Maxwell AFB and Gunter Annex Gallery

Maxwell Air Force Base began as Engine and Repair Depot 3 in 1918 in Montgomery, Montgomery County. It was built during World War I on the former site of a Wright Brothers flying school and named for Lt. William C. Maxwell, a native of Escambia County. The facility handled the aviation repair for the Army during World War I and was the center of operational training for the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. It has since become the main educational center for the U.S. Air Force, housing Air University. The associated Gunter Annex is also an education center for the Air Force.

Aviation Repair Depot, 1918

Aviation Repair Depot, 1918

22nd Aviation Squadron PX

22nd Aviation Squadron PX

Map-Reading Class, 1930s

Map-Reading Class, 1930s

Aviation Repair Depot

Aviation Repair Depot

ARDMONT Baseball Team, 1920

ARDMONT Baseball Team, 1920

Glenn Miller and the Aviation Cadet Orchestra

Glenn Miller and the Aviation Cadet Orchestra

British Airmen Parade in Montgomery

British Airmen Parade in Montgomery

Lt. William C. Maxwell with DH-4

Lt. William C. Maxwell with DH-4

Flood Relief Command Center

Flood Relief Command Center

Armistice Day Parade, 1921

Armistice Day Parade, 1921

Aviation Repair Depot, 1918

Technicians work on wings in the aero repair building at Aviation Repair Depot, Montgomery, more commonly known as ARDMONT. The facility that would become Maxwell Air Force Base was an Army Air Service repair depot during World War I and continued to repair military aircraft on a smaller scale after the war ended.

Courtesy of Air University, Office of History
Aviation Repair Depot, 1918

22nd Aviation Squadron PX

Members of the 22nd Aviation Squadron enjoy some down time in the segregated post exchange (PX) subdepot at Maxwell Field in 1944. Hundreds of African American servicemen were stationed at the military base during World War II and lived in segregated facilities on the west side of the campus.

Courtesy of Air University, Office of History
22nd Aviation Squadron PX

Map-Reading Class, 1930s

Students in the Air Corps Tactical School learn map-reading skills in a classroom in Austin Hall at Maxwell Field (now Maxwell Air Force Base) in this photograph from the 1930s.

Courtesy of Air University, Office of History
Map-Reading Class, 1930s

Aviation Repair Depot

A new truck arrives by rail at the Aviation Repair Depot (now Maxwell Air Force Base) in 1918.

Courtesy of Air University Archives
Aviation Repair Depot

ARDMONT Baseball Team, 1920

The Aviation Repair Depot at what is now Maxwell Air Force Base was more commonly known as ARDMONT. The men stationed there fielded baseball, football, and polo teams and had regular boxing matches, all of which were enthusiastically attended by the members of the local Montgomery community.

Courtesy of Air University, Office of History
ARDMONT Baseball Team, 1920

Glenn Miller and the Aviation Cadet Orchestra

Famed band leader Glenn Miller, standing with trombone, joined the Army during World War II and in November 1942 was assigned to Army Air Forces Southeast Training Center at Maxwell Field (now Maxwell Air Force Base).

Courtesy of Air University, Office of History
Glenn Miller and the Aviation Cadet Orchestra

British Airmen Parade in Montgomery

Airmen of Great Britain's Royal Air Force (RAF) march in downtown Montgomery in the Armistice Day parade in November 1941. British airmen trained at Maxwell Field (now Maxwell Air Force Base) from 1941-43 as part of the Arnold Scheme, named for Gen. Henry "Hap" Arnold. The plan was devised in the early years of World War II to provide British pilots with a safer, better-staffed and equipped training facility.

Courtesy of Air University, Office of History
British Airmen Parade in Montgomery

Lt. William C. Maxwell with DH-4

Maxwell Field (now Maxwell Air Force Base) was named for Lt. William C. Maxwell, seen here with a De Havilland 4 (DH-4) aircraft.

Courtesy of Air University, Office of History
Lt. William C. Maxwell with DH-4

Flood Relief Command Center

Major Walter Weaver, center on phone, supervises relief efforts from his command center at Maxwell Field (now Maxwell Air Force Base) in March 1929 following a massive storm that caused widespread flooding in the region. Pilots from Maxwell surveyed flooded areas and air-dropped supplies to stricken communities between March 14-20, among the first such efforts ever taken by the military in response to a disaster.

Courtesy of Air University, Office of History
Flood Relief Command Center

Armistice Day Parade, 1921

The 22nd Observation Squadron float rolls by in the November 1921 Armistice Day parade in Montgomery.

Courtesy of Air University, Office of History
Armistice Day Parade, 1921
Close Window