Training Command airfields in California provided Primary, Basic and Advanced (both single and multi-engine) pilot training under the Army Air Force Flying Training Command. Mather AAF provided Navigator Training. Training Command also provided technical aircraft support training to both enlisted and officer personnel at aircraft delivery fields, operated by manufacturers such as North American, Douglas, Northrup and Consolidated Aircraft.
Most of these airfields were under the command of Fourth Air Force or the Army Air Forces Training Command (AAFTC) (A predecessor of the current-day United States Air ForceAir Education and Training Command). However the other USAAF support commands (Air Technical Service Command (ATSC); Air Transport Command (ATC) or Troop Carrier Command) commanded a significant number of airfields in a support roles. A significant number of them had operational squadrons for air defense of the Pacific coastline and anti-submarine patrols, and one was even handed over to Civil Air Patrol pilots for their use.
In addition to the major fields, dozens of minor auxiliary fields and airstrips were built, generally to provide more room for basic flight training, but also to support other operations. A few of these were designed as "fallback fields" for launching defensive operations in case of a Japanese invasion.
Most Army airfields were built with three runways in a triangle, with parking ramp areas adjacent to one runway. This triangular configuration allowed rapid construction, without regard to the direction of the prevailing winds. Navy fields were generally built with two runways in a cross, with a third runway intersecting the other two at an angle.
There were, of course, other designs, including single-runway fields. Most noteworthy were "landing mats," large concrete squares, hexagons and circles, which allowed takeoffs and landings in any direction.
Following the war, many bases and auxiliary fields were given to local governments—or returned to service—as municipal airports. Often, budget constraints caused the new owners to close or even remove the "extra" runways, retaining only those that faced into the prevailing winds. In at least one case (Orland), large portions of a landing mat were removed, leaving a conventional runway and ramp.
A few were sold or given back to private owners, generally to be returned to agricultural use, while a handful have become private airports. A number of fields were simply abandoned, due to their remote locations, and the remains of these can still be found, especially in the Mojave Desert.
It is still possible to find remnants of these wartime airfields. Many were converted into municipal airports, some were returned to agriculture and several were retained as United States Air Force installations and were front-line bases during the Cold War. Hundreds of the temporary buildings that were used survive today, and are being used for other purposes.
Major Airfields
Fourth Air Force
The mission of Fourth Air Force was the air defense of the West Coast, operating two air defense wings in California (Los Angeles and San Francisco). It also provided operational training of newly-formed groups and squadrons in combat aircraft prior to their deployment to overseas combat theaters. After April 1944, operational training was changed to replacement training of newly-commissioned pilots in combat fighters from the AAF Training Command advanced flying schools.
Training Command airfields in California provided Primary, Basic and Advanced (both single and multi-engine) pilot training under the Army Air Force Flying Training Command. Mather AAF provided Navigator Training. Training Command also provided technical aircraft support training to both enlisted and officer personnel at aircraft delivery fields, operated by manufacturers such as North American, Douglas, Northrup and Consolidated Aircraft.
Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947-1977. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-12-9.
Thole, Lou (1999), Forgotten Fields of America : World War II Bases and Training, Then and Now - Vol. 2. Pictorial Histories Pub . ISBN 1-57510-051-7
Fourth Air Force 
AAF Training Command 
AAF Contract Flying Schools
Air Transport Command 
Technical Service Command
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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