3.5 cu ft
Call No. 168.7108
IRIS No. 1028986-1029098
Brigadier General. USAF, 1917-1950.
Born in Methuen, MA. Air Corps Tactical School, 1936; Command and General Staff School, 1938. Served to grade of Private First Class, Aviation Section, Signal Corps, 1917-1918; commissioned Second Lieutenant, Air Service, July 1918. Career assignments include: various duties as company and field grade officer, 1918-1943; Commanding General, Alaskan Wing, Air Transport Command, 1943-1946; Commander, Bermuda Base Command, June-July 1946; Commander, Atlantic Division, Air Transport Command, August-September 1946; Commanding General, Bermuda Base Command, 1946-1947; Deputy Assistant Chief of Air Staff, Operations, Arctic Affairs, HQ USAFF, 1947-1948; Deputy, Alaskan Air Command (AAC), April-June 1948; Commanding General, Yukon Sector, AAC, 1948-1949; Deputy Commanding General, Air Proving Ground Command, 1949-1950. Died in Oliver General Hospital, GA.
Personal and official papers relating to Gaffney's Air Force career, primarily from 1939-1949. Includes official correspondence, memoranda, messages, radiograms, and reports relating to cold weather operations in Alaska, Canada and the Arctic (1939-1949). Also includes several official plans, reports and related photographs pertaining to the testing of equipment in cold weather, either at Ladd Field, AK or in the Climatic Hangar Cold at Eglin Field, FL (1945-1947). Contains reports and related correspondence pertaining to Operation BEETLE 91947). Also contains a plan for Integration of Communications Facilities in Alaska by Army, Navy, and the Civil Aeronautics Authority (1947). Includes guidelines for survival in snow (1947-1949) as well as rescue procedures along the ALCAN Air Route (1947). Also includes news clippings on arctic activities (1947), and maps and diagrams relating to the polar area and arctic bases used by the USAAF (1943-1947). Contains copy of report of Special Mission #52, Vice President Henry A. Wallace's trip to Russia, Mongolia, and China (July 1944). Also contains manufacturer proposals for new equipment, including aircraft and helicopters, made for arctic conditions (1947-1948). Includes biography (1950) and some personal records (1947).
Access to a few documents restricted by security classifications.