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95-541: Initially established as Park Field , it was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the United States entry into World War I in April 1917. The NSA has over 7,500 enlisted and officer personnel, civilians, and full-time contract personnel, who provide all essential logistic and operational support to the commands and activities on board. As the base has evolved and changed, so has its impact on

190-514: A daily rate of 133 in 1931). The 1929 crash brought the Roaring Twenties to a halt. As tentatively expressed by economic historian Charles P. Kindleberger , in 1929, there was no lender of last resort effectively present, which, if it had existed and been properly exercised, would have been key in shortening the business slowdown that normally follows financial crises. The crash instigated widespread and long-lasting consequences for

285-634: A mass of 250 million bushels of wheat to be "carried over" when 1929 opened. By May there was also a winter wheat crop of 560 million bushels ready for harvest in the Mississippi Valley. The oversupply caused such a drop in wheat prices that the net incomes of farmers from wheat were threatened with extinction. Stock markets are always sensitive to the future state of commodity markets, and the slump in Wall Street that had been predicted for May by Sir George Paish arrived on time. In June 1929,

380-427: A more even flow of students. Each training field consisted of 100 airplanes and 144 cadets, with several training squadrons and a Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC). Between June and late November 1917, manufacturers met the immediate demand for primary trainers with the delivery of 600 new Curtiss JN-4 A Jennies, as the airplane became known. The famous Jenny remained the ubiquitous primary trainer throughout

475-512: A number of fields provided primary training: Hazelhurst Field (Mineola, New York), Selfridge Field (Mt. Clemens, Michigan), Wilbur Wright Field (Fairfield, Ohio), Chanute Field (Rantoul, Illinois), Scott Field (Belleville, Illinois), Camp Kelly (San Antonio, Texas), and Rockwell Field (the old North Island site in San Diego). Proposed advanced schools at Houston, Texas, and Lake Charles, Louisiana, were also used for primary training until

570-582: A permanent naval installation during the Korean War , and during the 1950s, it supported approximately 13,000 uniformed and civilian Naval personnel. During the Vietnam War , 23,000 trainees were assigned to NAS Memphis, which continued to provide service to the U.S. Navy into the 1990s. The 1993 Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) directed the realignment of NAS Memphis. The largest segments of this BRAC action were as follows: NAS Memphis

665-516: A plateau across the river at Tours, came into American hands as the 2d AIC in September, and it remained the principal American primary flying school in France until the program's end. Tours and Issoudun conducted primary training for as many cadets as possible, even though some were left to languish, while other European schools also accepted trainees at overflow levels. Some new arrivals stayed at

760-490: A practice of suspending trading when prices fell rapidly to limit panic selling . Scholars differ over crash's effect on the Great Depression, with some claiming that the price fluctuations were insufficient on their own to trigger a major collapse of the financial system, with others arguing that the crash, combined with the other economic problems in the U.S. at the end of the 1920s, should be jointly interpreted as

855-508: A serious setback to industry when industrial production is for the most part in a healthy and balanced condition?" They argued that there must be some setback, but there was not yet sufficient evidence to prove that it would be long or would necessarily produce a general industrial depression. However, The Economist also cautioned that some bank failures were also to be expected and some banks may not have had any reserves left for financing commercial and industrial enterprises. It concluded that

950-445: A stage in the business cycles which affect all capitalist economies. The " Roaring Twenties ", the decade following World War I that led to the crash, was a time of wealth and excess. Building on post-war optimism, rural Americans migrated to the cities in vast numbers throughout the decade with hopes of finding a more prosperous life in the ever-growing expansion of America's industrial sector. Scholars believe that declines in

1045-546: A strategy used during the Panic of 1907 . This encouraged a brief recovery before Black Tuesday. Further action failed to halt the fall, which continued until July 8, 1932; by then, the stock market had lost some 90% of its pre-crash value. The United States Congress responded to the events by passing the Banking Act of 1933 (Glass–Steagall Act), which separated commercial and investment banking . Stock exchanges introduced

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1140-491: A student capacity of 300. After completion of their primary training, flight cadets were then transferred to another base for advanced training. Training units assigned to Park Field were: By February 1918, flight operations were in full swing, but with the sudden end of World War I on 11 November 1918, the future operational status of Park Field was unknown. Cadets in flight training on 11 November were allowed to complete their training, but no new cadets were assigned to

1235-474: Is considered the most devastating in the country's history. It is most associated with October 24, 1929, known as "Black Thursday", when about 12.9 million shares were traded on the NYSE in a single day (as compared to an average of 4 million), and October 29, 1929, "Black Tuesday", when some 16.4 million shares were traded. The " Roaring Twenties " of the previous decade had been a time of industrial expansion in

1330-641: Is sponsoring the Navy Ten Nautical Miler, the first and only race measured in nautical miles instead of statute miles. The world-class foot race, intended to take the place of the Navy’s previous premiere race, the Blue Angels Marathon , attracts runners from all over the world. Initially known as Park Field , the facility was established as a World War I training base in 1917. It was named after First Lieutenant Joseph D. Park , who

1425-596: The Great Crash or Crash of '29 , was a major stock market crash in the United States in late 1929, beginning in late October with a sharp decline in prices on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and ending in mid-November. The crash, which began a rapid erosion of confidence in the U.S. banking system and marked the beginning of the worldwide Great Depression , which lasted until 1939,

1520-557: The National City Bank , would provide $ 25 million in credit to stop the market's slide. Mitchell's move brought a temporary halt to the financial crisis, and call money declined from 20 to 8 percent. However, the American economy showed ominous signs of trouble. Steel production declined, construction was sluggish, automobile sales went down, and consumers were building up large debts because of easy credit. Despite all

1615-484: The National City Bank of New York . They chose Richard Whitney , vice president of the Exchange, to act on their behalf. With the bankers' financial resources behind him, Whitney placed a bid to purchase 25,000 shares of U.S. Steel at $ 205 per share, a price well above the current market. As traders watched, Whitney then placed similar bids on other " blue chip " stocks. The tactic was similar to one that had ended

1710-505: The Panic of 1907 and succeeded in halting the slide. The Dow Jones Industrial Average recovered, closing down only 6.38 points (2.09%) for the day. On October 28, " Black Monday ", more investors facing margin calls decided to get out of the market, and the slide continued with a record loss in the Dow for the day of 38.33 points, or 12.82%. On October 29, 1929, " Black Tuesday " hit Wall Street as investors traded some 16 million shares on

1805-528: The Pecora Commission was established by the U.S. Senate to study the causes of the crash. The following year, the U.S. Congress passed the Glass–Steagall Act mandating a separation between commercial banks , which take deposits and extend loans , and investment banks , which underwrite , issue, and distribute stocks , bonds , and other securities . Afterwards, stock markets around

1900-728: The United States Department of War sent a cadre of officers to the Memphis area to survey sites for an aviation school. The group decided on a location in the Millington area, about 16 miles (26 km) northeast of Memphis, an agreement to lease the land for the Army was concluded, and the United States Army Signal Corps — which managed U.S. Army aviation in its early days — established

1995-659: The United States Navy commissioned the Naval Reserve Aviation Base on the south side of the station. On 1 January 1943, the Naval Reserve Aviation Base was renamed Naval Air Station Memphis . During the war, Naval Air Station (NAS) Memphis was a primary flight training center for aviators. It had a training capacity of about 600 flight cadets, and could support up to 10,000 cadets for ground crew training. The facility

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2090-477: The ticker tape in brokerage offices around the nation was hours late, and so investors had no idea what most stocks were trading for. Several leading Wall Street bankers met to find a solution to the panic and chaos on the trading floor. The meeting included Thomas W. Lamont , acting head of Morgan Bank ; Albert Wiggin , head of the Chase National Bank ; and Charles E. Mitchell, president of

2185-490: The uptick rule , which allowed short selling only when the last tick in a stock's price was positive, was implemented after the 1929 market crash to prevent short sellers from driving the price of a stock down in a bear raid . The stock market crash of October 1929 led directly to the Great Depression in Europe. When stocks plummeted on the New York Stock Exchange , the world noticed immediately. Although financial leaders in

2280-557: The 160th, Most of the Curtiss JN-4 Jennys to be used for flight training were shipped in wooden crates by railcar. Park Field served as a base for flight training for the United States Army Air Service. In 1917, flight training occurred in two phases: primary and advanced. Primary training took eight weeks and consisted of pilots learning basic flight skills under dual and solo instruction with

2375-624: The AEF. The French employed a variety of aircraft, in combat and in training. Americans at Avord learned on the Bleriot or the Caudron; promising cadets then passed to the much admired Nieuport for advanced pursuit training.I4 The French could most easily spare the Caudron G-3 for the American primary school at Tours, which was itself modeled directly on the Caudron course at Avord. The Caudron G-3

2470-472: The Army and its Aeronautical Division, but the commandant at Fort Myer (a cavalry and field artillery post) refused to relinquish the parade ground for further flight training. He was already disgruntled because the trials had disrupted his summer training schedule of mounted drills. Moreover, the Wright Brothers expressed reluctance to teach beginners to fly on the small, enclosed area. Another site

2565-405: The Army had fewer than 100 flying officers and only three flying fields – Hazelhurst Field , Mineola, New York; Camp Kelly , San Antonio, Texas, and Rockwell Field , San Diego, California. There was also a seaplane base, Chandler Field , Essington, Pennsylvania. However, Chandler Field was closed in the summer of 1917 as inadequate, and its personnel and equipment transferred to

2660-690: The Army remained on a small scale until the USA joined World War I in April 1917. In February 1913, the Aviation School contingent in Augusta, Georgia, along with two pilots who had been training in Palm Beach, Florida, transferred to Texas City, Texas, to join ground forces on duty along the border. This meant that the Army Aviation school was concentrated on North Island, San Diego. When

2755-656: The Beaumont Barracks in Tours; others lodged at St. Maixent; still others were quartered at AEF headquarters in Paris. In January, 1918 the Training Section attempted to introduce some order by having all untrained cadets, of whom no more were authorized, removed from the schools and sent to St. Maixent, site of an old French barracks. It was to serve as the concentration point for all aviation troops arriving in

2850-652: The Bridge Company at NSA Mid-South. It was the first time since the BRAC-directed changes of 1993 that a U.S. Marine Corps unit had resided on the base. On 24 October 2013 a gunman shot and injured two Army National Guard soldiers at NSA Mid-South. The suspect was taken into custody after the shooting. The two injured soldiers had no life-threatening injuries. [REDACTED]  This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency List of airfields of

2945-427: The Dow closing at 198.60. The market then recovered for several months, starting on November 14, with the Dow gaining 18.59 points to close at 217.28, and reaching a secondary closing peak ( bear market rally ) of 294.07 on April 17, 1930. The Dow then embarked on another, much longer, steady slide from April 1930 to July 8, 1932, when it closed at 41.22, its lowest level of the 20th century, concluding an 89.2% loss for

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3040-665: The French and British air forces already in combat. The training system of the Signal Corps at that time would simply not be capable of producing such numbers. It was decided to establish a system, similar to the British training program of a ground school, then a primary flight program, then a specialized program to train new pilots in the three basic areas that had been developed by the French and British air forces, pursuit, bombardment and observation. The Air Service instituted

3135-516: The Great Depression. True or not, the consequences were dire for almost everybody. Most academic experts agree on one aspect of the crash: It wiped out billions of dollars of wealth in one day, and this immediately depressed consumer buying. The failure set off a worldwide run on US gold deposits (i.e., the dollar) and forced the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates into the slump. Some 4,000 banks and other lenders ultimately failed. Also,

3230-476: The London Stock Exchange. In the days leading up to the crash, the market was severely unstable. Periods of selling and high volumes were interspersed with brief periods of rising prices and recovery. Selling intensified in mid-October. On October 24, " Black Thursday ", the market lost 11% of its value at the opening bell on very heavy trading. The huge volume meant that the report of prices on

3325-619: The New York Stock Exchange in a single day. Around $ 14 billion of stock value was lost, wiping out thousands of investors. The panic selling reached its peak with some stocks having no buyers at any price. The Dow lost an additional 30.57 points, or 11.73%, for a total drop of 68.90 points, or 23.05% in two days. On October 29, William C. Durant joined with members of the Rockefeller family and other financial giants to buy large quantities of stocks to demonstrate to

3420-669: The Park Field site in May 1917. The construction of some 50 buildings began. Park Field covered over 700 acres (280 ha) and could accommodate up to 1,000 personnel. Dozens of wooden buildings served as headquarters and maintenance facilities and officers’ quarters. Enlisted men had to bivouac in tents . The first unit stationed there was the 160th Aero Squadron, which was transferred from Kelly Field , Texas , in November 1917. A few United States Army Air Service aircraft arrived with

3515-524: The Third Aviation Instruction Center (3d AIC) at Issoudun Airdrome, France, originally intended for advanced instruction, to primary training. Negotiations for aviation schools at Tours Airdrome and Clermont-Ferrand Airdrome to be turned over to the U.S. Army – the former for observation and the latter for bombardment – were also in progress. But Tours, too, was converted to primary training. The old French aero school, located on

3610-886: The Training Section of the United States Army Air Service With the purchase of its first airplane, built and successfully flown by Orville and Wilbur Wright , in 1909 the United States Army began the training of flight personnel. This article describes the training provided in those early years, though World War I , and the immediate years after the war until the establishment of the United States Army Air Corps Flight Training Center in San Antonio , Texas during 1926. Download coordinates as: The history of aviation training in

3705-676: The U.S., and much of the profit had been invested in speculation , including in stocks. Many members of the public, disappointed by the low interest rates offered on their bank deposits, committed their relatively small sums to stockbrokers . By 1929, the U.S. economy was showing signs of trouble; the agricultural sector was depressed due to overproduction and falling prices, forcing many farmers into debt, and consumer goods manufacturers also had unsellable output due to low wages and therefore low buying power . Factory owners cut production and fired staff, reducing demand even further. Despite these trends, investors continued to buy shares in areas of

3800-523: The UK, protests often focused on the so-called means test , which the government had instituted in 1931 to limit the amount of unemployment payments made to individuals and families. For working people, the means test seemed an intrusive and insensitive way to deal with the chronic and relentless deprivation caused by the economic crisis. The strikes were met forcefully, with police breaking up protests, arresting demonstrators, and charging them with crimes related to

3895-659: The United Kingdom, as in the United States, vastly underestimated the extent of the crisis that ensued, it soon became clear that the world's economies were more interconnected than ever. The effects of the disruption to the global system of financing, trade, and production and the subsequent meltdown of the American economy were soon felt throughout Europe. In 1930 and 1931, in particular, unemployed workers went on strike, demonstrated in public, and otherwise took direct action to call public attention to their plight. Within

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3990-573: The United States entered World War II in December 1941. Just as the onset of World War I had given Park Field its birth in 1917, the declaration of war on 8 December 1941, had similar results, heralding the arrival of naval aviation in the Memphis area. In February 1942, the Navy Shore Station Development Board recommended approval of a reserve aviation base on the former site of Park Field. On September 15, 1942,

4085-572: The United States entered World War I, the exhausted British and French forces wanted American troops in the trenches of the Western Front as soon as possible. By 1917, aerial warfare was also considered key to the success of the ground forces, and in May 1917, The French, in particular, asked the Americans to also bolster Allied air power. The French wanted the Americans to supply 5,000 pilots and planes, along with 50,000 mechanics to supplement

4180-525: The United States military began on 8 October 1909, when Wilbur Wright began instructing Lieutenants Frank P. Lahm and Frederic E. Humphreys on Signal Corps Airplane No. 1, which the Army had recently purchased from the Wright brothers. Each of the two men received a little over three hours training before soloing on 26 October 1909. The Army airplane trials had been held at Fort Myer , Virginia in 1908 because of its proximity to Washington, headquarters of

4275-555: The United States, located at Camp Taliaferro , Fort Worth, Texas. Among the benefits of the arrangement was the integration of aerial gunnery into the U.S. flight training program. A few Americans who had taken an aerial gunnery course in Canada returned to become instructors at American flying fields. By late 1917, about one-third of Hicks Field, Texas, had been given over to the RFC School of Aerial Gunnery. There, Canadians supplied

4370-427: The United States. Historians still debate whether the 1929 crash sparked the Great Depression or if it merely coincided with bursting a loose credit-inspired economic bubble. Only 16% of American households were invested in the stock market within the United States during the period leading up to this depression, suggesting that the crash carried somewhat less weight in causing it. However, the psychological effects of

4465-488: The area. It plays an important part in the community and is one of the largest single employers in the state of Tennessee. Of the more than 30 tenant commands that are located aboard Naval Support Activity Mid-South, these are some of the major commands: Throughout the year, NSA Mid-South partners with the Millington and Memphis communities to put on several projects: Beginning in 2010, Naval Support Activity Mid-South

4560-572: The base. The separate training squadrons were consolidated into a single Flying School detachment in December 1918, as many of the personnel assigned were being demobilized. Flight training activities ceased in July 1919. In March 1920 the Department of War officially purchased Park Field, and a small caretaker unit was assigned to the facility for administrative reasons. At that time the airfield began pioneering airmail routes throughout Tennessee and

4655-419: The closure of the leased wartime facilities and by the end of 1919 most were deactivated as an active duty airfields, and a small caretaker unit was assigned to the facilities for administrative reasons. [REDACTED]  This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency Wall Street Crash of 1929 The Wall Street crash of 1929 , also known as

4750-543: The crash reverberated across the nation as businesses became aware of the difficulties in securing capital market investments for new projects and expansions. Business uncertainty naturally affects job security for employees, and as the American worker (the consumer) faced uncertainty with regard to income, naturally the propensity to consume declined. The decline in stock prices caused bankruptcies and severe macroeconomic difficulties, including contraction of credit, business closures, firing of workers, bank failures, decline of

4845-409: The crash, economist Irving Fisher famously proclaimed "Stock prices have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau". The optimism and the financial gains of the great bull market were shaken after a well-publicized September 8 prediction from financial expert Roger Babson that "a crash is coming, and it may be terrific". The initial September decline was thus called the "Babson Break" in

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4940-1037: The defense of New York City, was the training of squadrons as units for overseas duty and development of teamwork in advanced flying Headquarters, Park Place, Houston, Texas ** Camp Taliaferro was a flight training center under the direction of the Air Service which had and administration center near what is now the Will Rodgers Memorial Center in Fort Worth , Texas. Flying airfields consisted of Hicks Field near Saginaw Texas where US flight cadets and Canadian aerial gunnery students trained, Canadian and British cadets trained at Barron Field in Everman and at Carruthers Field in Benbrook. From 1917 to 1918 British Royal Flying Corps instructors trained 6000 flight cadets at

5035-657: The economic warning signs and the market breaks in March and May 1929, stocks resumed their advance in June, and the gains continued almost unabated until early September 1929 (the Dow Jones average gained more than 20% between June and September). The market had been on a nine-year run that saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average increase in value tenfold, peaking at 381.17 on September 3, 1929. Shortly before

5130-505: The economy where output was declining and unemployment was increasing, so the purchase price of stocks greatly exceeded their real value. By September 1929, more experienced shareholders realized that prices could not continue to rise and began to get rid of their holdings, which caused share values to stall and then fall, encouraging more to sell. As investors panicked, the selling became frenzied. After Black Thursday, leading bankers joined forces to purchase stock at prices above market value,

5225-516: The end of September, the market had dropped 10% from the peak (the "Babson Break"). Selling intensified in early and mid-October, with sharp down days punctuated by a few up days. Panic selling of massive proportion started the week of October 21 and intensified and culminated on October 24, October 28, and especially October 29 ("Black Tuesday"). The president of the Chase National Bank, Albert H. Wiggin , said at

5320-495: The enemy. Most of these operations consisted of artillery observation or air-to-air combat. Rapid demobilization followed the end of World War I, and many of these flying schools were closed and turned over to local authorities as airports, although some remained in service though the 1920s, World War II, and into the modern era. Headquarters: Hazelhurst Field. The First Reserve Wing. The Wing controlled all flying fields on Long Island; its principal function, aside from

5415-598: The ensuing Great Depression breathed new life into Park Field. During the 1930s the field served as a transient camp for unemployed workers. In 1937 the Resettlement Administration (succeeded by the Farm Security Administration in 1937) took over the land and developed model farms used to demonstrate what could be achieved with correctly managed land. Park Field remained under Farm Security Administration's jurisdiction until

5510-431: The face value of the stocks that they were buying. Over $ 8.5 billion was out on loan, more than the entire amount of currency circulating in the United States at the time. The rising share prices encouraged more people to invest on the hope that share prices would rise further. Speculation thus fueled further rises and created an economic bubble . Because of margin buying , investors stood to lose large sums of money if

5605-475: The facilities making up Camp Taliaferro. Upon deployment to France, additional training was conducted by a series of Air Instructional Centers (AIC)s in France using French and British aircraft that were used in the combat squadrons at the front. This supplemental training was provided because of a lack of necessary equipment in the United States. Early intentions to conduct only advanced training in Europe immediately went awry. Because

5700-526: The first phase of air training, ground schooling, first, because a vast reservoir of eager and qualified young men that volunteered for the Air Service, and also because this phase did not require flight instruction or aircraft. The Signal Corps sent several representatives to the University of Toronto School of Military Aeronautics, where they attended classes, listened to reports from the war zone, and gathered instructional materials and regulations used at

5795-411: The first six months of 1929, of 36.6% over 1928, itself a record half-year. Iron and steel led the way with doubled gains. Such figures set up a crescendo of stock-exchange speculation that led hundreds of thousands of Americans to invest heavily in the stock market. Many people were borrowing money to buy more stocks. By August 1929, brokers were routinely lending small investors more than two-thirds of

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5890-481: The index in less than three years. Beginning on March 15, 1933, and continuing through the rest of the 1930s, the Dow began to slowly regain the ground it had lost. The largest percentage increases of the Dow Jones occurred during the early and mid-1930s. In late 1937, there was a sharp dip in the stock market, but prices held well above the 1932 lows. The Dow Jones did not return to its peak close of September 3, 1929, for 25 years, until November 23, 1954. In 1932,

5985-496: The largest financial crisis of the 20th century. The panic of October 1929 has come to serve as a symbol of the economic contraction that gripped the world during the next decade. The falls in share prices on October 24 and 29, 1929 were practically instantaneous in all financial markets, except Japan. The Wall Street Crash had a major impact on the U.S. and world economy, and it has been the source of intense academic historical, economic, and political debate from its aftermath until

6080-512: The latter including all non-pilots) according to mission. Supposedly, all combat airmen had taken some aerial gunnery instruction. Advanced gunnery therefore followed the pursuit pilot at the pursuit schools and the others at advanced aerial gunnery schools. The burden on the Army, as it tried to build the capability for advanced training in the United States, was ultimately insurmountable. Airfields might be used for primary as well as for advanced training, or they might be converted from one type to

6175-594: The market turned down or even if it failed to advance quickly enough. The average price to earnings ratio of S&P Composite stocks was 32.6 in September 1929, clearly above historical norms. According to the economist John Kenneth Galbraith , the exuberance also resulted in a large number of people placing their savings and money in leverage investment products like Goldman Sachs 's "Blue Ridge trust" and "Shenandoah Trust", which crashed in 1929 as well, resulting in losses to banks of $ 475 billion in 2010 dollars ($ 663.68 billion in 2023). Good harvests had built up

6270-556: The money supply caused by Federal Reserve decisions had a severely contractionary effect on output. Despite the inherent risk of speculation , it was widely believed that the stock market would continue to rise forever. On March 25, 1929, after the Federal Reserve warned of excessive speculation, a small crash occurred as investors started to sell stocks at a rapid pace, exposing the market's shaky foundation. Two days later, banker Charles E. Mitchell announced that his company,

6365-406: The money supply, and other economically depressing events. The resultant rise of mass unemployment is seen as a result of the crash, although the crash is by no means the sole event that contributed to the depression. The Wall Street Crash is usually seen as having the greatest impact on the events that followed and therefore is widely regarded as signaling the downward economic slide that initiated

6460-467: The necessary equipment could be supplied for specialized instruction. All of these new airfields were named after Americans who lost their lives on aeronautical duty, some of which in the days when aviation was in its infancy. Three civilians who were pioneers in aeronautics were also honored. On December 15, 1917, the five northern schools closed and cadets transferred to the two southern schools. Because of year-round training, southern schools permitted

6555-562: The new Gerstner Field , Louisiana. Because it would take a long time to construct adequate training facilities in the United States, Canada provided flying bases at Deseronto and Camp Borden in the Toronto area during the summer of 1917 so that several hundred American cadets could begin primary flying training under the tutelage of the British Royal Flying Corps . The British also operated three flying schools in

6650-624: The operations of the command were consolidated there in 1947. In April 1949, the base's functions completely changed, and a new NAS was established, different in both scope and function. The new NAS assumed logistic support for all the commands at Navy Memphis, except the Naval hospital. The boundaries included all Navy property on both sides of the Millington-Arlington Road (Navy Road). NAS Memphis continued its support and logistics role for approximately 50 years. The faculty became

6745-803: The other as weather conditions dictated, as equipment became available, or as demand for specialists increased or decreased. By the end of May 1918, a bombing school was located at Ellington Field near Houston; a pursuit school at Gerstner Field, Lake Charles, Louisiana, and three other fields to be converted from primary to pursuit; observer schools were at Langley Field, Virginia, and at Post Field, Fort Sill. There were gunnery schools at Selfridge Field, Mt. Clemens, Michigan; at Ellington Field; at Taliaferro Field No. 1, Fort Worth, Texas; and at Wilbur Wright Field, Fairfield, Ohio, which also served as an armorers' and instructors' school. The Training Section also established auxiliary schools at Wilbur Wright Field taught armorers, Brooks Field and Scott Field contained

6840-591: The planes and equipment to train both Americans and Canadians. When the United States entered World War I, only the North Island field was a usable military airfield. Essington had been a quarantine station and Mineola, an exposition ground. In May 1917, construction began on Wilbur Wright Field near Dayton, Ohio. Soon afterward, Chanute Field opened at Rantoul, Illinois, as did Selfridge Field near Detroit. By October 31, fourteen facilities had been built, of which nine had begun flight training. During 1917,

6935-619: The position was saved by a severe drought in the Dakotas and the Canadian West, as well as unfavorable seed times in Argentina and eastern Australia. The oversupply was now wanted to fill the gaps in the 1929 world wheat production. From 97¢ per bushel in May, the price of wheat rose to $ 1.49 in July. When it was seen that figure would make American farmers get more for their crop that year than in 1928, stocks went up again. In August,

7030-537: The present day. Some people believed that abuses by utility holding companies contributed to the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression that followed. Many people blamed the crash on commercial banks that were too eager to put deposits at risk on the stock market. In 1930, 1,352 banks held more than $ 853 million in deposits; in 1931, one year later, 2,294 banks failed with nearly $ 1.7 billion in deposits. Many businesses failed (28,285 failures and

7125-599: The press. That was the start of the Great Crash, but until the severe phase of the crash in October, many investors regarded the September "Babson Break" as a "healthy correction" and buying opportunity. On September 20, 1929, top British investor Clarence Hatry and many of his associates were jailed for fraud and forgery, leading to the suspension of his companies. This may have weakened the confidence of Americans in their own companies, although it had minimal impact on

7220-453: The price had fallen to $ 1.31 per bushel. Other important economic barometers were also slowing or even falling by mid-1929, including car sales, house sales, and steel production. The falling commodity and industrial production may have dented even American self-confidence, and the stock market peaked on September 3 at 381.17 just after Labor Day, and it started to falter after Roger Babson issued his prescient "market crash" forecast. By

7315-554: The principal instructor's schools. Radio instruction was taught at Carnegie Tech University, Pittsburgh, Austin University, Texas and Columbia University, New York. A photography school at Langley Field was also developed. Because the United States was in World War I only for a year and a half and entered it so unprepared, only about 1,000 of the 11,000 aviators trained during the war were actually involved in operations against

7410-407: The public their confidence in the market, but their efforts failed to stop the large decline in prices. The massive volume of stocks traded that day made the ticker continue to run until about 7:45 p.m. After a one-day recovery on October 30, when the Dow regained 28.40 points, or 12.34%, to close at 258.47, the market continued to fall, arriving at an interim bottom on November 13, 1929, with

7505-748: The school. The Canadians enrolled a new class every week, graduating students in six weeks' time. Successful ground-school graduates proceeded to flying school. The system served to weed out some unfit or incompetent students early, conserving time and instructional and equipment resources. The American committee decided to adopt the Canadian program in its entirety, only lengthening the course to eight weeks (later extending it to ten weeks, then to twelve), using existing American universities for instruction. During World War I, approximately 23,000 volunteers entered flying cadet training. Eight private and state universities offered preflight (ground school) training. This

7600-516: The structure for primary flight training had yet to be erected in the United States and because European facilities appeared to have space, it was arranged for several hundred American cadets to be admitted to French training schools, and he contacted the British and Italians to obtain similar commitments. The English accommodated about 200 men, and approximately 500 cadets went to Foggia, Italy, for primary training. The largest number of men found themselves in France. The Air Service partially gave over

7695-524: The surrounding states . The airfield declined until it was little more than a storage area for aircraft and parts. By 1921, the decision was made to phase down all activities at the base in accordance with sharply reduced military budgets. The Department of War ordered the small caretaker force at Park Field to dismantle all remaining structures and to sell them as surplus. The field was closed and abandoned in January 1922. The Stock Market Crash of 1929 and

7790-401: The time: We are reaping the natural fruit of the orgy of speculation in which millions of people have indulged. It was inevitable, because of the tremendous increase in the number of stockholders in recent years, that the number of sellers would be greater than ever when the boom ended and selling took the place of buying. Together, the 1929 stock market crash and the Great Depression formed

7885-474: The violation of public order. There is a debate among economists and historians as to what role the crash played in subsequent economic, social, and political events. The Economist argued in a 1998 article that the Depression did not start with the stock market crash, nor was it clear at the time of the crash that a depression was starting. They asked, "Can a very serious Stock Exchange collapse produce

7980-469: The war. Depending upon the vagaries of weather, equipment, and individual ability, the aspiring pilot needed six to eight weeks, including forty to fifty hours of flying time, to earn his wings. Over 11,000 flying cadets received their wings and were commissioned before entering four weeks of advanced training. Advanced training in the United States adopted the scheme used by tactical squadrons in France of classifying flying personnel (pilots or observers,

8075-472: The wheat price fell when France and Italy were bragging about a magnificent harvest, and the situation in Australia improved. That sent a shiver through Wall Street and stock prices quickly dropped, but word of cheap stocks brought a fresh rush of "stags" (amateur speculators) and investors. Congress voted for a $ 100 million relief package for the farmers on the hope of stabilizing wheat prices, but by October,

8170-518: The world instituted measures to suspend trading in the event of rapid declines, claiming that the measures would prevent such panic sales. However, the one-day crash of Black Monday , October 19, 1987, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 22.6%, as well as Black Monday of March 16, 2020 (−12.9%), were worse in percentage terms than any single day of the 1929 crash (although the combined 25% decline of October 28–29, 1929,

8265-670: Was a single-engine reconnaissance airplane of 1914 vintage, already outmoded by bomber models developed from it. The Italians agreed to host as many as 500 cadets in a school at Foggia, about 200 miles southeast of Rome.” In September 1917, the school, officially the 8th AIC under joint American and Italian jurisdiction, began training the first detachment of forty-six cadets, all honor graduates of American ground schools. The detachment had been sent first to Avord, but when plans for training in Italy crystallized. * The 5th Aviation Instruction Center at Bron (now Lyon–Bron Airport )

8360-725: Was a temporary school, located at the French Air Service machine-gun training school at Gondrecourt-le-Château . About 225 men were sent to the school during March and April, 1918. In early 1919 the Air Service's hopes ran high. The War Department determined to purchase and maintain fifteen flying fields and five balloon schools for training purposes. Of those, the government already owned Rockwell, Langley, Post (at Fort Sill), and Kelly Field No. 1. Early plans anticipated opening several primary schools and separate sites for advanced training in bombardment, observation, pursuit, and gunnery. However rapid peacetime demobilization led to

8455-532: Was conducted at: Upon successful completion of preflight training, flight cadets were sent to Camp John Dick Aviation Concentration Center, located at the Texas State Fairgrounds in Dallas. There the cadets would be processed and placed in groups for their primary flight training. Primary and advanced training became a major issue with the United States' entry into World War I. In April 1917,

8550-525: Was expanded to about 3,500 acres (1,400 ha) in size, and it supported 16 naval outlying landing fields for training and emergency landings in the area. In 1943, the training facility was designated as the Naval Air Technical Training Center (NATT). The Cold War followed the conclusion of World War II. As part of the consolidation of facilities after World War II, HQ NATT was transferred to NAS Memphis in 1946 and all

8645-502: Was found near College Park, Maryland , about eight miles northeast of Washington, D.C. The Signal Corps agreed to lease the site. However, the winter weather meant the College Park site could not be used for year-round training. Various sites in the south and west were used during the early 1910s at Fort Sam Houston , near San Antonio, Texas, North Island , San Diego, California, and Augusta, Georgia . However flying training in

8740-403: Was killed on 9 May 1913 when a military biplane which he was flying plunged nose-first into a gulley, turned a somersault, and crashed against a tree at Olive , California , 39 miles (63 km) southeast of Los Angeles . The aviator fell only 15 feet (4.6 m), but the radiator crushed his head, and then fell upon his body. The United States entered World War I on 6 April 1917, and

8835-463: Was larger than that of October 19, 1987, and remains the worst two-day decline as of October 7, 2024 ). The crash followed a speculative boom that had taken hold in the late 1920s. During the latter half of the 1920s, steel production, building construction, retail turnover, automobiles registered, and even railway receipts advanced from record to record. The combined net profits of 536 manufacturing and trading companies showed an increase, in

8930-570: Was located at the French Air Service Mechanics School. The first Americans were sent to the school in mid-September, 1917. The school was overcrowded and was lacking in proper quarters and mess facilities for the Americans. Also a lack of English-speaking instructors led to the decision to withdraw the Americans from the school. Students were sent to the 3d AIC at Issodun, with the last departing on 4 December 1917. ** The I Corps Aeronautical School

9025-464: Was redesignated Naval Support Activity Memphis on 30 September 1995. The name was changed again to Naval Support Activity Mid-South on 1 October 1998 to more accurately identify the base's mission requirements and to reflect the Navy's approach to regionalization. In September 2015, Bridge Company C, part of the 6th Engineer Support Battalion , 4th Marine Logistics Group , dedicated a new building for

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