General Dale Vincent Gaffney was born in 1894 in Massachusetts. He was enrolled into boarding school and afterwards, enlisted in the Aviation Signal Corps. He was commissioned Second Lieutenant of the Air Service in July of 1918. He had several career assignments as a company and field grade officer from 1918-1943.
In 1921, he had been part of the “Billy Mitchell Debate” whether or not airplanes would play a vital role in future wars. Gaffney took part in the experiments proving that an aircraft could, in fact, sink war ships.
In 1940, Gaffney was sent to Ladd Field (Fairbanks, AK), and became the Commander of the Cold Weather Test Detachment. Observations were made on Alaskan flying weather and conditions, airplane maintenance and operation, transportation, clothing, communication, health and medical issues, and survival equipment. The primary concern was aircraft maintenance and operation. Regulations and guidelines were developed for cold weather operations based on Gaffney’s testing and results. Some of the newly developed procedures included parking the aircraft outside, covering the wings and tail to prevent frost build up, diluting the engine oil, using oil immersion heaters, and preheating the engine before starting. He also gained national press for designing a test pilot prototype of an electric under-suit.
The Cold Weather Test Detachment had been reestablished in the summer of 1942, with focus on testing and winterization procedures and Arctic operations for all military aircraft and associated equipment. Going against advisement of the command, Gaffney encouraged partnership with civilian technical representatives from various manufacturers to develop the best possible solutions to cold weather problems. Gaffney and his crew had been successful in the basic winterization process of various aircraft. However, he still insisted that the cold weather issues that halted the Germans and Japanese Air Forces would not stop the Army Air Force; he believed it was vital that all aircraft be able to operate at 65 degrees Fahrenheit below zero in order to remain effective in defense of the US.
After the war ended, Ladd Field was renamed Ladd Air Force Base and became the Northern Sector Command Headquarters for reconnaissance, air defense, and a research post for the early years of the Cold War. At the end of the 1950’s, the Air Force moved it’s operations to Eielson and Elmendorf Air Force Bases. In 1961, the army took over Ladd and re-designated Fort Wainwright and still serves as an active post today.
Over the course of the war Gaffney held many command positions; 1943-1946 as Commanding General of the Alaskan Wing Air Transport Command, Aug-Sept 1946 as Atlantic Division Air Transport Command, 1946-1946 as Commanding General of the Bermuda Base Command, 1947-1948 as the Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff Operations of Arctic Affairs for Headquarters of the USAFF, April-June 1948 as Deputy of the Alaskan Air Command, 1948-1949 as Commanding General of the Yukon Sector of the Alaskan Air Command, and in 1949-1950 he served as the Deputy Commanding General of Air Proving Ground Command.