When the Wright brothers’ Wright Flyer first took flight on December 17, 1903, one of the onlookers – John T. Daniels – was left in awe. Historian David McCullough, in his book “The Wright Brothers,” wrote that Daniels gave an interview years later about the historic event and said that the aircraft “ … sailed off in the air … as pretty as any bird you ever laid your eyes on. I don’t think I ever saw a prettier sight in my life.” It was he who captured a photo of the Flyer’s successful launch from the sands of Kill Devil Hill, North Carolina. Thirty years later, that same sense of wonder may have prevailed among the thousands of people who attended the first air show at Barksdale Air Force Base.
That first show was part of the ceremonies celebrating the dedication of Barksdale Field, as the base was then known, on February 2, 1933. According to the book “A History of Barksdale Air Force Base,” published in 1971, Barksdale was born of the need for a new airfield to accommodate the U.S. Army Air Corps’ expanding 3rd Air Attack Group. Despite eight other cities bidding to get this new airfield, Barksdale’s present site won out, after what the book describes as “a monumental task that literally encompassed ten years of intensive, determined and dedicated effort.”
A crowd estimated to number 50,000 people attended the dedication, including the mother and other family members of the airfield’s namesake, Lieutenant Eugene Hoy Barksdale. Although there were no Air Force Thunderbirds or Navy Blue Angels to headline that day’s air show, newspaper accounts say the exhibition did not disappoint. Coverage in the February 3, 1933 edition of The Shreveport Times states, “Uncle Sam’s fleet of planes roared skyward for an hour and a half, sending an air-minded crowd home happy.” Demonstrations included “ground strafing,” in which the planes “dived to within almost 25 feet of targets … with two forward machine guns pelting leaden slugs,” and acrobatic maneuvers that “entertained the crowd with … loops, power dives, snap rolls,” and “every stunt in the varied and death-defying repertoire of a pursuit pilot.” According to this newspaper account, Barksdale Field Commander Major Millard F. Harmon led a flight of the 20th Pursuit Group past the reviewing stands, followed closely by a group of attack planes led by Captain Lester J. Maitland, a pilot notable for having made the first flight from California to Hawaii in 1927. For those attendees who had perhaps never seen an airplane, this spectacle must have been quite a sight to witness.
Holding the audience’s attention were aircraft such as the Boeing P-12, a prop-driven bi-plane having a design little changed from the World War One era, with a maximum speed of 189 miles per hour. Fast forward to the 1940s, when the U.S. military transitioned to jets that could attain speeds of nearly 600 miles per hour. As engines and airframes improved, those speeds continued to climb.
At this year’s Barksdale Defenders of Liberty Air Show, Saturday and Sunday, March 29 and 30, the Air Force Thunderbirds will perform, showcasing not only precision flying skills, but also an exceptional aircraft in the F-16 Fighting Falcon. Originally developed by General Dynamics, the Falcon is capable of reaching Mach 2 or 1,500 miles per hour, according to the plane’s fact sheet on the Air Force website af.mil. Other performers will include Red Bull Aviation, the U.S. Army Golden Knights parachute team, and the Titan Aerobatic Team. Historic aircraft like the P-51 Mustang and B-25 will also be part of the show. For more information, visit defendersoflibertyairshow.com.
Whether watching from on base or from your yard, enjoy the air show and its rich history, and understand that it was made possible through the efforts of numerous base personnel and community volunteers and civic organizations like the Shreveport-Bossier Military Affairs Council. To them I say thank you. And I pay homage to the organizers and performers of that first, long-ago airshow of 1933. Ninety-two years has not diminished the standard that was set or the legacy left that February day. The pages of history recall their accomplishment. Orville and Wilbur would be proud.
If you have any information or items relating to the history of Bossier Parish, the History Center may be interested in adding the materials to its research collection by donation or by scanning them and returning the originals. Call or visit us to learn more. We are open M-Th 9-8, Fri 9-6, and Sat 9-5. Our phone number is (318) 746-7717 and our email is history-center@bossierlibrary.org. We can also be found online at https://www.facebook.com/BPLHistoryCenter/ and http://bpl-hc.blogspot.com/
Images:
- Headline from The Shreveport Times, November 5, 1934/courtesy newspapers.com
- Crowds attending Barksdale dedication and first air show, February 2, 1933/courtesy Bill Grabill, History Center collection
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