Marine Corps Air Station Santa Barbara (MCAS Santa Barbara) was a

United States Marine Corps 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 c ...

air station that was located in Goleta, California north of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. It was also known as the Goleta Air Station in the 1940s. Commissioned on December 4, 1942, the air station consisted of an airfield that had been built into the

Goleta Slough The Goleta Slough is an area of estuary, tidal creeks, tidal marsh, and wetlands near Goleta, California, United States. It primarily consists of the filled and unfilled remnants of the historic inner Goleta Bay about 8 miles (13 km) w ...

and served as a training base for numerous squadrons before they deployed to support combat operations in the Pacific Theater. Later in the war, the station would serve as home to Marine squadrons that were trained to operate from aircraft carriers providing

close air support In military tactics, close air support (CAS) is defined as air action such as air strikes by fixed or rotary-winged aircraft against hostile targets near friendly forces and require detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movemen ...

for their fellow Marines on the ground. Following the

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Na ...

and the subsequent drawdown of forces that ensued, the air station closed its doors in 1946 and today its property is home to the

Santa Barbara Municipal Airport Santa Barbara Municipal Airport is west of downtown Santa Barbara, California, United States. SBA covers 948 acres (384 ha) of land and has three runways. It is near the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the city of Goleta. The ...

and the campus of the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the U ...

History

Early years

In the early 1930s, an airfield and flight school were established in Goleta, California that would later be named the

. In 1940, the Civil Aeronautics Authority recommended expanding the airfield in the interest of national defense which led to the city purchasing another and building another terminal and filling in the

to make way for three runways.

World War II

After the outbreak of war, the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

began to build

revetment A revetment in stream restoration, river engineering or coastal engineering is a facing of impact-resistant material (such as stone, concrete, sandbags, or wooden piles) applied to a bank or wall in order to absorb the energy of incoming water a ...

s and station Curtiss P-40 interceptors at the airfield. The first Marines at Goleta came on June 14, 1942 with the arrival of Marine Aircraft Group 24 (MAG-24) and VMSB-243 and VMSB-244, Shettle, ''USMC Air Stations of WWII''
p.147
and expanded construction on the base began a month later on May 29, 1942. The field was officially commissioned on December 4, 1942. However, throughout 1942, the threat of a large Japanese strike against the

West Coast of the United States The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S ...

kept the base on very high alert, especially after the February, 1942 shelling of Ellwood Oil Field, two miles to the west, as well as the raid against

Dutch Harbor Dutch Harbor is a harbor on Amaknak Island in Unalaska, Alaska. It was the location of the Battle of Dutch Harbor in June 1942, and was one of the few sites in the United States to be subjected to aerial bombardment by a foreign power during ...

in the

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a chain of 14 large v ...

. The advanced echelon of Marine Base Defense Aircraft Group 42 arrived in January 1943 and would remain for the duration of the war. Conditions surrounding the base also improved in early 1943, when the local

slaughterhouse A slaughterhouse, also called abattoir (), is a facility where animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a packaging facility. Slaughterhouses that produce meat that is no ...

burned down and the hog farm was abandoned. Two unique conditions that affected the base were that

U.S. Route 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States. It is also known as (The Royal Roa ...

ran through the middle of it and during the course of the war, United Air Lines continued to use the field. Shettle, ''USMC Air Stations of WWII''
p.148
In early 1944, after the

Battle of Tarawa The Battle of Tarawa was fought on 20–23 November 1943 between the United States and Japan at the Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands, and was part of Operation Galvanic, the U.S. invasion of the Gilberts. Nearly 6,400 Japanese, Koreans, ...

, where many felt that

left much to be desired, General Holland Smith recommended that Marine aviators be trained to operate from aircraft carriers. In July 1944,

Commandant of the Marine Corps The commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC) is normally the highest-ranking officer in the United States Marine Corps and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Joint Chiefs of Staff: composition; functions. The CMC reports directly to the secr ...

General

Alexander Vandegrift General Alexander Archer Vandegrift, USMC (March 13, 1887 – May 8, 1973) was a United States Marine Corps four-star general. During World War II, he commanded the 1st Marine Division to victory in its first ground offensive of the war, the B ...

held a meeting with Admiral

Chester Nimitz Chester William Nimitz (; February 24, 1885 – February 20, 1966) was a fleet admiral in the United States Navy. He played a major role in the naval history of World War II as Commander in Chief, US Pacific Fleet, and Commander in C ...

where it was agreed that Marine aircraft would be placed on a certain number of

escort carriers The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier (U.S. hull classification symbol CVE), also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy (USN) or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slow type of aircraft ...

to provide close air support for Marines during amphibious landings. Simmons, ''A History'', p.167. This led to the establishment of the Marine Carrier Air Group (MCVG) and the establishment of a command known as Marine Carrier Groups Pacific, which would be based at MCAS Santa Barbara. Condon, ''Flattops and Corsairs'', pp. 87-89. The goal for the unit was to have eight air groups ready for the expected

invasion of Japan Operation Downfall was the proposed Allied plan for the invasion of the Japanese home islands near the end of World War II. The planned operation was canceled when Japan surrendered following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ...

late in 1945. Shettle, ''USMC Air Stations of WWII''
p.149
At its peak, the station housed nearly 500 officers, about 3,100 enlisted men, and 440 women Marines. A total of 24 squadrons trained at the base during the war

Sherrod Sherrod is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Sherrod Brown (born 1952), United States Senator * Sherrod Martin (born 1984), American football player * Sherrod Small, American comedian * Sherrod E. ...

, ''History of Marine Corps Aviation in WWII'', p.441. and 101 aviation accidents occurred at the station during training. Following the war, the Marine Corps considered making MCAS Santa Barbara a permanent installation. However, the city of Santa Barbara opposed this, since the area was needed for its municipal airport, as no other land nearby was suitable. The Marine Corps Air Station went into caretaker status on March 1, 1946, and it was released to the

War Assets Administration The War Assets Administration (WAA) was created to dispose of United States government-owned surplus material and property from World War II. The WAA was established in the Office for Emergency Management, effective March 25, 1946, by Executive O ...

for disposal two months later. Substantial portions of the former air station now compose the

, while the rest is the campus of the

. A former hangar houses the Goleta/Santa Barbara Air Heritage Museum. MCAS Santa Barbara munitions bunker

Notes

References

*Brummell, Clyde Verlon (2005). ''Beyond a Dream''. Portland, Oregon: Gann Publishing Co. * * * *

External links

Developed to Serve Wartime Need
— a document from the Santa Barbara Airport with a timeline and several photos of MCAS Santa Barbara.
Commissioned to Train Aviators
— another document with more photos and details about Marine training at the station. {{authority control Santa Barbara Military installations closed in 1946 Goleta, California Airports in Santa Barbara County, California Buildings and structures in Santa Barbara County, California Military installations in California World War II airfields in the United States History of Santa Barbara County, California 1942 establishments in California