|
|
|
 |
|
Camp Forrest, located near
Tullahoma, Tenn., was one of the Army's largest training bases during the
World War II period between 1941 and 1946. The camp, named after
Civil War cavalry General Nathan Bedford Forrest, was originally named
Camp Peay. |
|
|
Camp Peay was named after 1920's Tennessee Governor Austin Peay
and built east of Tullahoma as a National Guard camp in 1926. Camp Peay
covered 1,040 acres. Camp Forrest covered 85,000 acres located just beyond
the old Camp Peay. |
|
| The camp
was a training area for infantry, artillery, engineer, and signal
organizations. It also served as a hospital center and temporary
encampment area for troops during maneuvers. Maj. Gen. George S.
Patton brought his 2nd Armored "Hell on Wheels" Division, from Fort
Benning, Georgia for maneuvers.
The camp also served as a training
facility for eleven infantry divisions, two battalions of Rangers,
numerous medical and supply units, and a number of Army
Air Corps personnel. |
 |
|
|
 |
Incoming troops were
provided with amenities such as service clubs, guest houses,
library, post exchanges, post office, hospital, religious services,
theaters, showers, Red Cross, and Army Emergency Relief facilities
Recreation facilities included swimming, archery, tennis, a sports
arena and a 9-hole golf course. William Northern Field, an air
training base, was an |
|
|
addition for war preparation. The field was used as
a training site for crews of multi-engine B-24 bombers of the Army Air
Force. |
|
 |
|
Tullahoma was greatly
affected by the installation of Camp
Forrest. Because of maneuvers and
operations, civilians became
accustomed to blocked roads, traffic
jams, crowded stores, the absence of
mail delivery, and driving at night
without lights. Soldiers camped out
on lawns and fields. Many crops and
|
|
|
fences
were destroyed.
The population of Tullahoma was 4,500 in 1940. By the end of the war the
population had grown to 75,000. Many military people who moved in for
construction and operation of the camp remained after the war. |
|
 |
|
After the War
In 1946, Camp Forrest and
Northern Field were declared surplus property. Buildings were sold at
auction, torn down and carted away. Water and sewage systems and
electrical systems were sold as salvage. All that remains are roads, brick
chimneys and concrete foundations.
Soon after the close of
the camp, the area was selected for the site of the new Air
Engineering |
|
|
Development Center. In 1951 that center was
dedicated by President Truman and renamed
the Arnold Engineering Development Center in
honor of General of the Air Force Henry H.
"Hap" Arnold. World War II Commander of the
Army Air Corps and the only Air Force
officer to hold 5-star rank. |
| Arnold Engineering
Development Center (AEDC) is the most advanced and largest complex of
flight simulation test facilities in the world with more than 50
aerodynamic and propulsion wind tunnels, rocket and turbine engine test
cells, space environmental chambers, arc heaters, ballistic ranges and
other specialized units. Twenty-seven of the center's test units have
capabilities unmatched elsewhere. Facilities can simulate flight
conditions from sea level to altitudes above 100,000 feet, and from
subsonic velocities to those well over Mach 20. |
|
| Note: The
Tullahoma Regional Airport was originally
constructed for the US Army Air Corps. |
| |
| |
|
|
|
