Roberts Field

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Roberts Field was an early airfield serving as Birmingham's primary airport from 1922 until completion of the Birmingham Municipal Airport in 1935.

Roberts Field was located west of Downtown Birmingham and north of Dixie Field. The 90-acre site was donated to the newly-formed 135th Observation Squadron of the Alabama National Guard by a local steel company. The squadron, under the direction of James Meissner, did the work of developing the airfield with salvaged and donated materials. By the end of July the unit was operating a fleet of seven Curtiss JN-4D "Jenny" airplanes, housed in metal hangar buildings.

The field was dedicated on June 5, 1922 in honor of Birmingham's Arthur Meredyth Roberts who was killed in action while flying over France in World War I. In 1923 the 135th was redesignated as the 114th Observation Squadron, still based at Roberts Field.

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References

  • Skaarup, Harold A. (2002) Alabama Warbird Survivors 2003. iUniverse. ISBN 0595256015
  • Trimble, William (June 27, 2013) "Airports in Alabama" Encyclopedia of Alabama - accessed January 17, 2014
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