Hall of Fame

Nunnally, Lt. Col. Winship

Nunnally, Lt. Col. Winship

Winship Nunnally brought his business acumen to the development of the Aviation Industry in and around Atlanta. In 1929, he was a founding director of the Atlanta Aircraft Corporation, which produced the first plane made in Atlanta. He was the Governor of the Georgia chapter of the National Aeronautics Association from 1931-1933, and was Vice President of the NAA’s 4th district in 1931. He helped to establish a separate Atlanta Chapter of the NAA in 1938. Under his leadership, the Aviation Committee of the Chamber of Commerce raised the number of directions flown out of Candler Field to a record 10 directions by winning routes extended air service into the Midwest and to the Georgia coast. Routes won under his leadership include: • Atlanta to Knoxville, TN; Lexington KY; and Cincinnati, OH. (Delta) • Atlanta to St. Louis. (Eastern) • Atlanta to Savannah via existing route through Augusta. (Delta, WN also campaigned to extend the route all the way to Sea Island.) • Atlanta to Pittsburgh. (Pennsylvania Central) • Atlanta to Birmingham. (Pennsylvania Central; Atlanta was a stop on the Pittsburgh-Birmingham route.) In 1947, Winship Nunnally was elected as a Director for Delta Airlines. He has also participated in multiple committees and conferences to develop airports and air traffic control on the national level. 1932-33- He participated in the Atlanta Committee appointed by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Aeronautics branch to report on Air Traffic Control. Each Committee was responsible for helping individual airports smooth traffic flow and improve safety, assemble data on air traffic conditions including time spent approaching airports, time taxing to unloading platforms, and time spent on the ground. He used the data to contribute to the standardization of air field rules and signals. In 1940 he hosted a Regional Airport Conference as the Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce’s Aviation Commission Board. In 1941 he was chosen to organize and head the Georgia Wing of the Civil Air Patrol. He served as Wing Commander from 1941 to 1945. As Wing Commander he streamlined enlistments, coordinated training adult and teenage volunteers, and oversaw the merger of the CAP and the Air Force of the Georgia State Guard. He also was one of the leaders in the establishment of a base o St Simons Island from which the Civil Air patrol pilots flew along the coast to escort merchant shipping, perform rescue operations for civilian boating, and patrolling the Georgia coast for enemy submarines. When the CAP was moved from the Office of Civil Defense to the War Department, he began a recruitment campaign to bring in and train volunteers in more specialized fields, including fire-fighting. In spring of 1942 he sent planes to fly over fires in North Georgia and North Carolina and assist the Forest Service in fighting them. Afterwards he oversaw the development of a special fire-fighting unit. In recognition of his distinguished service to the development of early aviation and dedication to advancing aviation in the state of Georgia, Winship Nunnally was enshrined in to the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame on April 16, 2016.

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