Gardner Army Airfield

Gardner Army Airfield
Part of Army Air Force Training Command
Kern County, near Taft, California
Aerial Photo of the remains of Gardner AAF, 2006. The largest remaining recognizable element of the airfield is the 1,800' concrete & asphalt ramp area, which runs diagonally NW/SE in the photo.
Coordinates	35°06′21″N 119°18′21″W
Type	Army Airfield
Site information
Controlled by	United States Army Air Forces
Site history
Built	1941
In use	1941-1945
Garrison information
Garrison	Army Air Force Training Command

Gardner AAF

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Location of Gardner Army Airfield, California

July 1943 oblique airphoto looking southward

World War II Photo of Gardner Army Air Field showing flying cadets.

Gardner Army Airfield is a former United States Army Air Force World War II Field located 9 miles southeast of Taft, California. It was named for Major John H. Gardner, a World War I aviator hero.

Gardner AAF is historically significant as Brigadier General Charles Elwood "Chuck" Yeager first learned how to fly an airplane there.

History

In 1940, prior to the entry of the United States into World War II, the Chief of the United States Army Air Corps directed the Western Flying Training Command to immediately take action to select air base sites needed to increase its pilot training rate to meet anticipated wartime demands.

Army Air Corps representatives came to Taft, California on 17 January 1941 to survey a site for an Basic Flying Training School. An agricultural site was selected and a contract was made on 21 March for construction of an airfield with work beginning on 3 April 1941. The immediate construction involved runways and airplane hangars, with concrete runways, several taxiways and a large parking apron and a control tower. The airfield had three asphalt runways laid out in a triangle pattern, 6000x150(N/S), 4574x150(E/W), 5001x150(NW/SE)

A large aircraft parking apron and several large hangars were also constructed. Buildings were ultimately utilitarian and quickly assembled. Most base buildings, not meant for long-term use, were constructed of temporary or semi-permanent materials. Although some hangars had steel frames and the occasional brick or tile brick building could be seen, most support buildings sat on concrete foundations but were of frame construction clad in little more than plywood and tarpaper. In addition to the main base and airfield, six auxiliary fields were also constructed in the area:

• Parker Field (Aux #1) 35°03′50″N 119°12′15″W
• Conners Field (Aux #2) 35°03′47″N 119°05′40″W
• Allen Field (Aux #3) 35°03′16″N 119°01′05″W
• Maricopa Field (Aux #4) 35°03′21″N 119°23′58″W
• Taft Field (Aux #5) 35°07′10″N 119°20′10″W
• Cuyama Field (Aux #6) 34°51′15″N 119°28′45″W

No remains exist of any of these auxiliary airfields as of 2011.

Named "Garner Army Airfield" by the War Department, the 528th School Squadron was transferred to the new training base on 2 June and the field was activated. Construction was rapid and the basic facilities were completed on 21 July 1941.

Gardner Field was one of hundreds of small airfields built or leased by the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) throughout the United States during World War II to train aviators. It was activated in 1941.

The field was operated by the Army Air Force Training Command, West Coast Training Center.

Gardner operated BT-13 and PT-17 aircraft for primary training. The original configuration of the airfield at Gardner is unknown, but it was depicted on the 1945 Mojave Aeronautical Chart with the symbol indicating that its longest runway was between 5,500-6,500'.

Known USAAF Units at Gardner Field were:

• Hq, Air Corps Basic Flying School
• 328th School Squadron
• 329th School Squadron
• 545th School Squadron
• Hq and Hq Sq, 73rd Air Base Group (Special):
• 79th Material Squadron (Special)
• 63rd Air Base Squadron (Special)
• Air Force Band
• Sub Depot
• Det, 1st Communications Squadron
• Det, 1st Weather Squadron
• Det, 853rd Ordnance Service Company (Aviation)
• Det, Company L, 34th Quartermaster Regiment (Truck)
• Det, Company A, 93rd Quartermaster Battalion (Lt Maint)
• Det, 858th Signal Service Company (Aviation)

The 37th and last class at Gardner graduated in January 1945, by which point the base had trained a total of 3,050 soldiers & 8,916 cadets.

• 
  BT-13 Valiant
• 
  PT-17 Stearman

Postwar use

After the war Gardner was declared surplus and was closed as an active military installation. It was operated as Gardner Airport for some years afterwards, but evidently closed at some point between 1949-64.

Today, only possible remnant is the ruin of a warehouse & loading docks which may be part of the base. There is also a road which may have run along the perimeter of the base.

There is also a monument located at the site of the base's former entrance, at the intersection of Cadet and Basic School Roads.

See also

• California World War II Army Airfields

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

• Shaw, Frederick J. (2004), Locating Air Force Base Sites History’s Legacy, Air Force History and Museums Program, United States Air Force, Washington DC, 2004.
• Manning, Thomas A. (2005), History of Air Education and Training Command, 1942–2002. Office of History and Research, Headquarters, AETC, Randolph AFB, Texas ASIN: B000NYX3PC

External links

• Gardner Army Airfield
• Basic Flight Training Gardner Field
• Los Angeles Times article on Gardner Field, April 13, 2003