May 28, 1942 – The first group of cadets – 242 young men – enters the U.S. Navy Pre-flight School (NPFS) at Iowa City. Over a three-year period (1942-1944), 2,500 pilots were trained here – with many joining the war effort in the Pacific, helping America win World War II.
Did you know that the United States Navy once had a large training school here in Iowa City?And thanks to long-time, Iowa City-based aviation pioneer – Paul B. Shaw – when World War II broke out in 1941, the United States Navy immediately contacted him to help lead one of the most important aspects of the war effort in the Pacific – training qualified pilots.
READ MORE ABOUT THIS IOWA STORY HERE.
This Day In History is an Our Iowa Heritage blog series that offers you a little bit of Iowa trivia from a large selection of stories on our website. Subscribe to this FREE blog and you’ll get a new email from us daily.
Join us for Our Iowa Heritage blog posts.
Learn some historical facts about Iowa City, Johnson County, or Eastern Iowa.
Amaze your friends.
Pingback: May 27, 1839. | Our Iowa Heritage
My Uncle Frank was a student of Mr Shaw. During WWII, he taught Chinese military pilots in Arizona. For ground transportation, Shaw had a couple of classic Cords, one of which was mainly for parts.