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View products that support dmairfield.org
OTHER RESOURCES
THANK YOU!
YOUR PURCHASE OF THESE BOOKS SUPPORTS THE WEB SITES THAT BRING TO YOU THE HISTORY BEHIND OLD AIRFIELD REGISTERS
Your copy of the Davis-Monthan Airfield Register with all the pilots' signatures and helpful cross-references
to pilots and their aircraft is available at the link. Or use this FORM to order a copy signed by the author, while supplies last.
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 The Congress of Ghosts is an anniversary celebration for 2010. It is an historical biography, that celebrates the 5th year online of www.dmairfield.org and the 10th year of effort on the project dedicated to analyze and exhibit the history embodied in the Register of the Davis-Monthan Airfield, Tucson, AZ. This book includes over thirty people, aircraft and events that swirled through Tucson between 1925 and 1936. It includes across 277 pages previously unpublished photographs and texts, and facsimiles of personal letters, diaries and military orders. Order your copy at the link.
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Military Aircraft of the Davis Monthan Register, 1925-1936 is available at the link. This book describes and illustrates with black & white photographs the majority of military aircraft that landed at the Davis-Monthan Airfield between 1925 and 1936. The book includes biographies of some of the pilots who flew the aircraft to Tucson as well as extensive listings of all the pilots and airplanes. Use this FORM to order a copy signed by the author, while supplies last.
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BOEING P-12E 31-559
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This airplane, a sturdy Boeing P-12E fighter, landed once at Tucson between January 31 and February 10, 1932 (deduced from the Register). The solo pilot was F.A. Davidson, based at Riverside, CA March Field. Davidson left no other information regarding his itinerary of purpose for his flight. He may have been traveling as part of a flight of two with Lt. Joseph Brier in another P-12E.
31-559 was built in 1931 and is still with us as of the upload date of this page, some 90 years after it was manufactured. It is not flying, rather it is on static display at the U.S. Air Force Museum in Dayton, OH. The Museum link has images and information, including this 360° view of the cockpit. The image below is from this site. The airplane is real; the mechanic is a mannequin.
Boeing P-12E, 31-559 (Source: Link)
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Joe Baugher's site, as well as the Museum's, provides the following information about 31-559.The cited ground loop at Burbank, CA occurred within days of its Tucson visit. Less than 24 months later, 31-559 was shipped to Hawaii.
Boeing P-12E, 31-559, Chain of Custody (Source: Joe Bauger)
"559 (MSN 1466) By 2/32: TOS USAAC.
By 2/32: 95th Pursuit Squadron, March Field, Riverside, CA
2/12/32: Landing accident with ground loop at United Airport, Burbank, CA.
11/17/32: Taxi accident at March Field.
12/29/33: 6th Pursuit Squadron, 18th Pursuit Group, Wheeler Field, HI.
7/34: Damaged in taxi accident. During repairs its tail-skid was replaced with a tail-wheel, and it was fitted with an overseas headrest, an enlarged headrest that included space for a one-man life raft.
3/39: Air Depot, San Antonio, TX for overhaul
1939: Assigned to Chicago Municipal Airport, IL. Used by Air Corps and National Guard pilots.
5/11/40: Damaged when left main gear collapsed on landing at Chicago; was aircraft’s last operational service.
8/40: SOC. 8/40: Chicago School of Aeronautics, Chicago, IL
Ca.1972: Found in dilapidated garage in Chicago without wings.
By 1973: Marcellus Foose and Glen Courtwright, Oaklawn, IL
1973: Donated to NMUSAF.
Restored 1974 to 1983.
8/20/83: Placed on display marked as when in 6th Pursuit Squadron" |
The airplane had a varied history, including its share of scars. Notable was its 1972 discovery in a garage in Chicago, a fantasy event for Messrs. Foose and Courtwright, or for anyone interested in aviation history.
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THIS PAGE UPLOADED: 10/18/20 REVISED:
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I'm
looking for information and photographs of pilot Davidson and his airplane to include on this page.
If you have some you'd like to share, please click this FORM to
contact me.
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Art Goebel's Own Story by Art Goebel (edited by G.W. Hyatt) is
written in language that expands for us his life as a Golden
Age aviation entrepreneur, who used his aviation exploits to build
a business around his passion. Available as a free download at the link.
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Winners' Viewpoints: The Great 1927 Trans-Pacific Dole Race is available at the link. What was it like to fly from Oakland to Honolulu in a single-engine plane during August 1927? Was the 25,000 dollar prize worth it? Did the resulting fame balance the risk? For the first time ever, this book presents the pilot and navigator's stories written by them within days of their record-setting adventure. Pilot Art Goebel and navigator William V. Davis, Jr. take us with them on the Woolaroc, their orange and blue Travel Air monoplane (NX869) as they enter the hazardous world of Golden Age trans-oceanic air racing.
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Clover Field: The First Century of Aviation in the Golden State. With the 100th anniversary in 2017 of the use of Clover Field as a place to land aircraft in Santa Monica, this book celebrates that use by exploring some of the people and aircraft that made the airport great.
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