Marine Corps Air Station Miramar

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Coordinates: 32°52′04″N 117°08′30″W / 32.86778, -117.14167

MCAS Miramar
Mitscher Field


The Miramar flight line from above

IATA: NKX – ICAO: KNKX – FAA: NKX
Summary
Airport type Military
Operator United States Marine Corps
Location Miramar, San Diego, California
In use July 18, 1917 - Oct. 30, 1920
1929 - present
Commander Col. Christopher E. O'Connor
Occupants 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
Elevation AMSL 478 ft / 146 m
Website www.miramar.usmc.mil
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
6L/24R 12,000 3,658 Concrete
6R/24L 8,000 2,438 PEM
10/28 2,800 853 Concrete
Sources: Official website[1] and FAA[2]

Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS Miramar) (IATA: NKX, ICAO: KNKX, FAA LID: NKX), formerly Naval Air Station (NAS) Miramar is a United States Marine Corps installation that is home to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is the aviation element of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. It is located about 10 miles (16 km) north of downtown San Diego, California, United States.

The airfield is named Mitscher Field after Admiral M.A. Mitscher who was the commander of Task Force 58 during World War II. The air station is the former location Pacific Fleet fighter and airborne early warning aircraft (F-4 Phantom II, F-14 Tomcat, E-2 Hawkeye)) and is best known as the former location of the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School (NFWS), its TOPGUN training program and the movie of the same name. In 1996, NFWS was relocated to Naval Air Station Fallon in western Nevada and merged into the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center (NSAWC). During the heyday of TOPGUN at NAS Miramar, the station was nicknamed "Fightertown USA".

Contents

[edit] Tenant commands

[edit] Geography

The base contains 23,116 acres. It is bisected by Kearny Villa Road and Interstate 15. The area east of Kearny Villa Road, called "East Miramar", is undeveloped and is used for military training.

[edit] History

Native Americans were the first inhabitants in the vicinity of the base. Spain claimed the area in the 1500s. The crown issued a land grant to Don Santiago Arguello. After the American Civil War, the land was divided and sold to people such as Edward Scripps, a newspaper publisher from eastern United States. The land was predominately used for grazing and farming into the early 1900s.

[edit] 1918 - 1941

FAA airport diagram
FAA airport diagram

During World War I, the city of San Diego offered to lease 8,000 acres (32 km²) to the United States Army for a small fee. Camp Kearny was opened on January 18, 1917 and was named after Stephen W. Kearny who was commander of the Army of the West during the Mexican-American War. During WWI an airstrip was never built on the property although Army and Navy aircraft from Naval Air Station North Island did land on the parade deck. Following the Armistice, the base was used to demobilize servicemen and was closed on October 20, 1920.[3] More than 1,200 buildings were demolished when the camp closed.


Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis airplane was built by Ryan Airlines Corporation in San Diego. Lindbergh used the abandoned Camp Kearny parade field to practice landings and take-offs before making his historic solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean.

During the 1930s, the Navy briefly used the air base for helium dirigibles. In 1932 a mooring mast and hangar were built at the camp for the dirigibles, but when the program was abandoned, the base was quiet again.

[edit] World War II

By the time World War II, Miramar was already undergoing a “precautionary” renovation. Camp Holcomb (later renamed Camp Elliott) was built on part of old Camp Kearny, to be used for Marine artillery and machine gun training. Camp Elliott became home to Fleet Marine Force Training Center, West Coast and the 2nd Marine Division, charged with defending the California coast. Runways were constructed in 1940, and the 1st Marine Air Wing arrived on December 21 of that year. The Navy commissioned Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) Camp Kearny in February 1943, specifically to train crews for the Consolidated PB4Y Catalina, which was built less than 10 miles away in San Diego. A month later, the Marines established Marine Corps Air Depot Camp Kearny, later renamed Marine Corps Air Depot Miramar to avoid confusion with the Navy facility.

The big Catalinas proved too heavy for the asphalt runway the Army had installed in 1936 and the longer runways built in 1940, so the Navy added two concrete runways in 1943.

During the 1940s, both the Navy and the Marine Corps occupied Miramar. East Miramar (Camp Elliott) was used to train Marine artillery and armored personnel, while Navy and Marine Corps pilots trained on the western side. The bases were combined and designated Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in 1945.

[edit] Naval Air Station

F/A-18 Hornet on the flight line at MCAS Miramar
F/A-18 Hornet on the flight line at MCAS Miramar

In 1947, the Marines moved to MCAS El Toro in Orange County, California, and Miramar was redesignated as a Naval Auxiliary Air Station. In 1954, the Navy offered NAAS Miramar to San Diego for $1 and the city considered using the base to relocate its airport.[4] But it was deemed at the time to be too far away from most residents and the offer was declined.

Only the western half of Miramar’s facilities were put to use, and the old station literally began to deteriorate, with many buildings sold as scrap. Miramar found new life as a Navy Master Jet Station in the 1950s, but really came into its own during the Vietnam War. The Navy needed a school to train pilots in dog-fighting and in fleet air defense. In 1969 the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School was established.

In October 1972, Miramar welcomed the F-14 Tomcat and fighter squadron VF-124, a former Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) was tasked with the mission to train new Tomcat crews. The first two operational Tomcat squadrons, VF-1 known as the "Wolfpack" and VF-2 known as the "Bounty Hunters", trained here before deploying aboard USS Enterprise (CVN-65) in 1974.

[edit] Marines return

In 1993, the Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended that Marine Corps Air Station El Toro and Marine Corps Air Station Tustin be closed down. Both stations were closed and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing returned to Miramar in October, 1997 when it officially became Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.[5] On October 1, 1997, Colonel Thomas A. Caughlan became the first Marine commanding officer of MCAS Miramar since World War II; Caughlan was also the last commanding officer of MCAS Tustin..[6] The BRAC Commission also recommended moving some instructor pilots and support personnel from Miramar to Eglin AFB in Florida, sufficient to stand up the Marine Corps' portion of the JSF Training Site.[7]

In 2006, the San Diego County Proposition A proposed obtaining 3000 acres (12 km²) at MCAS Miramar to develop a commercial airport.[8] The proposition was defeated 62 percent opposed to 38 percent in favor. Public sentiment was that they did not want to ask the military to leave and that the joint use arrangement increased noise levels to an intolerable level and interfered with the needs of the military.[9]

[edit] Attractions

[edit] See also

United States Marine Corps Portal

[edit] References

Notes
This article incorporates text in the public domain from the United States Marine Corps.
  1. ^ MCAS Miramar, official website, retrieved 2007-11-13
  2. ^ FAA Airport Master Record for NKX (Form 5010 PDF), effective 2007-10-25
  3. ^ Shettle 2001:103
  4. ^ Shettle 2001: 105
  5. ^ Shettle. USMC Air Stations of World War II. 
  6. ^ Miramar's first Marine commander since WWII retires Marine Corps News
  7. ^ May 2005 Base Closure and Realignment Report DefenseLink.mil
  8. ^ Proposition A: Commercial airport at MCAS Miramar - San Diego County, CA SmartVoter.org
  9. ^ Vigorous 'no' for Miramar airport San Diego Union Tribune
Books
  • O'Hara, Thomas (2005). Images of America - Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. Charleston, SC: Arcadia. ISBN 0-73853-058-1. 
  • Sherrod, Robert (1952). History of Marine Corps Aviation in World War II. Washington, D.C.: Combat Forces Press. 
  • Shettle, M. L. (2001). United States Marine Corps Air Stations of World War II. Bowersville, Georgia: Schaertel Publishing Company. ISBN 0-964-33882-3. 
Web

[edit] External links

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