''Muroc Maru'', officially AAF Temporary Building (Target) T-799, was a replica of a Japanese constructed on the floor of

Rogers Dry Lake Rogers Dry Lake is an endorheic desert salt pan in the Mojave Desert of Kern County, California. The lake derives its name from the Anglicization from the Spanish name, Rodriguez Dry Lake. It is the central part of Edwards Air Force Base as its ...

in southern

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Used to train bomber pilots and bombardiers in techniques for attacking warships, ''Muroc Maru'' remained in place until 1950, when it was demolished.

Construction

AAF Temporary Building (Target) T-799 was built during 1943 on the southern end of Rogers Dry Lake in California for the purpose of training

United States 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 ...

bomber pilots, navigators and bombardiers in bombing,

strafing Strafing is the military practice of attacking ground targets from low-flying aircraft using aircraft-mounted automatic weapons. Less commonly, the term is used by extension to describe high-speed firing runs by any land or naval craft such ...

, and the identification of warships, including

skip bombing Skip bombing was a low-level bombing technique independently developed by several of the combatant nations in World War II, notably Italy, Australia, Britain, Soviet Union and the United States. It allows an aircraft to attack shipping by skippi ...

techniques. The lakebed site was chosen for the construction of the training structure as the bright

sand dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...

s, sculpted to give the appearance of a

wake Wake or The Wake may refer to: Culture *Wake (ceremony), a ritual which takes place during some funeral ceremonies *Wakes week, an English holiday tradition * Parish Wake, another name of the Welsh ', the fairs held on the local parish's patron s ...

around the 'ship', created the illusion of the vessel being at sea. Designed to mimic the size and appearance of a ''Takao''-class

heavy cruiser The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm (8 inches) in caliber, whose design parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval Tr ...

of the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

, the structure was constructed from four-by-four

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

and

chicken wire Chicken wire, or poultry netting, is a mesh of wire commonly used to fence in fowl, such as chickens, in a run or coop. It is made of thin, flexible, galvanized steel wire with hexagonal gaps. Available in 1 inch (about 2.5 cm) diameter, ...

, with

tar paper Tar paper is a heavy-duty paper used in construction. Tar paper is made by impregnating paper or fiberglass mat with tar, producing a waterproof material useful for roof construction. Tar paper is distinguished from roofing felt, which is impreg ...

covering the "hull" to complete the illusion of a solid, fully constructed ship. The structure cost $35,819.18 to build ($ in dollars ).

Operational history

Upon completion of the structure, Army Air Force pilots assigned to train at the nearby

Muroc Army Air Field Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is Ed ...

– now

Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is E ...

– using the "ship" gave it the nickname ''Muroc Maru'', after the location of the vessel and "Maru" being a common suffix for Japanese ship names. The structure was used for training until 1950, when it was declared a hazard to air navigation and disassembled following clearance of unexploded ordnance.

References

External links

WW2 newsreel
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217235213/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfPba6u6gqI&gl=US&hl=en , date=2022-02-17 on the ''Muroc Maru'' Edwards Air Force Base Landlocked ships Closed training facilities of the United States Army 1943 establishments in California 1950 disestablishments in California History of Kern County, California Aviation in World War II Buildings and structures in Kern County, California

Construction

Operational history

See also

References

External links