Location: The Anti-Aircraft Training Station was located in the southwestern La Jolla area (formerly recognized as being part of the Pacific Beach area) in the City of San Diego, California.
Site History: The Navy acquired 16.15 acres in fee and 10.5 acres in lease in 1942. The Navy and occasionally the Army and Air Forces used the site to train personnel in both anti-aircraft and surface (ocean) warfare tactics during World War II. Guns (20 mm, 40 mm and 3-inch/50-caliber) were fired into the anti-aircraft range which extended westward over the ocean. Improvements included training facilities, magazines and other storage buildings, barracks, and one set of gasoline pumps. For a period after World War II the Navy used the site as a surplus supply center. The facilities were demolished and the property was disposed of in the late 1940s.
The Navy acquired a total of 26.65 acres in 1942, including 16.15 acres in fee simple and 10.5 acres in lease from a private party. Records were incomplete.
The Navy and Navy Armed Guard were the primary users of the site. Army and Air Force personnel also used the facility occasionally. The Anti-Aircraft Training Station provided training to crews associated with new vessels, vessels undergoing shakedown, or refresher training during World War II. Training involved the use of 20 mm, 40 mm, and 3-inch/50-caliber guns which were fired into the anti-aircraft range which extended westward over the ocean.
After the war, the property was used as a surplus supply center for post-war activities associated with the 11th Naval District Command in San Diego. Approximately 50 buildings and facilities were constructed during Navy ownership of the property including class rooms and training facilities, magazines and other storage buildings, barracks, and one set of gasoline pumps.
The Navy disposed of the 26.65 acre site in the late 1940s. It is assumed that the 16.15-acre area was sold and that the lease for 10.5 acres was terminated. Records were neither complete nor specific. Navy facilities were demolished and the property was redeveloped into a residential community of single-family homes, condominiums, and some commercial establishments. All of the property is privately owned and some of the homes have existed on the site since the early 1950s. No Navy improvements are known to remain on the site.
