Victory Field (Texas)

Victory Field
Part of Army Air Forces Training Command
Wilbarger County, near Vernon, Texas
1994 USGS photo
Coordinates	34°04′40″N 099°17′36″W
Type	Military airfield
Site history
Built	1941
In use	1942-1945

Victory Field is a former military airfield, located approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) south-southwest of Vernon, Texas. It was closed in 1945 at the end of World War II.

History

Part of the Army Air Corps build up for World War II, Victory Field was built and activated in 1941. It was assigned to the Air Corps Flying Training Command, Gulf Coast Training Center (later Central Flying Training Command).

The facility was a primary (stage 1) pilot training airfield operated under contract by Hunter Flying Service & Richey Flying Service. Fairchild PT-19s were the primary trainer at the airfield. Thousands of cadets were trained and made their first solo flight at Victory Field. As the Army Air Corps succeeded in Europe it decided to draw down training and scheduled the closure of Victory Field in 1945.

Current use

In 1950, the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation (MHMR) took over the facility, opening it as Vernon Center, a unit of Wichita Falls State Hospital. It remains today a Texas Youth Commission facility.

See also

• Texas World War II Army Airfields
• 31st Flying Training Wing (World War II)

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

• Shaw, Frederick J. (2004), Locating Air Force Base Sites History’s Legacy, Air Force History and Museums Program, United States Air Force, Washington DC, 2004.