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Brown Field Municipal Airport is in the
Otay Mesa Otay Mesa ( ) is a community in the southern exclave of San Diego, California, just north of the U.S.–Mexico border. It is bordered by the Otay River Valley and the city of Chula Vista on the north; Interstate 805 and the neighborhoods o ...
neighborhood of
San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
, California, United States, southeast of
downtown San Diego Downtown San Diego is the central business district of San Diego, California, the eighth largest city in the United States. It houses the major local headquarters of the city, county, state, and federal governments. The area comprises seven d ...
and named in honor of Commander Melville S. Brown, USN, who was killed in an airplane crash in 1936. Its main runway is long. Its FAA/
IATA airport code An IATA airport code, also known as an IATA location identifier, IATA station code, or simply a location identifier, is a unique three-letter geocode designating many airports, cities (with one or more airports) and metropolitan areas (citie ...
is SDM. Formerly Naval Auxiliary Air Station Brown Field, it is now a civilian reliever airport and a
port of entry In general, a port of entry (POE) is a place where one may lawfully enter a country. It typically has border control, border security staff and facilities to check passports and visas and to inspect luggage to assure that contraband is not impo ...
from
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
. It is sometimes staffed by
U.S. Customs and Border Protection United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the country's primary border control organization, charged with regulating and facilita ...
, but only upon request of incoming pilots to the Federal Aviation Administration. The development plans for the SDM airport have been announced on 4th Oct 2022, the development will occur in phases over 20 years. The plans include a new FBO terminal building and individual airplane hangars. There is also talk of adding a million square feet of retail and industrial buildings and possibly a hotel


History

Brown Field is 1.5 miles north of the US/Mexico border in the Otay Mesa Community of the City of San Diego. The airport, originally named East Field in honor of Army Major Whitten J. East, opened in 1918 when the U.S. Army established an aerial gunnery and aerobatics school to relieve congestion at
North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...
. Major East completed flight training at the Army Signal Corps Station, Rockwell Field on North Island before flying over the front lines in France during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. He was killed in an auto accident in 1918 while in command of Mitchel Field in New York at the age of 25. From 1918 to 1919, pilots flying the Curtiss JN-4D Jenny trained at East Field. After World War I the military maintained control of East Field for touch and go landings and radio controlled target drone experiments. In 1943, the U.S. Navy took over the airfield and changed the name to NAAS Otay Mesa; later that year the name was changed again to NAAS Brown Field in honor of Commander Melville S. Brown, USN, who was killed in the crash of F2F-1, BuNo 9660 near Descanso, CA on 2 November 1936. CDR Brown was the Commanding Officer of the
USS Truxtun (DD-229) USS ''Truxtun'' (DD-229) was a in the United States Navy during World War II. She was the third ship named for Thomas Truxtun. Construction and commissioning ''Truxtun'' was laid down on 3 December 1919 and launched on 28 September 1920 fro ...
when the ship was commissioned in 1921, and was Executive Officer of the aircraft carrier
USS Lexington (CV-2) USS ''Lexington'' (CV-2), nicknamed "Lady Lex", was the name ship of her class of two aircraft carriers built for the United States Navy during the 1920s. Originally designed as a , she was converted into one of the Navy's first aircraft ca ...
at the time of his death. Between 1943 and 1946, the
U.S. Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
, the
U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...
and the
U.S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...
used NAAS Brown Field for training in various aircraft, including the USAAF
Lockheed P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinc ...
, and the USN and USMC Grumman F4F Wildcat/General Motors FM-1 Wildcat, Grumman TBF/TBM Avenger,
Grumman F6F Hellcat The Grumman F6F Hellcat is an American Carrier-based aircraft, carrier-based fighter aircraft of World War II. Designed to replace the earlier Grumman F4F Wildcat, F4F Wildcat and to counter the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero, it was the United St ...
, and
Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer The Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer is an American World War II and Korean War era patrol bomber of the United States Navy derived from the Consolidated B-24 Liberator. The Navy had been using B-24s with only minor modifications as the PB4Y-1 L ...
. In 1946, the Navy decommissioned NAAS Brown Field and turned it over to San Diego County. The county ended up renting portions of the former base for use as a chicken farm and
Chula Vista High School Chula Vista High School (CVHS) is a public high school located in Chula Vista, California. Founded in 1947, it is part of Sweetwater Union High School District. History Chula Vista first opened in the summer of 1947, operating out of a tempora ...
was established on the airport property in 1946. In 1951, the Navy reopened the airfield as NALF Brown Field, a naval auxiliary landing field, due to increased military activity stemming from the
Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
and the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
. In 1954, Brown Field was again commissioned and redesignated as a Naval Auxiliary Air Station, with facilities to support regular operations of Fleet aircraft, assigned missile programs, and field carrier landing practice. In 1955, NAAS Brown Field was home to one utility squadron (VU), two air antisubmarine warfare squadrons (VS), a fleet aircraft service squadron (FASRON), and a Regulus air missile unit. The following year, the base was home to two utility squadrons, VU-3 and VU-7, the headquarters for Commander, Utility Wing Pacific (COMUTWINGPAC), a FASRON 4 detachment, and a ground control approach unit. Aircraft that operated at NAAS Brown Field included the
F6F Hellcat The Grumman F6F Hellcat is an American carrier-based fighter aircraft of World War II. Designed to replace the earlier F4F Wildcat and to counter the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero, it was the United States Navy's dominant fighter in the second ...
,
F9F Cougar The Grumman F9F/F-9 Cougar is a carrier-based jet-powered fighter aircraft designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Grumman. It was developed during the early 1950s on behalf of the United States Navy (US Navy) and United S ...
, SNB,
R4D Skytrain The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (Royal Air Force, RAF designation) is a airlift, military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies of World War II, Allies during World Wa ...
, JD-1 Invader,
P2V Neptune The Lockheed P-2 Neptune (designated P2V by the United States Navy prior to September 1962) is a Maritime patrol aircraft, maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft. It was developed for the US Navy by Lockheed Corporation, Lockh ...
, and
FJ Fury North American FJ Fury (also ''North American F-1 Fury'') may refer to several members of a group of fighter and fighter-bomber aircraft, built by North American Aviation for the US Navy, and related in varying degrees to the F-86 Sabre this firm p ...
. On November 2, 1954, the
Convair Convair, previously Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation, was an American aircraft-manufacturing company that later expanded into rockets and spacecraft. The company was formed in 1943 by the merger of Consolidated Aircraft and Vultee ...
XFY-1 Pogo made a transitional flight from vertical takeoff to horizontal flight, then back to a vertical landing at NAAS Brown Field. In 1957, NAAS Brown Field was selected as a site for one of the Vanguard Earth Satellite Tracking Stations. On September 1, 1962, the Navy decommissioned NAAS Brown Field again and transferred ownership of Brown Field to the City of San Diego with the condition that it remain a public airport. During the mid to late 1960s,
Pacific Southwest Airlines Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) was a low-cost carrier, low-cost US airline headquartered in San Diego, California, that operated from 1949 to 1988. It was the first substantial scheduled low-cost carrier, discount airline. PSA called itself "Th ...
, an airline based in San Diego, trained its pilots at Brown Field using Piper Arrows, Comanches, Aztecs, and Beechcraft Bonanzas. PSA also had a contract to train
Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), trading as the Lufthansa Group, is a German aviation group. Its major and founding subsidiary airline Lufthansa German Airlines, branded as Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. It ranks List of largest airlin ...
pilots at Brown Field. In 1970, Lufthansa training moved to
Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...
, where it remains today. Brown field is regularly visited by a
Boeing 727 The Boeing 727 is an American Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavier Boeing 707, 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter ...
of
IFL Group IFL Group Inc. is a cargo airline based in Waterford Township, Michigan, Waterford, Michigan, United States. It operates ad hoc cargo services as well as contract charters for FedEx and United Parcel Service, UPS. History The airline was establ ...
and other large private jets, mainly for customs, along with
C-130 The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 w ...
s and
F/A-18 The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather supersonic, twinjet, twin-engine, carrier-based aircraft, carrier-capable, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole combat aircraft, designed as both a Fighter aircraft, fighter and attack airc ...
s of the USN, mainly due to the relatively long runway.


Scheduled service

From 1964 to 1971, Brown Field received weekend-only scheduled service from
Burbank Burbank may refer to: Places Australia * Burbank, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane United States * Burbank, California, a city in Los Angeles County * Burbank, Santa Clara County, California, a census-designated place * Burbank, Illinois, ...
by
intrastate airline Intrastate airlines in the United States were air carriers operating solely within a single US state and taking other steps to minimize participation in Commerce Clause, interstate commerce, thus enabling them to escape tight federal economic air ...
Mercer Airlines In the mid-20th century, Dwight W. "Poddy" Mercer established at least four airlines in the Los Angeles area: * Irregular air carrier Airplane Charter By Mercer (later known as Associated Airways) (1945–1951) * Intrastate airline California P ...
.


Neighboring facilities

Tijuana Airport, a commercial airport, is just over to the south across the
Mexico–United States border The international border separating Mexico and the United States extends from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east. The border traverses a variety of terrains, ranging from urban areas to deserts. It is the List of ...
, with a similar length and a slightly different runway orientation (09 / 27).


Terrain

A precision approach is not possible to either runway end due to rising terrain (elevation 3,600 feet) less than six miles (10 km) east of the airport. There have been several crashes due to pilots not maintaining sufficient altitude over these mountains (often flying VFR at night).


Climate

The area around Brown Field Municipal Airport has a
warm-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...
( Csb) with warm summers and cool winters.


Incidents and accidents

On March 16, 1991, seven members of
Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire ( ; born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music, country singer and actress. Dubbed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Sin ...
's band and her road manager were among 10 people who died in the crash of a plane that departed from Brown Field. The aircraft hit
Otay Mountain Otay Mountain is a mountain in San Diego County, California. It is the highest summit of the San Ysidro Mountains. The mountain is located in the Otay Mountain Wilderness area. The Mexico-United States border runs along the south face of th ...
northeast of the airport. On August 16, 2015, five people were killed when a twin-engine
North American Sabreliner The North American Sabreliner, later sold as the Rockwell Sabreliner, is an American mid-sized business jet developed by North American Aviation. It was offered to the United States Air Force (USAF) in response to its Utility Trainer Experimen ...
jet and a single-engine
Cessna 172 The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is an American four-seat, single-engine, high wing, fixed-wing aircraft made by the Cessna Aircraft Company.touch-and-go-landings when the aircraft clipped wings above
Otay Mesa Otay Mesa ( ) is a community in the southern exclave of San Diego, California, just north of the U.S.–Mexico border. It is bordered by the Otay River Valley and the city of Chula Vista on the north; Interstate 805 and the neighborhoods o ...
, located just north of the U.S.-Mexico border. Both planes caught fire when they hit the ground and broke apart. Pieces of the fiery wreckage fell about a quarter-mile from each other and sparked fires in the remote, brushy area, east of state Route 125. The Sabreliner was carrying four people and was registered to military contractor BAE Systems, whose employees were aboard the aircraft. The pilot of the Cessna was on a cross-country trip.Article in the San Diego Union-Tribune
/ref>


See also

* Air/Space America 88


Notes


References


City of San Diego: Brown Field
*


External links

* {{Authority control Airports in San Diego Closed installations of the United States Navy