Wind Tunnel at Wright Field photograph

Caption reads: "Wind tunnel, Wright Field, Dayton." Activated on October 12, 1927, Wright Field replaced the smaller McCook field as the nation's premier center for military aviation research and development. At Wright Field, altitude and speed records were set, aircraft flying characteristics were studied in huge wind tunnels, improved fuels and power-plants were tested and new aircraft instruments were developed during the 1920s and 1930s. After Pearl Harbor and the United States' entry into World War II, the flight test mission of Wright Field made the facility even more crucial to the nation's war effort. American and allied aircraft were brought to Wright Field and put through test programs to improve their performance. Captured enemy aircraft were evaluated by Wright Field's expert pilots and flight engineers to uncover weaknesses and strengths in their designs. After World War II, Wright Field continued to play a major part in flight research and development. Growth of residential areas around Wright Field forced officials to limit flight test operations in 1951 and transfer the Flight Test Division to Area C at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base