Condition Non-Aviation use Events World War II | In use 1941-1945 Year built 1941 | |
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Type Basic flying training airfield Controlled by USAAF West Coast Training Center Owner United States Army Air Forces | ||
Raf pilots at war eagle field lancaster ca 1941
War Eagle Field is a former airfield located in the Mojave Desert, about 5-mile (8.0 km) west of Lancaster, California. It is currently used as a detention facility.
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British airmen train at war eagle field usa 1941
History
Polaris Flight Academy, which opened on the field's grounds on July 15, 1941, trained cadets for the Royal Air Force and the Royal Canadian Air Force. (The school also used two auxiliary fields, Liberty Field and Victory Field.) The airfield had two hard-surfaced bituminous runways, one of 3,100' aligned NE/SW (05/23) the other of 2,950' aligned E/W (09/27).
After the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor, the flight school began training cadets for the United States Army Air Forces on 28 July 1942, being operated by the Polaris Flight Academy as a contract basic flying school (phase 1). The primary trainer in use was the BT-13 Valiant. Known sub-bases and auxiliaries were:
In 1944, the flight school changed its name to Mira Loma Flight Academy. The airfield inactivated on 1 October 1945, and was declared surplus in 1946. Responsibility for it was given to the War Assets Administration.
Current use
The land was bought by Los Angeles County. The airfield was converted to a detention facility, and it continues to be used for that purpose.
Many wartime buildings, including two still intact hangars are still in use On the roof of one of the hangars, the name "War Eagle" is still faintly perceptible. Flight operations continue at the airfield with a helicopter pad, used by the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department.