The site served as an aerial gunnery range, an auxiliary to Muroc Army Air Field providing a remote area where air to air gunnery practice could be carried out safely. Aerial gunners in B-24s fired .50 caliber machine guns at target tow planes with sleeve targets. The Army did not construct any improvements on the .gunnery range, but public roads to the site were closed during use of the site.
Location: The former site is located approximately 20 miles east of Independence, California between the eastern side of the Inyo Mountains and Death Valley National Monument. The site is accessed from U.S. 395 by the Big Pine - Death Valley Road to Saline Valley Road.
Site History: The War Department acquired this 591,000 acre site by transfers from the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Interior by leases and permits. Prior to War Department acquisition, the area supported scattered lead, talc, copper, tungsten, silver and gold mining operations. Small limited agricultural operations were very limited and only suitable for grazing livestock. Since the site was made an aerial gunnery range, no improvements were made to the site.
This range, which served as an auxiliary to Muroc Army Air Field, provided a remote area where aerial gunners could safely practice. In mock attacks, B-24s would typically swoop down and their aerial gunners would fire .50 caliber machine guns on target towplanes, typically A-24s towing sleeve targets. The A-24s would fly straight line tracks simulating military enemy aircraft, at an altitude of 12,000 feet. The site was declared surplus on 8 February 1946. The acreage transferred by the Department of Agriculture and Interior was retransferred on 4 June and 24 July 1947, respectively. The leasehold interests were terminated on various dates in late 1947. The permit for acreage was terminated on 28 February 1946.
Small portions of the former site are still part of the Inyo National Forest and Death Valley National Monument. The majority of the site is under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management. A few primitive camp sites have been prepared on the Saline Valley floor, various mining claims have been granted on BLM land. Roughly, one-third of the site has recently been designated as a wilderness area and vehicular access is limited.
The locations of .50 caliber machine gun shells and cartridges were identified and confirmed by Mr. Steve Smith, Recreation/Wilderness Staff Chief of the Bureau of Land Management, California Desert District-Ridgecrest Resource Area. Most are concentrated on the rugged highlands of the Saline Range, as indicated on the site Map. Scattered shells have been found throughout wash areas on the Saline Valley floor. various miners in the area remember Army Air Force use of the site during World War II and have found several hundred live and spent .50 caliber rounds since the war. These rounds, however, are not easily found today because they have been scavenged by the public.
Miners have also found .50 caliber rounds in the portion of site which is part of Death Valley National Monument. The BLM has not received any reports of injury or death resulting from detonation of live .50 caliber ammunition found in the Saline Valley. In addition to the ammunition, at least two aircraft crash sites were confirmed by Mr. Smith. One is the remains of a B-24 which crash landed in a dry lake bed in October 1944. After the war, the wings and tail section of the bomber were cut up into sections and salvaged, however, some debris of the bomber remains. In 1957, one of the .50 caliber machine guns was found by a camper in the area. It was deeply rusted and the barrel bent from the 1,000 foot fall from the airplane. It is not known whether the aircraft's other machine gun was found.
