National Register Listed National Park Service National ...

1

United States Department of the Interior

National Park Service

National Register of Historic Places Registration Form

This form is for use in nominating or requesting determinations for individual properties and districts. See instructions in National Register Bulletin, How to

Complete the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. If any item does not apply to the property being documented, enter "N/A" for "not

applicable." For functions, architectural classification, materials, and areas of significance, enter only categories and subcategories from the instructions.

1. Name of Property

Historic name T-201 Aircraft Hangar

Other names/site number World War II Aircraft Hangar; 40CF309

Name of related multiple

property listing N/A

2. Location

Street & Number:

City or town: State: County: Tullahoma TN Coffee

Not For Publication: Vicinity: Zip: 37388_________

3. State/Federal Agency Certification

707 William Northern Boulevard

As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended,

I hereby certify that this X nomination ___ request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation

standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the procedural and professional

requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60.

In my opinion, the property _X__ meets ___ does not meet the National Register Criteria. I recommend that this

property be considered significant at the following level(s) of significance:

national statewide X local

Applicable National Register Criteria:

X A B C D

Signature of certifying official/Title: Date

Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer, Tennessee Historical Commission

State or Federal agency/bureau or Tribal Government

In my opinion, the property meets does not meet the National Register criteria.

Signature of Commenting Official: Date

Title: State of Federal agency/bureau or Tribal

Government

N/A

N/A

National Register Listed 6/28/2021 SG100006711


National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form

NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018

T-201 Aircraft Hangar Coffee County, Tennessee

Name of Property County and State

2

I hereby certify that this property is:

entered in the National Register

determined eligible for the National Register

determined not eligible for the National Register

removed from the National Register

other (explain:) _____________________

______________________________________________________________________

Signature of the Keeper Date of Action

5. Classification

Ownership of Property Category of Property

(Check as many boxes as apply.) (Check only one box.)

Private Building(s)

Public – Local District

Public – State Site

Public – Federal Structure

Object

4. National Park Service Certification

Number of Resources within Property

(Do not include previously listed resources in the count)

Contributing Noncontributing

1 0 buildings

0 1 sites

0 0 structures

0 0 objects

1 1 Total

Number of contributing resources previously listed in the National Register 0

X

X




NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018



3

6. Function or Use

7. Description

Architectural Classification

(Enter categories from instructions.)

Materials: (enter categories from instructions.)

Principal exterior materials of the property:

Narrative Description

The T-201 Aircraft Hangar is a World War II-era aircraft hangar that was built in 1941 by the Army Corps of

Engineers as part of wartime training activities in Tullahoma, Tennessee. Constructed at the eastern edge of

the runways for the Tullahoma Army Air Base (later William Northern Field and now Tullahoma Regional

Airport), the hangar is a large metal-clad building with a metal structural system whose character-defining

features include its façade of ten massive sliding doors, roofline, fenestration patterns, metal cladding, and

the large open floor plan that was historically used for aviation instruction and the storage or maintenance of

aircrafts. The hangar was once one of many buildings constructed for wartime training purposes in

Tullahoma but is one of the only to survive to the present-day. The nominated three-acre property also

contains a foundation from a demolished Boiler Room, considered a non-contributing site. The overall

property retains its integrity necessary to convey its historical significance.

T-201 Aircraft Hangar, 1941 (Contributing Building)

The T-201 Aircraft Hangar is a contributing building sited at its original location at the edge of the

Tullahoma Regional Airport’s runways in Tullahoma, Coffee County, Tennessee. The Army Corps of

Engineers constructed the hangar in 1941 using a steel structural system. The hangar’s characteristic truss

system and roof shape is covered with a wood deck and asphalt sheets, much of which has deteriorated. The

hangar is clad in corrugated metal sheets. The hangar’s western façade is primarily comprised of ten sliding

Historic Functions Current Functions

(Enter categories from instructions) (Enter categories from instructions)

DEFENSE/Air Facility WORK IN PROGRESS

OTHER: Aircraft Hangar

METAL; ASPHALT; CONCRETE




NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018



4

metal doors. The doors slide northward and southward on metal tracks into door pockets to provide access to

the hangar’s interior. The upper half of each door is comprised of eight metal windows, each with sixteen

lights. Chicken wire is within the glass of each window. The northernmost and southernmost doors are half

the size of the others and only have four sixteen-light windows. The north and south elevations have thirteen

sixteen-light metal windows. The windows are paired and tripled into five groups. A one-story section is on

the rear, east elevation. A paired twelve-light window is on the north and south elevations of this one-story

section. The rear, east elevation has six sets of five twelve-light metal windows on the upper section of the

elevation. The one-story section covers the lower portion of the elevation. The one-story section has a door

but is almost entirely covered by twelve-light windows in various groupings. The interior of the hangar is a

large open room with a concrete floor and exposed metal roof truss systems. Most of the hangar has no

interior wall cladding or any decorative features. There is evidence that the east one-story section was once

divided from the hangar area by a wall comprised of horizontal wood boards, but this wall is almost entirely

non-extant. Within the one-story section is some wood wall cladding.

Figure 1: T-201 Aircraft Hangar, ca. 1944. Photo Courtesy of Michael Williamson




NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018



5

T-202 Boiler Room Foundation, 1941, Building demolished ca. 2008 (Non-Contributing Site)

Located just east of the hangar are concrete foundations from the T-202 Boiler Room that was originally

constructed in 1941 as part of the Tullahoma Army Air Base. The building was demolished around 2008.

The foundations are considered non-contributing because they do not retain sufficient integrity from the

property’s Period of Significance and are not currently known to have significance as an archaeological site.

Site and Setting

The T-201 Aircraft Hangar was constructed at the eastern edge of the Tullahoma Army Air Base’s runways

during World War II. A concrete apron connects the hangar to the base’s three runways. Now part of the

Tullahoma Regional Airport, the runways retain their overall plan as built by the Army Corps of Engineers,

but some sections have been resurfaced, widened, and modernized with lighting that meets current airport

requirements. Temporary World War II-era buildings were historically located in the hangar’s immediate

setting to the north, east, and south, but the majority of these resources were dismantled after World War II.

Grassy lots, low-density industrial buildings, and aviation-related buildings now stand in the hangar’s

setting.

Maps of the property during World War II indicate that multiple other buildings were once located on the

aircraft hangar’s property, east of the Boiler Room foundations. Foundations from these other buildings are

not currently known to exist, but further investigation may reveal additional archaeological evidence that

may justify reassessing whether the boiler room foundation could be considered contributing as an

archaeological site as well as whether other extant archaeological resources should be inventoried.

Integrity

The T-201 Aircraft Hangar remains at its original location at the edge of the Tullahoma Army Air Base (now

Tullahoma Regional Airport). The setting of an airfield has been retained, though the hangar remains as one

of the only World War II-era resources due to the fact that the majority of war-era buildings were dismantled

when the military declared the base surplus after the war ended. The hangar is now surrounded by

modernized runways, the airport’s terminal, modern hangars, various small industrial buildings, and grassy

lots. The T-201 Aircraft Hangar retains its overall design, evidence of workmanship, and a majority of its

historic materials. The Hangar’s significant physical features include its overall form, roof shape,

fenestration patterns, and façade doors. The Hangar retains its association with its significant history in

military training. It also retains its feeling as a World War II-era aircraft hangar.




NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018



6

8. Statement of Significance

Areas of Significance

(Enter categories from instructions.)

MILITARY

Period of Significance

1941-1945

Significant Dates

1941

Significant Person

(Complete only if Criterion B is marked

above.)

N/A

Cultural Affiliation

N/A

Architect/Builder

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Applicable National Register Criteria

(Mark "x" in one or more boxes for the criteria

qualifying the property for National Register

listing.)

X A Property is associated with events that have

made a significant contribution to the broad

patterns of our history.

B Property is associated with the lives of

persons significant in our past.

C Property embodies the distinctive

characteristics of a type, period, or method

of construction or represents the work of a

master, or possesses high artistic values, or

represents a significant and distinguishable

entity whose components lack individual

distinction.

D Property has yielded, or is likely to yield,

information important in prehistory or

history.

Criteria Considerations (Mark "x" in all the boxes that apply.)

Property is:

A

Owned by a religious institution or used for

religious purposes.

B

removed from its original location.

C

a birthplace or grave.

D

a cemetery.

E

a reconstructed building, object, or structure.

F

a commemorative property.

G

less than 50 years old or achieving

significance within the past 50 years.

N/A




NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018



7

Statement of Significance Summary Paragraph

The T-201 Aircraft Hangar is locally significant under Criterion A in the Area of Military for its role in

World War II-era military air training at the Tullahoma Army Air Base (renamed William Northern Field in

1942, now known as the Tullahoma Regional Airport) in Coffee County, Tennessee. The hangar’s period of

significance is 1941-1945, corresponding to its years of use for military training during World War II. The

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began constructing the Tullahoma Army Air Base in 1941 to act as an

auxiliary training base to supplement the massive training program at Camp Forrest Army training base,

nearby in Tullahoma, and the Smyrna Army Airfield forty-five miles to the north in Rutherford County. At

its peak, the Tullahoma Army Air Base covered 1,300 acres and included more than 100 buildings, almost all

of which were dismantled after the end of World War II. The Tullahoma Army Air Base’s three runways

were built to withstand the weight of heavy bomber planes, including the B-24 Liberator. The T-201 aircraft

hangar directly supported the base’s military training activities by providing a space for the instruction of

aircraft operation and maintenance. This in turn contributed to the United States’ massive effort to quickly

train pilots and flight crews for service in World War II, resulting in the eventual victory of the United States

and its allies. The T-201 Aircraft Hangar is the only surviving World War II-era aircraft hangar at the field

and retains its integrity to convey its role in the field’s significant military history.

Narrative Statement of Significance

Tennessee and World War II

After the United States entered World War II in December 1941, the federal government and military swiftly

increased efforts to meet wartime demands. The State of Tennessee became home to multiple training

facilities and weapons production facilities. In September 1942, General Leslie Groves selected a remote

location in Anderson and Roane Counties in East Tennessee to construct the Clinton Engineer Works, one of

three sites nationwide that comprised the top-secret Manhattan Project, the effort to develop nuclear

weapons. The Clinton Engineer Works comprised a townsite designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and

multiple nuclear production facilities. By the war’s end in 1945, the townsite had been renamed Oak Ridge

and housed more than 75,000 people (Oak Ridge Historic District NR Listed 9/5/1991). The nuclear

production facilities comprised multiple facilities: the X-10 Graphite Reactor (NHL/NR Listed 10/15/1966),

the Y-12 electromagnetic separation facility, the K-25 Gaseous Diffusion Plant (recently demolished), and

the S-50 Thermal Diffusion Plant (demolished soon after the war). The facilities produced uranium and

plutonium which were assembled into the world’s first nuclear bombs, two of which were dropped on

Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan in August 1945, leading to Japan’s surrender and the end of World War II.1

While Tennessee’s role in the creation of atomic weapons is now internationally recognized, it was a closely

held secret during the war. Much more visible initially was the role the state played in training troops. The

terrain of Tennessee resembled that of Western Europe with forests, frequent rivers, mountainous sections,

and lower-lying flat areas. Military leaders, including those from Tennessee, recognized the state’s potential

for providing troops with semi-realistic experiences of what they would encounter in Europe, as well as

1 Kimberly A. Murphy and Philip Thomason, “Historic and Architectural Resources of Oak Ridge, Tennessee,” National Register

of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park

Service, 1991); Kimberly A. Murphy, “Oak Ridge Historic District,” National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form

(Washington DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1991); Polly M. Rettig, “X-10 Reactor, Graphite

Reactor,” National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form (Washington DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park

Service, 1975); “The Manhattan Project,” Atomic Heritage Foundation, May 12, 2017, accessed May 2, 2021,

https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/manhattan-project.


https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/manhattan-project



NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018



8

opportunities to pre-plan battle strategies. Initial training exercises were conducted in 1941 at Camp Forrest

near Tullahoma in Coffee County. On June 24, 1942, Tennessee Governor Prentice Cooper announced that

Middle Tennessee would host military maneuvers across one million acres in massive exercises known as the

Tennessee Maneuvers or the Second Army Maneuvers. Between September 1942 and March 1944, nearly

one million soldiers participated in training across twenty-one Tennessee counties. A typical training

exercise pitted two ‘armies’ against each other in weekly war games involving ground and air operations.

Permanent and temporary military bases facilitated training by providing housing, recreation, and additional

training installations. The largest Middle Tennessee bases included Camp Campbell (now Fort Campbell)

near Clarksville on the Tennessee-Kentucky border, the Smyrna Army Airfield (later Sewart Air Force Base)

in Rutherford County, and Camp Forrest in Tullahoma (at the same location as the later Arnold Air Force

Base and Arnold Engineering Development Complex). Smaller bases or airfields throughout the region

supplemented the larger bases; among them was the William Northern Field in Tullahoma, which included

the T-201 Aircraft Hangar.2

The Military in Tullahoma

While World War II dramatically increased military activity near Tullahoma, the city had already hosted

military activities for decades. Located in Coffee County in the southern part of Middle Tennessee,

Tullahoma was established in 1851 when the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad constructed a rail line

from Manchester, the county seat of Coffee County about twelve miles to the northeast. During the Civil

War, Union and Confederate troops struggled to control the town, its rail lines, and the surrounding region.

Federal troops took control after the Tullahoma Campaign in June 1863, and the town became an important

hub for troop and supply distribution for federal troops fighting further south. Facilitated by its location

along major rail lines, Tullahoma’s industries, commerce, and population grew during the later decades of

the nineteenth century.3

In 1926, the State of Tennessee established a National Guard camp east of Tullahoma and named it for

Tennessee Governor Austin Peay. Camp Peay housed approximately 1,500 troops for summer training each

year. During the remainder of the year, Camp Peay provided training facilities for law enforcement, such as

the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and its air strip provided an emergency landing location for planes

traveling between Nashville and Chattanooga. The camp contained several permanent buildings, such as

offices and mess halls, but troops used tents for housing.4

In 1940, as World War II was expanding in Europe, the United States government took initial steps to

prepare for the likely possibility that the U.S. would enter the war. In October, the War Department

announced that it had chosen Camp Peay to become a major military base whose primary function would be

to provide training. While Tennessee politicians played a role in the selection, the wide availability of

2 Gene H. Sloan, With the Second Army Somewhere in Tennessee (1956); Frank Burns, “Second Army (Tennessee) Maneuvers,”

Tennessee Encyclopedia, Last Updated March 1, 2018, accessed May 2, 2021, https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/second-

army-tennessee-maneuvers/. 3 C. Van West, Lynn Hulan, and Richard Quin, “Historic and Architectural Resources of Tullahoma, Coffee County, Tennessee,”

National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form (Washington DC: U.S. Department of the Interior,

National Park Service, 1993). 4 Michael R. Bradley, Reveille To Taps: Camp Forrest, TN 1940-1946, accessed March 2, 2021,

https://denix.osd.mil/cr/archives/historic/historic-structures-districts-and-landscapes-historic-contexts-archives/report-15/.


https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/second-army-tennessee-maneuvers/


https://denix.osd.mil/cr/archives/historic/historic-structures-districts-and-landscapes-historic-contexts-archives/report-15/



NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018



9

undeveloped land around Camp Peay also factored into the decision. From 1941 to 1942, the State of

Tennessee secured the necessary acreage through condemnation, lease, or purchase. While the base was

initially expected to cost $13 million and cover 40,000 acres, the base eventually cost $36 million and

encompassed 85,000 acres, making it one of the nation’s largest wartime training bases. More than 20,000

people participated in construction. In March 1941, Camp Peay was renamed Camp Forrest, named for

Tennessee-native, Confederate General, and Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard Nathan Bedford Forrest. The

camp’s first troops arrived for training later that month. Between 1941 and 1945, approximately 250,000

soldiers trained at Camp Forrest with up to 50,000 stationed there at any one time. In 1942 Camp Forrest also

began to house thousands of German prisoners of war. The base eventually encompassed 1,300 buildings,

including barracks, mess halls, guardhouses, warehouses, administration buildings, and various other service

buildings such as a bakery, hospital, laundry, and water treatment facility. The base also contained fifty-five

miles of roads and five miles of railroad lines.5

Tullahoma Army Air Base/William Northern Field

During World War II, air troops were part of the U.S. Army. It was not until 1947 that the U.S. Air Force

became a separate branch of the armed forces. While Camp Forrest fulfilled a vital role training ground

troops, another facility played a crucial role training airmen from the U.S. Army Air Corps. On March 6,

1941, the military announced plans to construct an air base near Camp Forrest, and construction began

shortly thereafter, eventually encompassing more than 1,300 acres. Briefly known as the Camp Forrest

Airdrome and then as the Tullahoma Army Air Base, the airfield was originally intended to supplement the

training at Camp Forrest. After the Smyrna Army Airfield was constructed in 1941-1942, the Tullahoma

Army Air Base also acted as one of Smyrna’s auxiliary bases. Continuous training at Tullahoma began in

June 1942. On November 11, 1942, the Tullahoma Army Air Base was renamed William Northern Field for

the first Tennessee pilot to die during World War II.6

William Northern Field contained three runways, each approximately 5,000 feet long and designed to

withstand the weight of heavy bombers, such as the B-24 Liberator. Among the units assigned to William

Northern Field were the 14th, 26th, and 30th Observation Squadrons. The airmen trained in a wide variety of

aircraft including fighter planes, such as the P-51 Mustang, and observation and reconnaissance aircraft, such

as the L-4, L-5, O-38, and the O-52. They also trained in bomber aircraft, including the medium bombers A-

20 and the versatile B-25 as well as the heavy bomber B-24 Liberator, the most produced bomber in the

United States. As the war stretched on into 1944, airmen at William Northern Field primarily concentrated

on training in the B-24. Paratroops also trained at the field.7

5 Bradley, Reveille To Taps: Camp Forrest, TN 1940-1946; Elizabeth Taylor, Images of America: Camp Forrest (Charleston, SC:

Arcadia Publishing, 2016); Tullahoma Chamber of Commerce, Paul Pyle, and Allen Parsons, Camp Forrest Tullahoma, Tennessee

1941-1945. On File at Coffee County Public Library. 6 Nashville-native Lieutenant William Northern died on December 21, 1941 when his plane collided with another plane during a

coastal patrol between Los Angeles and San Diego, California. Jim Fulbright, Aviation in Tennessee: Tennessee’s Aviation History

in the Stories of People, Places, and Events (Goodlettsville, TN: Mid-South Publications 1998), 142-150; “William Northern

Army Air Field Celebrates Anniversary,” Knoxville Journal, June 27, 1943. 7 Bradley, Reveille To Taps: Camp Forrest, TN 1940-1946; Fulbright, Aviation in Tennessee; George C. Larson, “The Basics:

Four Trainers,” Air & Space Magazine (February 11, 2015), accessed May 2, 2021, https://www.airspacemag.com/military-

aviation/training-day-180954059/; “Curtiss O-52 Owl,” National Museum of the United States Air Force, April 7, 2015, accessed

May 2, 2021, https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/195666/curtiss-o-52-owl/;


https://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/training-day-180954059/


https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/195666/curtiss-o-52-owl/



NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018



10

William Northern Field’s important wartime training role required the support of approximately 100

buildings, located immediately east of the runways. Buildings included barracks, mess halls, offices, and

storage buildings as well as a theatre, chapels, and classrooms. The military assigned each building a name

using a combination of ‘T’ and a number (see Figure 2). While all buildings contributed to the field’s

operation, the most important facilities were arguably those directly related to the air base’s function training

air troops, support personnel, such as maintenance technicians, and paratroops. Among these buildings was

the control tower, classrooms, and multiple aircraft hangars which could be used to house aircraft or provide

maintenance space. Importantly, the hangar also housed education activities as soldiers were trained in

aviation maintenance and operations. The T-201 Aircraft Hangar was one of the field’s first buildings to be

constructed, one of the largest hangars, and is the only hangar remaining today (see Figures 1-4).8

Figure 2: William Northern Field, 1944. Courtesy of Michael Williamson. The hashed marks on the T-201 Hangar indicates that it

was constructed before April 1942. Buildings with no hash marks were constructed after that date.

“Douglas 0-38F,” National Museum of the United States Air Force, April 7 2015, accessed May 2, 2021,

https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/197394/douglas-o-38f/; Stephen Joiner,

“Mission to Ploesti: B-24 Liberators,” Air & Space Magazine (February 11, 2015), accessed May 2, 2021,

https://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/ploesti-had-go-180954070/; Rebecca Maksel, “B-25s Fly a Raid on Tokyo,” Air &

Space Magazine (February 11, 2015), accessed May 2, 2021, https://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/billy-mitchells-

bomber-jimmy-doolittles-nerve-180954063/. 8 Fulbright, Aviation in Tennessee.


https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/197394/douglas-o-38f/

https://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/ploesti-had-go-180954070/

https://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/billy-mitchells-bomber-jimmy-doolittles-nerve-180954063/




NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018



11

Figure 3: William Northern Field, ca. 1945. Courtesy of Michael Williamson

In June 1943, the Knoxville Journal reported that William Northern Field had grown from an auxiliary

airdrome to one of the largest air training stations under the command of the U.S. Third Air Force. While

celebrating the field’s first anniversary of continuous training, the field’s commander Colonel Christopher C.

Scott described the base’s training program:

Training men for aerial combat…is a highly complex task. It means that we must make technicians out of

soldiers and soldiers out of technicians. It means hard work 24 hours a day to master the intricate

problems of gunnery, navigation, precision bombing and aerial observation. It means day and night work

in hangars, classrooms and laboratories, studying a multitude of technical, scientific, and military data.

The fact that we have been able in one year of continuous military operation to do the task assigned to us

is a matter of pride to every officer and enlisted man.9

9 “William Northern Army Air Field Celebrates Anniversary,” Knoxville Journal, June 27, 1943.




NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018



12

Though Colonel Scott’s perspective includes clear boasting, it also indicates the extensive training activities

that occurred at William Northern Field. Flying and maintaining aircraft is truly a complex task, requiring

multiple individuals including pilots, flight crew, and maintenance technicians. The training program at

William Northern Field encompassed all these tasks, and as one of the field’s largest aircraft hangars, the T-

201 Aircraft Hangar certainly played an important role in aviation instruction. It could easily hold multiple

aircraft, depending on the type, thereby facilitating instruction on multiple systems and aircraft types,

reflecting the military’s use of any aircraft design that could reliably further the military’s mission, whether

scouting the enemy, supporting ground troops, engaging in aerial combat, or transporting bombs to target

locations. The hangar also facilitated aircraft maintenance, an important part of aviation to ensure aircraft

remained in workable condition to safely allow soldiers to train.

Figure 4: William Northern Field, ca. 1945. The T-201 Aircraft Hangar is at the far right. Courtesy of Michael Williamson




NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018



13

William Northern Field After World War II

After the United States and its Allies achieved victory in World War II in September 1945, the military was

faced with figuring out what to do with its extensive wartime facilities. Camp Forrest and William Northern

Field were both declared surplus. The War Assets Corporation sold off the buildings at Camp Forrest for

lumber salvage and auctioned off all equipment. Arnold Air Force Base and Arnold Engineering

Development Center were later constructed at the same site as Camp Forrest. Only a few foundations remain

from the World War II era. William Northern Field similarly experienced mass dismantling of almost all its

wartime buildings, but the City of Tullahoma’s leasing of the facility for flying services resulted in the T-201

Aircraft Hangar being retained. In 1948, former Tullahoma Mayor and Tennessee State Treasurer John

Harton formed the Tullahoma Development Company, which purchased William Northern Field for

$138,000. The land that formerly housed the wartime buildings was subdivided and some were sold for

various industrial businesses. In 1977 the City of Tullahoma purchased the airfield and it was later renamed

Tullahoma Regional Airport.10 The Harton family retained several parcels of land, including the one on

which the T-201 Aircraft Hangar stands. In 2021, the Harton family sold the property to its current owner,

who intends to rehabilitate the hangar for aviation-related businesses.11

The T-201 Aircraft Hangar stands today as one of Tullahoma’s only tangible links to its significant military

history training airmen to fight overseas in World War II. In 2007, historical archaeologists Benjamin C.

Nance and Samuel D. Smith with the Tennessee Division of Archaeology surveyed World War II sites in

Tennessee. At William Northern Field, the only extant resources included the T-201 Aircraft Hangar, the T-

202 boiler room, the T-512 storage building, and a target butt. Foundations from another building, probably

the T-515 Operations Building, were also observed.12 As of 2021, only the aircraft hangar is confirmed to be

extant. The boiler room was demolished ca. 2008. Its foundations are within the National Register boundary

of the Aircraft Hangar property, but it is considered non-contributing due to lack of integrity from the Period

of Significance. The storage building was demolished sometime between 2010 and 2012. It is unknown

whether any evidence, such as foundations, remain. A new building was recently constructed where the

Operations Building foundations were located, so it is unknown whether those foundations remain. The

target butt was located at the end of a runway just over the Moore county line. Due to its location, the target

butt was inaccessible at the time of this nomination and it is unknown whether it is still extant.

As an aviation-related building, the T-201 Hangar is able to convey its significant history providing space for

aviation instruction and to store and maintain aircraft, from small reconnaissance planes to heavy bombers,

which directly supported William Northern Field’s significant mission training airmen for service in World

War II. The hangar retains a high level of integrity and meets the requirements for listing in the National

Register of Historic Places.

10 Fulbright, Aviation in Tennessee, 149-150; Bradley, Reveille To Taps; Taylor, Images of America: Camp Forrest. 11 Erin McCullough, “World War II Hangar Gets New Life,” Tullahoma News, January 26, 2021, accessed May 2, 2021,

https://www.tullahomanews.com/news/local/world-war-ii-hangar-gets-new-life/article_b2c64b08-5fff-11eb-ae2e-

574069bb560e.html. 12 Benjamin C. Nance, Archaeological Site Survey Record for Site 40CF309, May 25, 2006, Tennessee Division of Archaeology,

Nashville, Tennessee; Benjamin C. Nance, An Archaeological Survey of World War II Military Sites in Tennessee (Nashville, TN:

Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Archaeology, 2007).


https://www.tullahomanews.com/news/local/world-war-ii-hangar-gets-new-life/article_b2c64b08-5fff-11eb-ae2e-574069bb560e.html




NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018



14

Bibliography

Bradley, Michael R. Reveille To Taps: Camp Forrest, TN 1940-1946. Accessed March 2, 2021.

https://denix.osd.mil/cr/archives/historic/historic-structures-districts-and-landscapes-historic-

contexts-archives/report-15/.

Burns, Frank. “Second Army (Tennessee) Maneuvers.” Tennessee Encyclopedia. Last Updated March 1,

2018. Accessed May 2, 2021. https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/second-army-tennessee-

maneuvers/.

Fulbright, Jim. Aviation in Tennessee: Tennessee’s Aviation History in the Stories of People, Places, and

Events. Goodlettsville, TN: Mid-South Publications 1998.

Joiner, Stephen. “Mission to Ploesti: B-24 Liberators.” Air & Space Magazine (February 11, 2015).

Accessed May 2, 2021. https://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/ploesti-had-go-180954070/.

Larson, George C. “The Basics: Four Trainers,” Air & Space Magazine (February 11, 2015). Accessed May

2, 2021. https://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/training-day-180954059/.

Maksel, Rebecca. “B-25s Fly a Raid on Tokyo.” Air & Space Magazine (February 11, 2015). Accessed May

2, 2021. https://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/billy-mitchells-bomber-jimmy-doolittles-

nerve-180954063/.

McCullough, Erin. “World War II Hangar Gets New Life.” Tullahoma News, January 26, 2021. Accessed

May 2, 2021. https://www.tullahomanews.com/news/local/world-war-ii-hangar-gets-new-

life/article_b2c64b08-5fff-11eb-ae2e-574069bb560e.html.

Murphy, Kimberly A. and Philip Thomason. “Historic and Architectural Resources of Oak Ridge,

Tennessee.” National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form.

Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1991.

Murphy, Kimberly A. “Oak Ridge Historic District.” National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form.

Washington DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1991.

Nance, Benjamin C. An Archaeological Survey of World War II Military Sites in Tennessee. Nashville, TN:

Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Archaeology, 2007.

Nance, Benjamin C. Archaeological Site Survey Record for Site 40CF309. May 25, 2006. Tennessee

Division of Archaeology, Nashville, Tennessee.

Rettig, Polly M. “X-10 Reactor, Graphite Reactor.” National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form.


Sloan, Gene H. With the Second Army Somewhere in Tennessee. 1956.

9. Major Bibliographic References






https://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/ploesti-had-go-180954070/








NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018



15

Taylor, Elizabeth. Images of America: Camp Forrest. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2016.

“The Manhattan Project.” Atomic Heritage Foundation. May 12, 2017. Accessed May 2, 2021.

https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/manhattan-project.

Tullahoma Chamber of Commerce, Paul Pyle, and Allen Parsons. Camp Forrest Tullahoma, Tennessee

1941-1945. Coffee County Public Library.

West, C. Van, Lynn Hulan, and Richard Quin. “Historic and Architectural Resources of Tullahoma, Coffee

County, Tennessee.” National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form.


“William Northern Army Air Field Celebrates Anniversary.” Knoxville Journal, June 27, 1943.

Previous documentation on file (NPS): Primary location of additional data:

X

preliminary determination of individual listing (36

CFR 67 has been requested) X State Historic Preservation Office

previously listed in the National Register X Other State agency

previously determined eligible by the National

Register Federal agency

designated a National Historic Landmark Local government

recorded by Historic American Buildings Survey #

University

recorded by Historic American Engineering Record #

Other

recorded by Historic American Landscape Survey #

Name of repository: Tennessee Division of

Archaeology

Historic Resources Survey Number (if assigned): 40CF309

;


https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/manhattan-project



NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018



16

Acreage of Property 3 USGS Quadrangle Normandy Lake 86-NW

Latitude/Longitude Coordinates

Datum if other than WGS84: N/A

1. Latitude: 35.379408 Longitude: -86.239683




Verbal Boundary Description

The T-201 Aircraft Hangar’s National Register boundaries correspond to the legal parcel boundaries for

Coffee County Parcel 125 001.11. In general, these boundaries are bound by William Northern

Boulevard on the north, Wilson Street on east, Lake Way Place on the south, and the legal property line

on the west. The latitude/longitude points noted above correspond to the four corners of this boundary.

These boundaries are depicted on the enclosed tax/boundary map.

Boundary Justification

These boundaries encompass the significant World War II-era T-201 Aircraft Hangar, a boiler room

foundation, and land in the immediate vicinity that was associated with the William Northern Field.

These boundaries are appropriate to include the property’s significant building and land associated with

the property’s World War II-era history while excluding newer construction not associated with World

War II.

10. Geographical Data




NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018



17

USGS Topographic Map

Original Map Scale: 1:24,000 N

The T-201 Aircraft Hangar’s location is indicated by the Black Circle




NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018



18

Tax Map/National Register Boundary Map

N




NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018



19

Additional Documentation

Submit the following items with the completed form:

• Maps: A USGS map or equivalent (7.5 or 15 minute series) indicating the property's location.

• Sketch map for historic districts and properties having large acreage or numerous resources.

Key all photographs to map.

• Photographs (refer to Tennessee Historical Commission National Register Photo Policy for

submittal of digital images and prints)

• Additional items: (additional supporting documentation including historic photographs, historic

maps, etc. should be included on a Continuation Sheet following the photographic log and sketch

maps)

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: This information is being collected for applications to the National Register of Historic Places to nominate properties for listing or determine eligibility for listing, to list properties, and to amend existing listings. Response to this request is required to obtain a benefit in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended (16 U.S.C.460 et seq.). Estimated Burden Statement: Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average 100 hours per response including time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining data, and completing and reviewing the form. Direct comments regarding this burden estimate or any aspect of this form to the Office of Planning and Performance Management. U.S. Dept. of the Interior, 1849 C. Street, NW, Washington, DC.

11. Form Prepared By

Name Rebecca Schmitt; Site Plan by Sarah Elizabeth McLeod

Organization Tennessee Historical Commission

Street & Number 2941 Lebanon Pike Date March 2021

City or Town Nashville Telephone (615) 770-1086

E-mail [email protected] State TN Zip Code 37214


NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018

United States Department of the Interior Put Here


National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number Photos and Plans

T-201 Aircraft Hangar

Name of Property Coffee County, Tennessee

County and State N/A

Name of multiple listing (if applicable)

Photo Log

Name of Property: T-201 Aircraft Hangar

City or Vicinity: Tullahoma

County: Coffee State: Tennessee

Photographer: Rebecca Schmitt

Date Photographed: February 23, 2021

Description of Photograph(s) and number, include description of view indicating direction of camera:

1 of 20 Façade. Photographer facing east.

2 of 20 Façade. Photographer facing southeast.

3 of 20 Detail of Doors on Façade. Photographer facing northeast.

4 of 20 Detail of Doors on Façade. Photographer facing southeast.

5 of 20 Oblique View of Façade and North Elevation. Photographer facing southeast.

6 of 20 North Elevation. Photographer facing southeast.

7 of 20 Oblique View of North Elevation and East Elevation. Photographer facing southwest.

8 of 20 East Elevation. Photographer facing southwest.

9 of 20 Oblique View of East Elevation and South Elevation. Also visible are Boiler Room

Foundations. Photographer facing northwest.

10 of 20 South Elevation. Photographer facing northwest.

11 of 20 Interior, view of Doors. Photographer facing northwest.

12 of 20 Interior. Photographer facing north.

13 of 20 Interior. Photographer facing northeast.

14 of 20 Interior, Roof Truss System. Photographer facing northeast.


NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018








15 of 20 Interior, One-story Section. Photographer facing northeast.

16 of 20. Interior. Photographer facing south.

17 of 20 Interior. Photographer facing southeast.

18 of 20 Interior, Detail of Doors. Photographer facing west.

19 of 20 Interior, Detail of Doors and Track. Photographer facing northwest.

20 of 20 Detail of Doors and Track. Photographer facing north.


NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018








Site Plan with Photos Keyed

Not to Scale

North


Property Owner Information

Property Owner:

(This information will not be submitted to the National Park Service, but will remain on file at the Tennessee Historical Commission)

Name Lynchburg Machine, Inc & Williamson Aviation, Inc., c/o Michael Williamson

Street &

Number 150 Arbor Lane Telephone

City or Town Tullahoma State/Zip TN/37388


T-201 AIRCRAFT HANGAR

TULLAHOMA, COFFEE COUNTY, TENNESSEE

1

1 OF 20

2 OF 20




2

3 OF 20

4 OF 20




3

5 OF 20

6 OF 20




4

7 OF 20

8 OF 20




5

9 OF 20

10 OF 20




6

11 OF 20

12 OF 20




7

13 OF 20

14 OF 20




8

15 OF 20

16 OF 20




9

17 OF 20

18 OF 20




10

19 OF 20




11

20 OF 20


National Register Listed National Park Service National ...

Documents

Transcript of National Register Listed National Park Service National ...