The former Mirage Auxiliary Field No. 3 is located off Airport Road in the El Mirage Valley area of the Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County, approximately 17 miles west of Victorville, California. In January 1943, the U.S. acquired 640 acres in fee by declaration of taking Case No. 2671-B Civil. The acreage consisted of ten tracts of varying sizes and were purchased from ten different landowners.
The former Mirage Auxiliary Field No. 3 was used as a training field and auxiliary landing field for Victorville Army Air Field (later George Air Force Base). Improvements to the site were made between 1943 and 1945 and consisted of four runways, five buildings, storm sewers, and a barbed wire fence with three gates enclosing the site for an approximate total cost of $211,388.
The Mirage Auxiliary Field No. 3 was declared surplus on November 15, 1945 and custody received by the Army Corps of Engineers on December 28, 1945. The entire 640 acres were reported to the War Assets Administration {WAA) on January 21,1946 and custody assumed on September 26, 1946. On February 20,1947 the property was conveyed by quitclaim deed to William G. Briegleb. The deed required that the property and all improvements thereon be used for public airport purposes. Furthermore, the deed stated that in the event of a national emergency declared by the President of the United States, or the Congress, the Government shall have the right without charge to the full unrestricted possession and use of the airport facilities. A revised quitclaim deed was made on August 5, 1960
removing these restrictions. There were no restoration provisions in either deed. The land is currently owned by 640 Alfalfa Trust; John Ward, William Briegleb and Kenneth Briegleb are partners in the Trust. The property has been leased to General Atomics Division of General Dynamics of San Diego, California since 1985. General Atomics currently tests drone aircraft and remote piloted vehicles at the site.
