LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2006 October Grand Format Autographs #629  / 

26020

World War I Biplane Banner from Kelly AFB, Texas

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Transportation Start Price:300.00 USD Estimated At:1,200.00 - 1,800.00 USD
World War I Biplane Banner from Kelly AFB, Texas
<B>World War I Biplane Display Banner from Kelly Field - Texas.</B></I> November 12, 1918, original World War I era, handmade calf-skin leather aviation display banner, from Kelly Field, Texas. This impressive leather banner measures 32" x 23" and is attached to its original wooden display board and is framed to an overall size of 35.5" x 25.25". A nice image of a period biplane having the legends "Aviation Section" above, and "Kelly Field - Texas - November 12, 1918" below. Almost all of the combat aviators of World War I earned their wings at Kelly Field. At some point of their training most of the future leaders of the Air Force passed through Kelly Field. They included the later Air Force Chiefs of staff Carl "Tooey" Spaatz, Hoyt Vandenberg, and Curtis LeMay; Charles Lindbergh also earned his wings at Kelly Field, as did the famous "Flying Tiger" Claire Lee Chennault. In 1928 the Academy Award-winning film "Wings" was filmed at this very base. A wonderful, historic and apparently unique, display piece. The following is taken from the Texas State Historical Website: "Kelly Air Force Base, the oldest continuously operating flying base in the United States Air Force, is located at the southwestern edge of San Antonio. It is the largest single employer in San Antonio; in 1939 it had more than 25,000 military and civilian employees, and its payroll exceeded $721 million. Capt. Benjamin Foulois, 'the father of military aviation', selected the site in November of 1916 to expand the activities of the fledgling Aviation Section the United States Army Signal Corps from Fort Sam Houston. The new airfield was named for Lt. George E. Kelly, who was killed in a crash at Fort Sam Houston on May 10, 1911. He was the first American military aviator to lose his life while piloting a military aircraft. The base was initially called Aviation Camp, then Kelly Field. When the air force achieved autonomy in 1947, the name was changed to Kelly Air Force Base. Flying activities began on April 5, 1917, and with America's entry into WWI, grew rapidly. The facilities were divided into Kelly Number One, later to become Duncan Field, for maintenance and supply functions, and Kelly Number Two, devoted to flight training. The base served as a reception and testing center for recruits as well as a training center for almost all the skills required to operate an Air Force."
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