McClellan Field – A Camera Trip Through McClellan Field (PDF)

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Description

 

The History of McClellan Field – To the Military and civilian personnel of the Air Service Command at McClellan Field the famous phrase “Keep ‘Em Flying” is no mere slogan. To them it is a religion. They MUST keep ’em flying! It is their job. To the pilots, the bombardiers, navigators and plane crews goes the glory – glory well earned indeed. But what of those thousands of valiant men and women on the ground who work untiringly day and night to keep those planes in the air? Is the part they play less glorious? Do you know what it takes to keep those ships in top flying condition? It takes an endless chain of supplies of gasoline, and tires and mechanical parts; it takes trained mechanics, electricians, metal workers, clerks and cooks. It is all part of the chain that reaches out from McClellan Field to every corner of the earth. For “the Air Service Command was created to service combat units of the Army Air Forces at all times and under any conditions, regardless of the difficulties encountered.” The shops, the repair centers, the schools, the offices and training centers at McClellan are on a 24-hour basis that our planes may stay in the air – planes that tomorrow may bomb the tissue paper and bamboo cities of Tokyo and Yokohama or blast Hitler’s lauded Luftwaffe from the air. McClellan Field and the Sacramento Air Depot is one of the outstanding military installations of its kind in the nation. Built a few miles north of Sacramento, it is ideally located for its purpose. Its shops and engineering sections can and do turn out repairs and equipment for the battle fronts of the Pacific and the world. But materials and repairs are not the only things this great Field turns out – it also turns out men. Thousands of soldiers are trained here. Aircraft and motor mechanics, radio men, administrative officers, clerks and technicians of almost every sort receive their schooling here. But this Field must not be looked upon as a mere training center. McClellan is in itself a battle front. Planes repaired or serviced here are often back fighting within a few days. It is this that brings to McClellan soldiers and civilian workers the feeling that they are doing their part. This book attempts to give you a few highlights of life at McClellan Field, especially from the soldier’s angle. It pictures their work, their training and recreation. These soldiers and civilian workers are of all colors, creeds and ciasses. Mechanics and shopkeepers, farmers and laborers, lawyers and salesmen and men and women from- scores of other occupations work together in close harmony with but one thought, one purpose, that men shall once more live in a world free from want and free from fear. It is to these people – Americans all, military and civilians alike, that we dedicate this booklet that you may picture in your mind the part McClellan Field is playing in “KEEPING ‘EM FLYING.”