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词条 Marine Corps Air Station Santa Barbara
释义

  1. History

     Early years  World War II 

  2. See also

  3. Notes

  4. References

  5. External links

{{Infobox airport
| name = MCAS Santa Barbara
| nativename = Goleta Field
| nativename-a =
| nativename-r =
| image = Overhead MCAS Santa Barbara in April of 1944.jpg
| image-width = 250
| caption = Overhead MCAS Santa Barbara in April 1944
| IATA =
| ICAO =
| type = Military
| owner =
| operator =
| city-served =
| location = Santa Barbara, California
| elevation-f =
| elevation-m =
| coordinates = {{Coord|34|25|34|N|119|50|25|W|type:airport_region:US}}
| website =
| metric-elev =
| metric-rwy =
| r1-length-f = 4500
| r1-length-m =
| r1-surface = Asphalt
| r2-number =
| r2-length-f =
| r2-length-m =
| r2-surface =
| r3-number =
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}}

Marine Corps Air Station Santa Barbara (MCAS Santa Barbara) was a United States Marine Corps air station that was located in Goleta, California {{convert|70|mi|km|0}} north of Los Angeles during World War II. It was also known as the Goleta Air Station in the 1940's.[1] Commissioned on December 4, 1942, the air station consisted of an airfield that had been built into the Goleta Slough and served as a training base for numerous squadrons before they deployed to support combat operations in the Pacific Theater. Later in the war, the station would serve as home to Marine squadrons that were trained to operate from aircraft carriers providing close air support for their fellow Marines on the ground. Following the surrender of Japan and the subsequent drawdown of forces that ensued, the air station closed its doors in 1946 and today its property is home to the Santa Barbara Municipal Airport and the campus of the University of California, Santa Barbara.

History

Early years

In the early 1930s, an airfield and flight school were established in Goleta, California that would later be named the Santa Barbara Municipal Airport. In 1940, the Civil Aeronautics Authority recommended expanding the airfield in the interest of national defense which led to the city purchasing another {{convert|568|acre|km2}} and building another terminal and filling in the Goleta Slough to make way for three runways.

World War II

{{Infobox Military Structure
|name= Marine Corps Air Station Santa Barbara
|location= Santa Barbara, California
|image=
|caption=
|type= Military air station
|built= December 4, 1942 - March 1, 1946
|materials=
|used= 1942 - 1946
|controlledby= USMC
|garrison=
|commanders=
|battles=
}}

After the outbreak of war, the United States Army Air Corps began to build revetments and station P-40 interceptors at the airfield. The first Marines at Goleta came on June 14, 1942 with the arrival of Marine Aircraft Group 24 (MAG-24) and VMSB-243 and VMSB-244,[2] and expanded construction on the base began a month later on May 29, 1942. The field was officially commissioned on December 4, 1942. However, throughout 1942, the threat of a Japanese strike against the West Coast of the United States kept the base on very high alert, especially after the raid against Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands.

The advanced echelon of Marine Base Defense Aircraft Group 42 arrived in January 1943 and would remain for the duration of the war. Conditions surrounding the base also improved in early 1943, when the local slaughterhouse burned down and the hog farm was abandoned. Two unique conditions that affected the base were that U.S. Route 101 ran through the middle of it and during the course of the war, United Air Lines continued to use the field.[3]

In early 1944, after the Battle of Tarawa, where many felt that close air support left much to be desired, General Holland Smith recommended that Marine aviators be trained to operate from aircraft carriers. In July 1944, Commandant of the Marine Corps General Alexander Vandegrift held a meeting with Admiral Chester Nimitz where it was agreed that Marine aircraft would be placed on a certain number of escort carriers to provide close air support for Marines during amphibious landings.[4] This led to the establishment of the Marine Carrier Air Group (MCVG) and the establishment of a command known as Marine Carrier Groups Pacific, which would be based at MCAS Santa Barbara.[5] The goal for the unit was to have eight air groups ready for the expected invasion of Japan late in 1945.[6]

At its peak, the station housed nearly 500 officers, about 3,100 enlisted men, and 440 women Marines. A total of 24 squadrons trained at the base during the war[7] and 101 aviation accidents occurred at the station during training. Following the war, the Marine Corps considered making MCAS Santa Barbara a permanent installation. However, the city of Santa Barbara opposed this, since the area was needed for its municipal airport, as no other land nearby was suitable. The Marine Corps Air Station went into caretaker status on March 1, 1946, and it was released to the War Assets Administration for disposal two months later. Substantial portions of the former air station now compose the Santa Barbara Municipal Airport, while the rest is the campus of the University of California, Santa Barbara. A former hangar houses the Goleta/Santa Barbara Air Heritage Museum.[6]

See also

{{Portal|United States Marine Corps}}
  • Isla Vista, California
  • United States Marine Corps Aviation
  • University of California, Santa Barbara
  • List of United States Marine Corps installations
  • List of inactive United States Marine Corps aircraft squadrons
{{clear}}

Notes

1. ^{{Cite book|title=Beyond a Dream|last=Brummell|first=Clyde Verlon|publisher=Gann Publishing Co.|year=2005|isbn=|location=Portland, Oregon|pages=195|oclc=65433169|quote=He asked if I would be interested in being sent to Goleta Air Station near Santa Barbara, California, where Major Joe Foss was forming up a Corsair fighter squadron, VMF-115}}
2. ^Shettle, USMC Air Stations of WWII, p.147.
3. ^Shettle, USMC Air Stations of WWII, p.148.
4. ^Simmons, A History, p.167.
5. ^Condon, Flattops and Corsairs, pp. 87-89.
6. ^Shettle, USMC Air Stations of WWII, p.149.
7. ^Sherrod, History of Marine Corps Aviation in WWII, p.441.

References

  • Brummell, Clyde Verlon (2005). Beyond a Dream. Portland, Oregon: Gann Publishing Co.
  • {{cite book |ref=Condon

| last = Condon
| first = John Pomeroy
| title = Corsairs and Flattops - Marine Carrier Air Warfare, 1944-45
| publisher = Naval Institute Press
| year = 1998
| location = Annapolis Maryland
| isbn = 1-55750-127-0
}}
  • {{cite book |ref=Sherrod

| last = Sherrod
| first = Robert
| year = 1952
| title = History of Marine Corps Aviation in World War II
| publisher = Combat Forces Press
| location = Washington, D.C.
  • {{cite book |ref=Shettle

| last = Shettle
| first = M. L., Jr.
| title = United States Marine Corps Air Stations of World War II
| publisher = Schaertel Publishing Co.
| year = 2001
| location = Bowersville, Georgia
| isbn = 0-9643388-2-3
}}
  • {{cite book |ref=Simmons

| last = Simmons
| first = Edwin
| year = 1974
| title = The United States Marines: A History
| publisher = Naval Institute Press
| location = Annapolis, Maryland
| isbn = 1-55750-840-2
}}

External links

  • Developed to Serve Wartime Need — a document from the Santa Barbara Airport with a timeline and several photos of MCAS Santa Barbara.
  • Commissioned to Train Aviators — another document with more photos and details about Marine training at the station.
{{US Marine Corps navbox}}

8 : Defunct United States Marine Corps air stations|Formerly Used Defense Sites in California|Goleta, California|Airports in Santa Barbara County, California|Buildings and structures in Santa Barbara County, California|Military facilities in California|World War II airfields in the United States|History of Santa Barbara County, California

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