Selfridge Air National Guard Base is named after 1st Lieutenant
Thomas E. Selfridge. He 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.
World War I The origins of Selfridge Air National Guard Base date to 1916, when 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 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 the Air Service, becoming one of only nine military airfields in the country at the time. The
United States Army leased the 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 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 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 a commission. Then they were on their way as instructors to the front or to the other flying schools. being established throughout the country. • Post Headquarters, Selfridge Field – October 1919 • 40th Aero Squadron, August 1917 : Re-designated as Squadron "A", July–November 1918 • 380th Aero Squadron, January 1918 : Re-designated as Squadron "B", July–November 1918 • Squadron "C", August–November 1918 • Squadron "D", August–November 1918 • Squadron "E", August–November 1918 • Flying School Detachment (Consolidation of Squadrons A-E), November 1918 – November 1919 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 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. Many notable names are included in 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"). The uncertain future of Selfridge Field, however, caused 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 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 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 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 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 the test a success and proclaimed that similarly planes could be used to in Arctic regions. headed a cadre that organized 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 the 20th century, and later the first black Air Force
general.
Court-martial of William T. Colman 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 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.
477th Bombardment Group (M) (Colored) The
477th Bombardment Group (Medium) 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.
United States Air Force After
World War II, Selfridge expanded to its present size of , and in 1947 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 the tenant units at Selfridge. The units' Selfridge aircraft were
F-51 Mustangs (439th, 1953–54),
Lockheed P-80 Shooting Stars (439th 1953–1956, 56th),
F-84 Thunderstreaks (439th),
North American F-86D Sabres (1st), and
F-102 Delta Daggers (1st). In April 1954, 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 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). in service until February 1963 and co-located battery D-16 continuing until June 1971. The "shared" Selfridge integrated fire control (IFC) area was at . 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 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.
Mitchell Air Races The first
Air Show at Selfridge 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 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 the last time in 1936.
Selfridge International Open House and Air Show The base typically hosts an open house and air show every 2–3 years in the summer months. The last edition of the Selfridge International Open House and Air Show was in July 2022. The 2020 edition was cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Modernization In April 2025, President
Donald Trump announced that the
A-10 Warthogs of the
107th Fighter Squadron would be replaced by more advanced
F-15EX Eagle II's. This decision followed extensive lobbying by Michigan Governor
Gretchen Whitmer, who emphasized the critical economic role of Selfridge Air National Guard Base in
Macomb County. The base contributed approximately $850 million annually to Michigan's economy and supported around 5,000 military and civilian jobs. Without a replacement mission, the retirement of the A-10s could have led to the loss of 368 positions and a $10 million economic impact on the local community. Whitmer's bipartisan efforts, including a visit to the
White House, were pivotal in securing the new fighter mission, ensuring the base's continued operation and economic contribution to the region. ==See also==