Fort Benning, Lawson Field, Building 302, 7994 Bradshaw Road U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence, Fort Benning Military Reservation

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS GA-2438. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Bradshaw Road, Fort Benning, Chattahoochee County, Georgia. The Lawson Field Flight Control Tower s location has no restriction on its release to the public. Building center point: USGS photo revised Fort Benning, Georgia- Alabama 7.5 topographic quadrangle, Universal Transverse Mercator Coordinates (North American Datum E688888 (Figure 1).

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS GA-2438. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Building 302 (Lawson Field Flight Control Tower) is eligible under Criterion A (military transportation). The tower was constructed at the beginning of large-scale American involvement in the Vietnam War to provide support for aircraft operations at Lawson Army Airfield (LAAF), Fort Benning. At the time Fort Benning was home to two divisions, the 2nd Infantry Division and the Air Assault Division, and LAAF had become one of the busiest airports in the world in supporting operations of these two units.

The Army constructed Building 302 as part of a larger upgrade of LAAF to accommodate the then-new a US Air Force transportation aircraft, to support the world-wide deployment of soldiers stationed at Fort Benning, to facilitate updated training programs at the airfield, and to support normal operations of the Airborne School. Building 302 played a key role in the continued development of the airfield, and it continues to support current airfield operations. Historians: Alyssa N. Costas, and Joseph Paul Maggioni, Architectural Historians, LG2 Environmental Solutions, Inc., 100 Bull Street, Savannah, Georgia, FORT BENNING, LAWSON FIELD, BUILDING 302 HABS No. GA-2438 (Page 2)

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS GA-2438. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Due to the infeasibility of repurposing Building Fort Benning required a HABS recordation of the facility prior to its demolition. Per the installation s Army Alternate Procedures agreement with the Georgia State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) regarding the stewardship of historic resources, a Level II Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) was completed with final documentation provided to the SHPO, the installation, and the National Park Service J. Paul Maggioni and Alyssa Costas conducted large-format photography and archival research at Fort Benning in March and April The HABS narrative was authored by Architectural Historian Alyssa Costas, with contributions by Mr. Maggioni. The Project Manager was Wendy Puckett, LG2 Environmental Solutions Inc.

Carson Sanders and Keri Cronan, two independent photographers, developed negatives and produced archival prints for the project. The project was sponsored by the Environmental Management Division, Directorate of Public Works, MCoE with assistance from Architectural Historians Susanne Perry and Edward Howard, and Archaeologists Michael Ecks and Jessica Parks. Part I. Historical Information A. Physical History 1. Date of erection: 2. Architect: John J. Harte Associates, Incorporated. Architects and Engineers, Atlanta. John J.

Harte, a New York native and civil engineer, started his firm in Atlanta at some point between and Although Harte died in his firm continued under his name into the specializing in all aspects of engineering design, to include subdivision, condominium, and apartment planning, industrial design, utilities, bridge design, and mechanical engineering. Throughout its existence John J. Harte Associates worked in both the commercial market and on government contracts. One of the firm s most significant projects was planning and designing the building, road, and utility systems for Kings Bay Naval Base in St.

Marys, Georgia, in the late The firm appears to have gone out of business around 1 1 Ancestry.com Atlanta Constitution, Classifieds, January 19, July 22, December December 5, December 10, July 24, Craig, Robert Michael, Atlanta Architecture: Art Deco to Modern Classic, (Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing, and Environmental Science and Engineering, Inc., Draft Supplement to the Environmental Impact Statement for Preferred Alternative for a Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarine Support Base at Kings Bay, Georgia (Gainesville, Florida: Environmental Science and Engineering, Inc., FORT BENNING, LAWSON FIELD, BUILDING 302 HABS No. GA-2438 (Page 3) 3. Original and subsequent owners and uses: U.S. Army Infantry Center (presently MCoE), Fort Benning Military Reservation, Georgia.

Building 302 has been used for air traffic control from its construction in to present day. 4. Builder: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District / Deep South Construction Company. 2 5. Original plans and construction: John J. Harte, Associates of Atlanta, Georgia, designed Building 302 under a contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District. Original plans dated December 12, consist of 24 design drawings detailing the site plan, utility site plan, floor plans, elevations and sections, stair details, structural and framing plans, mechanical plans and details, and electrical power plans and schedules. Building 302 retains its original appearance.

The building is a nine-story tall concrete block building with a square footprint, and an observation and control deck at the top story with 360-degree fixed plate glass windows on its eighth and ninth floors. The building has two entrances on its east and west facades. These are one- leaf metal doors, each with a small window at head height. The west fa ade has an additional exterior door on the second floor directly above the ground floor entrance, but with no evident fire escape, so this door opens out into nothing. The building lacks decorative and ornate details. The building has one-over-one-light, single-hung metal sash windows up to the sixth floor of its east and west facades. 6.

Alterations and additions: The only major alteration to this facility since its erection was construction of an enclosed fire escape on the west side of the building in built by contractor James C. Welch of Columbus, Georgia. This fire escape consists of an external metal ladder connecting five platforms with metal safety rails and safety cages. 3 B. Historical Context 1. History of US Military Aviation, In Orville and Wilbur Wright achieved powered flight. Six years later the U.S. Army Signal Corps purchased a Wright Model A, becoming history s first military 2 Master Planning, Directorate of Public Works, Fort Benning, Georgia. Real Property Office, Fort Benning. Real Property File for Building various dates.

On file at Master Planning Department, Directorate of Public Works, Building 6, Fort Benning, Georgia. 3 Perdue, George P. Form Transfer of Real Property, Date: 1 August Job Number PR# 2- Form. From Real Property Office, Fort Benning, Real Property File for Building FORT BENNING, LAWSON FIELD, BUILDING 302 HABS No. GA-2438 (Page 4) airplane. World War I spurred tremendous advances both in aviation technology and practical application of air power in warfare. Within two years of the commencement of hostilities, the war had sparked both significant technological advances in aviation and demonstrated the revolutionary military potential of the airplane.

Over the course of the war, airplanes became heavier, more powerful, and able to effectively carry out tactical, and to a lesser degree, strategic offensive operations against the enemy. The belligerents used aircraft for observation, to shoot down opposing aircraft, for close air support against enemy ground forces, and bombing the enemy homeland s population and means of war production. The US entered World War I in April on the side of the Allies. The Aviation Section of the US Army Signal Corps became the US Army Air Service, and expanded from one fully-equipped Squadron of twelve planes to fielding forty-five combat squadrons to France by war s end.

4 At the end of World War I Army aviation officers began making the case for creation of an independent air force to completely realize the strategic offensive potential of air power. However, Army generals, focused on the purely tactical use of both balloons and powered aircraft for artillery observation and close air support of ground forces, wanted to retain the Air Service under their command. The National Defense Act of wrote this conservative policy into law. The aviation reformers had lost their first battle. 5 During this initial post-war period, the Air Service established small flying fields at various permanent Army posts, such as at Fort Benning.

The purpose of these fields was to provide facilities within the US so both active and reserve pilots could maintain their pilot credentials. Also, the military used the fields in joint exercises, as well as for stopover points along cross- country flights. 6 The Air Corps Act of reorganized the Air Service into the Army Air Corps and reversed the air force policy enacted by the National Defense Act of six years before. The Act of recognized the dual roles of the air arm, both to support Army ground forces and as an air force for national defense operations. The Act gave the Air Corps an authorized strength of 52 squadrons, including observation, fighter, and bomber units and sparked multiple construction and development 4 Kuranda, Kathryn M., Katherine Grandine, Brian Cleven, Thomas W.

Davis, and Nathaniel Patch, Historic Context for Army Fixed-Wing Airfields: (Frederick, Maryland: R. Christopher Goodwin & Associates, Inc., 5 Ibid. 6 Ibid. FORT BENNING, LAWSON FIELD, BUILDING 302 HABS No. GA-2438 (Page 5) projects from to The Air Corps primarily used the Act s funds to build hangars, landing fields, operations buildings, and warehouses. 7 The Air Corps infrastructure had to be updated because aircraft technology had changed so radically in the and The open cockpit, cloth body bi-planes of World War I had evolved by the early into closed-cockpit, metal-body mono-wing aircraft, much heavier, with more power, flight range, and carrying capacity.

The more advanced aircraft of this decade made strategic air power a much more realistic concept then it had been in the Air Corps doctrine during the heavily emphasized strategic bombardment of an enemy s economic and industrial base, and relegated aerial observation to a much lower priority. With the outbreak of World War II, it became evident that attaining air superiority over the battlefield and strategic bombardment of enemy nations would require an air arm completely separate from Army ground forces. This was done in with the establishment of the US Army Air Forces (USAAF).

8 During the course of the war the USAAF and other allied air forces wrested control of the skies from the Axis, provided close tactical air support to Allied ground forces, and attacked strategic targets within Germany and Japan, to include industrial sites and civilian population centers. In the United States Air Force (USAF) became completely independent from the Army, with the USAF acquiring jurisdiction over all aircraft except those considered organic to Army ground units, primarily artillery observation aircraft. 9 2.

The Army, the Air Force, and Military Air Transport: - The USAAF pioneered large-scale air transport during World War II, taking advantage of passenger transport aircraft designed in the such as the The military established numerous airlift organizations, placing them under operational control of the specific commands using their logistical services. In addition to aerial supply missions, critical to supplying Allied forces in China and US troops during the Battle of the Bulge, Allied forces used American transport 7 Ibid. 8 Ibid. 9 Ibid. FORT BENNING, LAWSON FIELD, BUILDING 302 HABS No. GA-2438 (Page 6) aircraft to launch massive airborne assaults in North Africa, Sicily, Normandy, Holland, and the push across the Rhine River into Germany.

10 In the Department of Defense consolidated the Army and Navy air transport services into the USAF Material Air Transport Service (MATS). MATS found itself as one of the first US military commands directly confronting the Soviets during the Cold War, when Stalin blockaded all land corridors into Berlin. The Berlin Airlift, conducted by MATS transport aircraft, successfully kept the city supplied until the Soviet Union again opened supply corridors to the municipality. 11 Stalin s blockade of Berlin and the subsequent Airlift illustrated the necessity of airlift capability to address crises across the globe. With the new geopolitical reality of the Cold War, and the developmental of larger transport aircraft in the and air transport capability for all branches of service was required.

12 In the the Army developed new doctrine to address the Soviet threat, emphasizing rapid deployment and mobility of large ground units. At the beginning of the decade the Army had an air mobility requirement of moving a single division by air anywhere in the world. By the Army s air mobility requirement had evolved into the requirement of airlifting two infantry divisions within 28 days. 13 When John F. Kennedy was elected President in he shifted US strategy to a doctrine called Flexible Response, which emphasized a more graduated approach to Cold War crises and conflicts using both conventional and nuclear forces.

In response to this initiative the Army developed the Reorganization Objective Army Division (ROAD) concept, which emphasized flexibility in Army division organization and a high degree of mobility. 14 The Army steadily increased dependence on air deployment throughout the late and early 1960s.This in turn required further upgrade and expansion of USAF airlift capability. 15 In the US deployed major ground combat units to South Vietnam to fight Communist North Vietnamese Regular units and South Vietnamese insurgents. Airlift operations of personnel and supplies to Vietnam skyrocketed and remained high throughout the war. In the USAF re-designated MATS as Material Air 10 Bruce D. Callandar, The Evolution of Air Mobility, Air Force Magazine February and Robert C.

Owen, The Airlift System: A Primer, Air Power Journal Fall 11 Callander. 12 Ibid. 13 Owens. 14 Walter G. Hermes, Chapter 27. Global Pressures and Flexible Response , in American Military History, (Office of the Chief of Military History, United States Army, 15 Owens. FORT BENNING, LAWSON FIELD, BUILDING 302 HABS No. GA-2438 (Page 7) Command (MAC). The Vietnam War transformed MAC into a truly global, strategic airlift force. In all strategic and tactical airlift missions were folded into MAC, bringing DOD air transport under a single command for the first time, answering directly to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Throughout the rest of the Cold War, MAC supported numerous DOD and Army responses to humanitarian crises, deployment exercises (such as Bright Star with the Egyptian military and Reforger with US NATO allies) and combat support operations (such as Urgent Fury in Grenada and Just Cause in Panama). 16 3. The History of Army Aviation, After the formation of the USAF, DOD limited the Army aviation role to observation missions. The Korean War caused an expansion of the Army aviation role, which the DOD enlarged to include tactical air support, troop transport, and medical evacuation roles. In the Korean War helicopters demonstrated great versatility and flexibility in evacuating casualties, scouting enemy troop movements, and tactical transport of troops.

After Korea the Army aviation program concentrated on development of the helicopter for tactical air support and troop and supply transport, while continuing to utilize light fixed-wing aircraft for observation duties. 17 In an Army board recommended initiated the concept of a helicopter-borne air assault division, leading to the activation of the Air Assault Division (Test) at Fort Benning, Georgia in This unit conducted two years of air mobility tests at Fort Benning until its reorganization as the 1st Air Cavalry Division in spring and its deployment to South Vietnam soon thereafter.

18 The practical lessons of helicopter tactics learned at Fort Benning in would be applied to great effect during the Vietnam War, with the helicopter providing Army ground forces with close air support, reconnaissance, and extremely rapid and flexible combat transport ability. 19 16 Air Mobility Command, A Brief History of the Air Mobility Command (no date). 17 Kuranda et al. 18 Hermes. 19 Kuranda et al. FORT BENNING, LAWSON FIELD, BUILDING 302 HABS No. GA-2438 (Page 8) As the Cold War continued through the Army planners developed the Air Land Battle doctrine, which eliminated Army fixed-wing aircraft from the battlefield, utilizing helicopters exclusively in combat support operations. 20 4.

Army Airfield Development, The US Army constructed its World War I airfields as temporary bases, with the typical base consisting of a graded, sod landing field adjacent to wood-frame temporary hangars, barracks, and administration buildings set to one side and arranged in a square grid pattern. 21 After the war and throughout the early and mid-1920s, the fledgling US Army Air Service relied nearly exclusively on these temporary airfields built during World War I, except for a few permanent bases such as Langley Field in Virginia, whose initial design and establishment predated the war. The Air Corps Act of in addition to expanding and modernizing the US Army air arm, authorized construction, expansion, and modernization of airfields.

The Army Quartermaster Corps took charge of the construction program, employing prominent planners, architects and engineers for individual base designs, which were often planned in garden city and city beautiful designs. Expansion programs for smaller airfields on other Army installations, such as Lawson Field, were usually less extensive and occurred after construction on the primary Air Corps flight training bases, such as Randolph Field, Texas and March Field, California. Although the five-year Air Corps expansion program ended in June the Great Depression sparked additional work on Air Corps infrastructure through various public works projects. 22 In in response to increasing tension in Europe, the US implemented a partial mobilization program, which also included new construction.

The Air Corps grew dissatisfied with the Quartermaster Corps slow response to increasing Air Corps construction needs, and in November Air Corps installation design and construction responsibility was transferred to the US Army Corps of Engineers. 23 With the December 7, attack on Pearl Harbor and the US entry into World War II, the USAAF ramped up mobilization plans, and construction shifted from permanent to temporary wood-frame construction. However, basic runway and 20 Ibid. 21 Ibid. 22 Ibid. 23 Ibid. FORT BENNING, LAWSON FIELD, BUILDING 302 HABS No. GA-2438 (Page 9) hangar designed did not change from the late with runways being paved, and designed as intersecting triangular or X configurations.

24 In the USAF gained independence from the Army, resulting in most airfields passing from the Army s control. The Army was left with a number of small airfields on posts unrelated to the aviation mission and, like LAAF, originating with the historical association between Army ground units and fixed-wing observation units. During the early years of the Cold War the DoD restricted the size of Army fixed- wing aircraft, resulting in retention of many of the World War II-era hangars and runways, which could continue to accommodate both the Army s smaller fixed wing aircraft as well as its increasingly important helicopter component. After the Korean War the numbers of Army aircraft, particularly helicopters, increased as the Cold War continued.

As World War II-era facilities at Army airfields aged it became necessary to replace them in the and a process accelerated by the Vietnam War. The DOD initiated a build-up of both troops and facilities across the country. Nearly all of these and Cold War-era Army Airfield buildings were built as plain, utilitarian structures, stripped of architectural detail. 25 5. Fort Benning and LAAF History In September of the Adjutant General of the U.S. Army directed the Infantry School of Arms be relocated from Fort Sill, Oklahoma. After heavy lobbying from residents and a nationwide search by an appointed board of officers, a site was selected in Columbus, Georgia. The climate and terrain of the selected area proved to be perfect for year-round infantry training.

A rudimentary landing field, named the Fort Benning Air Strip, was created at Fort Benning in to facilitate military balloon operations. Aside from the grass landing strip, two wood frame and canvas hangars to store the balloons were constructed in In four steel hangars were constructed for airplanes and a building for maintenance. Two of these hangars and the maintenance building were later demolished, while two hangars, Buildings 303 and are still extant. In the balloon unit transferred out of Fort Benning, and despite occasional use from aircraft based at Maxwell Field, Alabama, the Fort Benning Airstrip was without permanent occupation for roughly three years. In the Army named the airfield after Captain Walter Rawls 24 Ibid. 25 Ibid. FORT BENNING, LAWSON FIELD, BUILDING 302 HABS No.

GA-2438 (Page 10) Lawson, a Georgia native and decorated World War I pilot killed in a crash at McCook Field in 26 In Fort Benning spent roughly to upgrade the field s facilities (Figure 5). From to World War II, Lawson Field supported observation aircraft assigned to ground force units. 27 The installation also hosted aircraft from other airfields participating in local maneuvers. In September of the Army transferred command of Lawson Field from the Infantry School at Fort Benning to the Army Air Corps, and changed its name to Lawson Army Airfield (LAAF). With this change came the transfer of the Recon Squadron, the Tactical Recon Squadron, and the Bombardment squadron to LAAF. In the Army Air Corps became the U.S.

Army Air Forces (USAAF), and with that came new construction at LAAF (Figure 6). The new projects included new barracks, runway expansions, and new parking aprons, control tower, and other facilities. The World War II-era control tower was a metal scaffolding structure located on the same site as the current tower. The roof of the hangar located directly next to it was also utilized for radar and observation. By this new construction was completed, and no new renovations or construction would occur until LAAF played a crucial role in the development and training of the US paratrooper force at Fort Benning during World War II. For the entirety of the conflict the USAAF stationed a troop carrier group at LAAF to provide parachute training for the Parachute School at Fort Benning.

The troop carrier squadrons remained at LAAF to continue parachute training after WWII. 28 In LAAF became Lawson Air Force Base (AFB) with the creation of the U.S. Air Force. In July the Communist North Korean Army invaded South Korea, an ally of the US. The Korean War resulted in a large-scale US military buildup which affected Lawson AFB. Support for the Korean War resulted in strengthening and extending the runway and taxiway. Changing aviation technology played a role in dictating the construction and future projects at Lawson AFB. A taxiway system that served the runway was partially built, and a temporary hangar was constructed. 26 Bayonet, Fort Benning, Georgia. Aviation Command Major Contributor to 50-Year History of Fort Benning. October 4, 27 Kuranda et al.

28 Bayonet, October 4, Stelpflug, Peggy A. and Richard Hyatt, Home of the Infantry, the History of Fort Benning (Macon, Georgia: Mercer University Press, FORT BENNING, LAWSON FIELD, BUILDING 302 HABS No. GA-2438 (Page 11) In the Air Force left the field. The facilities at Lawson Field were turned over to the Army which changed the field s name back to LAAF. The Army completed the taxiway and added runway lights, hangars, shops, and unit operations buildings. 29 In the Army re-named Lawson Army Airfield Command as Lawson Army Aviation Command, in order to more accurately reflect operations at Lawson Field. Aircraft were stationed at the airfield to support military projects and training missions for the Infantry School at Fort Benning (Figure 8).

30 In the Air Assault Division (Test) was activated at Fort Benning to assess the feasibility of helicopter-based tactics and doctrine at the division level. Called the Airmobility Concept, the Air Assault Division would conduct simulations and field exercises for two years at Fort Benning to test this doctrine. To support this effort the Army authorized construction of multiple heliports at Fort Benning and the further expansion of LAAF, building helicopter parking areas and hangars in the southeast portion of the flightline. The test proved the concept feasible and would provide a template for US Army operations in Vietnam. 31 Fort Benning had a very large two-division garrison in the early consisting of the Second Infantry Division and the Air Assault Division.

Air operations involving these divisions made LAAF one of the busiest airfields in the nation. The USAF was adopting the medium transport plane for airlift operations, and the old runways could not accommodate the new aircraft. For these reasons, and the increasing tempo of combat operations in Vietnam, LAAF required upgrading of its World War II and 1950s-era runways, parking aprons, and support structures. 32 In the Army inaugurated a million construction project to expand and modernize LAAF. The US Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District, awarded the contract to the Deep South Construction Company.

Slated to be completed by it was not actually finished until The project included the strengthening of the existing primary runways, taxiways, and aprons; installation of lighting and landing system instruments; and the extension of the primary runway and taxiway by feet to the southeast. The nine-story control tower (Building and a new operations building were also part of this contract. 33 29 Bayonet, October 4, 30 Bayonet, Fort Benning, Georgia. LAAC Gets New Name Designation. April 16, 31 Bayonet, October 4, Stelpflug and Hyatt. 32 Bayonet, Fort Benning, GA, Million Lawson Airfield Expansion Project Underway, July 23, 33 Bayonet, July 23, Bayonet, Fort Benning, GA, Dedication is Set at Lawson Field, April 7, FORT BENNING, LAWSON FIELD, BUILDING 302 HABS No.

GA-2438 (Page 12) The new flight control tower replaced the previous one built in the It was dedicated Monday, April 10, two years after construction began (Figure The tower, in addition to permitting visual contact with aircraft, also housed equipment to record all conversations with pilots of arriving and departing aircraft. 34 Ironically, at that point the tempo of airfield operations had dropped precipitately in the two years duration of the expansion project.

The initial reason behind the project was to support air and airlift operations of the two Army divisions stationed at Fort Benning, but in the Army renamed the Air Assault Division (Test) the 1st Air Cavalry Division, and shipped the unit from Fort Benning to Vietnam, while the 2nd Infantry Division was redeployed shortly thereafter. By the time the Army completed the LAAF expansion project, Fort Benning no longer housed an infantry division, although the airfield still supported the training operations of the Infantry School. 35 By the early Lawson Army Aviation Command had been re-designated as the US Army Infantry Center (USAIC) Aviation Command (Provisional).

The Command s official mission was to provide command, staff planning, and operational control of airborne units at Fort Benning. Its most important function at the tail-end of the Vietnam War was to provide support for the Infantry School. The missions of LAAF included training paratroopers and rangers, providing troop lifts and combat assaults for USAIC students, and providing aerial gunnery platform support for field problems. Building 302 and other operations facilities assisted these missions by supervising flight operations within the LAAF Airfield Traffic Area (Figures 36 At this point in time, the majority of flights at LAAF involved helicopters and not fixed wing aircraft. 37 LAAF continued to support training operations at Fort Benning through the end of the Cold War. Part II.

Architectural Information A. General Statement 34 Bayonet, April 7, Bayonet, October 4, 35 Bayonet, July 23, Bayonet, April 7, Stelpflug and Hyatt. 36 Bayonet, Fort Benning, GA. Air Power: USAIC Aviation Command Provides Benning With Air Support. January 26, 37 Bayonet, Fort Benning, GA. WAC: Ex-WAVE is Air Traffic Controller. January 26, FORT BENNING, LAWSON FIELD, BUILDING 302 HABS No. GA-2438 (Page 13) 1. Architectural character: Building 302 was constructed as an air traffic control and radar tower for LAAF. The tower has a square foundation and features concrete block construction supported by a steel scaffold skeleton. It is indicative of the mid-century construction methods that were prevalent during the time that it was built.

The building was built for function rather than form, so while it lacks decorative and ornate details, it serves its purpose of controlling air traffic at LAAF. The tower stands at 9 stories tall. The first seven floors follow a similar footprint divided into stairways, storage, and administration. The eighth floor contains administration and is more open than the previous floors. The ninth floor is the observation and control deck. There are 360-degree windows, and roof access through a scuttle in the ceiling. There is one main entrance to the building, and additional emergency exit doors at the back on the first, second, and seventh floors.

There are aluminum-framed, single-hung windows on floors two through seven on the east fa ade, and there are four of these windows on floors three through six on the west fa ade. The last two floors have 360-degree glass observation windows. 2. Condition of fabric: The overall condition of Building 302 is good. There is no indication of any structural damage to the building. There are some cosmetic issues such as rust and peeling paint. B. Description of Exterior 1. Overall Dimensions: 20 x 20 square footprint. The building is 79 -8 tall not including the heights of antennas attached to the top. The building is roughly square feet. 2. Foundation: Concrete foot foundation with grade beams. 3. Walls: Cement Block/Masonry. Corrugated metal siding under windows on top two floors.

The building features a red-and-white checkered paint scheme dating to its initial construction. 4. Structural System, Framing: Steel Frame. 5. Porticos: None. 6. Chimneys: None. 7. Openings: a. Doorways and Doors: There are four exterior doors, three facing west, and one facing east. They are standard rectangle metal doors. The east facing door is the main entrance, the other three are emergency exits located on the first, second, and seventh floors. The doorways are simple rectangle openings in the masonry wall. FORT BENNING, LAWSON FIELD, BUILDING 302 HABS No. GA-2438 (Page 14) b. Windows: There are a total of ten one-over-one light, single-hung sash aluminum framed windows on the east and west fa ades, six on the west, and four on the east.

The eighth and ninth floors feature insulated double glass windows 360 degrees for visibility of the surrounding airfield. 8. Roof a. Shape, Covering: Flat, built-up roof. Supports antenna and other equipment. Scuttle access to lower floors. b. Cornice, Eaves: No prominent cornice or eave. c. Dormers, Cupolas, Towers: None. C. Description of Interior 1. Floor Plan: The floor plan of the tower consists of seven almost identical floors composed of a stairwell, bathroom or storage, and an open breakroom, or radar and equipment storage rooms on each floor. The uppermost two floors are composed of open space and a stairwell.

The eighth floor is used as an office space, and the ninth floor is composed of open space with an unobstructed view of the airfield and equipment for observation and air traffic control operations. 2. Stairway: Nine stories of stairs, two runs per floor with a landing in between. 3. Flooring: The flooring is a cement subfloor poured atop metal decking with linoleum tiles covering it throughout. 4. Wall and Ceiling Finish: Ceiling is a drop ceiling with acoustic tiles in carrier tees held by wires attached to metal decking. 5. Openings a. Doorways and Doors: There are four exterior doors. There are seventeen interior doors. The doors are constructed of metal. They are simple rectangles with metal hardware. The door frames are simple metal rectangles. b.

Windows: There are a total of ten one-over-one light, single hung sash aluminum framed windows. There are six windows on the west fa ade of the building and four on the east fa ade. The eighth and ninth floors feature fixed insulated double glass windows 360 degrees on top two floors for visibility of the surrounding airfield. 6. Decorative Features and Trim: None FORT BENNING, LAWSON FIELD, BUILDING 302 HABS No. GA-2438 (Page 15) 7. Hardware: Metal hardware on windows and doors, appears to be original to the building. 8. Mechanical Equipment: a. Heating, Air-Conditioning, Ventilations: The structure was constructed without an HVAC system. There are wall units on the first seven floors that heat and cool the spaces. b. Lighting: Fluorescent light fixtures throughout the structure. D.

Site 1. Historic Landscape Design: The site does not include any planned landscaping. There are cement and asphalt tarmacs and runways to the south and west of the structure. 2. Outbuildings: None. Part III. Sources of Information A. Architectural Drawings: Digital files of Building 302 s measured drawings are available in the Plans and Support Office, Master Planning, Directorate of Public Works, Building 6, Fort Benning, Georgia. B. Early Views: Early views of Building 302 just prior to completion of construction were provided by the CRM office, Building 6, Fort Benning, GA. C. Selected Sources 1. Primary and Unpublished

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS GA-2438. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Fort Benning Master Planning. General Plan Map, Fort Benning, Georgia. November 5, On file in Plans and Support, Master Planning Department, Directorate of Public Works, Building 6, Fort Benning, Georgia. Lawson Field Improvement, Fort Benning, Georgia, Flight Control Tower Facility, Item No. Sheets As-built June 29, Prepared by A.J. Mangione, principal of John J. Harte Associates, Architects and Engineers, Atlanta, Georgia. U.S. Army Engineer District, Savannah Corps of Engineers, Invitation No. ENG-09-133- On file in Plans and Support, Master Planning Department, Directorate of Public Works, Building 6, Fort Benning, Georgia. FORT BENNING, LAWSON FIELD, BUILDING 302 HABS No. GA-2438 (Page 16) Plans and Support, Master Planning, Directorate of Public Works, Fort Benning, Georgia.

Real Property Office, Fort Benning. Real Property File for Building 302 various dates. On file at Master Planning Department, Directorate of Public Works, Building 6, Fort Benning, Georgia. 2. Secondary and Published Air Mobility Command. Brief History of Air Mobility Command. No date. Accessed May 8, Ancestry.com. United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Atlanta Constitution. Classifieds. Page 35, January 19, www.newspapers.com. Classifieds. Page 29, July 22, www.newspapers.com. Classifieds. Page 41, December 4, www.newspapers.com. Classifieds. Page 59, December 5, www.newspapers.com. Classifieds. Page 29, December 10, www.newspapers.com. Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Classifieds. Page July 24, www.newspapers.com.

Bayonet, Fort Benning, Georgia. Lawson Field Welcomes Fourth Year at Benning. Page 22, Feb. 19, Available in the Donovan Technical Library, Fort Benning, Georgia. LAAC Gets New Name Designation. Page 31, April 16, Million Lawson Airfield Expansion Project Underway. July 23, Dedication is Set at Lawson Field. April 7, Aviation Command Major Contributor to 50-Year History of Fort Benning. October 4, Air Power: USAIC Aviation Command Provides Benning With Air Support. January 26, WAC: Ex-WAVE is Air Traffic Controller. January 26, FORT BENNING, LAWSON FIELD, BUILDING 302 HABS No. GA-2438 (Page 17) Callander, Bruce D. The Evolution of Air Mobility.

Air Force Magazine February Accessed May 8, 0298mobility.pdf Craig, Robert Michael, Atlanta Architecture: Art Deco to Modern Classic, Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing, Environmental Science and Engineering, Inc., Draft Supplement to the Environmental Impact Statement for Preferred Alternative for a Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarine Support Base at Kings Bay, Georgia. Gainesville, Florida: Environmental Science and Engineering, Hermes, Walter G. Chapter 27. Global Pressures and Flexible Response. In American Military History, Office of the Chief of Military History, United States Army. Accessed May 8, King, Benjamin, Richard C. Biggs, and Eric R. Criner. Spearhead of Logistics: A History of the U.S. Army Transportation Corps. Fort Eustis, Virginia: U.S.

Army Transportation Center, and Washington, DC: Center of Military History, United States Army, Kuranda, Kathryn M., Katherine Grandine, Brian Cleven, Thomas W. Davis, and Nathaniel Patch. Historic Context for Army Fixed-Wing Airfields: Frederick, Maryland: R. Christopher Goodwin & Associates, Inc., Owen, Robert C. The Airlift System: A Primer. Air Power Journal Fall Accessed May 8, Stelpflug, Peggy A. and Richard Hyatt. Home of the Infantry, the History of Fort Benning. Macon, Georgia: Mercer University Press, Sullivan, Charles Jackson. Army Posts & Towns; the Baedeker of the Army. Burlington, Vermont: Free Press Print Company, Wheaton, Francis B., LT COL, The Architecture of the Army Post, The Quartermaster Review, Vol. VIII, No.

2, September-October Available in the Donovan Technical Library, Fort Benning, Georgia. Yarborough, Leroy W. in collaboration with Truman Smith, MAJ. A History of the Infantry School Fort Benning Georgia Fort Benning, GA: The Infantry School, Available in the Donovan Technical Library, Fort Benning, Georgia. FORT BENNING, LAWSON FIELD, BUILDING 302 HABS No. GA-2438 (Page 18) D. Supplemental Information Figure 1. Location of Building Fort Benning Military Reservation, MCoE, Chattahoochee County, Georgia. 38 38 Prepared by LG2 Environmental Solutions, Inc. May FORT BENNING, LAWSON FIELD, BUILDING 302 HABS No. GA-2438 (Page 19) Figure 2. Location of Building Fort Benning Military Reservation, MCoE, Chattahoochee County, Georgia. 39 39 Prepared by LG2 Environmental Solutions, Inc.

May FORT BENNING, LAWSON FIELD, BUILDING 302 HABS No. GA-2438 (Page 20) Figure 3. Building Front (west) fa ade looking east. 40 40 Photo by LG2 Environmental Solutions, Inc., March FORT BENNING, LAWSON FIELD, BUILDING 302 HABS No. GA-2438 (Page 21) Figure 4. Building front (west) and south fa ades looking northeast. 41 41 Photo by LG2 Environmental Solutions, Inc., March FORT BENNING, LAWSON FIELD, BUILDING 302 HABS No. GA-2438 (Page 22) Figure 5. aerial photograph of Lawson Army Airfield. 42 42 Fort Benning CRM office, Building 6, Fort Benning, GA. FORT BENNING, LAWSON FIELD, BUILDING 302 HABS No. GA-2438 (Page 23) Figure 6. aerial photograph of Lawson Army Airfield. 43 43 Fort Benning CRM office, Building 6, Fort Benning, GA. FORT BENNING, LAWSON FIELD, BUILDING 302 HABS No.

GA-2438 (Page 24) Figure 7. aerial photograph of Lawson Army Airfield. 44 44 Fort Benning CRM office, Building 6, Fort Benning, GA. FORT BENNING, LAWSON FIELD, BUILDING 302 HABS No. GA-2438 (Page 25) Figure 8. aerial photograph of Lawson Army Airfield. 45 45 Fort Benning CRM office, Building 6, Fort Benning, GA. FORT BENNING, LAWSON FIELD, BUILDING 302 HABS No. GA-2438 (Page 26) Figure 9. aerial photograph of Lawson Army Airfield. 46 46 Fort Benning CRM office, Building 6, Fort Benning, GA. FORT BENNING, LAWSON FIELD, BUILDING 302 HABS No. GA-2438 (Page 27) Figure 10. Building 302 in nearing completion. 47 47 Photo taken by Savannah Corps of Engineers. Fort Benning CRM office, Building 6, Fort Benning, GA. FORT BENNING, LAWSON FIELD, BUILDING 302 HABS No. GA-2438 (Page 28) Figure 11.

photo of the interior of the control room. 48 48 Fort Benning CRM office, Building 6, Fort Benning, GA. FORT BENNING, LAWSON FIELD, BUILDING 302 HABS No. GA-2438 (Page 29) Figure 12. photograph of interior control room instrument panel. 49 49 Fort Benning CRM office, Building 6, Fort Benning, GA. FORT BENNING, LAWSON FIELD, BUILDING 302 HABS No. GA-2438 (Page 30) Figure 13. photograph of the interior of the control room. 50 50 Fort Benning CRM office, Building 6, Fort Benning, GA.