Brooks Air Force Base
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Brooks Air Force Base (1917-2011) - A United States Air Force base first established in 1917 as Gosport Field near San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas. Renamed Kelly Field No. 5 on 5 Dec 1917. Renamed Brooks Field on 4 Feb 1918 after Cadet Sidney J. Brooks Jr. who was killed in a training accident on 13 Nov 1917. Renamed Brooks Air Force Base on 24 Jun 1948. Became Brooks City-Base on 22 Jul 2002. Closed as a military base in 2011.
World War IEstablished as Gosport Field in 1917 named after the flying training methodology use by the base. Renamed Kelly Field No. 5 on 5 Dec 1917. Brooks Field was used for a six week Air Service Flight Instructor's course. Sixteen hangers were built to support operations along with support buildings. From 1919 to 1922 Brooks operated a Ballon and Airship School. From 1922 to 1931 Brooks operated a Primary Flying School. During the 1930s Brooks operated aerial observation training courses World War IIDuring World War II Brooks expanded the School for Combat Observers and the Advanced Flying School to meet wartime needs. In 1943 the program change to focus on twin engine flight training. Post World War IIFlight training continued at Brooks until 1960. The last plane took off from Brooks on 20 Jun 1960.   The Air Training Command transferred Brooks to Air Force Systems Command (AFSC) as the first step in converting the facility to the School of Aerospace Medicine. The facility was dedicated 21 Nov 1963 by President John F. Kennedy the day before he was killed in Dallas. On 22 July 2002 the Brooks Development Authority assumed control of the newly named Brooks City-Base and a period of transition began that would add civilian development to the base complex including Mission Trail Baptist Hospital. Military activities ended at the base in 2011.
Current Status Now Brooks City-Base a civilian community under development. The Edward H. White II Memorial Museum located in the historic Hanger No. 9 seems to be closed with construction tape surrounding it (23 May 2015). The Brooks memorial and the F-100 that were in front of the museum are also gone. The marker for the Memorial Hanger is still in place.
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Visited: 23 May 2015
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