Brooks Air Force Base - Hangar 9

  • Also Known As: Edward H. White II Museum

  • Address: Inner Circle Rd
  • Vicinity: Brooks Air Force Base (closed)
  • Travel Genus: Sight
  • Sight Category: Building

Brooks Field, in San Antonio, Texas, was one of a number of U.S. Army airfields established during World War I to train Army pilots. Construction began at the site in December 1917, which was officially established as Brooks Field in February 1918.

Hangar 9 is the only surviving building of more than 60 constructed here during World War I. Many renowned airmen graduated from the Primary Flying School at Brooks Field during the 1920s, including Generals Nathan F. Twining, fourth chief of staff of the Air Force, 1953 to 1957, and first Air Force officer to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Curtis E. LeMay, chief of staff of the Air Force, 1961 to 1965; and Colonel Charles A. Lindbergh, who made the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight, New York to Paris, in 1927. Rapid demobilization followed World War I, and most of the Army's wartime airfields were abandoned. From 1919 until 1922, Brooks Field was the site of an Army Balloon and Airship School. In 1922, the Army Air Service consolidated primary flying training at Brooks Field, which continued until 1931 when all primary training was transferred to Randolph Field, north of San Antonio. Randolph was an entirely new Air Corps station, conceived and designed as a model airfield for flying training.

Hangar 9 was hastily constructed in December 1917 and January 1918 to house the Curtiss JN-4 airplane, the "Jenny," which became the basic training plane for thousands of American pilots during World War I. The hangar was one of 16 constructed at Brooks and is recognized as the oldest existing wooden airplane hangar on a U. S. Air Force installation. A brick hangar at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, was also completed in 1918. Hangar 9 was considered temporary construction when it was built, but its solid wood frame construction insured its longevity.

Hangar 9 was restored in 1969. It formerly housed the U.S. Air Force Museum of Aerospace Medicine, an extensive collection of photographs and equipment related to aviation and aerospace medicine, as well as information on the early history of Brooks Field. A base closure in 2011 also closed the museum; however, there is potential to re-open the museum as a part of a new community designed on the grounds of the former Air Force Base. - NPS


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Timeline

Y/M/D Person Association Description Composition Food Event
Y/M/D Person Association Description Composition Food Event
1918/01/00 Thomas and Harmon Co. Architect Hangar 9 is hastily built in December 1917 and January 1918 to house the Curtiss JN-4 airplane, the "Jenny," which will become the basic training plane for thousands of American pilots during World War I.
1924/03/15 Charles A Lindbergh Education Lindbergh arrives at Brooks Field in San Antonio, joined by 103 other young men. While barnstorming in southern Minnesota, a graduate of the Army Flying School had told him that cadets fly the most modern and powerful airplanes.
1950/07/07 Johnny Cash Home J R Cash enlist in the Air Force. He will attend basic training at Lackland Air Force Base and technical training at Brooks Air Force Base, both in San Antonio, Texas.
1963/11/22 SS-100-X is loaded onto a Fairchild C-123 Provider. Piloted by Captain Thomason of the 76th Air Transport Squadron, they fly to Brooks Air Force Base in San Antonio and then onto Dallas Love Field in Dallas, where it will be stored in a car park. Kennedy Lincoln Continental (automobile)

Data »

Particulars for Brooks Air Force Base - Hangar 9:
Historic Use Air facility
Sight Category Building
Owner Federal
Criteria Historic Event
Area of Significance Military
Level of Significance National
Area of Significance Transportation



US National Registry of Historic Places Data »

Accurate at time of registration:

PLACE DETAILS
Registry Name:
Registry Address:
Registry Number: 70000895
Resource Type:
Owner: Federal
Architect: Thomas and Harmon Co.
Architectural Style: No style listed
Other Certification: Designated National Landmark
Nominator Name: National Historic Landmark
CULTURAL DETAILS
Level of Significance: National
Area of Significance: Military, Transportation
Applicable Criteria: Event
Criteria Consideration: Significance of less than fifty years
Period of Significance: 1900-1924, 1925-1949
Significant Year: 1918, 1945
Historic Function: Defense
Historic Sub-Function: Air facility
Current Function: Recreation and Culture
Current Sub-Function: Museum

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