The Beginnings of MDT (1917-1969)

David Vanderhoof, Aviation Historian

We'd like to introduce, David Vanderhoof, an avid aviation historian from here in Pennsylvania that graciously agreed to guest blog a 2-part series on the history of Harrisburg International Airport (MDT), also known as HIA.  David maintains an interesting historical blog and a podcast due to his love of aviation.


Many of you may be familiar with David as one of the hosts and commentators on the popular aviation podcast, Airplane Geeks!  On the weekly podcast David shares his bits of aviation history with the audience.  Today you're his audience as we begin part one, enjoy! 

Harrisburg International Airport is located on the Susquehanna River.  It has had a long history with aviation as well as a long runway! 

But why does the tag on my bag say MDT when I am at HIA? 

The story of HIA starts in 1917 with the United States Army Signal Corps adding an airfield to the Middletown Facility.   The Signal Corp actually had been on the site since 1898.  Next to supply depot, a grass field was put in place.  By 1918, the first aircraft were landing and taking off at Middletown Airfield. Curtis JN1s or Jennys filled the field.  The Middletown facility became a strategic supply depot supporting the U.S. efforts in World War I. Machine shops for engines and woodshops for fuselages.  Fabric for wings.  A nest for the fledgling air service.  The base continued its work post war.

In 1922, the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was formed and one of its most important bases was the Middletown Air Depot.   During the thirties, it continued to grow and add more warehouses and storage facilities.  Eventually the Middletown Airfield became the Olmstead Army Airfield. 

Olmstead AAF was named after 1^st Lieutenant Robert Stanford Olmstead who was killed in the line of duty.  Olmstead was an accomplished aeronaut, and the U.S. Army entered the Army Balloon S6 into the prestigious 1923 Gordon Bennett Cup.  The Bennett Cup was, at the time, equivalent to F1 or NASCAR Racing.   The ’23 race was a nightmare due to the weather.   Olmstead and his partner, 1^st Lieutenant John Shoptaw, launched and were immediately thrown by wind into another unlaunched Belgian Balloon the Ville de Bruxelles.  The Belgian’s netting was cut by the S6’s gondola and couldn’t take off.  The S6 seemed to be ok, and Shoptaw  and Olmstead climbed into darkened thunderclouds on September 23, 1923.  After surviving the harrowing takeoff, the S6 and its crew were struck by lightning three hours later.  The Balloon and gondola caught fire and crashed near the town of Loosbroek in the Netherlands.   Neither Olmstead nor Shoptaw survived the crash. 

Olmstead Army Air Field was, again, another strategic base during the conflict in World War II.  Numerous Transport and Reconnaissance squadrons arrived at Olmstead AAF to pick up their aircraft before heading to the European Theatre of Operations.  If you looked at the flight line in 1943, you would see C-47s, C-54s, and all sorts of P-38s and P-51s. 

After the war, the base continued to be a facility with strong ties to logistics.  In 1947, with the creation of the United States Air Force, the facility again changed its name to become Olmstead Air Force Base. 

Olmstead became a hub for supplies and made a serious contribution to OPERATION VITTLES, the airlift during the Berlin Blockade.  While not actually providing the food shipments, Olmstead provided the support for the transports making the runs.  Engines, overhaul equipment fuel supplies all the necessary logistics to support a major airlift.  They also served as the depot for all the medical supplies sent to support the mission.  During that time, much of that was airlifted, was by the 64^th Troop Carrier Squadron flying Curtis C-46 Commandos.

For the remainder of the 50’s through to the late 60’s the base remained part of the Air Force Logistics Command  (AFLC) and was the prime support base for the Northrop T-38 Talon and the L-27/U-3 “Blue Canoe”.  These were two very important aircraft that trained and supported the modernizing USAF.

In order to reduce costs due to the on going Vietnam War, a decision was made by the Pentagon to inactivate the facility. This became effective June 30^th 1969.   The base was transferred over to the Pennsylvania Air National Guard.  Thus changing from Olmstead Air Force base to Olmstead Air National Guard Base.   

In Part II, we will focus on the 70’s through to the current times.

Thanks for reading along on our historical MDT journey.  What questions might you have regarding the facts that David shared in his post?

Works Cited

Francillon, René J. The Air Guard. Austin: Aerofax, 1983. Print.

"Harrisburg Air National Guard Base." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 03 Dec. 2011. .

Jackson, Donald Dale. The Aeronauts. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life, 1980. Print.

p144-145

Vaeth, J. Gordon. They Sailed the Skies: U.S. Navy Balloons and the Airship Program. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute, 2005. Print.

Williams, Nicolas M. Aircraft of the United States' Military Air Transport Service. Leicester: Midland Limited, 1999. Print.

"The WILMER LOWER STULTZ Page of the Davis-Monthan Airfield Register Website." Welcome to the Website of the Davis-Monthan Airfield Register. Web. 03 Dec. 2011. .