Z 0467.000 Jackson Civil Air Patrol Club Records

Z 0467.000
JACKSON CIVIL AIR PATROL CLUB RECORDS

The Jackson Civil Air Patrol Club, Incorporated, was organized in Jackson, Mississippi, in conjunction with the Civil Air Patrol of World War II. The national grassroots effort to organize a volunteer aviation force to assist in the military defense of the country began in 1938, enlisting nearly one hundred fifty thousand men and women. The leaders of the movement were writer-aviator Gill Robb Wilson and General Henry (Hap) Arnold. Three years later, the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) was founded by the Office of Civilian Defense on December 1, 1941, to mobilize civilian airmen and their equipment for volunteer wartime duties. Several officers of the Army Air Forces were assigned as national officers of CAP, although CAP maintained its own local officers. CAP volunteers who also wore army uniforms distinguished themselves from regular army personnel by replacing army insignia on the uniforms with CAP insignia. With a wing command in each state, CAP was organized into squadrons and flights at more than one thousand airports throughout the United States. The local units acted as aerial home guards, drilling in aviation and defense procedures to be ready for any emergency in which civilian planes could be of service. CAP pilots became known as the "Flying Minute-Men." The Army Air Forces placed volunteers on such CAP active-duty missions as antisubmarine coastal patrol, air-courier service for the army, and search-and-rescue missions for ship or airplane crews.

By November of 1942, the national CAP membership included about one-third licensed pilots, one-third student pilots, and the remainder, skilled mechanics, radio operators, photographers, and ground crew. Both men and women were eligible. Membership was restricted to native-born Americans or citizens born in friendly countries and naturalized at least ten years. All prospective members were fingerprinted and screened by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The minimum age was sixteen for membership and eighteen for flying duties. CAP did not give flight instructions, since it was formed not as a training corps but as an organization of people with some aviation skills already.

The student organization, Civil Air Patrol Cadets, was founded on October 1, 1942. Cadets had to be in good scholastic standing and in their last two years of high school. They also had to be physically fit, native-born Americans whose parents met the citizenship requirements of CAP. Cadets undertook the same drill and studies as CAP members, but they were not assigned to flying duties. Instead, they assisted with airport duties. Each adult CAP member could sponsor one student cadet. Upon successful completion of the cadet courses and graduation from high school, a cadet attained unrestricted membership in CAP. The cadet uniform was an inexpensive version of the regular uniform, but with similar insignia. Each local CAP squadron was authorized to form a squadron of cadets. They were led by student officers under the guidance of the more experienced members of the adult squadron.

In 1943, CAP was reassigned from the Office of Civilian Defense to the War Department under the jurisdiction of the Army Air Forces. From then until the end of the war, CAP personnel logged over five hundred thousand hours of flight time, sank two enemy submarines, and saved hundreds of airplane-crash victims. On July 1, 1946, President Harry Truman signed Public Law 476 that incorporated CAP as a benevolent, nonprofit organization. On May 26, 1948, Congress passed Public Law 557 permanently establishing the Civil Air Patrol as the auxiliary of the United States Air Force.

According to recent statistics, over sixty thousand volunteers carry out CAPs three primary missions: emergency services, aerospace education, and cadet training. Emergency services include search-and-rescue missions, disaster response, humanitarian service, and antidrug operations. There are more than seventeen hundred squadrons across the country, half of which have both senior members and cadets, utilizing 535 light aircraft and a communications network.

Like many other CAP units across the country during World War II, the Jackson Squadron quickly mobilized its personnel and equipment. The Jackson municipal airport at Hawkins Field was converted to an army air base, and civilian flying was curtailed, except for those planes having two-way radios. This new requirement was part of larger national security measures implemented during the war, including the posting of armed guards at airports, requiring pilots to show proof of citizenship and loyalty, and not allowing planes to fly without proper clearance. For the members of the Jackson Squadron, however, this new security measure meant that they were unable to train as pilots, observers, or operators of an airport. The members then incorporated themselves as a nonprofit flying club so that they could purchase airplanes and radio equipment for use by the club. The airplanes would then be in compliance with wartime regulations and could be stored at the airport hangar. The club also relocated its headquarters from the New Capitol in downtown Jackson to Hawkins Field in west Jackson.

The contributions of the local and statewide CAPs have continued to be highly visible to Mississippians and the nation. The Mississippi Wing hosted the first CAP air show in the nation on April 28, 1946, at the army air base in Jackson. Following the national CAP recommendations, the Jackson Squadron encouraged women to earn pilots licenses and train as officers. Indeed, some of the clubs charter members were women pilots. The club was dissolved as a corporate entity in late 1946, but it maintained its squadron activities. Several times, the Jackson Squadron has assisted the Mississippi Wing to win the top ranking over all national CAP wings. Although membership has fluctuated considerably, recent recruitment efforts have resulted in over twenty cadets and over six senior members still active in the Jackson group. The name of the group is now the Jackson Composite Squadron, Mississippi Wing, Civil Air Patrol.

Scope and Content:

This collection documents the achievements of the Jackson Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol during and immediately after World War II through organizational records, correspondence, minutes, photographs, publicity, newsletters, contracts, financial statements, insurance policies, rules and regulations, and a map. The photographs are black-and-white snapshots of Mississippi Wing personnel, aircraft, and facilities. The photographs and the publicity material were collected for publication in the squadron newsletter, The Magnolia Wing Dips. The correspondence concerns local membership and club business, as well as national rules and regulations. The minutes cover the period from February 17, 1943, to October 19, 1946.

Series Identification:

1. Organizational Records. 1943-1944; 1946; n.d. 3 folders.

Constitution, bylaws, charter, public notices, membership lists, and financial statements.

2. Minutes. 1943-1946; n.d. 1 folder.

Minutes from regular weekly meetings, executive committee meetings, and some attendance rosters.

3. Correspondence (Jackson Squadron, Civil Air Patrol). 1943-1946; n.d. 7 folders.

Topics include general information, regaining access to the airport, acquiring an airplane and a radio, settling a repair bill, and the promotion of squadron personnel.

4. Correspondence (National Headquarters, Civil Air Patrol). 1942-1945; n.d. 4 folders.

General information and correspondence sent from the national headquarters of the Civil Air Patrol.

5. Publicity. 1945-1946; n.d. 1 folder.

Photographs, unedited news copy, interoffice memoranda, notes, and one complete issue of The Magnolia Wing Dips, a statewide newsletter published by the Jackson Squadron for other CAP units.

6. Contracts. 1943-1944. 2 folders.

Contracts for different airplanes and insurance policies.

7. Rules and Regulations. 1940-1944; n.d. 1 folder.

Policies of the Federal Communications Commission and the Civil Aeronautics Board, a fee schedule and rules of operation for a CAP airport, and a blank form from the War Production Board for ordering airplane parts and supplies.

8. Map. 1943. 1 folder.

Map of a CAP airfield in Hinds County, Mississippi, dated March 5, 1943.

9. Coupon Booklet. ca. 1945-1946. 1 folder.

Manufacturers complimentary coupons for free gasoline and oil from Gulf Airway Stations on Route 3 of the yearly Light Plane Air Tour to Florida, with a general flight map, instructions, and warnings.