NAS Long Beach California???

bdk · **Joined:** Sun May 02, 2004 1:16 am **Posts:** 11324

Anyone know where this was? Was this on Terminal Island or the present site of Long Beach Airport/Boeing?

StudeDave · **Posted:** Sun Feb 03, 2013 11:42 pm

I can't see your picture, but is it maybe where the current Los Alamitos JFTB is located?

Here's a bit of it's history~ http://www.calguard.ca.gov/sli/Pages/History.aspx

What's in the picture?

EDIT~
Looks like it could have been on Terminal Island.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminal_Island

My bad.

Wildchild · **Posted:** Sun Feb 03, 2013 11:52 pm

bdk wrote:

Anyone know where this was? Was this on Terminal Island or the present site of Long Beach Airport/Boeing?

Got it working

bdk · **Joined:** Sun May 02, 2004 1:16 am **Posts:** 11324

First time attempting to link a picture with an iPad. Obviously didn't work!

Los Al doesn't have any oil derricks. The oil fields are in Long Beach and Signal hill to this day.

The Inspector · **Posted:** Mon Feb 04, 2013 12:29 am

bdk wrote:

First time attempting to link a picture with an iPad. Obviously didn't work!

Los Al doesn't have any oil derricks. The oil fields are in Long Beach and Signal hill to this day.

NAF Terminal Island? VRF-2 based there during WW2 and was a ferry squadron.

jdvoss · **Posted:** Mon Feb 04, 2013 12:18 pm

Having lived in Long Beach (1960's) while craming a 4 year degree program into 6 years (CSULB) I had the opportunity to familiarize myself with the key airfields in the area. I have to agree with bdk that it is definatley NOT NAS Los Alamitos (no oil wells in that area). I reviewed the wartime photo of NAS Terminal Island in Mel Shettle's book "Naval Air Stations of WWII, Vol 2" and there are no oil well derricks nor large buildings illustrated in that aerial photo of the base. So I have to surmise that it is indeed Long Beach airport as there are indeed oil derricks in the immediate vicinity.

I did find a file that indicates that Long Beach Airport was the site of "NAAS Long Beach" (Naval Auxiliary Air Station) which apparently was a satellite to nearby NAS Los Alamitos. See attached link: http://www.militarymuseum.org/LongBeachAAF.html

Bottom line: It was NAAS Long Beach ...not NAS Long Beach

bdk · **Joined:** Sun May 02, 2004 1:16 am **Posts:** 11324

I had no idea there were so many oil derricks in Long Beach then! I wonder if this was more towards the south (across the present day 405 Fwy)?

Great find Mr. Voss!

sandiego89 · **Joined:** Mon May 21, 2012 12:28 pm **Posts:** 1199

I vote NAS Terminal Island (had a few name changes). Some info on the excellent Abandoned fields site, scroll down halfway:

http://members.tripod.com/airfields_fre ... gBeach.htm

bdk · **Joined:** Sun May 02, 2004 1:16 am **Posts:** 11324

None of those pictures shows any oil derricks.

51fixer · **Posted:** Mon Feb 04, 2013 3:39 pm

bdk wrote:

None of those pictures shows any oil derricks.

I vote Terminal Island/Allen Airport/San Pedro.
The abandoned airfields 1945 photo shows the runway marked 21 with a large white square next to it which shows in your photo. Orient the concrete ramp, shacks and the Culver Drones on the asphalt parking area and it seems the be the same taken from different directions.
Also your photo has a bridge structure in the upper L/H that would coordinate with a canal just on the inland side of the airport based on map drawings on the abandoned airfields site.
I remember that they talked of trying to land the POF Zero their on the 1st Japan tour back in 78 or 79. I believe it was still there then but unused but they couldn't get permission and had to land at LGB and tow by road at night.

zorro7 · **Joined:** Tue Dec 08, 2009 8:07 pm **Posts:** 483

BDK:

Good day!

Excellent photo of F4Us & others waiting for a ferry trip overseas! If you have others plz post. Looking for some F4U-5Ns c. 1950s out of Moffett Field, Calif. Tks

jdvoss · **Posted:** Mon Feb 04, 2013 7:28 pm

Hello bdk:

FWIW, to the immediate SW of the Long Beach Airport is the adjacent 'community' of "Signal Hill". As I recall in the late 50's and early 60's Signal Hill was a 'literal forest' of oil well derricks...seemingly 100's of them AND it was ugly and a noxious place!! I havn't been down there in years but I believe that the majority of the oil derricks are gone now. As a point of interest the SW corner of the airport was eventually renamed Long Beach AFB and became a USAF Reserve base with C-119's. The USAF closed it sometime in the early 60's.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signal_Hill,_California

John

bdk · **Joined:** Sun May 02, 2004 1:16 am **Posts:** 11324

Terminal Island was used as a drag strip for many years.

You may be right Rich, but the abandoned airports photos don't show the oil derricks. Maybe they were only there for a short time.

I soloed at LGB in about 1981 and work at the airport, so I am familiar only with that timeframe.

51fixer · **Posted:** Tue Feb 05, 2013 12:01 pm

bdk wrote:

Terminal Island was used as a drag strip for many years.

You may be right Rich, but the abandoned airports photos don't show the oil derricks. Maybe they were only there for a short time.

I soloed at LGB in about 1981 and work at the airport, so I am familiar only with that timeframe.

The one photo seems to be taken from the direction of the derricks. I suspect the war effort could have lead to a boom in drilling/oil production in any avail spot on top of whatever pre war drilling was in effect.
What catches my eye is the white square at the end of the runway and the shape and position of the concrete ramp and the asphalt ramp where the Culver drones are.
Seems similar between the 2 photos although they are taken from opposite directions.
I wonder when the Coronado sea plane showed up on the property?

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NAS Long Beach California???

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