Naval Air Station Los Alamitos Naval Outlying Landing Fields were a set

airfield An aerodrome ( Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for pub ...

near

Naval Air Station Los Alamitos A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It inc ...

to support the training of

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

pilots during

World War 2 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 opposing ...

. The support airfields are called

Naval Outlying Landing Field An outlying landing field (OLF) is an auxiliary airfield, associated with a seaborne component of the United States military. When associated with the United States Navy (who operate the majority), they are known as naval outlying landing fields ...

(NOLF). For the war, many new trained pilots were needed. The Naval Outlying Landing Fields provided a place for pilots to practice landing and take off without other air traffic. The remotes sites offered flight training without distractions. Most of the new pilots departed to the Pacific War after training. The Outlying Landing Fields had little or no support facilities. Naval Air Station Los Alamitos opened in 1942 and was transferred to the

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 ...

in 1977 as

Los Alamitos Army Airfield LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significan ...

. Most of the Outlying fields closed in 1945, having completed the role of training new pilots. To open the needed Outlying Landing Fields quickly, the Navy took over local

crop dusting Aerial application, or what is informally referred to as crop dusting, involves spraying crops with crop protection products from an agricultural aircraft. Planting certain types of seed are also included in aerial application. The specific sp ...

and

barnstorming Barnstorming was a form of entertainment in which stunt pilots performed tricks individually or in groups that were called flying circuses. Devised to "impress people with the skill of pilots and the sturdiness of planes," it became popular in ...

airfields. Naval Air Station Los Alamitos was also called Los Alamitos Naval Reserve Air Base. During the war Marine Corps Air Station El Toro also used the outlying Landing Field. The

Timm N2T Tutor The Timm N2T Tutor is an American training monoplane built by the Timm Aircraft Corporation for the United States Navy as the N2T-1. Design and development The Timm S-160 (or Timm PT-160K) was a conventional tandem open-cockpit monoplane trai ...

was the most common plane used for training on the outlying landing fields. The Naval Air Station Los Alamitos Outlying Fields were:

Anaheim NOLF

Naval Outlying Landing Field Anaheim started as Luebkeman Airport, then Anaheim Airport as an

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

Buena Park, California Buena Park (''Buena'', Spanish for "Good") is a city in Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census its population was 84,034. It is the location of several tourist attractions, namely Knott's Berry Farm. It is about 12 mi ...

in the 1930 and 1940s at . Luebkeman Airport was built by Mr. Sam Coughran and the Luebkeman family. The Airport opened in 1937 on 240-acre of land. Anton Luebkeman & his wife had immigrated from Germany to California in 1904. In 1910 they purchased 104 acres in Buena Park and later 100 more acres. They built hangars and rented them for

Barnstorming Barnstorming was a form of entertainment in which stunt pilots performed tricks individually or in groups that were called flying circuses. Devised to "impress people with the skill of pilots and the sturdiness of planes," it became popular in ...

cropdusting Aerial application, or what is informally referred to as crop dusting, involves spraying crops with crop protection products from an agricultural aircraft. Planting certain types of seed are also included in aerial application. The specific sp ...

and the wealthy, like

Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting pilot, engineer, film producer, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and richest people in th ...

. The first

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt, concre ...

was a sod 2,200-foot running east/west. In 1939 the Airport started training to operate as a

Civilian Pilot Training Program The Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP) was a flight training program (1938–1944) sponsored by the United States government with the stated purpose of increasing the number of civilian pilots, though having a clear impact on military prepare ...

. In 1940 the movie ''The Great American Broadcast'' was filmed at the airport by 20th Century Studios, starring

Alice Faye Alice Faye (born Alice Jeanne Leppert; May 5, 1915 – May 9, 1998) was an American actress and singer. A musical star of 20th Century-Fox in the 1930s and 1940s, Faye starred in such films as '' On the Avenue'' (1937) and ''Alexander's Ragtime ...

. With the start of

the US Navy leased the airport for training pilots out of the Los Alamitos Naval Reserve Air Base, 5 miles southwest. After the war, the Luebkeman family did not reopen the airport. The hangars were used as barns on the farm. The site is now houses just west of

Knott's Berry Farm Knott's Berry Farm is a theme park located in Buena Park, California, owned and operated by Cedar Fair. In 2015, it was the twelfth-most-visited theme park in North America and averages approximately 4 million visitors per year. It features 40 ...

, near San Gabriel Circle & San Simeon Circle.

Palisades NOLF

Naval Outlying Field Palisades had a single 2,500-foot east–west runway located in the city of Newport Beach, California at built by the navy. There was just the runway with no facilities. The site is now Eastbluff Elementary School and houses.

Mile Square Farm NOLF

Mile Square Farm Naval Outlying Field opened in 1942 on 640 acres in the City of

Fountain Valley, California Fountain Valley is a suburban city in Orange County, California. The population was 57,047 at the 2020 census. History The area encompassing Fountain Valley was originally inhabited by the Tongva people. European settlement of the area b ...

at . For the site, 21 parcels of farmland were purchased by the Navy. Built at the site were three asphalt runways in a triangular layout, each about 2,500-feet long. The land was close to a square mile, that is 631 acres of land, thus the name. Mile Square Farm, unlike other Naval Outlying Fields, was not closed after the war, in 1955 the airfield was transferred to the

US Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

. The facility was renamed Marine Corps Outlying Field Mile Square (MCOLF). The site was assigned to

Marine Corp Air Facility, Santa Ana Marine Corps Air Station Tustin ( IATA: NTK, ICAO: KNTK, FAA LID: NTK) is a former United States Navy and United States Marine Corps air station, located in Tustin, California. History The Air Station was established in 1942 by the Uni ...

, later renamed Marine Corps Air Station Tustin. The Marines used the airport for

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

autorotation Autorotation is a state of flight in which the main rotor system of a helicopter or other rotary-wing aircraft turns by the action of air moving up through the rotor, as with an autogyro, rather than engine power driving the rotor. Bensen, Ig ...

practice. With no airplanes training crews, the Outlying Field had more land than needed. So, in 1970,

Mile Square Regional Park Mile Square Regional Park is a park located in Fountain Valley, California, United States. It includes two lakes, three 18-hole golf courses, archery range, baseball and softball fields, picnic shelters, and a urban nature area planted with Califor ...

was built on released land. In 1972 the Marines closed the airfield. In 1973 a ball diamonds & a children's play area was added on former Outlying Field land. In 1973, the complete site was removed from Navy assets. In 1976, the runways were opened for public recreation and used for land sailing and radio-controlled

model aircraft A model aircraft is a small unmanned aircraft. Many are replicas of real aircraft. Model aircraft are divided into two basic groups: flying and non-flying. Non-flying models are also termed static, display, or shelf models. Aircraft manufactur ...

, also built were picnic facilities and bicycle trails. In 1987, the remaining open land was turned into an 18-hole

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". ...

, driving range, golf clubhouse. The north runway was removed to make room for the golf course. By 2004 all three runways were gone.

Haster Farm NOLF

Haster Farm Naval Outlying Landing Field had a 1,500-foot diameter asphalt hexagonal landing mat built by the Navy. Haster Farm Naval Outlying Landing Field was located in the City of Garden Grove, California at . The site was closed after the war. The sites is now

Bolsa Grande High School Bolsa Grande High School is a public high school in the Garden Grove Unified School District in Garden Grove, in southern California, United States. The school opened on September 28, 1959. The school's nickname is the Matadors. Academics Bols ...

and Garden Grove Park.

Horse Farm NOLF

Horse Farm Naval Outlying Landing Field had a 1,500-foot diameter paved hexagonal landing mat built by the Navy, in Garden Grove, California at on 288 acres of land. Part of the site is now a US Army & Army Reserve center Garden Grove and the rest is commercial real estate.

Seal Beach NOLF

Seal Beach Naval Outlying Landing Field started as Crawford Airport in 1917, built by L.R. Crawford, in the City of Seal Beach, California at , just south of Westminster Boulevard and a little east of Route 1 - Coast Highway. Crawford Airport became well known for its stunt exhibitions performed over the Seal Beach Joy Zone from 1916 to 1919. The airport was used for private pilots, flying lessons, paid riders, repairs and police beach patrol planes. C.O. Prest set an unofficial altitude record in August 1917 and did mock air battles from Crawford Airport. Barnstorming pilots, like Earl S. Daugherty used the airfield from 1919 to 1920. L.R. Crawford started the Crawford Motor & Airplane Manufactory in 1927 at the airport. William Crawford designed the planes and gliders for the company. Their lightweight motors were also used in motorcycles. Crawford opened Southern California's first air speed course, which was also the nation's second course. The air speed course ran along Coast Highway for three kilometers and a flag on checkered pylons were at each end of the straight speedway. The Crawford Airport had a single unpaved dirt east–west runway. In 1932 Crawford sold the airport to Wes Carroll & Clyde Schlieper and it was renamed Seal Beach Airport. Seal Beach Airport became a private charter airport that also had flying lessons. In 1939 Wes Carroll & Clyde Schlieper set a

Flight endurance record The flight endurance record is the longest amount of time an aircraft of a particular category spent in flight without landing. It can be a solo event, or multiple people can take turns piloting the aircraft, as long as all pilots remain in the ai ...

flying a Piper Cub seaplane, ''Spirit of Kay'' for 30 hours and 6 minutes. In 1940 the airport added municipal airport services. In 1942 Seal Beach Airport was purchased by the US Navy and used as a Naval Outlying Air Field (21104) to support training naval pilots stationed at Alamitos & El Toro. In 1945, after the war, the Navy closed the runway and build buildings on the site to support

Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach is a United States Navy weapons and munitions loading, storage and maintenance facility located in Seal Beach, California, with detachments in Fallbrook, California, Fallbrook and Norco, California, Norco, both als ...

. Also at the site now, is the Lincoln Military Housing Seal Beach.US Navy Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Naval Air Station Los Alamitos Naval Outlying Landing Fields 1940s in California History of California United States in World War II 1943 establishments in California Los Alamitos, California