21st Airship Group

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21st Airship Group
US Army C-2 blimp.jpg
A 1922 photo of the C-2 blimp at Brooks Field, Texas
Active16 October 1917 – December 1918
13 September 1921 – 1 June 1939
Disbanded27 May 1939
CountryFlag of the United States (1912-1959).svg United States
Branch Air Corps
TypeGroup
Motto(s)Sic Itur ad Astra (Thus even to the Stars)
Engagements World War I
Insignia
21st Airship Group distinctive unit insigne
(emblem approved 25 June 1924)		21st Airship Group - Emblem.png

The 21st Airship Group was a unit of the United States Army Air Corps. It was last assigned to the 3d Wing at Scott Field, Illinois. It was originally activated under a different name in 1921, and disbanded on 27 May 1939.

Contents

A predecessor of the group served on the Western Front in France during World War I. For most of the period between the two World Wars, the group was the only active lighter-than-air headquarters in the United States Army Air Service and, later, the United States Army Air Corps.

History

The 2d Balloon Squadron, a predecessor of the group was activated during World War I and deployed to Western Front in France. The squadron was credited with participating in the Meuse-Argonne offensive (8–17 October 1918). [1] The unit was demobilized as the I Corps Balloon Group in December 1918.

Postcard of Lighter-Than-Air ship hangar at Scott Field Scott field LTA hangar.jpg
Postcard of Lighter-Than-Air ship hangar at Scott Field

The 1st Balloon Group was organized in the fall of 1921 to support the Air Service Balloon and Airship School at Brooks Field, San Antonio, Texas. However, a series of mishaps in operating the hydrogen-filled craft led to the transfer of the school from Brooks to Scott Field, Illinois, on 26 June 1922. [2] Lighter-than-air ships were used at Scott Field to research the capabilities of aerial photography, meteorology and conduct altitude experiments. In the late 1920s, the emphasis shifted from airships to balloons. Airplanes began to dominate activities at Scott Field, and in the late 1930s, the lighter-than-air activities there came to an end. [3]

Lineage

2d Balloon Squadron emblem 2d Balloon Squadron - Emblem.jpg
2d Balloon Squadron emblem

I Corps Balloon Group

Redesignated Company A, Balloon Wing, First Army on 19 June 1918
Redesignated I Corps Balloon Group on 8 October 1918

21st Balloon Group

Redesignated 1st Airship Group on 3 January 1922.
Redesignated 21st Airship Group on 1 January 1923
Redesignated as 21st Balloon Group on 1 June 1937.
Disbanded on 27 May 1939

[4]

Assignments

[4]

Components

[4]

Stations

[4]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Browne, Waldo (1921), The American Army in the World War, A Divisional Record, Overseas Books, Manchester, NH
  2. ↑ USAF History Office, Brooks City-Base
  3. ↑ National Park Service From Sand Dunes to Sonic Booms: Scott Field Historic District
  4. 1 2 3 4 Clay, Steven E. (2011). US Army Order of Battle 1919–1941 (PDF). 3 The Services: Air Service, Engineers, and Special Troops 1919–1941. Fort Leavenworth, KS: Combat Studies Institute Press. ISBN   978-0-98419-014-0. LCCN   2010022326. OCLC   637712205. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  5. ↑ "Lineage and Honors History of the 1 Airborne Command Control Squadron (ACC)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 March 2014. Retrieved 15 February 2013.

Bibliography

PD-icon.svg This article incorporates  public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/ .

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