Shortly after WWI, the US Army Air Service’s Deputy Director General William “Billy” Mitchell (father of the Air Force) began his campaign to strengthen America’s use of airpower and advocate for a separate military Air Force similar to Britain’s Royal Air Force.
One of General Mitchell’s initiatives was to showcase the talent of American pilots who had just returned from WWI. General Mitchell's plan was to excite the American people and the US Military leaders by hosting the Army’s first Transcontinental Reliability and Endurance Race across America. Similar in concept to the Army’s Transcontinental Motor Convoy (July 7 through September 6, 1919) this round trip Air Race was to take place between California and New York in October 1919.
Buena Vista Airfield was selected as the landing and refueling stopover for the Salt Lake leg of the race. A relatively new airfield, Buena Vista was previously a race track until it was purchased in May 1919 by the newly incorporated Western Aircraft Corporation and transformed into an Airfield. Located between 400 South and 800 South just west of 1900 West in the Buena Vista neighborhood of Salt Lake City, the Buena Vista Airfield was conveniently located at the end of a street car line and just across the Jordan River making it easily accessible from downtown Salt Lake City.
Several new improvements were made to the airfield in preparation for the Transcontinental air race, including temporarily covering the large white "U" on the hillside behind the University of Utah during the race period to prevent confusion by the pilots that may result in a landing on the mountainside.
On October 8, 1919, 46 aircraft flew westbound from Roosevelt Field in Long Island and 15 aircraft few eastbound from the new Presidio Airfield in California for the first Transcontinental Air Race.
The 22-day long air race failed to show that aircraft were reliable or safe mode of transportation as only 9 of the original 61 aircraft were able to complete the flight and 10 individuals died during the race. The majority of planes dropped out of the race somewhere along the route due to the mechanical problems, poor weather, or accidents.
One of the pilots flying from California was Major Dana Crissy. At the time, Major Crissy was the Commander of the Mather Air Field in Sacramento. An avid pilot, Major Crissy had longtime desire to prove that air travel was effective, reliable, and safe.
Major Crissy and his mechanic observer, SFC Virgil Thomas, were part of the unfortunate fatalities of the great Air Race and both died tragically at Buena Vista Airfield....[continued on Part 2]
Sources and External Links:
Wikipedia article on Billy Mitchell
Wikipedia article on Henry H. Arnold
Wikipedia article on Crissy Field
Dana Crissy biography from NPS
Dr. William M. Leary, 1984, Billy Mitchell and the Great Transcontinental Air Race of 1919
Salt Lake Telegram 1919-10-09, Storm in Middle West is Menace to Fliers: Two Plunge to Death in Pond
Salt Lake Telegram 1919-10-09, Two Perish in Salt Lake; Eastern Flier Now Leads
Charles S. Davey, The Beginnings of Commercial Aviation, History Blazer, November 1995
CHAPTER 10: 1919...POST-WAR PILOTS TAKE TO THE AIR
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