Description
Interwar Period U.S.A.A.C. Army Air Corps Consolidated PT-1 Aircraft Fuselage Fabric Cut Right Side Skin with 430th Pursuit Squadron Insignia – Dated 1930, Measures 15 Feet – Museum Grade Specimen
This exceptional and large fuselage cut piece of material measures 15 feet long, and about 29 1/2 inches across at the front, tapering to about 17 at the rear; this comprises the majority of the right side canvas from The United States Army Air Corps Consolidated PT-1 “Trusty” Aircraft Trainer Serial #26-309
The original military markings on the canvas are still fully visible:
U.S. ARMY
A.C. 26-309
F.A.D. CONSOLIDATED PT-1
A.C. 26-309-C1-CB-56D1-4PD2–11-18-30
The fuselage section is painted Olive Drab color, and features the insignia of the 430th Pursuit Squadron, a Native American on horseback inside a red heart and the Aircraft’s #4. The 430th Pursuit Squadron was based at Richards Field Kansas City, Missouri from 1926-1939. It is still in very good shape, showing a wonderful period of stitched repair from its time in service. Overall the canvas remains in great period condition exhibiting a period repair and some loss near the edges this statement piece would make a stunning display in a large library, war room, or private airplane hangar. A One of Kind Without Question
430th Pursuit Squadron – U.S. Army Order of Battle 1919-1941 by Steven E. Clay Combat Studies Institute Press. US Army Combined Arms Center. Fort Leavenworth, KS.
Unit Lineage:
– 430th Aero Squadron (Construction) organized, Jan 1918
– Redesignated 37th Spruce Squadron, Jul 1918
– Demobilized, Jan 1919
– 430th Squadron (Pursuit), constituted in the Organized Reserve, 15 Oct 1921
– Redesignated 430th Pursuit Squadron, 25 Jan 1923
– 37th Spruce Squadron reconstituted and consolidated with 430th Pursuit Squadron, 25 Nov 1936. Consolidated organization designated 430th Pursuit Squadron.
– Inactivated, 2 Oct 1939
– Disbanded, 31 May 1942
Unit History:
– Constituted in the Organized Reserve on 15 October 1921 as the 430th Squadron (Pursuit), assigned to the 310th Pursuit Group (Sixth Army), and allotted to the Seventh Corps Area.
– Initiated in March 1922 at St. Joseph, MO.
– Redesignated as the 430th Pursuit Squadron on 25 January 1923.
– Relocated on 26 May 1926 to Richards Field, Kansas City, MO. This squadron was one of the few in the Organized Reserve that possessed facilities, equipment, and aircraft. Squadron personnel were largely pilots and ground support personnel employed by Trans-World Airways (TWA) at the Kansas City Municipal Airport.
– Participated in a “Fly By” in June 1932 for the Honorable Patrick J. Hurley, Secretary of War, at the grand opening of the Kansas City-St. Louis Waterway.
– Consolidated on 25 November 1936 with the 430th Aero Squadron (Construction) (a WWI unit organized in January 1918 at Vancouver Barracks, WA; redesignated as the 37th Spruce Squadron in July 1918; demobilized in January 1919 at Vancouver Barracks; reconstituted on 25 November 1936).
– Operated from Paso Robles Airfield, CA, in support of the 40th Division during the 1937 Fourth Army Maneuver.
– Conducted summer training at Marshall Field, KS; Richards Field, MO; Camp Dodge, IA; or Camp Ripley, MN, 1922-40.
– Inactivated on 2 October 1939 at Richards Field by relief of personnel.
– Status: Disbanded on 31 May 1942.
The 430th Pursuit Squadron, formed from Kansas City reservists, deployed from its base at Richards Field, and flew to Marshall Field at Fort Riley, Kansas, in August 1932 for its two-week active duty training. There, for the first time in its history, the squadron had available fourteen service planes, three P-6s, three 0-25s and eight 01-Es. In addition, a BT-2C and a PT-3 were available to flyers who needed dual work. This was also the first year the 430th could count a large number of its men who were experienced in all types of service planes. Many of its younger officers, graduates of the Air Corps Advanced Flying School, had served on active duty for a year or two with a tactical unit. Many others were commercial pilots who flew the military service planes on inactive duty at Richards Field. Fortified by this caliber of flying personnel, the squadron launched a tactical training program immediately upon reaching Fort Riley. In other years, more than half the time at camp had been consumed by dual instruction for officers who had not flown since their last active duty periods. Consequently, in 1932 the 430th put in much time on gunnery and bombing ranges as well as on formation flying and combat routine. Typifying the training all across the country that year, the airmen completed a map problem, working with the ground units of the Kansas National Guard.
The Consolidated PT-1 “Trusty” (Model 1) was a biplane primary trainer used by the United States Army Air Service (USAAS), and by its successor, the U.S. Army Air Corps (USAAC). The plane became the first training airplane purchased by the USAAS in substantial quantity following World War I. Aviation cadets in Texas and California flew it extensively during the late 1920s and early 1930s. It acquired the nickname “Trusty” for its excellent ability to make a quick and effective recovery from a spin. Easy to fly, the PT-1 made some students overconfident, and they received a shock when they advanced to faster airplanes with more difficult handling characteristics. The “Trusty” was commonly flown without its cowlings in an effort to prevent overheating.
