Historic California
Posts, Camps Stations and Airfields:
Bakersfield Army
Air Field
(Oildale Field, Bakersfield
Municipal Airport, Kern County Airport No. 1)
In late December
1941 this field, 4.5 miles northwest of town, was one of seven
in California to receive combat-ready Army Air Forces fighter
units assigned to defend California against an enemy attack.
After the threat of such attacks subsided the field was taken
over by the 4th Air Force for use as a sub-base to Hammer Field
in Fresno and used for elementary pilot training. The Naval Air
Transport Service (NATS) also operated here.
In early 1945, the tenth,
eleventh, and twelfth of the new jet powered YP-80As, were delivered
to the 31st Fighter Squadron of the 412th Fighter Group at Bakersfield
Municipal Airport in California for service tests. The first
production P-80A was accepted by the Army Air Forces in February
of 1945. The group relocated to Santa Maria Army Air Field in
July of 1945
Source: World
War II Sites in the United States: A Tour Guide and Directory
by Richard E. Osbourne
Corps of
Engineers History
A 543.7-acre site was
acquired by the US Army during World War II as a sub-base for
Hammer Field. On 14 December 1941, the 280-acre Kern County Airport
was leased from the County of Kern by the US Army. Shortly thereafter,
23.6-acres were leased from the Kern County Union High School
District. Through Declarations of Taking, 240.1 acres were acquired
by the US Army on 18 January 1943.
The US Army assigned the site to the Army Air Forces' 4th Air
Force for use as a military airfield. The site was used to support
Hammer Field. Improvements to the airport included construction
of living quarters, administration buildings, and repair facilities.
On 15 November 1945, the 543.7-acre site was declared surplus.
Beginning 1 April 1946, 23.6 acres were transferred to the Federal
Public Housing Authority via a Transfer of Lease between the
War Department and the Kern County Union High School District.
On 24 May 1949, 220.6. acres were quitclaimed to the County of
Kern. In addition, the 280-acre airport was also released back
to the County of Kern through the same quitclaim deed. As for
the remaining 19.5 acres, no real estate information was found.
However, the 19.5 acres is currently owned by Teachers Management
and Investment Corporation (TMI), and is part of a total 52 acres
owned by TMI. The site is now known as Kern County Airport No.
1-Meadows Field.
Source US
Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District
Early Jet
Fighters Operating From Bakersfield Municipal Airport
Bell P-56A
"Airacomet"
The Bell P-59 Airacomet
was a twin jet engined fighter aircraft, the first for the USA,
designed and built by Bell Aircraft during World War II. The
United States Army Air Force was not impressed by its performance
and cancelled the contract when fewer than half of the aircraft
ordered had been produced. Although no P-59s went into combat,
it paved the way for another design generation of U.S. turbojet-powered
aircraft and was the first turbojet fighter to have its turbojet
engine and air inlet nacelles integrated within the main fuselage.
The image above is of a P-59A assigned to Bakersfield Municipal
Airport's 412th Fighter Group.
Lockheed
YP-80A "Shooting Star"
The Lockheed P-80 Shooting
Star was the first jet fighter used operationally by the United
States Army Air Forces (USAAF). Designed and built by Lockheed
in 1943 and delivered just 143 days from the start of the design
process, production models were flying but not ready for service
by the end of World War II. Designed with straight wings, the
type saw extensive combat in Korea with the United States Air
Force (USAF) as the F-80. America's first successful turbojet-powered
combat aircraft, it helped usher in the "jet age" in
the USAF, but was outclassed with the appearance of the swept-wing
transonic MiG-15 and was quickly replaced in the air superiority
role by the transonic F-86 Sabre. The F-94 Starfire, an all-weather
interceptor on the same airframe, also saw Korean war service.
The closely related T-33 Shooting Star trainer would remain in
service with the U.S. Air Force and Navy well into the 1980s,
with the last NT-33 variant not retired until April 1997. Many
still serve in a military role in foreign air arms or are in
private hands.
Extract, War
Department Inventory of Owned, Sponsored and Leased Facilities,
December 1945
Capacity:
Enlisted:
Permanent:
Mobilization (Quartermaster Corps 700-Series
or Corps of Engineers 800-Series):
Theater of Operations: 526
Hutments:
Tents:,
Total: 526
Officers: 93
Station Hospital:
10
Acreage
Owned: 355
acres
Leases: 304
acres (4 leases)
Total: 659
acres
Storage:
Ammunition Igloos and Magazines:
Covered:
Heated:
Unheated:
Total:
4,912 sq ft
Sheds:
Open:
Surfaced:
Unsurfaced:
Total: 230,514
sq ft
Total Depot Storage Capacity: 235,426 sq ft
Cost to Government Since 1 July 1940:
Annual Lease Payment(s): $2.00
Land Purchase:
$47,350.00
Construction:
$7,310,587.00
Total (Less Lease Payments): $7,357,937.00
Remarks:
Extract of
January 1945 US Army and Navy Directory of Air Fields
Known Units
at Bakersfield Municipal Airport
Present 7 December 1941
Hq, Air Corps Basic Flying School
324th School Squadron
325th School Squadron
326th School Squadron
327th School Squadron
525th School Squadron
526th School Squadron
Hq and Hq Sq, 72nd Air Base Group (Special):
78th Material Squadron (Special)
64th Air Base Squadron (Special)
Air Force Band
Sub Depot
Det, 1st Communications Squadron
Det, 1st Weather Squadron
Det, 853rd Ordnance Service Company (Aviation)
Company L, 34th Quartermaster Regiment (Truck)
Det, Company A, 93rd Quartermaster Battalion (Lt Maint)
Det, 858th Signal Service Company (Aviation)
Source US Army Corps of Engineers,
Sacramento District
