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 publ ...

landing strips 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 of ...

pilots during World War 2. The airfield are called Naval Outlying Landing Field (NOLFs). 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 The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...

after training. The Outlying Landing Fields had little or no support facilities. Naval Air Station Livermore opened in 1942 and closed in 1951. The Outlying field closed in 1945, having completed the role of training over 4000 new pilots. To open the needed Outlying Landing Fields quickly, the Navy took over local crop dusting and barnstorming airfields. The Naval Air Station Livermore Outlying Fields were:

Abel NOLF

Abel NOLF, Abel Naval Naval Auxiliary Landing Field, was a World War 2 training airstrip. The Navy took over the Warm Springs Airport built in 1933 and built a new

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 concrete, as ...

nearby. The Airport became a satellite for Livermore NAS in 1943. The runway was located 1 mile north of the City of Milpitas, California at . The Navy ended the use of the runway in 1945. In 1946 Warm Springs Airport, also called Milpitas Airport and Warm Springs Gliderport, became a public airport for airplanes and gliders. The Airport offered training, charters, repairs and model airplane flying. The airport had a single unpaved north/south 3,800-foot runway. In the Spring of 1952 the airport closed and became a housing tract.

Brown-Fabian NOLF

Brown-Fabian NOLF, Brown-Fabian Naval Outlying Landing Field was a World War 2 training airstrip used from 1943 to 1945. The Navy took over the Brown-Fabian Airport for training. Brown-Fabian NOLF was located 3.5 miles west of the city of

Tracy, California Tracy is the second most populated city in San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County, California, United States. The population was 93,000 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Tracy is located inside a geographic triangle form ...

at . The satellite airfield had a 6,300-foot sod runway. The site closed after the war and is now farmland.

Cope Field NOLF

Cope Field NOLF, Cope Field Naval Outlying Landing Field was a satellite runway for Livermore NAS, it had a single 3200' sod runway. The Naval Outlying Landing Field was used from 1943 to 1945. The runway was located 2 miles northeast of the City of Pleasanton, California at . The site is now a gravel pit.

Gelderman NOLF

Gelderman NOLF, Gelderman Naval Outlying Landing Field was a World War 2 training airstrip used from 1943 to 1945. The Navy took over the Gelderman Airport for training. Gelderman was located 4 miles north of

Dublin, California Dublin (formerly, Dougherty, Alameda County, California, Amador and Dougherty's Station) is a suburban city of the East Bay in California. It is located within the Amador Valley of Alameda County, California, Alameda County's Tri-Valley region. ...

at . The satellite airfield was a 2,200-foot sod runway. The site is now houses in

San Ramon, California San Ramon (Spanish: ''San Ramón'', meaning "St. Raymond") is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, located within the San Ramon Valley, and east of San Francisco. San Ramon's population was 84,605 per the 2020 census, maki ...

Heath NOLF

Heath NOLF, Heath Naval Outlying Landing Field was a World War 2 training airstrip used from 1943 to 1945. The Navy leased 160 acres from the Heath family in

Fremont, California Fremont is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. Located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area, Fremont has a population of 230,504 as of 2020, making it the fourth List of cities and towns in the San Fra ...

, south of the city center at . Heath NOLF had a northwest/southeast 3,100-foot concrete runway. In 1950 the runway became a civil airport, Skyways Airport, later in 1959 renamed Sky Sailing sailplane field, Sky Sailing Airport in 1959. The Sky Sailing Airport was a very active glider airport with a glider school, paid glider rides, and private gliders parked there. The

Fremont Dragstrip The Fremont Dragstrip was a racing venue for dragster automobiles that was located in Fremont, California in the San Francisco Bay Area, operating from 1959 until the end of 1988. In its final years, it was part of Baylands Raceway Park. The sit ...

also operated at the airport from 1959 until the end of 1988. The

I-880 Interstate 880 may refer to: *Interstate 880 (California), an auxiliary Interstate Highway that travels from San Jose to Oakland, California ** Interstate 880 (California 1964–1981), a former auxiliary Interstate Highway in Sacramento, Calif ...

freeway was built on part of the old Heath NOLF in 1984. The airport closed in June of 1989 and is now commercial property.

Lindeman NOLF

Lindeman NOLF, Lindeman Naval Outlying Landing Field was a World War 2 training airstrip used from 1943 to 1945. The Navy took over the Lindeman Airport for training. Lindeman NOLF was located 9 miles northwest of the city of

at at a 2,000-foot elevation. The satellite airfield was a 3,900-foot sod runway, now houses.

Livermore NOLF

Livermore NOLF, Livermore Naval Outlying Landing Field was a World War 2 training airstrip used from 1943 to 1945. The Navy took over the Livermore Sky Ranch built in 1929 for training. Livermore Airport is located 2 miles northwest of the city of

Livermore, California Livermore (formerly Livermorès, Livermore Ranch, and Nottingham) is a city in Alameda County, California. With a 2020 population of 87,955, Livermore is the most populous city in the Tri-Valley. It is located on the eastern edge of Californ ...

at . The satellite airfield was just North of Naval Air Station Livermore and has a 4,000-foot sod runway, now the `. In the 1930s, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) classified the Airport as a civil emergency airfield known as Livermore Intermediate Airport.

May's School NOLF

May's School NOLF, May's School Naval Outlying Landing Field, Mays auxiliary airfield was a World War 2 training airstrip used from 1943 to 1945 on 200 acres. The Navy built May's School Field for training pilots. May's School Field was located 4.5 miles northeast of the City of

at , at May School Road & Dagningo Road. The satellite airfield was also called Silva Barthe Field, had four unpaved runways. In the 1990s the site became a

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

antenna farm, called the Livermore Monitoring Station, the site is now just outside the city. CadetsmarchingNASLivermore1944

Rita Butterworth NOLF

Rita Butterworth NOLF, Rita Butterworth Naval Outlying Landing Field was a World War 2 training airstrip used from 1943 to 1945. The Navy took over the Rita Butterworth Airportt for training. Rita Butterworth NOLF was located 3 miles northeast of the City of Pleasanton, California at . The satellite airfield had a 3,000-foot sod runway, now a vacant lot and commercial property in

just north of the I-580 freeway and west of Fallon Road.

Spring Valley NOLF

Spring Valley NOLF, Spring Valley Naval Outlying Landing Field was a World War 2 training airstrip used from 1943 to 1945. The Navy took over the Spring Valley Airport for training. Spring Valley NOLF was located 2.5 miles northwest of the City of Pleasanton, California at . The satellite airfield was a 3,500-foot sod runway, now houses.

Wagoner NOLF

Wagoner NOLF, Wagoner Naval Outlying Landing Field was a World War 2 training airstrip used from 1943 to 1945. The Navy took over the Wagoner Airport for training. Wagoner Airport was located 1.5 miles southwest of City of

at . The Wagoner Airport had a 3,000-foot sod runway, in 1943 the Navy built a 2,700-foot x 3,000-foot paved landing pad on the site. After the war the site was closed and turned over to the county, the site is now houses.

References

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