Oxnard Field (also known at various times as Albuquerque Airport and Albuquerque Army Air Field) was the first

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

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

. It served as the home of commercial aviation in Albuquerque from 1928 to 1929 and remained in use for other purposes until 1948. The field was located on Albuquerque's East Mesa, east of the present site of Albuquerque International Sunport.

History

The field was originally constructed in 1928 by

Santa Fe Railroad The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at variou ...

workers Frank G. Speakman and William Langford Franklin, using grading equipment loaned by the city after hours. Working with the town of Albuquerque, they graded two runways on the East Mesa—one approximately long and the other just under . The venture became Albuquerque Airport. Other individuals and promoters soon became interested in Albuquerque as a crossroads location for southwestern air traffic. James G. Oxnard, a New York entrepreneur, bought out Franklin's share in the airport soon after it was completed and renamed it Oxnard Field. Oxnard expanded the facility to , adding an administration building and other facilities. In its brief stint as the city's main airport, Oxnard Field was served by two competing

airlines An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in ...

, Western Air Express (WAE) and Transcontinental Air Transport (TAT). However, the proximity of the field to the

Sandia Mountains The Sandia Mountains (Tiwa language, Southern Tiwa: ''Posu gai hoo-oo'', Keres language, Keres: ''Tsepe,'' Navajo language, Navajo: ''Dził Nááyisí''; Tewa language, Tewa: ''O:ku:p’į'', Taos language, Northern Tiwa: ''Kep’íanenemą''; J ...

made pilots uneasy, and Western Air Express built a new facility, West Mesa Airport, in 1929. Following the merger of TAT and WAE to form Transcontinental and Western Air (TWA), all commercial air service shifted to West Mesa. This airport became known as Albuquerque Airport—while the former Albuquerque Airport on the East Mesa took on the name Oxnard Field, continuing as a private venture. The onset of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

brought new activity to Oxnard Field. By 1939, Army and Navy pilots had begun using Oxnard Field for refuelling and maintenance. The Army eventually bought the Oxnard Field property and its subsequent transfer to the federal government on April 3, 1942 restricted the runways to military use only. The Army established a training depot for aircraft mechanics near Oxnard Field. An Army Air Forces Air Depot Training Station was established in June, and shortly thereafter the airport was designated Albuquerque Army Air Field. Two new runways and a variety of other facilities were built during this period. By 1943, however, the mechanics' training program had ended and the depot was used as a convalescent center for wounded air crewmen and then as a storage and dismantling facility for war-weary and surplus aircraft as the war ended. Over 2,000 such planes were stripped and melted down, reclaiming some 10 million pounds of aluminum.Kirtland AFB Fact Sheet The field was used for the last time between 1945 and 1948, when it served as the final destination for hundreds of surplus warplanes which were assembled there for scrapping. Following the end of this operation, the airport was closed permanently.

Facilities

The airport initially had two dirt runways, east-west (4300 ft) and northeast-southwest (2500 ft). The only facilities consisted of gravity-fed fuel tanks. Oxnard added the administration building, a hangar, and a beacon. The Airport Inn was a popular dining establishment. The airport reached its final configuration during the war, when the north-south and northwest-southeast runways were added.

Oxnard Field today

The former airport is now part of Kirtland Air Force Base, and new development has covered most of it. However, part of the northeast-southwest runway remains visible and the former administration building and hangar are still standing. Another legacy of Oxnard Field is the major streets Wyoming Boulevard and Ridgecrest Drive, both of which were originally developed as airport access roads.

References

Notes

#Oppenheimer, Alan J. (1962). ''The Historical Background of Albuquerque, New Mexico''. City of Albuquerque Planning Department. p. 47. # Oppenheimer, p. 48. {{coord, 35.0507, -106.5541, scale:20000_region:US-NM, display=title Defunct airports in the United States Airports in New Mexico Transportation in Albuquerque, New Mexico History of Albuquerque, New Mexico