Tampa Bay was an early hub of aviation, and during World War II became a central figure in the US Army Air Corps’ training programs.
For those who don't know, I lived in a converted campervan and traveled around the country, posting photo diaries of places that I visited. But the pandemic has clipped my wings, and I am now holed up in Florida until I can begin traveling again. :)
After the St Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line (the first regularly-scheduled airline in the world) folded in 1914, the Tampa Bay area continued to attract the attention of aviators, mostly because of the year-round good weather. In 1926, the Piper-Fuller Airport was built in west St Petersburg, near the present-day Tyrone Square Mall. It was a center for private airplanes and air enthusiasts, and operated for over 15 years.
In 1929, two more airports were opened: the Albert Whitted Airport on the downtown waterfront (which still operates today as a general aviation field), and the Grand Central Airport on Weedon Island. It was hoped that air traffic would bring increased numbers of wealthy tourists from up north, and several early airlines were soon landing at Whitted or Grand Central, including the forerunners of Eastern Airlines and Pan Am.
The local Chamber of Commerce also scored a publicity coup when it arranged for the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company to base one of its famous “Goodyear Blimps” in St Pete, at the Whitted Airport. The blimp Vigilant gave free rides to several local VIPs. Then, when the Grand Central Airport opened in January 1930, the largest passenger plane in the US at the time, the Northern Star, landed there as a publicity stunt.
At 528 acres and with three paved runways up to 3200 feet, Grand Central Airport covered most of Weedon Island. By 1931, Eastern Airlines was running regular flights to Tampa, Orlando and Daytona Beach, using twin-engine Curtiss Model 55 Kingbird monowings which could carry seven passengers. Other flights carried travelers to and from Atlanta, New York, Miami and Havana. For a time, Weedon Island was the central hub for Eastern. Other operations included a flight school, aircraft repair facilities, and a movie studio that managed to attract actor/director Buster Keaton for several failed films.
The Grand Central Airport’s fortunes changed for the worst in 1936, when Eastern Airlines ended its flights to Weedon Island, as a Depression-era cost-cutting measure.
During World War Two the island was leased by the US Army, and the airfield became a small training base.
After the war, the airfield was purchased by a flight school operator and went on for a few more years under the name Sky Harbor Airport before being closed in 1948. Today, Weedon Island is a state historical park, and the only remnant of the abandoned St Pete airport is a battered section of still-standing tiled wall from the terminal’s restroom and some of the floor from the passenger waiting room.
The aviation industry across the bay in Tampa fared better.
Tampa’s first airport, Drew Field, opened in 1926. Another, Peter Knight Airfield, opened in 1935. National Airlines and Eastern Airlines flew out of Drew Field in the 1930s, and Pan Am briefly considered establishing a hub there before moving to Miami instead.
By now, however, with war looming in Europe and the Pacific, a new player moved into the Florida aviation arena—the US Army Air Corps. At this time, the US military was miniscule: in 1933 there were a total of 8500 men in the Air Corps, deployed in 50 squadrons which included 21 fighter squadrons and 14 bomber, most of them understrength. In 1939, President Franklin Roosevelt, knowing that the US would sooner or later be involved in war with Germany or Japan, persuaded Congress to authorize an increase in American air strength, and as part of this, six new airfields would be built in the US for training new pilots. One of these would be in Tampa, which was chosen for its year-round good weather. The Army Air Corps had already carried out air training exercises in Florida in 1938, using airfields in Jacksonville as “friendly” forces and Tampa as “enemy” forces.
Construction for MacDill Air Base began in November 1939. Within a few months, the Army had also leased the airport at Drew Field and built another one called Hillsborough Army Airfield (at present-day Busch Gardens), transforming them into training fields where new pilots were taught to fly P-35 and P-36 fighters, which were at the time America’s frontline warplanes. The larger base at MacDill was used to train aircrews for heavy bombers like the two-engined B-18 and the new four-engined B-17.
After the Japanese attack on Hawaii in December 1941, the US went on a full war footing, and as recruits poured in, new warplanes were put into production. Fighter pilots were soon flying P-39s and P-40s, and bomber crews were in B-25s and B-24s. Many of these training squadrons were based in Florida.
At MacDill, the primary focus was on training pilots, navigators and gunners for B-17 Flying Fortress bombers, then for the new B-24 Liberator. In April 1943, the Army began increased production of a new aircraft at a hastily-built plant in Baltimore: the B-26 Marauder was designed as a light but fast two-engined medium bomber that could be used to attack pinpoint ground targets. And the task of training new aircrews for the Marauder fell to MacDill Air Base.
The B-26 had been controversial right from the start. Designed and built by the Martin Aircraft Company, it had first flown in November 1940. It was capable of speeds of 300mph—faster than many fighters of the time. But the small wings and powerful engines needed to produce this speed came at a cost: the B-26 was notoriously difficult to fly, especially if it had lost an engine. Crews dubbed it “The Widowmaker” and “The Baltimore Whore”. The problem was so bad that Congressional hearings were held to decide whether to drop the plane altogether. In the end, production was continued, with some changes to the wings. After 1941, the B-26 was deployed in large numbers to England and was successful in raids over Germany and Occupied France.
In 1943, the new plant in Baltimore began churning out two-engine bombers, and the 21st Bombardment Group, based at MacDill, became the primary training unit for new Marauder crews. They also flew anti-submarine patrols over Tampa Bay.
But despite improvements, the B-26 was still a tricky plane to fly, especially on only one engine. Trainee crews at MacDill crashed at an alarming rate. In one 30-day period, 15 Marauders were lost to crashes, usually when an engine failed on takeoff. The expression “One a Day in Tampa Bay” became well-known amongst trainees.
In the hands of a trained aircrew, however, the B-26 became one of the most successful combat planes of the war, with a loss rate in combat of less than one percent. It flew in every theater, from the Pacific to Europe to North Africa.
After the war, Drew Field was expanded by the city and became Tampa International Airport. MacDill was used to train B-29 aircrews, and then became a home base for Strategic Air Command nuclear bombers. Today it is home to several air-to-air tanker refueling units, as well as the headquarters for the Pentagon’s Central Command.
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