BorregoValleyManueverArea_BorregoHotelTargetArea

Borrego Valley Maneuver Area also called the Borrego Springs Naval Maneuver Area was a

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

Anti-Aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

Training Center (AARTC) and a subcamp of

Camp Callan Camp Callan was a United States Army anti-aircraft artillery replacement training center that was operational during World War II. It was located on the southern west coast of the United States, north of San Diego at La Jolla, California. The fac ...

. Located near

Borrego Springs, California Borrego Springs (''Borrego'', Spanish for "Sheep") is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Diego County, California. The population was 3,429 at the 2010 census, up from 2,535 at the 2000 census, made up of both seasonal and year-round reside ...

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the fi ...

in the Imperial Valley. Opened in March 1942 and in use until August 1944, it was operated by the Western Defense Command. Marine Corps also used the site to train troops in driving army vehicles. The site was picked as it was 400 square miles, 255,840 acres, of barren

desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...

, barren mountains, and badlands. When closed the land returned to the State of California. Built at the site were bombing stations, strafing stations, and rocket targets. Also installed was

Artillery for training. First week troop did dry run training and the second week live-fire training. Ammo fired was from .33 to 90mmm. The US Navy trained in the bombing, gunnery, and rocketry. California Institute of Technology help with the rocket training. The air support the base was

Naval Outlying Landing Field Clark's Dry Lake Naval Outlying Field Clark's Dry Lake was a United States Navy facility built for World War 2. The site had two runways and a bombing range for training. The base was a subcamp of NAS San Diego. The site was built in 1938 and closed in 1962, but ...

, Naval Outlying Field, Ocotillo Dry Lake and Borrego Hotel Naval Outlying Landing Field.

Camp Ensign

In the Borrego Valley Maneuver Area the US Marines built Camp Ensign at the site of the Ensign Ranch in Borrego Springs in 1943. Troops from

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

came to the camp for training for two weeks. The training was in driving military trucks at night. The former Base

Headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...

is now near the Borrego Springs Spa and Resort. The site was Ensign Ranch date palm orchards before the camp.

Ensign Ranch Airfield

Ensign Ranch Airfield was a single northwest-southeast unpaved runway built-in 1943 just south of Camp Ensign to support the camp. There are no remains of the former field. The site is now part of the Borrego Springs Spa and Resort.

Borrego Hotel Target Area

About 3 miles south of the Borrego Valley Maneuver Area was the 222 acres Borrego Hotel Target Area. Borrego Hotel bombing target had three circles that the Navy used for San Diego Naval Air Station's

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

plane Plane(s) most often refers to: * Aero- or airplane, a powered, fixed-wing aircraft * Plane (geometry), a flat, 2-dimensional surface Plane or planes may also refer to: Biology * Plane (tree) or ''Platanus'', wetland native plant * Planes (gen ...

high-altitude bombing,

dive-bombing A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact throughou ...

and strafing. Near the Target Area was supported by the Naval Outlying Field, Ocotillo Dry Lake. The Target Area opened in 1941 and closed in 1955. In 1956 the land was sold and is now private property just south of California State Route 78.

Borrego Hotel Naval Outlying Landing Field

About 3 miles south of the Borrego Valley Maneuver Area was the Borrego Hotel Naval Outlying Landing Field. Landing Field was used for emergency landing activities. The Landing Field had two dirt runways built on Halfhill Dry Lake. The site was used from 1941 to 1955. On 6 6 September 1956 the land was sold. There are no remains of the former field.

Benson Bombing Range

Benson Bombing Range also called the Benson/Ocotillo Dry Lake Range was used for bombing, dive-bombing and strafing training. The 353 acre Range was located on the Benson Dry Lake and Ocotillo Dry Lake near Ocotillo Wells, California.

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