DAAB Training Flights

In August 1944, combat crews at the field flew a total of 11,715.95 hours, claiming top place over the other fields in the 46th Wing in the number of hours flown. Weather was a major consideration that dropped the number of hours to 6,458.54 in December 1944. One June 6, 1944 thirty-six B-17s flew in formation over Dyersburg. (Bentley)

Two categories of bombing missions were the (1) camera bomb releases and (2) high-altitude bomb releases. Ranges for the bomb releases were at Finley, Ridgely, and Covington. In June, 1944, the War Department leased 7800 acres in Lauderdale County in the vicinity of Chisholm Lake where they constructed a battleship target to give the bombardier practice at bombing on water. In 1944, the average number of bombs dropped in a week ranged from 300 to 500. (Bentley)

Gunner training required air-to-ground and air-to-air firing missions. Two ranges were designed for this purpose; one at Shelbyville and one at Spencer (250 miles east of Halls). Air-to-air firing missions were simulated by firing live ammunition at a target towed by a Piper Cub. (Bentley)

The gun camera missions required pursuit aircraft. P-63s would fly to Halls for a week to meet this requirement. In March 1945, when the 3rd AF took over the base, eight P-40s with pilots were assigned to DAAB. Shortly thereafter, the P-40s were replaced with P-51s. The assignment of the pursuit aircraft to DAAB provided more adequate training than the drop-in P-63s. (Bentley)

One interesting mission was a non-stop flight of 21.5 hours, covering 4,000 miles. The purpose of the mission was to "officially test a system that had been developed by the Air Transport Command termed 'Cruise Control.'" This meant that by taking all factors into consideration--weight, fuel, altitude and temperature--the most economical cruising speed
would be determined. The headline read "Using a Cruise Control, DAAF Crew Flies to San Diego and Return with Gas Load to Spare." The distance flown was comparable to a non-stop combat mission from Saipan to Tokyo and return with a load of gasoline and bombs. (Dyersburg State Gazette) From Vox Prop, the base newspaper, another credit to Cruise Control is the savings in oil for the engines. The oil as consumed for the entire flight was No. 1 - 28 quarts, No. 2 - 36 quarts, No. 3 - 60 quarts, and No. 4 - 48 quarts. The engines consumed on an average of from 37 to 42 gallons of fuel per hour. Captain James H. Sanders was the pilot; Lt. James D. Fennessey and Lt. Henry J. Engel were the co-pilots. The flight formed the basis for the Army's procedures on B-17 Cruise Economy.