One of the many Texas Engineering Landmarks in celebration of Texas ASCE’s Centennial: 1913-2013 “Engineering a Better Texas.” Visit them all!
---------
BROOKS AFB, OLD HANGER 9
ASCE HISTORIC LANDMARK
---------
Hangar 9 was one of sixteen similar wood structures built at Brooks Field early in 1918. By the 1960s, only Hangar 9 remained. When, in the 1960s the Air Force proposed Hangar 9's demolition, the Bexar County Historical Society was given permission to restore the building. The building was dedicated as the Edward H. White II Aviation Museum in 1968.
With the start of World War I, military preparedness ramped up full-speed ahead and with it, a new flying field, Brooks Field, broke ground in February of 1918. The facility was established to train Army pilots, famous sons including Charles Lindberg, Nathan Twining, and Thomas D. White.
It became home to many early innovations in aviation training, such as the invention of the Ocker Box (to teach instrument-only flying) and early experiments in paratroop jumps.
Hangar 9 is a 2-story, 865 sq ft wooden building -- one of 16 hangars constructed in 1918 as temporary buildings for the new airfield. The other buildings were demolished in the late 50s, but Hangar 9 remains the only WWI era hangar standing. It has been repurposed as a museum housing artifacts related to aviation history and development, including early space exploration.
The building’s design distinguishes itself in the use of local materials and human resources, the speed of construction, and the durability with which it has faced the years unscathed.
Records:
Architect: Albert Kahn (1869-1942)
Contractor: Harmon & Co. of St. Louis
HISTORIC LANDMARK RECOGNITION (a partial list):
ASCE Brooks AFB, Old Hangar 9 (
visit link)
ASCE TEXAS SECTION Historic Civil Engineering Landmark (HCEL) Award 1998
(
visit link)
National Historic Landmark (
visit link)
Texas Historical Marker # 13335
Hangar 9, Brooks Air Force Base
Dedicated June 3, 1970 Edward H. White II Memorial Hangar Brooks Air Force Base Astronaut Lieutenant Colonel Edward H. White II (born at Fort Sam Houston, Nov. 14, 1930) was the first American to walk in space, while tethered to his Gemini spacecraft on June 3, 1965. Along with two companions, he died on Jan. 27, 1967, in a flash fire at the launch site while in training for the first moon flight aboard an Apollo spacecraft. The astronauts' flight heritage is tied closely to the pioneer flying schools of San Antonio. The father of Astronaut White, Major General Edward H. White, learned to fly here at Hangar 9, as did Charles A. Lindbergh and many other pioneers. Hangar 9, one of over 30 of its type at Kelly and Brooks Fields, was the standard hangar used by the U.S. Army Signal Corps to house the Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" at flying schools during World War I. Brooks Field was named for San Antonio native Sidney J. Brooks, killed at Kelly Field, Nov. 13, 1917. Construction on Brooks Field began Dec. 11, 1917. Colonel H. Conger Pratt was the first commander. Long a priamary school for heavier-than-than air craft, it has been used for many pioneer roles, including development of aerospace medicine. (1970)
FURTHER READING:
Hangar 9, Brooks Air Force Base (
visit link)
Brooks City Base “Hangar 9 Historic Area“ (
visit link)
Hangar 9/Edward H. White Museum (
visit link)
“Within this hangar on the grounds of Brooks Air Force Base stands the oldest museum of the Air Force. Exhibits recount the history of the base, the evolution of manned flight and the development of aerospace medicine. Free.”
Brooks Field / Brooks AFB, San Antonio, TX (
visit link)
'Grand design' revealed for 1918 hangar; April 10, 2012 (
visit link)
Brooks Heritage Foundation “Hangar 9 and the Sidney J. Brooks Memorial” (
visit link)