Sonny's Redwoods

Lemoore Army Air Field Lemoore Army Air Field, located nine miles southwest of town, was a dirt air field usable only in dry weather. It nevertheless was used by the 4th Air Force as a processing and training field. Lemoore had a sub-base, Porterville Army Air Field near Porterville, California. History This base was built during World War 2 as an Army Air Forces training field. According to a World War II-era diagram, the field consisted of a roughly triangular shaped landing mat, which measured 3,470' along its longest side. A 3,700' long north/south apron sat to the southwest of the landing mat, and west of the apron was the building area. Lemoore AAF was described by the 1944 US Army/Navy Directory of Airfields as having a 6,500' hard-surface runway, although the remarks included, "Entire field available only when dry." Lemoore AAF had a total of seven satellite airfields for the use of its cadets:

A-1 Lemoore
A-2 Huron (7 miles west-southwest)
A-3 Indian (13 miles southwest),
A-4 Murray (8 miles south),
A-5 West (14 miles west),
A-6 Summit Lake (7 miles north)
A-7 Helm (15 miles northwest)

The satellite fields each consisted of a 3,000' square landing mat, with either a "road mix" or oiled surface. Additionally, the "Coalinga Emergency Landing Field" (22 miles west-southwest) was also designated for use by Lemoore AAF. The airfield was apparently reused for some unknown time period as a civil airfield, as that is how it was depicted on the 1953 San Diego - San Francisco Flight Chart. Apparently the airfield had also been significant expanded at some time after World War II as the 1953 chart depicted the field as having a 6,100' runway. According to the 1 February 1957 issue of the Fresno Bee, the 1,460 acre site of the former Army Airfield was sold by the City of Lemoore in 1957 to the Navy, to be used as part of the site for the new Lemoore Naval Air Station. The present-day Lemoore Naval Air Station is just a few miles to the north of the former Lemoore AAF. Ironically, the northern end of the runways of the huge Lemoore NAS sit on the same ground previously occupied by Lemoore AAF's satellite field A-6 Summit Lake. In the 1950's the Air Force considered placing a long range radar station on the site of Lemoore AAF. Although planned to operate under the Air Defense Command. this site, known a P-74A, was never built. The site of Lemoore AAF is located south of the intersection of Route 198 & 27th Avenue, two miles west of the main gate of Lemoore NAS. Known Units at Lemoore AAF Present 7 December 1941 Hq, Air Corps Basic Flying School
527th School Squadron
528th School Squadron
529th School Squadron
530th School Squadron
531st School Squadron
532nd School Squadron
Hq and Hq Sq, 87th Air Base Group (Special):
302nd Material Squadron (Special)
88th Air Base Squadron (Special)
Air Force Band
Sub Depot
Det, 1st Communications Squadron
Det, 1st Weather Squadron
Det, 853rd Ordnance Service Company (Aviation)
Co M (less Det), 32nd Quartermaster Regiment (Truck)
Det, 858th Signal Service Company (Aviation) 461st Army Air Forces Base Unit (Processing In)