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During World War II, William Northern Field (a part of Camp Forrest) was used as a training facility for crews of B-24 Liberator bombers. According to Wikipedia, “At approximately 18,500 units – including 8,685 manufactured by Ford Motor Company – it holds records as the world’s most produced bomber, heavy bomber, multi-engine aircraft, and American military aircraft in history.” The B-24 was used in all theatres of the war and was an important part of the U.S. arsenal.

Sometimes it seems that the significance of William Northern Field upon Tullahoma is often overlooked. Located at the northwest corner of Tullahoma in the area that currently encompasses the Tullahoma airport and adjacent businesses, it also extended far beyond the current airport area’s boundary. It spread as far northeast as the railroad tracks that still run through Tullahoma and included the business areas now occupied by much of the retail and restaurant areas of N. Jackson St., as well as Vanderbilt Tullahoma-Harton Hospital.

Comparing aerial views, the runway layout today is much like it was 80 years ago, and many of streets contained within William Northern Field’s complex also remain, as do parking areas along those streets. However, most of the buildings and their foundations are gone, but not all. One of those buildings we looked at in our November 26, 2023, “Flashback,” the T-514, T.G.E. Repair Shop.

In our August 15, 2023, “Flashback” article, we told about the T-201 Hangar, now owned and recently refurbished by Williamson Aviation. That was in our series about Tullahoma buildings on the National Register of Historic Places. Just a few feet from the southeast corner of the T-201 hangar, there are the concrete remains of the floor and foundation of another much smaller building.

Pulling up my trusty 1942 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers map of Wm. Northern Field reveals that building T-202 was in that spot. According to the map’s legend, that was the Boiler House. Assuming it was the steam boiler providing heat, it may have only been for the buildings in its immediate vicinity, which included the hangar, two infirmaries, the administration building, and the parachute building. Or, depending on its capacity, it may have provided steam beyond that immediate area. Does one of our readers know?

I am searching for pictures of Davidson Academy in addition the following businesses: Lannom Manufacturing, Wilson Sporting Goods, M.R. Campbell Mfg., Tennessee Overall, Tennessee Glove, Tullahoma Brick, and any Tullahoma vehicle dealers from the 1930s through 1980s. If you have photos of those or any other businesses that I can borrow, I’ll scan and return immediately. You can contact me at alanmayes@lighttube.net.