Siskiyou County Airport is a public

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 ...

located three miles (4.8 km) northeast of Montague, serving

Siskiyou County Siskiyou County (, ) is a county in the northernmost part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,076. Its county seat is Yreka and its highest point is Mount Shasta. It falls within the Cascadia bioregion ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, United States. It has one

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 ...

and is mostly used for

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

History

The Army Air Forces and the U.S. Air Force used the Siskiyou County Airport over two separate periods, from 1942 to 1945 and from 1962 to 1972. The site first served as an auxiliary field and later as a dispersal base.

World War II

The

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 ...

first leased the Siskiyou County Airport on 18 November 1942. The airport was constructed with funds from the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA). The Army upgraded and extended the original 6,500 foot runways to 7,300 feet to handle bombardment aircraft. The Army also added taxiways, a night lighting system, a power control building and enclosed the field with a barbed wire fence. By fall of 1943, the airfield was a sub-base of Hamilton Field. With administration provided by Hamilton Field and without housing facilities, Siskiyou County Airport did not become a key installation. On 1 May 1944, the Army Air Forces reassigned the airfield to the Chico Army Airfield (AAF). It remained an unmanned auxiliary field and primarily functioned as an emergency landing field for disabled aircraft or "itinerant army planes". Use of the airport in 1944 seems modest, as inspections found mud from cattle on the field at various times. On 15 October that year, Chico AAF transferred jurisdiction of the Siskiyou County Airport to the Air Technical Service Command (ATSC). On 3 November 1944, the Interdepartmental Air Traffic Control Board approved use of the field by Siskiyou County as an alternate airport for commercial scheduled air carrier operations. On 30 December 1944, the ATSC declared the Army Air Forces no longer needed the airport and recommended it for disposal. On 23 January 1945, the ATSC placed the airport on inactive status and subleased portions of the site for agricultural purposes. Following the initial military use, commercial operations of the airport continued. These included firefighting operations by the U.S. Forest Service and flying small private aircraft.

United States Air Force use

On 13 September 1962 representatives from the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

Air Defense Command met with the Siskiyou County, Board of Supervisors. The Siskiyou County Airport seemed "ideally suited for use as a dispersal site because it was well outside of any targeted or fallout area." The Air Force subsequently leased and acquired joint use of the runways and exclusive use of other portions of the airport on 22 October 1962. A few weeks later, aircraft from the 83d and 84th Fighter-Interceptor Squadrons from

Hamilton Air Force Base Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

(AFB) moved in as part of the Cuban Missile Crisis dispersal operation. No regular training missions were scheduled for the airport during this period. By 15 January 1964, these squadrons were replaced by the 82d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron from

Travis AFB Travis Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base under the operational control of the Air Mobility Command (AMC), located three miles (5 km) east of the central business district of the city of Fairfield, in Solano County, California ...

. In December of that year the Air Force began improvements to the site including runway maintenance and the construction of a mobile control tower, along with support facilities for radar. Other facilities included a runway overrun, operations apron, approach lighting, four aircraft shelters, a maintenance dock, utilities, an ammunition storage magazine and roadways. These facilities were considered complete on 17 December 1965. The Aircraft Dispersal Program at Siskiyou County Airport was transferred to the ADC

28th Air Division The 28th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Tactical Air Command at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. It was inactivated on 29 May 1992. History Established in December ...

, Hamilton AFB on 1 October 1965. The Air Force ended their dispersal program at Siskiyou County Airport by 19 July 1971 as part of the phase-down of the ADC interceptor forces, reporting the land as excess to the

General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) is an independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. GSA supplies products and communications for U.S. gover ...

(GSA). The Air Force terminated the lease with the county on 15 May 1972, coinciding with GSA conveying the remaining parcels and easements to the county.

Facilities

Siskiyou County Airport has one runway: * Runway 17/35: , surface:

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term ...

References

External links

Official Website by Siskiyou County

Airport Master Record (FAA Form 5010)
also available as
printable form
( PDF) {{USAAF 4th Air Force World War II Airports in Siskiyou County, California Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in California