Morris Field NC in 1943

[OldGeezer]

What's now Charlotte Douglas International Airport started out very modestly as a minor Army airfield in WW2. Even though I grew up in Charlotte, I didn't know much about the old airfield, but today I found this and thought I'd share it. Not sure I'd call this a "fighting ship" though.

 

[DDonSS3]

It looks to me like it's an O-47. Not much of a "fighting ship" even when it was new…

 

[special ed]

O for observation - look but don't fight.

 

[Tom Hail]

That is an O-47. They were used by the new Observation Squadron being formed. The 68th Observation Group had a few O-47s when they first arrived, they had used them for anti sub patrol until February 1942 when the Group started a 6 month training program for combat. The new strength of the group was each squadron to be equipt with 6 twin engine observation planes (DB-7 or A-20A) six fighter recon planes start with P-43A, some with cameras, evolving to short tail P-40F before deploying for the November 8 (Torch) invasion with 9 A-20B (per Squadron) flown from Morris Field thru Assencion Island to Oudja, Algeria. The fighter recon pilots took the "Queen Mary" to England, and had to wait for the 8th Air Force to assemble P-39s (mid to late December 1942.) .