Home of the 363rd Fighter Squadron
The Oroville Army Airdrome trained Army Air Corps pilots to fly the Bell P- 39 Airacobra during World War II.
The P- 39 was unique in several respects:
-
Engine was behind the cockpit.
-
Driveshaft ran between the pilot's legs to the prop.
-
Main cannon fired from the hub of the propeller.
-
A ceiling of only 10,000 ft. (3,000 meters).
-
First US fighter with retractable landing gear.
-
The P-39 was reportedly tricky to fly.
-
The British declined a US offer to supply them with P-39s.
-
The Russians accepted the US offer and mastered the low altitude P-39 to effectively knock out Nazi tanks.
Airport Site
 |
The Oroville Airdrome is now the Oroville Municipal Airport, located west of Oroville on Chuck Yeager Drive, near the intersection of Highway 162 (Oroville Dam Boulevard West) and Larkin Road. |
|
Claim to Fame Chuck Yeager trained at Oroville Army Airdrome - the first man to break the sound barrier. While stationed in Oroville Mr.Yeager met, dated and married Glennis Dickhouse, a girl from Oroville High School's Class of 1943. |
Stu Shaner |
|
|
Oroville's Tuskegee Airman Samuel Broadnax grew up in Oroville and was a member of Boy Scout Troop 29. He attended Oroville Union High School and two months into his Senior year in 1944 he enlisted in the Army to become a Tuskegee Airman. September 24, 1925 - October 7, 2009 Read more of Sam's story here. |
 |
|
U2 Crash in Oroville Captain Randy Roby lost his life in an attempt to steer his disabled U2 aircraft away from homes in Thermalito. A civilian, Jeri Vering, was killed nearby by the falling aircraft debri while walking to her parked car at the office of the Oroville Mercury Register. A temporary memorial has been placed near the site where Captain Roby was found with his unopened parachute. |
 |
View details on B-50 Crash near Gridley, 1953
WWII Military Air Crashes near Oroville
| Date | Aircraft | Pilot | Crash Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 MAY 1943 | P-39N-O | Carter, Lloyd C | 4 Mi NW Oroville |
| 22 AUG 1943 | P-39 | Simpson, Edward K | 5 Mi W Oroville Army Airport |
| 22 AUG 1943 | P-39Q | Hubbard, Glenn A | 5 Mi W Oroville Army Airport |
| 23 AUG 1943 | P-39Q | Mickelson, Harold J | 2 Mi N Army Airdrome |
| 23 AUG 1943 | P-39Q | Troup, Donald S | Army Airdrome |
| 25 AUG 1943 | P-39Q | Browning, James W | Oroville, CA |
| 31 AUG 1943 | AT-6A | Wellman, James I | Oroville Army Airdrome |
| 3 SEP 1943 | P-39Q | Sheppard, Keith S | Army Airdrome |
| 18 SEP 1943 | P-39 | Soens, Donald A | 10 mi. NE Roseville |
| 24 OCT 1943 | B25 | Sikking, Chester B. | 3 Mi W Richvale |
| 24 OCT 1943 | B25 | Vedder, Norbert F. | 3 Mi W Richvale |
| 24 OCT 1943 | B25 | Lawlor, John F. | 3 Mi W Richvale |
| 28 DEC 1943 | P-39Q | Weidman, Hubert L | 2 Mi E Butte City |
| 29 DEC 1943 | P-39Q | Green, Arthur L | Oroville AAF, CA |
| 9 JAN 1944 | P-30N | Dye, Rufus Jr | 3 Mi SE Oroville AAF |
| 12 JAN 1944 | P-39Q | Caporal, James E | 13 Mi W Gridley |
| 13 JAN 1944 | P-39 | Solberg, Henry L | 12 Mi NW Oroville |
| 13 JAN 1944 | P-39 | Watts, Wendell E | 12 Mi NW Oroville |
| 14 JAN 1944 | P-30NO | Gerigk, Chester | Oroville AAF, Runway 30 |
| 1963 | Helicopter | Birch, Richard L. | Near Feather River, South of lower bridge |
| 1963 | Helicopter | Cowart, Charles | Near Feather River, South of lower bridge |
| 1963 | Helicopter | Davis, Edward D. | Near Feather River, South of lower bridge |
| 1963 | Helicopter | Keuht, Loyd R. | Near Feather River, South of lower bridge |
| 1963 | Helicopter | Williams, Clarence A., Jr. | Near Feather River, South of lower bridge |
| 7 AUG 1996 | U-2 | Roby, Randy D., Capt. | Oroville Mercury parking lot on 2nd Street |
| 7 AUG 1996 |
Jerri Vering (Civilian on ground) |
Oroville Mercury parking lot on 2nd Street | |
|
Personnel in RED lost their lives in these crashes. |
|||
Crash data partly provided by Aviation Archaeology Investigation & Research