Missouri Wing Civil Air Patrol

1941 - present

In these photographs, Members of the Missouri Wing Civil Air Patrol drill and practice a simulated air crash in Greene County.

The Civil Air Patrol is a congressionally chartered auxiliary of the United States Air Forces. Founded in 1941, the CAP’s first missions were to aid in spotting enemy submarine and aircraft activity near U.S. coastlines. During the cold war, the CAP adopted its three core missions, to aid in emergency services, provide aerospace education, and provide cadet programs for training. The CAP was enlisted to fight the war on drugs in the 1980s and assisted with reconnaissance missions for law enforcement. The organization also partnered with the American Red Cross to fly organ transplants and human tissue for medical purposes. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the CAP was the first to fly again in American skies when a Civilian Air Patrol Cessna 172 photographed the World Trade Center site.

The Missouri Wing has nearly 1000 members and is primarily stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base with 28 squadrons stationed in all parts of the state. They routinely train to aid in emergencies such as natural disasters and civilian air crashes. The organization works closely with the Missouri Air National Guard, as well as other state and national agencies depending on the mission and its objectives.

Object Details

Categories: Education, War & Conflict

Date: 1941 - present

Contributing Institution: Springfield News-Leader

Copy Request: Transmission or reproduction of items on these pages beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the Springfield News-Leader: 651 Booneville, Springfield, Missouri, 65806. (417) 836-1100.

Rights: The photographs in this collection are the property of the Springfield News-Leader, and are protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws. The collection is provided solely for personal noncommercial use. You may not use the photographs within this collection in a manner that constitutes an infringement of the Springfield News-Leader's rights or that has not been authorized by the Springfield News-Leader. More specifically, unless explicitly authorized in these Terms of Service or by the owner of the materials, you may not modify, copy, reproduce, republish, upload, post, transmit, translate, sell, create derivative works, exploit, or distribute in any manner or medium (including by email or other electronic means) any material from the collection. You may, however, from time to time, download and/or print one copy of individual pages of the collection for your personal, non-commercial use, provided that you keep intact all copyright and other proprietary notices. For information about requesting permission to reproduce or distribute materials from the historic photograph collection, please contact the Springfield News-Leader.

County: Greene

Region: Southwest

Type: Photograph

Language: English

Latitude: 37.224314

Longitude: -93.243765