Description

POLARIS: CLASS 44-4
Navigator Wing & Bombardier Wing, AAF Preflight School, Ellington Field, Texas • World War II •

60 pages scanned. Instant PDF download.

Document Overview:
Polaris (Vol. 2, No. 4) is the class book of Group 44-4, written and edited by the aviation cadets themselves, with W. D. Russ, Jr. editing for the Navigators and E. B. Sullivan, Jr. for the Bombardiers. It covers nine weeks of preflight training at Ellington Field, between Houston and Galveston, in late 1943 and early 1944: the school’s staff and ground-school departments, from code and aircraft identification to naval forces, physics and maps; drill, physical training, intramural sports, chapels, mess and weekend open post in Houston; and photographs of every flight in both wings. It includes full rosters giving each cadet’s home address, school and civilian occupation, a short history of Ellington Field back to 1917, and a closing tribute to navigators and bombardiers then flying over Berlin, Hamburg and Rabaul. This is a digital download of a scanned copy of the original book.

Campaigns: None. This is a stateside preflight training class (Ellington Field, Texas, 1943–44); graduates went on to advanced navigator and bombardier schools.

Commanders: Col. W. H. Reid (Commander, Ellington Field); Lt. Col. J. W. Williams (Director of Training, B-N); Lt. Col. H. T. Dresbach (Commandant of Cadets); Major T. M. Hodges (Director, Ground School); Capt. Arthur A. Cadorette (Asst. Commandant of Cadets, Bombardier Wing); Capt. Avery (Commanding Officer, Navigation Wing); Lt. F. X. Mancuso (Group Commander 44-4B); Lt. E. L. Neeriemer (Group Commander 44-4N)

Field newspaper: Log of Navigation

Table of Contents
Polaris Dedication
Col. W. H. Reid, Commander, Ellington Field
Ellington Field, 1917
To the Class (Lt. Col. J. W. Williams, Director of Training)
The Staff, Preflight School
Post Scenes
Versatile Ellington
Ground School
Code, First Aid, and Identification
Naval Forces
Physics
Mathematics
Ground Forces
Maps and Charts
Chapels and Chaplains
Mess
Concerning a Grim Business (Chemical Warfare and Pistol Range)
Drum and Bugle Corps
City of Hospitality
Open Post
Cadet Life
On the Ball
First Epistle Upon Entering Preflight
P.T. and Sports
Group 44-4 Athletes
Plans and Training
Military Drill
By Order Of . . . (Open Letter, Capt. Arthur A. Cadorette)
Bombardier Wing Headquarters
Bombardier Squadron and Flight Photographs
Group 4B Bombardiers: Names, Addresses, Schools, and Occupations
Honor Board and Code of Honor
Navigation Wing Headquarters
Navigator Squadron and Flight Photographs
Group 44-4 Navigators: Names, Addresses, Schools, and Occupations
Navigator Queen and Princesses
Bombardier Queen and Princesses
A Tribute
The Staff and With Thanks

“One man’s job done well may save his own and many other lives and hasten the day of Victory.”
— “A Tribute,” Polaris, Class 44-4