Dale Mabry

Who was Dale Mabry?

Dale Mabry was an American World War I aviator.

Mabry, a native of Tallahassee, Florida, was the son of former Florida Supreme Court Justice Milton H. Mabry and Ella Dale Bramlett. He went on to become an airship pilot and captain in the United States Army Air Service. Captain Mabry died piloting the Army airship Roma, a dirigible he was testing, when it crashed in Norfolk, Virginia on February 21, 1922. The event marked the greatest disaster in American aeronautics up to that time, resulting in 34 deaths. Mabry was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery. He was survived by a brother, G. E. Mabry, of Tampa, Florida.

Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa, Florida is named for him. It was initially constructed to connect what was then MacDill Field, now MacDill Air Force Base, with then-Drew Field Municipal Airport, now Tampa International Airport. It is a major, highly commercialized roadway through Hillsborough County. Landmarks on this road include Hillsborough Community College, Raymond James Stadium, and George M. Steinbrenner Field. Also in Tampa, Dale Mabry Elementary school is named in his honor.

Dale Mabry Municipal Airport in Tallahassee, Florida, that city's first airport, also bears his name. The original Tallahassee Airport location was on Dale Mabry Field, a World War II U.S. Army Air Corps, later U.S. Army Air Forces flight training facility.