Skip to content

University schools and programs

Navy Pre-Flight School

In Chapel Hill. 11 dated events, 1942–1948.

This site has no map location yet.

People in its history

Indexed works

Books, articles, records and pictures in the index about Navy Pre-Flight School, found by its names in titles, catalog subjects and the index’s descriptions, and read one by one. Those held at OCPL come first.

About the site

The Cloudbuster Nine

Keene, Anne R. · 2018

Anne R. Keene's history of the Cloudbusters, the baseball team of the Navy Pre-Flight School at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill during the Second World War, on which Ted Williams played in 1943. The chapters move from a batboy's trunk of keepsakes through the pre-flight training program to the players' lives after the war, and Keene's own family is part of the story. Published by Sports Publishing in New York in 2018, 340 pages with sixteen pages of plates.

The Forgotten First

Albright, Alex · 2013 · R.A. Fountain

Alex Albright's history of the B-1 band, the group of Black musicians drawn largely from students and graduates of North Carolina A&T who became the first Black sailors of the modern Navy to serve above the rank of messman, and the first of more than a hundred Black Navy bands in wartime. The band was posted to the Navy Pre-Flight School at Chapel Hill, the book's Orange County link. Published by R.A. Fountain in 2013, 194 pages with illustrations and portraits.

Camp Davis vs. North Carolina Pre-Flight.

1943

Programs like this one came from the athletic associations of the five Navy pre-flight schools. This issue covers Camp Davis against North Carolina Pre-Flight at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill on October 16, 1943. Fifty-two pages carry portraits of commanders, coaching notes, line-ups and statistics, along with sections on the Georgia, Del Monte, Iowa and St. Mary's schools.

Camp Lejeune vs. No. Carolina Pre-Flight.

1943

Football program for the game between the cadets of Camp Lejeune and those of the Navy Pre-Flight School at Chapel Hill, set for November 13, 1943, at Kenan Stadium. Sixty-three pages with portraits of commanders, notes on the two coaching staffs, line-ups and statistics, plus pages on the Georgia, Del Monte, Iowa and St. Mary's pre-flight schools.

A tide of dreams : the untold backstory of coaches Paul "Bear" Bryant, Carney Laslie and Frank Moseley

Keefe, Carey Henry · 2022 · KöehlerBooks

Carey Henry Keefe traces the friendship and football careers of Paul Bryant, Carney Laslie and Frank Moseley, coaches whose paths crossed at the Navy Pre-Flight School the service ran in Chapel Hill during the Second World War. The book also concerns Wallace Wade and the history of college sports in the United States. Published in 2022, 382 pages with illustrations, and recipes are included.

UNC

United States Navy Pre-Flight School : research materials

2004

Six items gathered in a portfolio in 2004 as research materials on the United States Navy Pre-Flight School at Chapel Hill, the wartime program that trained naval aviation cadets on the university campus. Topics include the school, the Navy, and the University of North Carolina during the Second World War. The portfolio measures 39 centimeters.

UNC
Show 94 more works

Training programs of the University of North Carolina for the U.S. Navy during World War II

Pendergraph, William L. · 1993

William L. Pendergraph compiled a list of the students who passed through the University of North Carolina's training programs for the Navy during the Second World War, including the V-12 college training unit and the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps. Directory in form and unpaged, published in 1993.

UNC

The sky's the limit : the University of North Carolina and the Chapel Hill communities' response to the establishment of the U.S. Naval Pre-Flight School during World War II

Baker, Mary Layne · 1980

Mary Layne Baker's 1980 study of how the university and the town of Chapel Hill received the United States Navy Pre-Flight School that opened there during the Second World War. It treats the relations between community and college alongside the wartime history of the university itself. A typescript of 133 leaves with illustrations and a map, closing with a bibliography.

UNC

This mark of commendation ...

1946 · Department of the Navy

A single printed sheet issued by the Department of the Navy in 1946, carrying a mark of commendation and signed in a manuscript hand by James Forrestal. The commendation concerns the Navy V-12 Program, the Pre-Flight School at Chapel Hill and the University of North Carolina in the Second World War. One sheet, 36 by 28 centimeters.

UNC

Judy was dynamite

Troy, Elizabeth (Fiction writer) · 1943 · The Crowell-Collier Publishing Company

A wartime magazine romance by Elizabeth Troy, set in Chapel Hill during the years when the United States Navy Pre-Flight School was operating on the university campus. An editorial note on page 30 says the magazine sent Troy to North Carolina to observe the school before writing. The story runs across seven pages of the 1943 issue with a color illustration.

UNC

Football goes to war : the Army and Navy have chosen a tough sport to help prepare our fighting men for combat

Woodward, Stanley · 1942 · Look Inc

Stanley Woodward's illustrated article from Look magazine of October 20, 1942, on football as training for combat, detached from the issue. It centers on the men training at the Navy Pre-Flight School in Chapel Hill, whose team was called the Cloud Busters. Pages 62 to 67, chiefly illustrations and portraits, published by Look in Des Moines.

UNC

[U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, scrapbook]

1945

Four large scrapbook volumes of illustrations made in 1945 by the U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, each about 60 to 65 centimeters tall. These photograph albums document military flight training at Chapel Hill during the Second World War. Part of UNC's North Carolina Collection.

UNC

Greetings from U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School Chapel Hill, N.C.

1944 · Graycraft Card Co., Danville, Va

Composite greeting postcard of 1944 for the U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School at Chapel Hill, made by the Graycraft Card Co. from official Army and Marine Corps photographs. The scenes include a paratrooper leaving a plane, a tank, aircraft in flight and a large mounted gun.

United States Navy Pre-Flight School Band, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

1944

Book from 1944 on the Cloudbuster Band of the U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School at Chapel Hill, billed as the Navy's first all-Black band and made up of Black musicians from across North Carolina. It contains the band's history, photographs and the members' signatures.

Caldwell Hall, U.S. Navy Pre Flight School, Chapel Hill, N.C.

United States. Navy · 1943 · Curt Teich & Co., Chicago, Ill

Postcard of 1943 showing Caldwell Hall as the academic department of the U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School at Chapel Hill, where cadets took the classroom side of their training. Printed by Curt Teich & Co. of Chicago, its caption gives the school's motto: Rough, Tough and Smart.

Greetings from U.S. Navy Pre Flight School, Chapel Hill, N.C.

United States. Navy · 1943 · Curt Teich & Co., Chicago, Ill

Curt Teich & Co. greeting postcard of 1943 from the U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School at Chapel Hill. Views inside the letters include Navy Hall, the Administration Building, the Bell Tower and the Navy Hospital. Commander Thomas J. Hamilton and Lieutenant Commander Frank Wickhorst, leaders of the Navy's aviation physical fitness program, appear in a corner.

Academic Department, circa 1942 (scan 1)

1942

The Academic Department of the United States Navy Pre-Flight School at Chapel Hill, photographed about 1942. Sheet film negative 0115 from the school's General Scenes series.

Academic Department, circa 1942 (scan 2)

1942

The Navy Pre-Flight School's Academic Department at Chapel Hill, about 1942: scan 2 of sheet film 0115, from the school's general scenes series.

Academic Department, circa 1942 (scan 3)

1942

Sheet film 0115, scan 3, a negative labeled Academic Department from the Navy Pre-Flight School in Chapel Hill, dated about 1942.

Academic Department, circa 1942 (scan 4)

1942

About 1942, the Academic Department of the Navy Pre-Flight School at Chapel Hill, in scan 4 of sheet film 0115 from the general scenes series.

Academic Department, circa 1942 (scan 5)

1942

Scan 5 of sheet film 0115, labeled Academic Department, from the Navy Pre-Flight School at Chapel Hill about 1942. One of the school's wartime general scenes.

Admiral Glassford, circa 1942 (scan 1)

1942

Photograph of Admiral Glassford made at the United States Navy Pre-Flight School in Chapel Hill about 1942. Sheet film negative 0114 in the school's General Scenes series, 1942 to 1945.

Admiral Glassford, circa 1942 (scan 2)

1942

Admiral Glassford at the U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School in Chapel Hill, about 1942. Sheet film 0114, scan 2, from the General Scenes series on the wartime school, 1942 to 1945.

Admiral Glassford: Commencement speaker, 10 September 1942 (scan 01)

1942

Admiral Glassford, photographed as commencement speaker at the United States Navy Pre-Flight School in Chapel Hill on 10 September 1942. Sheet film negative 0020 from the school's series of general scenes.

Admiral Glassford: Commencement speaker, 10 September 1942 (scan 02)

1942

Admiral Glassford as commencement speaker at the Navy Pre-Flight School in Chapel Hill, 10 September 1942. Scan 2 of sheet film 0020 in the general scenes series.

Admiral Glassford: Commencement speaker, 10 September 1942 (scan 03)

1942

Sheet film 0020, scan 3, from the Navy Pre-Flight School commencement of 10 September 1942 at Chapel Hill, where Admiral Glassford gave the address.

Admiral Glassford: Commencement speaker, 10 September 1942 (scan 04)

1942

Commencement at the Navy Pre-Flight School, Chapel Hill, 10 September 1942, with Admiral Glassford as speaker. Scan 4 of sheet film 0020.

Admiral Glassford: Commencement speaker, 10 September 1942 (scan 05)

1942

On 10 September 1942 Admiral Glassford spoke at commencement for the Navy Pre-Flight School in Chapel Hill; scan 5 of sheet film 0020 records the occasion.

Admiral Glassford: Commencement speaker, 10 September 1942 (scan 06)

1942

Navy Pre-Flight School negative of Admiral Glassford, commencement speaker on 10 September 1942 at Chapel Hill. Sheet film 0020, scan 6, from the school's general scenes.

Admiral Glassford: Commencement speaker, 10 September 1942 (scan 07)

1942

Scan 7 of sheet film 0020: Admiral Glassford, commencement speaker at the Navy Pre-Flight School in Chapel Hill, 10 September 1942.

Admiral Glassford: Commencement speaker, 10 September 1942 (scan 08)

1942

Photograph of Admiral Glassford, the commencement speaker at the U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School in Chapel Hill on 10 September 1942. Scan 08 of sheet film 0020, from the school's general scenes series, 1942 to 1945.

Admiral Glassford: Commencement speaker, 10 September 1942 (scan 09)

1942

Commencement at the Navy Pre-Flight School in Chapel Hill on 10 September 1942, with Admiral Glassford as the speaker. Scan 09 from sheet film 0020 in the Pre-Flight School's general scenes.

Admiral Glassford: Commencement speaker, 10 September 1942 (scan 10)

1942

Admiral Glassford gave the address at the 10 September 1942 commencement of the U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School on the UNC campus in Chapel Hill. Scan 10 of sheet film 0020, one of several frames from the ceremony.

Admiral Glassford: Commencement speaker, 10 September 1942 (scan 11)

1942

Sheet film 0020, scan 11: the September 1942 commencement of the Navy's Pre-Flight School at Chapel Hill, held on the 10th, where Admiral Glassford spoke. Part of the school's general scenes, 1942 to 1945.

Art Jones, 5 November 1942 (scan 1)

1942

Art Jones, photographed at the Navy Pre-Flight School in Chapel Hill on 5 November 1942. Sheet film negative 0154 in the General Scenes series of the United States Navy Pre-Flight School.

Art Jones, 5 November 1942 (scan 2)

1942

Art Jones, photographed on 5 November 1942 at the Navy Pre-Flight School in Chapel Hill. Scan 2 of sheet film 154 from the school's wartime general scenes.

Band, circa 1942: Scan 1

1942

The band of the United States Navy Pre-Flight School in Chapel Hill, photographed about 1942. Sheet film negative 0113, one of the school's General Scenes from its wartime years on the UNC campus.

Band: Banquet/Dance(For African American Cadets), 16 October 1942 (scan 01)

1942

Band at a banquet and dance given for African American cadets, 16 October 1942, among the Navy Pre-Flight School's photographs in Chapel Hill. Sheet film negative 0078 from its general scenes.

Band: Banquet/Dance(For African American Cadets), 16 October 1942 (scan 02)

1942

Band playing at a banquet and dance for African American cadets on 16 October 1942, photographed at the United States Navy Pre-Flight School in Chapel Hill. Scan 02 of sheet film 0078, from the school's General Scenes series, 1942 to 1945.

Band: Banquet/Dance(For African American Cadets), 16 October 1942 (scan 03)

1942

A banquet and dance held for African American cadets on 16 October 1942, with a band, in Navy Pre-Flight School photographs from Chapel Hill. Scan 03 of sheet film 0078.

Band: Banquet/Dance(For African American Cadets), 16 October 1942 (scan 04)

1942

Navy Pre-Flight School photograph from Chapel Hill of the band at a 16 October 1942 banquet and dance for African American cadets. Fourth scan of sheet film 0078 in the General Scenes series.

Band: Banquet/Dance(For African American Cadets), 16 October 1942 (scan 05)

1942

On 16 October 1942 a band performed at a banquet and dance for African American cadets, recorded in this Navy Pre-Flight School negative from Chapel Hill. Sheet film 0078, scan 05.

Band: Banquet/Dance(For African American Cadets), 16 October 1942 (scan 06)

1942

Sheet film 0078, scan 06: the band at a banquet and dance for African American cadets, 16 October 1942, from the General Scenes photographs of the Navy Pre-Flight School at Chapel Hill.

Band: Banquet/Dance(For African American Cadets), 16 October 1942 (scan 07)

1942

Seventh scan of a negative of the 16 October 1942 banquet and dance for African American cadets, with its band, at the United States Navy Pre-Flight School in Chapel Hill. Sheet film 0078.

Band: Banquet/Dance(For African American Cadets), 16 October 1942 (scan 08)

1942

Banquet and dance for African American cadets with a band, 16 October 1942, one of the Navy Pre-Flight School's General Scenes photographs from Chapel Hill. Scan 08 of sheet film 0078.

Band: Banquet/Dance(For African American Cadets), 16 October 1942 (scan 09)

1942

Chapel Hill, 16 October 1942: a band at a banquet and dance given for African American cadets, photographed for the Navy Pre-Flight School's General Scenes series. Scan 09 of sheet film 0078.

Band: Banquet/Dance(For African American Cadets), 16 October 1942 (scan 10)

1942

Tenth scan of sheet film 0078, a Navy Pre-Flight School photograph of the band at a banquet and dance for African American cadets in Chapel Hill on 16 October 1942.

Band: Banquet/Dance(For African American Cadets), 16 October 1942 (scan 11)

1942

From the General Scenes series of the United States Navy Pre-Flight School at Chapel Hill, the band at a 16 October 1942 banquet and dance for African American cadets. Sheet film 0078, scan 11.

Band: Kenan Stadium: Smoker, circa 1942 (scan 01)

1942

The band at a smoker in Kenan Stadium, the university's football stadium in Chapel Hill, during the Navy Pre-Flight School years, about 1942. Sheet film negative 0075.

Band: Kenan Stadium: Smoker, circa 1942 (scan 02)

1942

A band at a smoker held in Kenan Stadium, photographed about 1942 at the U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School in Chapel Hill. Sheet film 0075, scan 02, from the school's general scenes.

Band: Kenan Stadium: Smoker, circa 1942 (scan 03)

1942

Band playing for a smoker at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, about 1942, during the Navy Pre-Flight School's wartime years at UNC. Scan 03 of sheet film 0075.

Band: Kenan Stadium: Smoker, circa 1942 (scan 04)

1942

Kenan Stadium, about 1942: the band at a Navy Pre-Flight School smoker on the UNC campus in Chapel Hill. Sheet film 0075, scan 04.

Band: Kenan Stadium: Smoker, circa 1942 (scan 05)

1942

Navy Pre-Flight School photograph of a band at a smoker in Kenan Stadium, Chapel Hill, taken about 1942. Sheet film 0075, scan 05.

Band: Kenan Stadium: Smoker, circa 1942 (scan 06)

1942

Smoker at Kenan Stadium with a band, photographed about 1942 among the general scenes of the U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School in Chapel Hill. Scan 06 of sheet film 0075.

Band: Kenan Stadium: Smoker, circa 1942 (scan 07)

1942

Band at a smoker in Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, from the Navy Pre-Flight School photographs of about 1942. Sheet film 0075, scan 07.

Band: Kenan Stadium: Smoker, circa 1942 (scan 08)

1942

About 1942, a band performs at a smoker in Kenan Stadium, one of the Navy Pre-Flight School's wartime scenes in Chapel Hill. Sheet film 0075, scan 08.

Band: Kenan Stadium: Smoker, circa 1942 (scan 09)

1942

Wartime photograph of a band at a Kenan Stadium smoker, taken about 1942 at the Navy Pre-Flight School in Chapel Hill. Scan 09 of sheet film 0075.

Band: Kenan Stadium: Smoker, circa 1942 (scan 10)

1942

Kenan Stadium smoker with a band, Chapel Hill, about 1942, during the years the U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School trained cadets at UNC. Sheet film 0075, scan 10.

Band: Kenan Stadium: Smoker, circa 1942 (scan 11)

1942

Band at a smoker held in Kenan Stadium, photographed about 1942 at the Navy Pre-Flight School on the UNC campus. Sheet film 0075, scan 11.

Band: Kenan Stadium: Smoker, circa 1942 (scan 12)

1942

Photograph of about 1942 showing a band at a smoker in Kenan Stadium, Chapel Hill, from the Navy Pre-Flight School's general scenes. Scan 12 of sheet film 0075.

Band: Kenan Stadium: Smoker, circa 1942 (scan 13)

1942

Navy Pre-Flight School scene at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, about 1942: a band at a smoker. Sheet film 0075, scan 13.

Band: Kenan Stadium: Smoker, circa 1942 (scan 14)

1942

A smoker at Kenan Stadium with a band, photographed about 1942 at the U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School in Chapel Hill. Sheet film 0075, scan 14.

Baseball, 10 June 1942 (scan 1)

1942

Baseball at the Navy Pre-Flight School in Chapel Hill on 10 June 1942, in the school's first weeks on the campus. Sheet film negative 0080 from its general scenes.

Baseball, 10 June 1942 (scan 2)

1942

Baseball at Chapel Hill on 10 June 1942, one of the general scenes of the United States Navy Pre-Flight School at UNC. Scan 2 of sheet film 0080.

Baseball, 10 June 1942 (scan 3)

1942

Navy Pre-Flight School scene titled Baseball, dated 10 June 1942, from Chapel Hill. Scan 3 of sheet film 0080.

Baseball, 10 June 1942 (scan 4)

1942

Sheet film 0080, scan 4: baseball on 10 June 1942 at the Navy Pre-Flight School in Chapel Hill, which trained naval aviation cadets at UNC during the Second World War.

Baseball, 10 June 1942 (scan 5)

1942

Photograph of baseball at the wartime Navy Pre-Flight School in Chapel Hill, 10 June 1942. Scan 5 of sheet film 0080 in the school's general scenes series.

Baseball, 10 June 1942 (scan 6)

1942

On 10 June 1942 in Chapel Hill: a baseball scene from the United States Navy Pre-Flight School's general scenes. Scan 6 of sheet film 0080.

Baseball, 10 June 1942 (scan 7)

1942

Scan 7 of sheet film 0080, a baseball photograph dated 10 June 1942 among the general scenes of the Navy Pre-Flight School at UNC in Chapel Hill.

Baseball, 10 June 1942 (scan 8)

1942

Baseball photograph from the Navy Pre-Flight School in Chapel Hill, 10 June 1942. Scan 8 of sheet film 0080, one of the school's general scenes from 1942 to 1945.

Basketball: Hashagen, Allen Reese, 20 September 1942 (scan 01)

1942

Second sheet film negative, number 0026, of basketball with Hashagen and Allen Reese at the Navy Pre-Flight School in Chapel Hill, taken 20 September 1942. Negative 0025 shows the same subject.

Basketball: Hashagen, Allen Reese, 20 September 1942 (scan 02)

1942

Basketball photograph of Allen Reese Hashagen at the United States Navy Pre-Flight School in Chapel Hill, 20 September 1942. Scan 2 of sheet film 0026 from the school's general scenes series.

Basketball: Hashagen, Allen Reese, 20 September 1942 (scan 03)

1942

Allen Reese Hashagen at basketball, photographed at the Navy Pre-Flight School in Chapel Hill on 20 September 1942. Sheet film 0026, scan 3.

Basketball: Hashagen, Allen Reese, 20 September 1942 (scan 04)

1942

Navy Pre-Flight School basketball photograph from 20 September 1942 featuring Allen Reese Hashagen. Scan 4 of sheet film 0026, from the Chapel Hill school's general scenes.

Basketball: Hashagen, Allen Reese, 20 September 1942 (scan 05)

1942

Sheet film 0026, scan 5: basketball at the Navy Pre-Flight School in Chapel Hill, with Allen Reese Hashagen, 20 September 1942.

Basketball: Hashagen, Allen Reese, 20 September 1942 (scan 06)

1942

Basketball at the wartime Navy Pre-Flight School on the Chapel Hill campus, 20 September 1942, picturing Allen Reese Hashagen. Scan 6 of sheet film 0026.

Basketball: Hashagen, Allen Reese, 20 September 1942 (scan 07)

1942

Photograph of Allen Reese Hashagen taken for basketball at the United States Navy Pre-Flight School, Chapel Hill, 20 September 1942. Scan 7 of sheet film 0026.

Basketball: Hashagen, Allen Reese, 20 September 1942 (scan 08)

1942

Chapel Hill, 20 September 1942: Allen Reese Hashagen in a basketball photograph from the Navy Pre-Flight School's general scenes series. Sheet film 0026, scan 8.

Basketball: Hashagen, Allen Reese, 20 September 1942 (scan 09)

1942

Scan 9 of sheet film 0026, a basketball photograph of Allen Reese Hashagen taken at the Navy Pre-Flight School in Chapel Hill on 20 September 1942.

Basketball: Hashagen, Allen Reese, 20 September 1942 (scan 10)

1942

Allen Reese Hashagen, basketball, 20 September 1942: one of the Navy Pre-Flight School's general scenes from its Chapel Hill years. Scan 10 of sheet film 0026.

Basketball: Hashagen, Allen Reese, 20 September 1942 (scan 11)

1942

Basketball photograph dated 20 September 1942 showing Allen Reese Hashagen at the United States Navy Pre-Flight School in Chapel Hill. Sheet film 0026, scan 11.

Basketball: Hashagen, Allen Reese, 20 September 1942 (scan 12)

1942

From the Navy Pre-Flight School's general scenes, 1942 to 1945: Allen Reese Hashagen at basketball in Chapel Hill on 20 September 1942 (sheet film 0026, scan 12).

Basketball: Hashagen, Allen Reese, 20 September 1942 (scan 13)

1942

Sheet film 0026, scan 13, showing Allen Reese Hashagen in a basketball photograph at the Navy Pre-Flight School, Chapel Hill, 20 September 1942.

Basketball: Hashagen, Allen Reese, 20 September 1942 (scan 14)

1942

Navy Pre-Flight School, Chapel Hill, 20 September 1942: basketball photograph of Allen Reese Hashagen. Scan 14 of sheet film 0026 in the school's general scenes series.

Basketball:Hashagen, Allen Reese, 20 September 1942 (scan 1)

1942

Basketball at the Navy Pre-Flight School, Chapel Hill, 20 September 1942, naming Hashagen and Allen Reese. Sheet film negative 0025 in the school's general scenes; negative 0026 carries the same subject and date.

Basketball:Hashagen, Allen Reese, 20 September 1942 (scan 2)

1942

Basketball photograph from the U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School at Chapel Hill, dated 20 September 1942 and naming Allen Reese Hashagen. Scan 2 of sheet film negative 0025, from the school's General Scenes series, 1942 to 1945.

Basketball:Hashagen, Allen Reese, 20 September 1942 (scan 3)

1942

Allen Reese Hashagen and basketball are the subject of a 20 September 1942 sheet film negative, number 0025 (scan 3), from the General Scenes series on the Navy Pre-Flight School at UNC-Chapel Hill, 1942 to 1945.

Basketball:Hashagen, Allen Reese, 20 September 1942 (scan 4)

1942

Navy Pre-Flight School photograph, Chapel Hill, 20 September 1942: basketball, with Allen Reese Hashagen named. Scan 4 of sheet film 0025, part of the school's General Scenes series.

Basketball:Hashagen, Allen Reese, 20 September 1942 (scan 5)

1942

Scan 5 of sheet film negative 0025, a basketball picture naming Allen Reese Hashagen, taken 20 September 1942 at the U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School on the UNC campus in Chapel Hill. From the General Scenes series, 1942 to 1945.

Basketball:Hashagen, Allen Reese, 20 September 1942 (scan 6)

1942

Dated 20 September 1942, a basketball photograph naming Allen Reese Hashagen, made at the Navy Pre-Flight School in Chapel Hill during World War II. Scan 6 of sheet film 0025 in the school's General Scenes series.

Basketball:Hashagen, Allen Reese, 20 September 1942 (scan 7)

1942

Basketball at the U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School, Chapel Hill, on 20 September 1942, with Allen Reese Hashagen named in the caption. Scan 7 of sheet film negative 0025 from the General Scenes series, 1942 to 1945.

Basketball:Hashagen, Allen Reese, 20 September 1942 (scan 8)

1942

Allen Reese Hashagen, basketball, 20 September 1942: scan 8 of sheet film 0025 in the General Scenes series documenting the Navy Pre-Flight School that trained cadets at UNC-Chapel Hill from 1942 to 1945.

Basketball:Hashagen, Allen Reese, 20 September 1942 (scan 9)

1942

World War II photograph of basketball at the Navy Pre-Flight School in Chapel Hill, naming Allen Reese Hashagen and dated 20 September 1942. Scan 9 of sheet film negative 0025, General Scenes series, 1942 to 1945.

Bill Bingham, Bill Newfiel Kessing, 30 August 1942 (scan 1)

1942

Group photograph from the Navy Pre-Flight School in Chapel Hill, 30 August 1942, naming Bill Bingham along with Newfield and Kessing. Sheet film negative 0051 in the school's general scenes.

Bill Bingham, Bill Newfiel Kessing, 30 August 1942 (scan 2)

1942

Bill Bingham and Bill Newfiel Kessing, photographed on 30 August 1942 at the U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School in Chapel Hill. Scan 2 of sheet film negative 0051 in the school's General Scenes series, 1942 to 1945.

Bill Bingham, Bill Newfiel Kessing, 30 August 1942 (scan 3)

1942

Sheet film 0051, scan 3: Bill Bingham with Bill Newfiel Kessing at the Navy Pre-Flight School on the UNC campus, 30 August 1942. From the General Scenes series.

Bill Bingham, Bill Newfiel Kessing, 30 August 1942 (scan 4)

1942

Dated 30 August 1942, a photograph naming Bill Bingham and Bill Newfiel Kessing, from the General Scenes series of the U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School at UNC-Chapel Hill. Scan 4 of sheet film 0051.

Bill Bingham, Bill Newfiel Kessing, 30 August 1942 (scan 5)

1942

Navy Pre-Flight School, Chapel Hill, 30 August 1942: Bill Bingham and Bill Newfiel Kessing. Scan 5 of sheet film negative 0051, one of the General Scenes photographs of the wartime school.

Bill Hartwell, 5 September 1942 (scan 1)

1942

Bill Hartwell at the Navy Pre-Flight School in Chapel Hill, 5 September 1942. Sheet film negative 0042 from the general scenes of the school's wartime years on the university campus.

Bill Hartwell, 5 September 1942 (scan 2)

1942

Bill Hartwell on 5 September 1942, one of the Navy Pre-Flight School photographs of general scenes in Chapel Hill. Scan 2 of sheet film 42.

Published by or for it

Cloudbuster

1942

Newspaper of the U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School at Chapel Hill during World War II, running from 1942 to 1945 in 156 issues. The school trained naval aviation cadets on the University of North Carolina campus.

With the cloudbusters at the United States Navy Pre-Flight School, Chapel Hill, North Carolina (unit of Naval Air Primary Command).

1943 · Merin-Baliban

Photographic picture book of the United States Navy Pre-Flight School at Chapel Hill, a unit of the Naval Air Primary Command, published in 1943 by Merin-Baliban of Philadelphia. The title uses the cadets' nickname, the cloudbusters. Thirty-five unnumbered pages of illustrations and portraits show wartime training on the university campus, and the cover credits the work to Francis Lavergne Johnson.

UNC

U.N.C. Chapel Hill Navy Pre-Flight School: Cloud Buster

United States--Armed Forces · 1944

Issues of 'Cloud Buster', newsletter of the U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, from March to April and June to July 1944, during the Second World War. Forty images, part of the North Carolina Military Camp Publications collection.

Presenting the activities of the United States Navy Pre-flight School, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 1942-1943

United States. Navy. Pre-Flight School (Chapel Hill, N.C.) · 1943 · Published by the Merin-Baliban Studios for the officers and men of the Chapel Hill Pre-flight School

A pictorial souvenir of the United States Navy Pre-Flight School at Chapel Hill for 1942 and 1943, made by the Merin-Baliban Studios of Philadelphia for the officers and men stationed there. The school put naval aviation cadets through their first training on the university campus during the Second World War. Thirty-five unnumbered pages of photographs and portraits.

UNC

UNC-Chapel Hill WWII Navy Pre-Flight School Booklet

Merin-Baliban Studios · 1943

Original photographic booklet made in 1943 by Merin-Baliban Studios on the U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. The school trained naval aviation cadets on the campus from February 1942 to October 1945, one of four such schools in the country. Part of the State Archives' Military Collections.

Cloudbuster (Chapel Hill, N.C.)

1942

Cloudbuster, the newspaper of the U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School at Chapel Hill during the Second World War, part of the North Carolina Newspapers collection. The run of 156 issues begins in 1942.

Show 1 more of its own publications

Naval aviation pre-flight school, Chapel Hill, North Carolina : commissioned May 23, 1942, Commander O.O. Kessing, U.S. Navy Commanding Officer.

United States. Navy. Pre-Flight School (Chapel Hill, N.C.) · 1942 · Bureau of Navigation

Commissioned on 23 May 1942 under Commander Oliver Owen Kessing, the naval aviation pre-flight school at Chapel Hill is the subject of this mimeographed typescript from the Bureau of Navigation. Short biographical notes on the commanding officers follow. Seven pages and four unnumbered leaves at 33 cm, documenting the wartime Navy presence on the University of North Carolina campus.

UNC

Search the index for Navy Pre-Flight School →

Found a book OCPL doesn’t own? You can often borrow it through interlibrary loan at OCPL.

In the chronology

  1. Navy Pre-Flight School operates at UNC Commissioned at UNC in May 1942, the U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School trained 18,700 cadets before it was decommissioned on October 15, 1945. Cadets ate in Lenoir Hall and drilled in a Navy-built armory that opened in 1943. George H. W. Bush trained there as a cadet, Gerald Ford taught there, and Ted Williams played on its baseball team. People: Ted Williams
  2. The Navy B-1 Band lives in the Community Center With the community center unfinished for lack of funds, the town lent it on May 22, 1942 to the Navy as quarters for the B-1 Band, the Black musicians of the Pre-Flight School. The Navy, not the band, finished and equipped the building, and the band lived there from that summer until the town regained it on October 24, 1945.
  3. Governor Broughton welcomes guests at the commissioning of the Navy Pre-Flight School The dinner program for the commissioning of the Naval Aviation Pre-Flight School at Chapel Hill on May 23, 1942 has Governor J. Melville Broughton offering the welcome, and Josephus Daniels giving greetings to the Navy Department representatives and to Commander O. O. Kessing. The school trained 18,700 pre-flight cadets before it was decommissioned on October 15, 1945. People: Josephus Daniels, Oliver Owen Kessing
  4. The Navy B-1 Band serves at Chapel Hill The B-1 Band, 44 Black musicians sworn in at Raleigh on May 27, 1942 as the first African Americans to serve in the Navy at general rank, played for the Navy Pre-Flight School at UNC from July 1942 to April 1944. Barred from campus housing, they lived in the new Black community center on Roberson Street, now the Hargraves Center.
  5. The Navy Pre-Flight School's armory is completed near the campus tennis courts A semi-prefabricated armory and rifle range designed by Archie Royal Davis for the Pre-Flight School was finished near the tennis courts, a short walk from Navy Hall. It was a separate building from the NROTC Armory. People: Archie Royal Davis
  6. Navy Hall opens as the Pre-Flight School's visitors' entrance and cadet lounge Designed by Archie Royal Davis and first drawn as a temporary office and hostess building, Navy Hall opened in March 1943 with offices for the Pre-Flight School and recreation rooms for cadets; the public was invited in on March 21. People: Archie Royal Davis
  7. Governor Broughton speaks at a Pre-Flight School graduation in Kenan Stadium Broughton and UNC president Frank Porter Graham both spoke at Navy Pre-Flight School graduation exercises in Kenan Stadium on June 2, 1943. People: Frank Porter Graham
  8. Chapel Hill celebrates the end of the war with Japan on Franklin Street As the news spread that evening, townspeople, students and Pre-Flight School cadets filled Franklin Street while the campus bells rang and the fire siren sounded. Revelers draped the trees with toilet paper and lit a bonfire in the central block, and a policeman who tried to put it out was pushed aside.
  9. UNC holds a farewell assembly for the Navy Pre-Flight School As the war ended the university held a formal assembly to say goodbye to the Pre-Flight School; Chancellor R. B. House had told the Navy that any peacetime Navy program should fold into the NROTC and the regular degree. People: R. B. House
  10. The old Pre-Flight Armory reopens as a Scuttlebutt snack bar and bookstore Instead of razing it for a dormitory, the university turned the Pre-Flight School's armory into a second Scuttlebutt, a soda fountain, bookstore and student hangout in the lower quadrangle.
  11. The university tears down the old Pre-Flight Armory on the day it was to meet student defenders University officials bulldozed the former Pre-Flight Armory, then the Emerson Scuttlebutt, on the same day they were due to meet students petitioning to keep it, and did not come to the meeting. The administration said refreshments would move to the Monogram Club.

Open these in the chronology →

Research sources

Background context 4

Background from selected state and local sources

Places to visit 4

Maps, surveys, and the ground itself

Read contemporary evidence 5

Newspapers, photographs, and records of the time

Ask locally 5

Local organizations that preserve the story and can help you go further

Additional research sources

Other sources to search and local organizations that can help.

Two mice reading back to back against a leaf, with the hand-lettered words Friends of the Orange County Public Library
Illustration by Caldecott Medalist Matthew Cordell, gifted to the Friends 2026