Origins Kelly Field, Texas, was the major Air Service facility in the United States during
World War I. During the war, approximately 250,000 men were organized into aero squadrons at Kelly. Of the 23,000 who had begun preflight training during World War I, over 11,000 completed primary flying instruction, received their wings and were commissioned as
2d lieutenants before entering four weeks of advanced training either in the United States or Europe. Kelly Field graduated 1,459 pilots and 398 flying instructors during the course of the war. Advanced flying training during the war occurred primarily at
Ellington Field, Texas, where bombing instruction was taught.
Taliaferro Field, Texas, among other locations, provided reconnaissance and observation training, while pursuit (fighter) courses were restricted to the
3d Air Instructional Center,
Issoudun Aerodrome, France because of a lack of necessary equipment in the United States. At the end of the war, the Air Service, along with the rest of the Army, faced crucial reductions and most wartime training fields were closed. Kelly, however, was one of the few that remained open. After a hiatus in training during 1919, pilot instruction resumed with both advanced pursuit and bombardment instruction being taught at Kelly, with the
1st Pursuit and
1st Day Bombardment Groups providing training in those branches of aviation.
Lineage • Organized as
10th Group Headquarters (School) on 22 June 1922 : Re-designated as
10th School Group 25 January 1923 : Demobilized on 15 July 1931
Assignments •
1st Wing (Provisional), 19 July 1922 • 1st Wing, 6 February 1923 •
24th School Wing, 8 July 1927 – 15 July 1931
Components ;; Flying Training Squadrons • 39th School Squadron, 1 August 1927 – 15 July 1931 • 40th School Squadron, 10 June 1922 – 15 July 1931 •
41st School Squadron, 10 June 1922 – 15 July 1931 •
42d School Squadron, 10 June 1922 – 15 July 1931 • 43d School Squadron, 10 June 1922 – 16 July 1931 • 48th School Squadron, 8 May 1929 – 15 July 1931 ;; Support Squadrons • 68th Service Squadron 1923–31 • Air Park No. 13 1922–23 • 22d Photo Section 1922–31
Stations • Kelly Field No. 1 (later Duncan Field), Texas, 19 July 1922 – 15 July 1931 ==See also==