston–Intercontinental became IAH. The code BKK was originally assigned to Bangkok–Don Mueang and was later transferred to Suvarnabhumi Airport , while the former adopted DMK. The code ISK was originally assigned to Gandhinagar Airport (Nashik's old airport) and later on transferred to Ozar Airport (Nashik's current airport). Shanghai–Hongqiao retained

1995-571: The Canadian transcontinental railroads were built, each station was assigned its own two-letter Morse code : When the Canadian government established airports, it used the existing railway codes for them as well. If the airport had a weather station, authorities added a "Y" to the front of the code, meaning "Yes" to indicate it had a weather station or some other letter to indicate it did not. When international codes were created in cooperation with

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2090-472: The Joy Aviation Field on Lake St. Clair . The United States had just officially entered World War I on April 7. Proponents of the site pointed out the advantages of the field's proximity to the auto capital of the nation and the availability of the lake for practice bombing. In May 1917, it was announced that Joy Aviation Field would be included as a training Camp as part of the expansion of

2185-674: The Michigan Air National Guard is a combined Air Combat Command (ACC) and Air Mobility Command (AMC) gained organization that was established at Selfridge ANG Base on 1 April 1996, by consolidating the former 127th Fighter Wing and the 191st Airlift Group . The flying units which previously flew the F-16 Fighting Falcon and the C-130 Hercules , converted their flying missions per 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) action. Today,

2280-408: The Michigan Air National Guard , but a variety of Air Force Reserve , Navy Reserve , Marine Corps Reserve , Army Reserve , Army National Guard , and active duty Coast Guard units use the facility as well. In 1971, Selfridge ANGB became the largest and most complex joint Reserves Forces base in the United States, a position it held until surpassed by NAS JRB Fort Worth (former Carswell AFB ) in

2375-642: The Selfridge Field was renamed Selfridge Air Force Base . The base grew steadily and soundly, acquiring impressive buildings and long concrete strips. In 1950, Headquarters for the Tenth Air Force , which was in charge of all Air Reserve records for a 13-state area in the Midwest, moved to Selfridge. It recalled and trained Air Reservists, and as an administrative group, the Tenth was the largest of

2470-597: The VIII Interceptor Command on 19 January 1942 (transferred to Charleston AAF on 13 February, arrived RAF High Wycombe on 12 May). On 29 March 1943, the 332d Fighter Group of the Tuskegee Airmen completed its move to Selfridge. The commander of the Tuskegee's European and Mediterranean operations was Colonel Benjamin O. Davis Jr. , the first black officer to graduate from West Point in

2565-1025: The Waco 6 . Between 1917 and 1919, the JN-4 type accounted for several significant aviation firsts while in service with the US Army Signal Corps Aviation Section and the United States Marine Corps (USMC), including flying the first US Air Mail in May 1918. In a series of tests conducted at the US Army's Langley Field in Hampton, Virginia, in July and August 1917, the world's first "plane-to-plane" and "ground-to-plane, and vice versa" communications by radiotelephony (as opposed to radiotelegraphy which had been developed earlier) were made to and from modified US Army JN-4s by Western Electric Company ( Bell Labs ) design engineers Lewis M. Clement and Raymond Heising,

2660-416: The 1st Pursuit Group to be moved to Kelly Field , Texas, shortly after its return. On 28 August 1919, following an order from Washington, all but 40 men left for Texas airfields. Finally reduced to a staff of only 14 civilians, Selfridge Field for all practical purposes ceased to exist for government officials. Until 1921, the government leased Selfridge Field from Henry B. Joy. That year, Joy offered to sell

2755-423: The 20th century, and later the first black Air Force general . Scandal hit Selfridge on 5 May 1943, when Colonel William Truman Colman, commandant of the base, was charged with shooting Private William MacRae, a black chauffeur who was assigned to drive him. Early reports stated that the incident occurred because Colman's regular driver was off-duty and a dispatcher was unaware of his standing order that he not have

2850-730: The 927 ARW has become an Air Force Reserve "Associate" wing to MacDill's 6th Air Mobility Wing , with both organizations flying the KC-135R PACER CRAG variant of the Stratotanker. NAF Detroit was established as a tenant activity at Selfridge ANGB in 1969 following the disestablishment of Naval Air Station Grosse Ile , Michigan. NAF Detroit remained operational until 1994, when it was closed and realigned due to BRAC action. An Echelon IV command of Naval Air Force Reserve, NAF Detroit hosted numerous Naval Reserve augmentation units supporting fleet commands and shore activities in

2945-960: The ACC-gained 107th Fighter Squadron flies the A-10C Thunderbolt II , also known as the A-10 "Warthog." The AMC-gained 127th Airlift Group was renamed the 127th Air Refueling Group and its 171st Air Refueling Squadron now flies the KC-135T Stratotanker . The 127th Wing was also home to the Air National Guard's now defunct 107th Weather Flight, which is operationally gained by the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). These specially trained Airmen collect weather data, develop forecasting products and direct forecasts to

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3040-713: The Air National Guard's 127th Wing at Selfridge ANGB in 1991 and the Department of Defense became an official supporter of the STARBASE program in 1993. The United States Border Patrol Detroit Sector headquarters is located at Selfridge Air National Guard Base. Detroit Sector area of responsibility includes Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. In March 2011, the United States Customs and Border Protection "formally opened its new Operational Integration Center on Selfridge". The first Air Show at Selfridge

3135-467: The Air Service, becoming one of only nine military airfields in the country at the time. The United States Army leased the 640 acres (260 ha) of land, and construction commenced immediately to provide the necessary road and rail access to the site. Within a month, the newspaper was reporting that 1,000 men were at work at the field constructing hangars, barracks, supply depots, machine shops and

3230-774: The Atlantic and Pacific Fleets, as well as three operational Reserve Force Aviation Squadrons (RESFORONs): Fleet Composite Squadron Twelve (VC-12) flying the A-4F Skyhawk II , Patrol Squadron 93 (VP-93) flying the P-3B Orion , and Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 62 (VR-62) flying the C-9B Skytrain II . NAF Detroit also hosted Marine Wing Support Group 47 (MWSG-47) of the Marine Air Reserve 's 4th Marine Aircraft Wing . On 15 July 2012, MWSG-47

3325-470: The JN-2 was unsafe because of low power, shoddy construction, lack of stability, and overly sensitive rudder. Foulois and his executive officer Capt. Thomas D. Milling disagreed, and flights continued until a second JN-2 crashed in early September, resulting in the grounding of the six remaining JN-2s until mid-October. When two new JN-3s were delivered, the grounded aircraft were then upgraded in accordance with

3420-514: The JN-4 (Canadian), also known as the " Canuck ", had some differences from the American version, including a lighter airframe, ailerons on both wings, a bigger and more rounded rudder, and differently shaped wings, stabilizer, and elevators. As many as 12 JN-4 aircraft were fitted with an aftermarket Sikorsky wing by the then-fledgling company in the late 1920s. The Curtiss JN-4 is possibly North America's most famous World War I aircraft. It

3515-733: The Selfridge facility, plans were announced for the activation of the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station, Detroit, at Selfridge. A new Wing Commander, Col. Kenneth E. Rosebush, also arrived in August from Headquarters, Pacific Command. In July, 1966, the Coast Guard moved to Selfridge Air Force Base as a tenant. From 1950 to 1974, the Selfridge AFB radar station , including a Missile Master Army Air Defense Command Post after 1960, provided ground-controlled interception coverage for interceptor aircraft and surface-to-air missiles . Selfridge

3610-480: The Selfridge's 13th Fighter-Intercepter Squadron of the 4708th Air Defense Wing won the Eastern Air Defense Force rocket gunnery championship; and on 10 May 1956, a Selfridge F-86D accidentally fired 22 Mighty Mouse rockets while on the ground. In November 1957, Air Defense Command (ADC) assumed control of Selfridge AFB. The inactivation of Tenth Air Force began in the fall of 1959, and it

3705-453: The U.S. For example, several airports in Alaska have scheduled commercial service, such as Stebbins and Nanwalek , which use FAA codes instead of ICAO codes. Thus, neither system completely includes all airports with scheduled service. Some airports are identified in colloquial speech by their IATA code. Examples include LAX and JFK . Curtiss JN-4 The Curtiss JN "Jenny" is

3800-783: The US Navy. A floatplane version was built for the navy, which was so modified, it was essentially a different airframe. This was designated the N-9 . In US Army Air Service usage, the JN-4s and JN-6s were configured to the JNS ("S" for "standardized") model. The Jenny remained in service with the US Army until 1927. After World War I, thousands were sold on the civilian market, including one to Charles Lindbergh in May 1923, in which he then soloed. Surplus US Army aircraft were sold (some still in their unopened packing crates) for as little as $ 50, flooding

3895-481: The United States, because "Y" was seldom used in the United States, Canada simply used the weather station codes for its airports, changing the "Y" to a "Z" if it conflicted with an airport code already in use. The result is that most major Canadian airport codes start with "Y" followed by two letters in the city's name (for example, YOW for O tta w a , YWG for W innipe g , YYC for C algar y , or YVR for V ancouve r ), whereas other Canadian airports append

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3990-440: The airport itself instead of the city it serves, while another code is reserved which refers to the city itself which can be used to search for flights to any of its airports. For instance: Or using a code for the city in one of the major airports and then assigning another code to another airport: When different cities with the same name each have an airport, they need to be assigned different codes. Examples include: Sometimes,

4085-418: The airport's former name, such as Orlando International Airport 's MCO (for Mc C o y Air Force Base), or Chicago's O'Hare International Airport , which is coded ORD for its original name: Or char d Field. In rare cases, the code comes from the airport's unofficial name, such as Kahului Airport 's OGG (for local aviation pioneer Jimmy H ogg ). In large metropolitan areas, airport codes are often named after

4180-596: The closure of NAF Detroit and its realignment as Naval Air Reserve Center Detroit (NAVAIRESCEN Detroit) with no operational flying units or activities. VR-62 was transferred in April 1994 to the former NAS South Weymouth , Massachusetts, until that base's closure in September 1996 due to BRAC 1995 action. Concurrent with that move, the squadron also transitioned from the C-9B to the C-130T Hercules . Transferring to

4275-502: The code SHA, while the newer Shanghai–Pudong adopted PVG. The opposite was true for Berlin : the airport Berlin–Tegel used the code TXL, while its smaller counterpart Berlin–Schönefeld used SXF; the Berlin Brandenburg Airport has the airport code BER, which is also part of its branding. The airports of Hamburg (HAM) and Hannover (HAJ) are less than 100 nautical miles (190 km) apart and therefore share

4370-558: The definitive JN-4D. Production from spare or reconditioned parts continued sporadically until 1927, although most of the final orders were destined for the civilian market in Canada and the United States. Like the re-engined JN-4H version of the most-produced JN-4 subtype, the final production version of the aircraft was the JN-6 , powered by a Wright Aeronautical license-built, 150 hp (112 kW) Hispano-Suiza 8 V-8, first ordered in 1918 for

4465-487: The developers of the experimental wind generator-powered airborne wireless voice transmitter and receiver equipment. In early 1919, a USMC JN-4 was also credited with what is believed to be the first successful dive-bombing attack during the United States occupation of Haiti . USMC pilot Lt Lawson H. Sanderson mounted a carbine barrel in front of the windshield of his JN-4 (previously, an unarmed trainer that had

4560-552: The duration of the war were being discharged, and no new students were being trained. Beginning 27 June 1919, Selfridge became the home of the 1st Pursuit Group , currently the oldest combat group in the Air Force. The group was organized in France during World War I and like many others, was demobilized after the war then re-created in 1919. It remained based at Selfridge for approximately 20 years. Many notable names are included in

4655-405: The end of World War I, the young base had 1,028 enlisted men and 200 officers. It had trained 72 pilots and 700 mechanics, and 1,002 men had attended gunnery school. The 1918 Armistice with Germany ended World War I. The end of the war, however, produced some major changes. From a training field producing mechanics and gunners, Selfridge became a pursuit (fighter) field, but men who had enlisted for

4750-934: The end. Examples include: A lot of minor airfields without scheduled passenger traffic have ICAO codes but not IATA codes, since the four letter codes allow more number of codes, and IATA codes are mainly used for passenger services such as tickets, and ICAO codes by pilots. In the US, such airfields use FAA codes instead of ICAO. There are airports with scheduled service for which there are ICAO codes but not IATA codes, such as Nkhotakota Airport/Tangole Airport in Malawi or Chōfu Airport in Tokyo, Japan. There are also several minor airports in Russia (e.g., Omsukchan Airport ) which lack IATA codes and instead use internal Russian codes for booking. Flights to these airports cannot be booked through

4845-625: The first aerial ambulances, carrying out this role both during wartime and in later years. Most of the 6,813 Jennys built were unarmed, although some had machine guns and bomb racks for advanced training. With deployment limited to North American bases, none saw combat service in World War I. The Curtiss factory in Buffalo, New York, was the largest such facility in the world, but due to production demands, from November 1917 to January 1919, six different manufacturers were involved in production of

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4940-512: The first series of JN-4s was virtually identical to the JN-3, the JN-4 series was based on production orders from 1915 to 1919. Data from Curtiss Aircraft 1907–1947, The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft General characteristics Performance An image of the Curtis Jenny appeared on the first airmail stamps issued by the U.S. Post Office in 1918 The " Inverted Jenny " (C-3a) is

5035-557: The first three letters of the city in which it is located, for instance: The code may also be a combination of the letters in its name, such as: Sometimes the airport code reflects pronunciation, rather than spelling, namely: For many reasons, some airport codes do not fit the normal scheme described above. Some airports, for example, cross several municipalities or regions, and therefore, use codes derived from some of their letters, resulting in: Other airports—particularly those serving cities with multiple airports—have codes derived from

5130-425: The following format: Most large airports in Canada have codes that begin with the letter "Y", although not all "Y" codes are Canadian (for example, YUM for Yuma, Arizona , and YNT for Yantai , China), and not all Canadian airports start with the letter "Y" (for example, ZBF for Bathurst, New Brunswick ). Many Canadian airports have a code that starts with W, X or Z, but none of these are major airports. When

5225-597: The form of " YYZ ", a song by the rock band Rush , which utilizes the Morse code signal as a musical motif. Some airports have started using their IATA codes as brand names , such as Calgary International Airport (YYC) and Vancouver International Airport (YVR). Numerous New Zealand airports use codes that contain the letter Z, to distinguish them from similar airport names in other countries. Examples include HLZ for Hamilton , ZQN for Queenstown , and WSZ for Westport . Predominantly, airport codes are named after

5320-516: The former NAS Brunswick , Maine, subsequent BRAC action in 2008 direct NAS Brunswick's closure in May 2011, resulting in VR-62 being transferred again in 2010 to its current home station of NAS Jacksonville , Florida. NAF Detroit became NAVAIRESCEN Detroit on 1 October 1994 and remained as a tenant command at Selfridge ANGB. It was renamed Navy Operational Support Center Detroit (NOSC Detroit) in 2006 and downgraded to an Echelon V command. CGAS Detroit

5415-417: The group's roster including George H. Brett , James "Jimmy" Doolittle , Carl A. Spaatz , Curtis LeMay , Frank O. Hunter , Emmett "Rosie" O'Donnell , Earle E. Partridge , Paul Wurtsmith and over 100 men who rose to the rank of Air Force general ("Home of Generals"). (Lieutenant LeMay was fined $ 50 for flying a biplane through Selfridge Hangar #6.) The uncertain future of Selfridge Field, however, caused

5510-430: The international air booking systems or have international luggage transferred there, and thus, they are booked instead through the airline or a domestic booking system. Several heliports in Greenland have 3-letter codes used internally which might be IATA codes for airports in faraway countries. There are several airports with scheduled service that have not been assigned ICAO codes that do have IATA codes, especially in

5605-429: The largest flying unit on the base, and Air National Guard jets dominated the Selfridge skies. On 1 July 1971, Selfridge Air Force Base was transferred to the Michigan Air National Guard , becoming the first major active Air Force base to come under control of the Air National Guard . At Selfridge Air National Guard Base, the 127th Wing (127 WG) is the host wing to more than 30 tenant units representing every branch of

5700-564: The last time in 1936. IATA airport code The assignment of these codes is governed by IATA Resolution 763, and it is administered by the IATA's headquarters in Montreal , Canada. The codes are published semi-annually in the IATA Airline Coding Directory. IATA provides codes for airport handling entities, and for certain railway stations. Alphabetical lists of airports sorted by IATA code are available. A list of railway station codes , shared in agreements between airlines and rail lines such as Amtrak , SNCF , and Deutsche Bahn ,

5795-501: The late 1990s. U.S. Army Garrison-Selfridge serves the Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) supporting tank construction in the Detroit area. The airport is home to the 176th Selfridge Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), the auxiliary civilian arm of the US Air Force, as well as the headquarters of CAP's Michigan Wing . Selfridge is home to Headquarters and Service Company, 1st Battalion, 24th Marines and Marine Wing Support Group 47 (MWSG-47). The base

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5890-401: The local area. The base was quick to render aid to its distressed neighbors, providing emergency medical care, sending vehicles to help clear away the debris and furnishing emergency shelters for those made homeless by the storm. In 1965, the Strategic Air Command announced that the 4045th Air Refueling Wing was to be discontinued beginning in 1966. In the continually changing pattern of uses of

5985-506: The market. With private and commercial flying in North America unhampered by regulations concerning their use, pilots found the Jenny's stability and slow speed made it ideal for stunt flying and aerobatic displays in the barnstorming era between the world wars, with the nearly identical Standard J-1 aircraft often used alongside it. Some were still flying into the 1930s. JN-4 airframes were used to produce early Weaver Aircraft Company / Advance Aircraft Company / Waco aircraft, such as

6080-437: The military – active duty (to include the Coast Guard), Reserve and National Guard. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations Northern Region and Great Lakes Air and Marine Branch are also based at Selfridge as well as CBP's U.S. Border Patrol Detroit Sector. Collectively, these organizations compose what is known "Team Selfridge," one community with synergistic goals and missions. The 127th Wing (127 WG) of

6175-612: The name of the airport itself, for instance: This is also true with some cities with a single airport (even if there is more than one airport in the metropolitan area of said city), such as BDL for Hartford, Connecticut 's B ra dl ey International Airport or Baltimore's BWI, for B altimore/ W ashington I nternational Airport ; however, the latter also serves Washington, D.C. , alongside Dulles International Airport (IAD, for I nternational A irport D ulles) and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA, for D istrict of C olumbia A irport). The code also sometimes comes from

6270-411: The new design. In March 1916, these eight JN-3s were deployed to Mexico for aerial observation during the Pancho Villa Expedition of 1916–1917. After the successful deployment of the JN-3, Curtiss produced a development, known as the JN-4, with orders from both the US Army and an order in December 1916 from the Royal Flying Corps for a training aircraft to be based in Canada. The Canadian version,

6365-433: The next 20 years. In 1922, Selfridge was declared a permanent installation under command of Maj. Carl "Tooey" Spaatz, who later became Chief of Staff for the Air Force. Air races at Selfridge from 1922 through the 1930s included the first John Mitchell Trophy Race (named for John L. Mitchell and last held in 1936 at Selfridge), the Pulitzer Trophy Race , and the Curtiss Trophy Race and Boeing Trophy. Charles A. Lindbergh

6460-416: The one they are located in: Other airport codes are of obscure origin, and each has its own peculiarities: In Asia, codes that do not correspond with their city's names include Niigata 's KIJ , Nanchang 's KHN and Pyongyang 's FNJ . EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg , which serves three countries, has three airport codes: BSL, MLH, EAP. Some cities have a name in their respective language which

6555-479: The opening of a new gunnery school at the airport. Instructors were borrowed from the French, British, and Canadian flying corps. By July 1918, Selfridge had reached its peak performance in gunnery training. Over 250 students were enrolled at one time, and on one occasion 52 planes were in the air over the field simultaneously. Classes were so filled that 150 Lewis air guns, 60 Lewis ground guns, 80 Marlin air guns, 90 camera guns and 10 aerial cameras were in use daily. By

6650-442: The property for $ 190,000, a price government appraisers felt was too high. But when the National Aeronautics Advisory Committee pointed out the field's proximity to the mechanical and industrial centers of Detroit, the price was paid. The field sprang back to life on 1 July 1922, when the 1st Pursuit Group, which had gone from Kelly Field to Ellington Field outside Houston, Texas, in 1921, returned to make Selfridge its home for almost

6745-451: The same first and middle letters, indicating that this rule might be followed only in Germany. Many cities retain historical names in their airport codes, even after having undergone an official name/spelling/transliteration change: Some airport codes are based on previous names associated with a present airport, often with a military heritage. These include: Some airports are named for an administrative division or nearby city, rather than

6840-500: The station code of Malton, Mississauga , where it is located). YUL is used for Montréal–Trudeau (UL was the ID code for the beacon in the city of Kirkland , now the location of Montréal–Trudeau). While these codes make it difficult for the public to associate them with a particular Canadian city, some codes have become popular in usage despite their cryptic nature, particularly at the largest airports. Toronto's code has entered pop culture in

6935-672: The tenant units at Selfridge. From 1947 to 1970, the base hosted three successive Cold War aircraft units: the 56th Fighter Wing (28 July 1947 – 1952), which conducted the first west-to-east jet fighter transatlantic crossing (US to Scotland via Greenland, 1948); the 4708th Defense (later Air Defense) Wing from 1952 to 1956; the 439th Fighter-Bomber Wing (1952–7); and the 1st Fighter Wing (Air Defense) from 1956 to 1970. The units' Selfridge aircraft were F-51 Mustangs (439th, 1953–4), Lockheed P-80 Shooting Stars (439th 1953–6, 56th), F-84 Thunderstreaks (439th), North American F-86D Sabres (1st), and F-102 Delta Daggers (1st). In April 1954,

7030-839: The test a success and proclaimed that similarly planes could be used to in Arctic regions. During the 1930s and 1940s, squadrons "from Selfridge [frequently] performed maneuvers over Detroit, [causing delight to] local citizens." In 1935, Selfridge became part of the top-level General Headquarters (GHO), Air Force, along with five other strategically located installations: Mitchel Field in New York, Langley Field in Virginia, Barksdale Field in Louisiana, March Field in California and Hamilton Field in California. A large expansion program

7125-515: The two-letter code of the radio beacons that were the closest to the actual airport, such as YQX in Gander or YXS in Prince George . Four of the ten provincial capital airports in Canada have ended up with codes beginning with YY, including: Canada's largest airport is YYZ for Toronto Pearson (as YTZ was already allocated to Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport , the airport was given

7220-529: The use of two letters allowed only a few hundred combinations; a three-letter system of airport codes was implemented. This system allowed for 17,576 permutations, assuming all letters can be used in conjunction with each other. Since the U.S. Navy reserved "N" codes, and to prevent confusion with Federal Communications Commission broadcast call signs , which begin with "W" or "K", the airports of certain U.S. cities whose name begins with one of these letters had to adopt "irregular" airport codes: This practice

7315-678: The warfighters on the ground, sometimes going ahead of a main operation to prepare soldiers with weather data for the success of the mission. Pursuant to Base Realignment and Closure, 2005 , the Air Force Reserve Command 's 927th Air Refueling Wing (927 ARW) that was previously based at Selfridge was directed to transfer its 4x KC-135T Stratotanker aircraft to the Michigan Air National Guard and relocate to MacDill AFB , Florida in August 2007 as verified by Selfridge's Public Affairs Office. At MacDill,

7410-560: The years after the war, and became central to the barnstorming era that helped awaken the US to civil aviation through much of the 1920s. Curtiss combined the best features of the model J and model N trainers , built for the US Army and US Navy , and began producing the JN or "Jenny" series of aircraft in 1915. Curtiss built only a limited number of the JN-1 and JN-2 biplanes . The design

7505-520: Was assigned to Selfridge in 1927, returned in July 1927 (his transatlantic aircraft, Spirit of St. Louis , was escorted by 22 1st Pursuit Group planes)m and returned again 10 November 1927 to become a member of the 1st Pursuit Group and complete his reserve training. In 1925, planes equipped with ice skids left Selfridge for Camp Skeel in Oscoda, Michigan to determine the usefulness of airplanes in harsh winter. Squadron commander Thomas Lamphier declared

7600-516: Was at 42°35′55″N 82°49′9″W  /  42.59861°N 82.81917°W  / 42.59861; -82.81917 . The 3d Battalion, 517th Artillery manned the Nike facilities. On 29 October 1969, the Secretary of Defense announced Project 703, a program calling for a reduction of military forces as a result of budgetary cuts. As a result, the 1st Fighter Wing was inactivated on 31 December, and

7695-550: Was commissioned by Glenn Curtiss from Englishman Benjamin Douglas Thomas, formerly of the Sopwith Aviation Company . The JN-2 was an equal-span biplane with ailerons controlled by a shoulder yoke in the aft cockpit . It was deficient in performance, particularly climbing, because of excessive weight. The improved JN-3 incorporated unequal spans with ailerons only on the upper wings, controlled by

7790-403: Was completed by July 1960. At that time, the 5th Air Force Reserve Region was established at Selfridge. Also added as a tenant in July was the 4045th Air Refueling Wing , Strategic Air Command (SAC). On 8 May 1964, disaster struck the area north of the base. A tornado cut a wide swath along the shores of Lake St. Clair, causing some damage to the base and bringing injury, death and destruction to

7885-617: Was deactivated from service. VC-12 was transferred to NAS Oceana , Virginia, in 1975 and was redesignated as Fighter Composite Squadron 12 (VFC-12) in 1988, where it currently flies the F/A-18 Hornet as a Reserve adversary squadron. VP-93 was disestablished on 30 September 1994 due to (1) retirement of the P-3B from the U.S. Navy inventory and a transition to an all P-3C force, (2) a reduction in active and Reserve VP squadrons as part of post-Cold War drawdown, and (3) BRAC action directing

7980-432: Was declared. Some of these students, a few of them from Mount Clemens area, were given a few flights and then, within two weeks, whisked overseas for advanced training and to meet the enemy. During the summer of 1917, 72 men won aviator ratings and, combined, logged over 3,700 flying hours. From that time on, hundreds of young men passed through Selfridge Air Pilot School for the four weeks of training which qualified them for

8075-490: Was detailed for aeronautical duty in April 1908 after being an assistant to Professor Alexander Graham Bell , who was conducting aeronautical experiments in Nova Scotia. Selfridge was killed on 17 September 1908 while flying as a passenger with Orville Wright at Fort Myer , Virginia. He was the first person to be killed in a crash of a powered aircraft. The origins of Selfridge Air National Guard Base date to 1916, when

8170-885: Was established in 1966 as a tenant command at Selfridge ANGB, operating the HH-52A Sea Guard helicopter in the Great Lakes region. Air Station Detroit transitioned to the HH-65A Dolphin in 1988 and continues to operate the MH-65D version of this aircraft in search and rescue, maritime safety, and other homeland security/homeland defense missions. Other activities located at Selfridge include STARBASE , an Air National Guard initiative that engages in activity-based science and math lessons. The program uses an aviation theme to allow local children to excel, regardless of their economic situation. STARBASE traces its roots to

8265-428: Was launched in 1939 to train four new pursuit groups at Selfridge for eventual assignment to other GHQ fields. Many of the temporary frame buildings still in use today were built at that time, when a $ 13.5 million construction program was started at Selfridge. The outbreak of war in Europe in 1939 again brought many changes to Selfridge Field. The 17th Pursuit Squadron , a member of the 1st Pursuit Group since June 1918,

8360-425: Was not considered official because the race judges were not yet in place. Four days later, on 18 October, Army Brig. Gen. Billy Mitchell flew the same aircraft at 224.05 miles per hour, officially setting the new air speed record. Maughan's day was not in vain, however, as he would later go on to set new air speed records several times throughout the 1920s. Mitchell Air Races were also held at Selfridge in 1927 and for

8455-571: Was reactivated as the 477th Bombardment Group (M) (Colored) at Selfridge on 15 January 1944 to train Tuskegee Airmen with Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighters and North American B-25 Mitchell bombers. Following a reprimand of base commander Colonel William Boyd for segregating blacks, the Group relocated "without any prior warning or notification to its personnel to Godman Field , Kentucky, on 5 May 1944. After World War II , Selfridge expanded to its present size of 3,600 acres (1,500 ha), and in 1947

8550-593: Was reassigned to the Philippines. More Selfridge pilots left for the Pacific in a surprise move early in 1940, when 40 pilots and mechanics volunteered to serve with Gen. Claire Chennault and his Flying Tigers . They left for Rangoon early in the summer. Selfridge was a World War II army airfield of the First Air Force and the location where Colonel Lawrence P. Hickey headed a cadre that organized

8645-412: Was the 1922 Mitchell Air Races. During that event, both official and unofficial air speed records were set. Prior to the races officially starting – the pilots flew a measured course over Lake St. Clair and back to the base – Army Lt. Russell L. Maughan flew a Curtiss R-6 aircraft 248.5 miles per hours, more than 25 mph more than the fastest speed ever recorded to that point. However, Maughan's flight

8740-669: Was the 1950 location of the Headquarters and Headquarters Battery (HHB) 28th Air Defense Artillery Group for the Army's Detroit Defense Area, part of Army Air Defense Command . Beginning in 1955, the base also had Project Nike radars for dual launch sites on Selfridge AFB at 42°35′46″N 82°49′4″W  /  42.59611°N 82.81778°W  / 42.59611; -82.81778 with battery D-14 in service until February 1963 and co-located battery D-16 continuing until June 1971. The "shared" Selfridge integrated fire control (IFC) area

8835-561: Was the first production of the De Forest Phonofilm company. Among many later films depicting the barnstorming era when the Jennys "ruled supreme" and played a feature role, was The Spirit of St. Louis (1957) and The Great Waldo Pepper (1974). In The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955), authentic OX-5 Jennys were showcased as United States Army Air Service training aircraft. Broadcast on April 15, 1987, by PBS ,

8930-595: Was transformed into a mechanics school for the winter months. 700 qualified mechanics were graduated from this school, which lasted until March 1918. Six squadrons from Kelly Field , Texas were sent to Selfridge for study in the shops. The training center suffered an early setback in March 1918, as the Clinton River flooded the entire site, and all personnel were evacuated to schools and churches in nearby Mount Clemens . On April 1, 1918, preparations got underway for

9025-428: Was widely used during World War I to train beginning pilots, with an estimated 95% of all trainees having flown a JN-4. The US version was called "Jenny", a derivation from its official designation. It was a twin-seat (student in front of instructor), dual-control biplane. Its tractor propeller and maneuverability made it ideal for initial pilot training with a 90  hp (67 kW) Curtiss OX-5 V8 engine giving

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