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01~IO~ OF CIVILIAN D~"~NSE
C I V I L A I R PAT R O L
N AT I O N A L H E A D % U ~ R S
WAS~!INOTON, 3~BRUARY Ii, 1942
Subject:
Progress Report from Delaware Wing
To :
All Wing Oom~uders
1o For Four information there is quoted below a pro~e~s
report received from Wing 0ommander Hol.~r Holrils:
"in reporting the pro~es, of the Civil Air Patrol in
the State of Delaware, we can look back on appro~tely
o n e m o n t h o f o r ~ u i z n t i o n w o r ~ ~ i t h s o m e fl y i n ~ a c t l v i t y.
A f t e r m y a p p o i n t m e n t 8 s W i n g C o m ~ m n d e r, I r e t ~ t r n e d t o
Wilmington ~d ~t leave of absence from All American
Avi~tlon, Inc~, and r~si~ed my position as Richard ]~ont4~
ae~i~ l~ order to devote full time to the Job of Wing
Oomm~ndor.
~ving no Federal or S~ate f~nde I was fortu~mte enov~h
to raise a e~ll fund from private ~ources, and set to work
organizingsn office for the Civil Air Patrol. Realizing
that voluntary workers, ~hilo enthuslaetlc, could not devote
enou@ ti~o to keep the file~ l~ order and handle corres p o n d e n c e , I h l r e d a f u l l - t l m e ~ t e n o ~ a p h o r.
The fir8t official act of the Delaw~re Wi~ was to ~1 a
meeting 0fall flxed-b~ee operators and, ~t the meeting, ~e
told them the ai~s eJ~d pw'po~e of ~he 01vll Air P~trol.
~ith cooperation ~s~ed fro~ the sixteen alberta in the
State, we orated our membership drive. Each ~ee operator
got a portion of our application blanks with Instr~ctions to
di~trlhute them to everyone in his particular area.
The State police were contacted for the p~rpose of fl~erprinting applicants as citF police were already being deluged
~ith defense applicatlon~.
For the Wing Staff Z picked men who, through their positions
and life work, were e~pccially q~lified to ~eet Civil Air
P&trol requirements. For i~tonce, our Executive Officer is
the Attorney General of Del~are, whose first assi~ent was
t o l i c e n s e 8 11 a i r p o r t ~ i n t h e S t a t e . T h e d ~ y a f t e r t h e
m e e t i n g , b y p r ~ l a m a t i o n o f t h e G o v e r n o r, a d e a d l i n e f o r
licensing all a£rport~ w~ set. A committee, set up to vlslt
all alberto for the purpose of issuing Certificates of
Complis.~oe, covered the State, and, thus in a few dayz, an
effective llceneing system was established. A~Isted fullt i m ~ h e r e i n t h e o f fi c e b y A l l i s o n P. P l e l t a s , I t h e n s p l i t
the State into two Groups, selected Group Ccm~andere, who in
turn picked their Group Staff. Group l, due to its pilot and
~irplane population, warn split up into three squadron, with
eleven fllghte. Group 2, having very small pilot population,
has only one squadron with three flights.
~ y O p e r a t l e n a O f fi c e r, H u g h R . S h a r p , J r. , a ~ d r e e e e d a m e e t ing of squadron commanders ~ud flight leaders, at which time
he outlined the necessity of keeping ~ record of Civil Air
P~trol flights a~d explained the system which we have set up
t o ~ n d l e t h e s e r e p o r t s . B r i e fl y, ~ h a v e d e s i g n e d a p i l o t
report card which ia filled out by the pilots after each
flight. This data is a.sembled on a ~stsr sheet hy the
squadron commanders, who turn it in to their ~roup commanders.
I n t h i s w a y, ~ f o o l - p r o o f fi l i n g , s y s t e m i s s e t u p a ~ a r u n ning record kept of all flight activities.
The State has ~,000 airplane spotters, who work under the
interceptor command. The Civil Air Patrol realized the neceosity of educating these spotters to the correct altitude of
alrplane~ &t various heights. About two reeks ago this flight
started out, thm spotters were notified in advance of the prea~ran~d altitude and departure of the 9q~lron, and four airplanes departed from the DvPont Field to make a complete tour
of the State. The altitudes asolgned were 2,000, 4,000,
8,000, and 15,000 feet, Bad alrplsnea kept in contact with
e a c h o t h e r t h r o u g h r a d i o . A t t h e l a s t m i n u t e , h o w e v e r, i t
~s necessary to cancel the 15.000 feet flight due to the
~ e a t h e r. T h l e fl i g h t w a s ~ ~ r e a t e ~ t o ~ s e a n d w a s w l t n e e s e d
by over 90% of the spotters in the State.
At p~-esent, the Civil Air Patrol has contaoted a military
unit here in the State and offered their oomma~d£ug officer the
facilities of the Civil Air Patrol cn a voluntary basis any~
where, a~ytime, for offlclsl flights. We have also offered our
services to the S.~te Offic~ of Civilian Defense.
Other flight activltle~ have consisted of flylng over blackout
tee~s. Per Inst--nee, the D~tPont Company ~anted its blackout
efficiency te~ted, ~ the 01vll Air Patrol flew ar~and over
the building at 1500 feet, an~ ~;am able to report that the
building's more t~L~U 7,000 windows ~re darkened in less than
P~O ~eoondso
In facilitating loo~ing for lost aircraft, the State has been
divided up into t~elve areas and one flight leader has been
assigned to e~ch of these ~eas. In case of loot alrcrs~t, he
is then competent to search the territory ~lthout overl~piag
ar doublin~ "cp ~ Qthsr f!l~L~ leadert~ territories. In this
~ m n e r, t h e S ~ a t c " ~ s a b e . c o i r, p ! ~ e i y a n d e £ fl o £ e n t l y ~ u ~ - ~ y e d a t
~ . m o ~ r, t ' ~ n ~ t i o o , ~ f n e ~ , t h ~ S t s ~ s o f D e l a w a r e r e q u e s t e d t h e
O!vil Air Patrol to fu~-ni,~h th6~ wlth a ~port of the roof
~rki~ i~ th~ St~,%e, ~;e we~o In this v~y already set up to
comb the Sta~;e and in :~ue day had a complete record to hand over
oh the ~-~ki2~gs on roof%' z~d ~ss of %oWnSo
In re~rd to ~ound aotivitigs, we ~e now l-J~uni~g classe~ in
radio, a~vanc-~d navi~tion and ~avs.uced ~eterolo~ for pilot
per~onuel, ~d ~e h~ve ~dc it a requirement that all pilots
obtain a Third Olasc P~dio Operatora Permit. It is also n
requirement that all pereo~.uel completes courses in Red Croon
First Aid, Chemloal Warfare. smd Milit~y Drill a~ Procedure.
We ~e eyei~ our Atlantic Ooagt and the Delaware River mhore~
and hop~ the Nav~ Department or A~y Staff will see the value
ai~.4 the po~ibilltles of clvili~u pilots thoroughly famllla.~Ith th9 tsrrltory ~iz~g a constant and slow survey from s~ll
nircraft of the vulnerable area ~nd when ouch a time comes, the
11 9 a l r p l a n e c ~ 2 4 9 p i l o t e i n D e l a w a r e w i l l b e r e a d y, w i l l i n g
and ~ble to carry out this mlesion for Uncle Sam,"
JOH~ F. CURRY
Major General, Air Corps
~.~ecutive OffTr
C I V I L A I R PAT R O L
N AT I O N A L H E A D % U ~ R S
WAS~!INOTON, 3~BRUARY Ii, 1942
Subject:
Progress Report from Delaware Wing
To :
All Wing Oom~uders
1o For Four information there is quoted below a pro~e~s
report received from Wing 0ommander Hol.~r Holrils:
"in reporting the pro~es, of the Civil Air Patrol in
the State of Delaware, we can look back on appro~tely
o n e m o n t h o f o r ~ u i z n t i o n w o r ~ ~ i t h s o m e fl y i n ~ a c t l v i t y.
A f t e r m y a p p o i n t m e n t 8 s W i n g C o m ~ m n d e r, I r e t ~ t r n e d t o
Wilmington ~d ~t leave of absence from All American
Avi~tlon, Inc~, and r~si~ed my position as Richard ]~ont4~
ae~i~ l~ order to devote full time to the Job of Wing
Oomm~ndor.
~ving no Federal or S~ate f~nde I was fortu~mte enov~h
to raise a e~ll fund from private ~ources, and set to work
organizingsn office for the Civil Air Patrol. Realizing
that voluntary workers, ~hilo enthuslaetlc, could not devote
enou@ ti~o to keep the file~ l~ order and handle corres p o n d e n c e , I h l r e d a f u l l - t l m e ~ t e n o ~ a p h o r.
The fir8t official act of the Delaw~re Wi~ was to ~1 a
meeting 0fall flxed-b~ee operators and, ~t the meeting, ~e
told them the ai~s eJ~d pw'po~e of ~he 01vll Air P~trol.
~ith cooperation ~s~ed fro~ the sixteen alberta in the
State, we orated our membership drive. Each ~ee operator
got a portion of our application blanks with Instr~ctions to
di~trlhute them to everyone in his particular area.
The State police were contacted for the p~rpose of fl~erprinting applicants as citF police were already being deluged
~ith defense applicatlon~.
For the Wing Staff Z picked men who, through their positions
and life work, were e~pccially q~lified to ~eet Civil Air
P&trol requirements. For i~tonce, our Executive Officer is
the Attorney General of Del~are, whose first assi~ent was
t o l i c e n s e 8 11 a i r p o r t ~ i n t h e S t a t e . T h e d ~ y a f t e r t h e
m e e t i n g , b y p r ~ l a m a t i o n o f t h e G o v e r n o r, a d e a d l i n e f o r
licensing all a£rport~ w~ set. A committee, set up to vlslt
all alberto for the purpose of issuing Certificates of
Complis.~oe, covered the State, and, thus in a few dayz, an
effective llceneing system was established. A~Isted fullt i m ~ h e r e i n t h e o f fi c e b y A l l i s o n P. P l e l t a s , I t h e n s p l i t
the State into two Groups, selected Group Ccm~andere, who in
turn picked their Group Staff. Group l, due to its pilot and
~irplane population, warn split up into three squadron, with
eleven fllghte. Group 2, having very small pilot population,
has only one squadron with three flights.
~ y O p e r a t l e n a O f fi c e r, H u g h R . S h a r p , J r. , a ~ d r e e e e d a m e e t ing of squadron commanders ~ud flight leaders, at which time
he outlined the necessity of keeping ~ record of Civil Air
P~trol flights a~d explained the system which we have set up
t o ~ n d l e t h e s e r e p o r t s . B r i e fl y, ~ h a v e d e s i g n e d a p i l o t
report card which ia filled out by the pilots after each
flight. This data is a.sembled on a ~stsr sheet hy the
squadron commanders, who turn it in to their ~roup commanders.
I n t h i s w a y, ~ f o o l - p r o o f fi l i n g , s y s t e m i s s e t u p a ~ a r u n ning record kept of all flight activities.
The State has ~,000 airplane spotters, who work under the
interceptor command. The Civil Air Patrol realized the neceosity of educating these spotters to the correct altitude of
alrplane~ &t various heights. About two reeks ago this flight
started out, thm spotters were notified in advance of the prea~ran~d altitude and departure of the 9q~lron, and four airplanes departed from the DvPont Field to make a complete tour
of the State. The altitudes asolgned were 2,000, 4,000,
8,000, and 15,000 feet, Bad alrplsnea kept in contact with
e a c h o t h e r t h r o u g h r a d i o . A t t h e l a s t m i n u t e , h o w e v e r, i t
~s necessary to cancel the 15.000 feet flight due to the
~ e a t h e r. T h l e fl i g h t w a s ~ ~ r e a t e ~ t o ~ s e a n d w a s w l t n e e s e d
by over 90% of the spotters in the State.
At p~-esent, the Civil Air Patrol has contaoted a military
unit here in the State and offered their oomma~d£ug officer the
facilities of the Civil Air Patrol cn a voluntary basis any~
where, a~ytime, for offlclsl flights. We have also offered our
services to the S.~te Offic~ of Civilian Defense.
Other flight activltle~ have consisted of flylng over blackout
tee~s. Per Inst--nee, the D~tPont Company ~anted its blackout
efficiency te~ted, ~ the 01vll Air Patrol flew ar~and over
the building at 1500 feet, an~ ~;am able to report that the
building's more t~L~U 7,000 windows ~re darkened in less than
P~O ~eoondso
In facilitating loo~ing for lost aircraft, the State has been
divided up into t~elve areas and one flight leader has been
assigned to e~ch of these ~eas. In case of loot alrcrs~t, he
is then competent to search the territory ~lthout overl~piag
ar doublin~ "cp ~ Qthsr f!l~L~ leadert~ territories. In this
~ m n e r, t h e S ~ a t c " ~ s a b e . c o i r, p ! ~ e i y a n d e £ fl o £ e n t l y ~ u ~ - ~ y e d a t
~ . m o ~ r, t ' ~ n ~ t i o o , ~ f n e ~ , t h ~ S t s ~ s o f D e l a w a r e r e q u e s t e d t h e
O!vil Air Patrol to fu~-ni,~h th6~ wlth a ~port of the roof
~rki~ i~ th~ St~,%e, ~;e we~o In this v~y already set up to
comb the Sta~;e and in :~ue day had a complete record to hand over
oh the ~-~ki2~gs on roof%' z~d ~ss of %oWnSo
In re~rd to ~ound aotivitigs, we ~e now l-J~uni~g classe~ in
radio, a~vanc-~d navi~tion and ~avs.uced ~eterolo~ for pilot
per~onuel, ~d ~e h~ve ~dc it a requirement that all pilots
obtain a Third Olasc P~dio Operatora Permit. It is also n
requirement that all pereo~.uel completes courses in Red Croon
First Aid, Chemloal Warfare. smd Milit~y Drill a~ Procedure.
We ~e eyei~ our Atlantic Ooagt and the Delaware River mhore~
and hop~ the Nav~ Department or A~y Staff will see the value
ai~.4 the po~ibilltles of clvili~u pilots thoroughly famllla.~Ith th9 tsrrltory ~iz~g a constant and slow survey from s~ll
nircraft of the vulnerable area ~nd when ouch a time comes, the
11 9 a l r p l a n e c ~ 2 4 9 p i l o t e i n D e l a w a r e w i l l b e r e a d y, w i l l i n g
and ~ble to carry out this mlesion for Uncle Sam,"
JOH~ F. CURRY
Major General, Air Corps
~.~ecutive OffTr