JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. –
For the Army Air Force in 1943, high-flying adventure came like lightning; fast and furious. On May 2, 1943, those adventures expanded to the new Army Air Field in Camp Springs, Md., with a thunderbolt, marking the start of history for the flying base that would become Joint Base Andrews.
For Capt. Andrew W. "Dub" Salter, Jr., the last few weeks were intense. On April 20, 1943, General Order Number One took effect; directing the airfield to prepare for the arrival of the first tactical unit - training pilots on P-47 Republic Thunderbolts as part of President Roosevelt's push to empower the Army Air Force with the arsenal of democracy.
The first P-47 wouldn't arrive for another two weeks, but those P-47s would also assume air patrol duties over the National Capital Region, which had been performed out of Bolling Field since Dec. 7, 1941.
The Thunderbolt was an impressive fighter aircraft with eight wing-mounted 50-inch machine guns and a powerful Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp engine capable of incredible powerdives that would act as the shield for the Allied soldiers on the ground - but Thunderbolts needed long runways, which Camp Springs Army Airfield had.
Before 1943 ended, Roosevelt directed 125,000 new aircraft for the Army Air Force with 125,000 more for each year thereafter for the duration of the war. The nation had grown confident in the leaders of America's flying legions, with Doolittle making a big impact the previous year and tales of flying aces thrilling the nation with admiration of the New Airman.
While Congress had its concerns about budgets, they supported a nation at war on two fronts and military airfields were set up wherever the land was clear and roads, riverways or railways could facilitate supply. Setting up Camp Springs Army Air Field was the responsibility entrusted to Salter, an Oklahoma native and expert flyer for more than a decade - and only age 29.
Salter had been personally chosen by Gen. Henry "Hap" Arnold to become the first commanding officer of the new Maryland airfield, functioning as a sub-base controlled by Baltimore Army Air Base until June of that year. For two months, Salter oversaw the stand-up of the 463rd Base Headquarters and Air Base squadrons, a medical detachment, and the 2031st Quartermaster Truck (Aviation) Squadron.
With a much larger command structure now in place, a higher-ranking officer in charge was needed: Col. Michael E. McHugo.
McHugo, recognizing talent, retained Salter as the Base Operations Officer. And as his impact at making the airfield we know today as Joint Base Andrews began with a Thunderbolt, Salter eventually graduated to command lightning of his own: leading a squadron of P-38 Lightning fighter aircraft assigned to the 546th Fighter Squadron, part of the Seattle Air Defense Wing.
Salter later led a squadron of Bell P-39 Airacobras on missions in the China-Burma-India theater, leading his unit in earning the Decorated Unit Citation for China in 1944 as well as numerous campaign streamers. Salter retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel, and passed away on March 2, 1997 at the age of 82. He was laid to rest in his Oklahoma hometown.
Salter's legacy, however, lives on. His distinguished himself at Camp Springs, creating such an efficient installation that less than 45 days after he arrived it went from being a subordinate base to becoming a control base for other airfields in the region, a precursor to today's
Air Force District of Washington.