HomeMy WebLinkAbout1944-04-00 Byrd Wing Civil Air Patrol (1)C4P qaa4& liezad 4;0.4"
0 VER in East Texas, one day
this spring, a f armer was
clearing his field.
Suddenly, through the smoke of his
brush fire, an airplane buzzed down.
A little red bag, with a long yellow
streamer, dropped at the farmer's feet.
He opened it, took out a piece of
paper and read:
PLEASE DON'T LET THIS
FIRE ESCAPE
The fire near you hays beets re-
ported by radio, from this air-
plane ... we know, that you will
co-operate in the wartime effort
to protect all timber from fire.
Thank you for your help.
CIVIL AIR PATROL
TEXAS FOREST PATROL.
The farmer waved at the little ship
with its CAP insignia and took special
precautions with brush burning. The
CAP Texas Forest Patrol was on the
job of guarding Texas' vast forest area.
Fire prevention of this type is one
of the manifold duties of the new pa-
trol. A year ago, an experimental
patrol was flown f rom a CAP Coastal
Patrol base for the- Texas Forest Serv-
ice, A. & M. College.
Because of its success, Mr. W. E.
White, director of the service, con -
f erred with National Commander Earle
L. Johnson, and Lt. Col. D. Harold
Byrd, Texas Wing Commander, last
December.
As a result, the CAP Texas Forest
Patrol was activated at the first of this
year, with Lt. S. L. Frost, command-
ing. The first flights were made by
members of the Bryan -College Station
squadron of the CAP.
An intensive training course was
given to CAP air and ground crew
members and the personnel of the Di-
vision of Forest Protection, Texas
Forest Service, also received special in-
struction. The ground and air work
is closely co-ordinated by means of
signals and the airplanes are supple-
menting the observation of the regular
forest lookout towers, 74 of which
are manned by Texas Forest Service.
Two-way radios have been installed
in planes, ground stations and in mo-:
bile units. The visual and radio signals
provide instant communications be-
tween units and the 2,000 miles of
Texas Forest Service telephone lines
may be readily utilized.
Although CAP has done forest pa-
trol in other states, the Texas Patrol
must of necessity be on a much larger
scale. The forest area of East Texas
is approximately the size of the com-
bined areas of Vermont, New Hamp-
shire and Rhode Island.
In order to give thorough coverage
to the entire area, the CAPTFP has
assisted Capt. R. M. Nichol, group
commander, in establishing squadrons
at Marshall, Palestine, Lufkin, and
Nacogdoches, Texas, with other towns
in the forest area to be organized soon.
These cities will be supplementary
bases and, following special training,
CAP members of those squadrons will
fly patrol in their area. A number of
emergency fields have been established
through East Texas and others are
contemplated. A program of air mark-
ing is also being encouraged.
The patrol's participation in fire
prevention is carried out by means of
drop message warnings and reports of
possible fire hazards. An educational
program, in which school children are
given demonstrations of the two-way
communication between the airplane
and a specially -equipped sound truck,
is under way. The forest patrol is ex-
plained to them in a series of pictures.
Excellent fire detection is made pos-
sible because of the elevation of the
"movable fire tower' --the airplane.
Fires are reported by radio in an ab-
breviated code and are plotted on huge
maps at the main Division Office of
Forest Protection and in supplement-
ary offices. Symbols and markers are
used to give a visual picture of the
exact fire situation. This system is
similar to the familiar one used in
Army Information Centers.
In actual fire fighting, the CAP
Forest Patrol is highly effective. By
directing the ground crews from the
air many man-hours of fire fighting
are saved.
Timber surveys, plantation growth
checks and other duties are available to
the patrol during off seasons for fires.
We'll See You at College Station
May 1-2-3
Establishment of a Civil Air Patrol Forest Patrol was effected recently in Texas. Lt. Col. Earle L. Johnson, national commander,
is shown at left above (seated) discussing plans with Texas Forest Service Director W. E. White (left) and Lt. Col. D. Harold
Byrd, Texas CAP Wing Commander (right). In the group photo, Capt. L. O. Wilkerson, Bryan -College Station Squadron com-
mander (in blouse), maps patrol areas for squadron members. U. S. Forest services and other state forest services are watching
the development of the CAP Texas Forest Patrol with keen interest. Several fire control chiefs have already visited the bases,
taken elaborate notes and are contemplating the use of CAP in this work in their home states.
BYRD WING