Near Decatur in Limestone County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)

Southeast Air Forces Training Center

(Pryor Field)

Photographed by Lee Hattabaugh, November 30, 2013

1. Southeast Air Forces Training Center Marker

Marker is located behind the airfield fence, and not accessible for a better photo the day of my visit.

Inscription. The Southeast Air Forces Training Center operated by Southern Aviation Training School, also known as Pryor Field, was constructed in 1941. These two aircraft hangars and beacon tower are the remaining artifacts of one of only a few World War II Army Air Forces Training Centers that have remained in continuous use as airplane hangars since 1941. The school provided primary flight training for Army Air Forces pilots. The facility was deactivated on December 28, 1944 and turned over to the Army Corps of Engineers in September 1945. The training center was eventually discharged to the War Assets Administration as surplus and became a civil airport. The hangars were then used to convert surplus Army aircraft for commercial airline use for the Southern Airways Company which became part of Delta Airlines.

The facility was listed in the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in 2010.

Erected by Alabama Historical Commission.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Air & Space • Education • War, World II. In addition, it is included in the Alabama Historical Commission series list. A significant historical month for this entry is September 1945.

Location. 34° 38.994′ N, 86° 56.882′ W. Marker is near Decatur

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, Alabama, in Limestone County. It can be reached from Bee Line Highway (U.S. 31) 0.6 miles south of Thomas L Hammons Road, on the left when traveling south. Marker is located between the two historical hangars on the grounds of Calhoun Community College, south of the Machine Tool Technology building and east of the new Energy Technology Center. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 6250 U.S Hwy 31, Tanner AL 35671, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in North Alabama

and in the Huntsville Metropolitan Area.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the original Cherokee Nation,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Oakland United Methodist Church (approx. 0.6 miles away); Gen. N.B. Forrest, C.S.A. (approx. 1.6 miles away); Harris-Pryor House (approx. 2.1 miles away); Gen. Jos. Wheeler (approx. 2.6 miles away); Packed with People (approx. 3.1 miles away); Fight For Survival (approx. 3.1 miles away); Cherokee Trail Of Tears (approx. 3.1 miles away); Site of Benson Field (approx. 3.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Decatur.

Photographed by Lee Hattabaugh, November 30, 2013

2. Southeast Air Forces Training Center Marker

the hangar to the north of the marker.

the 'South' hangar image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Lee Hattabaugh, November 30, 2013

3. the 'South' hangar

Southeast Air Forces Training Center beacon tower image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Lee Hattabaugh, November 30, 2013

4. Southeast Air Forces Training Center beacon tower

Located immediately south of the 'south' hangar (in background)

Credits. This page was last revised on June 24, 2025. It was originally submitted on November 30, 2013, by Lee Hattabaugh of Capshaw, Alabama. This page has been viewed 1,616 times since then and 62 times this year. Last updated on July 13, 2015, by J. Makali Bruton of Washington, District of Columbia. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on November 30, 2013, by Lee Hattabaugh of Capshaw, Alabama. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.