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TITLE	Aerial View of Thunderbird Field I
CREATOR	Swope, John
SUBJECT	Thunderbird Field I; Air Forces; Air bases; World War II; Arizona--Glendale; Sheets, Millard;
Browse Topic	Military and war
DESCRIPTION	Thunderbird Field I was a World War II air training base initially built with private funds by Southwest Airways. Planning began in November 1940, construction started Jan. 2, 1941, and operations began on March 22. Well-known artist Millard Sheets designed the airbase to resemble the mythical Thunderbird from the air. This aerial view shows the full array of aircraft on the landing field in front of the tower. Numerous aircraft can also be seen in the air. The airbase was located considerable distance northwest of the populated Phoenix metropolitan area. Its 649 acres were on the corner of what is now Greenway Rd. and 59th Ave. In the photo, 59th Ave. forms the upper leg of the V-shaped boundary of the base; Greenway Rd. is the lower leg of the "V." More than 10,000 pilots were trained at Thunderbird Field I during World War II. During the peak period, planes averaged as many as 850 hours in the air. An all-time high or 1,136 hours was recorded in one day. In January, 1944, the payroll of Thunderbird Field boasted 700 employees with a total monthly salary expenditure of nearly $150,000.
TYPE	Image
RIGHTS MANAGEMENT	Photo by John Swope used with permission of the copyright holder, John Swope Trust. U.S. and international copyright laws protect this digital image. Commercial use or distribution of the image is not permitted without prior permission of the copyright holder.
DATE ORIGINAL	1942 ca.
Time Period	1940s (1940-1949)
ORIGINAL FORMAT	Photograph
Source Identifier	2006.036.002
DIGITAL IDENTIFIER	2006_036_002.jpg
DIGITAL FORMAT	JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group)
REPOSITORY	The Archives at the International Business Information Center at Thunderbird School of Global Management
Sort Order	00200