Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields:
California: Southwestern Fresno area
© 2002, © 2005 by Paul Freeman. Revised 7/21/05.
(Original) Coalinga Municipal (revised 6/9/05) – Lemoore AAF / Lemoore Airport (revised 7/21/05)
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Lemoore Army Airfield / Lemoore Airport, Lemoore, CA
36.25 North / 119.95 West (South of Fresno, CA)
A WW2-era diagram of Lemoore AAF (courtesy of John Voss).
A WW2-era diagram of Lemoore AAF & its six satellite airfields (courtesy of John Voss).
This obscure former Army Airfield is not to be confused with the later-day Lemoore Naval Air Station,
which is a separate airfield on the north side of Route 198.
The Lemoore airfield was evidently not a prewar airfield,
as no airfield was depicted at this location on the 1932 San Francisco - LA Air Navigation Map (courtesy of Herbert Haar).
The Federal Government acquired 1,466 acres for the Lemoore Basic Flying School in 1941-42,
(according to a 1989 Army Corps of Engineers report).
Approximately 488 acres were acquired in fee by grant deed from individual land owners,
963 acres were leased from the City of Lemoore
and 14 acres were acquired by transfer from the National Housing Agency.
The site was used by the Department of the Army for a basic flying school & civilian war housing.
Site maps of the former Lemoore site dated June 1941 & 1942 identified the following facilities located at the site:
PX gas station, 10 gas tanks, a truck fill station, oil & lube station, motor repair shop with 4 grease racks & 4 underground tanks,
fire station, cadet quarters, warehouses, officers quarters, mess hall, utilities shop, chapel, classrooms,
water reservoir & water well, taxiways, runway, landing field, and two hangars.
Additional structures constructed by the Army for the Lemoore site were located south of the area shown on the 1941 & 1942 site maps,
including an amphitheater & swimming pool.
According to a WW2-era diagram, the field consisted of a roughly triangular shaped landing mat,
which measured 3,470' along its longest side.
A 3,700' long north/south apron sat to the southwest of the landing mat,
and west of the apron was the building area.
The 1943 Mt Whitney Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy) slightly misspelled the name of the field,
as "Le Moore Army Air Field".
The cover of the Lemoore AAF Class 44D yearbook, showing the field's control tower (courtesy of Walter Barber).
Walter Barber recalled, “I was one of the cadets that trained at Lemoore in November & December 1943.
We were the class of 44D, meaning that we would get our wings April 1944.
I recall using the subsidiary fields such as Indian in practicing instruments takeoffs & various forms of emergency procedures.
We flew the Vultee BT-13 (Vibrator)
and some of us were moved up to twin-engine Cessna AT-17 Bobcat (Bamboo Bomber) which we flew out of Coalinga.
They would bus us over to Coalinga early in the morning from Lemoore AAF & after training bus us back to LAAF.”
Lemoore AAF cadets conducting physical training, in front of the large number of barracks at the base
(from the Lemoore AAF Class 44D yearbook, courtesy of Walter Barber).
A formation flight of Vultee BT-13 Vibrators from Lemoore AAF
(from the Lemoore AAF Class 44D yearbook, courtesy of Walter Barber).
Walter recalled, “I flew this ship during the first half of my stay at Lemoore & then switched to the twin engine AT-17 for the last half.”
Flight training at Lemoore AAF using Link Trainers
(from the Lemoore AAF Class 44D yearbook, courtesy of Walter Barber).
Lemoore AAF was described by the 1944 US Army/Navy Directory of Airfields (courtesy of Ken Mercer)
as having a 6,500' hard-surface runway, although the remarks included, "Entire field available only when dry."
Lemoore AAF had a total of six satellite airfields for the use of its cadets:
A-2 Huron (7 miles west-southwest), A-3 Indian (13 miles southwest),
A-4 Murray (8 miles south), A-5 West (14 miles west),
A-6 Summit Lake (7 miles north), and A-7 Helm (15 miles northwest).
The satellite fields each consisted of a 3,000' square landing mat,
with either a "road mix" or oiled surface.
Additionally, the "Coalinga Emergency Landing Field" (22 miles west-southwest)
was also designated for use by Lemoore AAF.
The 1945 USAAF Pilot's Handbook (according to Chris Kennedy)
described Lemoore AAF as having three bituminous runways:
6,475' northwest/southeast, 4,800' east/west, and 3,000' north/south.
It said, "Runways marked on all-way landing area",
so the only concrete was apparently the ramp areas.
“Lemoore AAF” & its satellite airfields, as depicted on the March 1946 Mt. Whitney Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The Lemoore AAF site was declared surplus by the War Assets Administration on January 11, 1946,
according to a 1989 Army Corps of Engineers report.
The former Lemoore AAF was evidently reused as a civilian airfield,
as the February 1946 Mt. Whitney Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
depicted “Lemoore” as an auxiliary airfield, with no indication of military use.
The War Assets Administration transferred ownership of 750 acres of the site
to the City of Lemoore on November 16, 1948
(according to a 1989 Army Corps of Engineers report).
The 1949 Mt Whitney Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy)
depicted “Lemoore” as a public-use civilian airport having a 6,100' hard-surface runway.
Lemoore was depicted as a public-use civil airfield on the 1953 San Diego - San Francisco Flight Chart
(courtesy of Scott O'Donnell).
Lemoore was depicted as a civil airfield on the May 1957 Mt. Whitney Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It depicted the runway layout of Lemoore,
with at least two paved runways, the longest being a 6,100' northwest/southeast strip.
According to the 2/1/57 issue of the Fresno Bee,
the 1,460 acre site of the former Army Airfield was sold by the City of Lemoore in 1957 to the Navy,
to be used as part of the site for the new Lemoore Naval Air Station.
A barracks building at Lemoore AAF in 1958.
The building was later relocated to the near the Grangeville gate of Lemoore NAS
The Lemoore airfield had evidently been abandoned at some point between 1957-59,
as nothing at all was depicted at the site on the March 1959 Mt. Whitney Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy).
The 1963 World Aeronautical Chart depicted the “Abandoned Lemoore” airfield as having a single northwest/southeast runway.
It also showed that a “Navy Lemoore” radio beacon had been added on the north side of the Lemoore AAF site,
and the much larger runways of the newly-constructed NAS Lemoore were also depicted to the north.
Ironically, the northern end of the runways of the huge Lemoore NAS
were constructed on the same ground previously occupied by Lemoore AAF's satellite field A-6 Summit Lake.
At some point between 1963-64, the former Lemoore AAF was evidently reused as a short-lived private civilian airfield,
as the June 1964 Mt. Whitney Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
depicted a “Willett” private airfield at the site.
The private airfield evidently used a subset of the former military runways (or possibly a portion of the former paved ramp area),
as the Aerodromes table on the chart described Willett as having two concrete runways
with the longest being only 3,200' (roughly half the length listed on the 1957 chart).
The Willett airfield evidently lasted no more than 3 years, as no airfield was depicted at the site
on the June 1966 Mt. Whitney Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy)
or the 1967 Mt. Whitney Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy).
In the early 1970s the western portion of the former airfield site was leased by McCarthy Land Company
which used the facility for the manufacture of farming supplies
and utilized some of the former airfield structures for an agricultural chemical laboratory
(according to Joe Simpson, as reported in a 1989 Army Corps of Engineers report).
Dianne Avila acquired the western 964 acres of the former site in 1973,
which included all of the former airfield facilities.
Information available from the County of Kings Department of Public Health Division of Environmental Health Services
indicates that the airfield was operated as a crop dusting airstrip for a number of years by intervening owners,
and approximately in 1975 the runway was removed & the area developed for agriculture purposes.
The eastern 464 acres of the former Lemoore site was acquired in 1980 by the Leonard Oliveira Farming Company.
As of a 1989 Army Corps of Engineers report,
the former Lemoore AAF site was owned by two private individuals.
Dianne Avila owned the western portions of the former airfield site
that included the aircraft maintenance buildings, hangars, and parking areas.
She used her property as an orchard.
The Leonard Oliveira Farming Company (also known as the Double 0 Ranch) owned the eastern portion of the former airfield site
which previously contained the taxiways, runways and parking area for the airplanes.
That property was also used to raise crops.
The report described the remaining structures on the site as 2 hangars, 3 warehouses and Z barracks-type buildings,
which were described as appearing to be structurally sound.
Two other buildings appeared to be less well-maintained.
One of the two buildings appeared to be abandoned with windows broken & no doors in the doorways.
As seen in the 1994 USGS aerial photo,
the cleared concrete area in the west half of the photo was once the ramp of the airfield.
The light-colored building along the northwest end of the ramp is an original WW2-vintage hangar (with a two-section arched roof),
while another former hangar is at the southwest end of the ramp.
The pavement of the landing mat & taxiways has been long removed,
with the land returned to cotton fields.
However, by examining the southeast corner of the above 1994 aerial photo,
a faint diagonal outline is still barely perceptible in the cotton fields of the former taxiways.
Paul Freeman visited the Lemoore AAF site in 1994 while working for the Hughes Aircraft Company at Lemoore NAS.
A circa 2000-2005 USGS aerial photo looking southwest at the remaining paved ramp areas of the former Lemoore AAF.
A 2004 photo of the remaining hangar at the northwest end of the Lemoore AAF ramp.
(I have lost the text attributed to these pictures – if you sent them in – please email me.)
A 2004 photo of the ramp & northwest hangar at Lemoore AAF.
A 2004 photo of the remaining hangar at the southwest end of the Lemoore AAF ramp.
No trace appears to remain of any of Lemoore AAF's six satellite airfields.
The site of Lemoore AAF is located south of the intersection of Route 198 & 27th Avenue,
two miles west of the main gate of Lemoore NAS.
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(Original) Coalinga Municipal Airport (CLG), Coalinga, CA
36.16 North / 120.36 West (Southwest of Fresno, CA)
Coalinga Airport, as depicted on the 1929 Rand-McNally Air Trails Map of CA (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The original airport for the town of Coalinga was located adjacent to the northwest side of the town.
The date of construction of the former small general aviation airport is unknown.
The earliest depiction which has been located of the Coalinga Airport
was on the 1929 Rand-McNally Air Trails Map of CA (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It described Coalinga as a municipal airport operated by the Chamber of Commerce,
and the field was said to measure 2,000' x 1,400'.
The Standard Oil Company's 1929 "Airplane Landing Fields of the Pacific West" (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
described Coalinga Airport as having an irregularly shaped 2,750' x 2,100' landing area.
The 1932 San Francisco - LA Air Navigation Map (courtesy of Herbert Haar)
depicted Coalinga as a commercial or municipal airport.
The 1933 San Francisco Airway Map (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
depicted Coalinga as a commercial or municipal airport.
According to K.O. Eckland, in 1936 Coalinga had two runways,
with the longest being a 4,200' northwest/southeast strip.
The Airport Directory Company's 1937 Airports Directory (courtesy of Bob Rambo)
described Coalinga Municipal as having two oiled runways,
with the longest being a 4,200' northwest/southeast strip.
It was also described as having a hangar, with "Coalinga" painted on the roof.
The December 1941 San Francisco Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
depicted Coalinga as a commercial or municipal airport.
In 1942, a total of 221 acres were leased by the Federal Government
from Standard Oil Company of California & the Coalinga Chamber of Commerce
(according to a 1992 Army Corps of Engineers report).
Thus the Coalinga Airport was reused during WW2 as the Lemoore Emergency Landing Field,
an auxiliary field used to train pilots from the Lemoore Army Airfield, 25 miles to the east.
A 3,600 square foot hangar was leased from the Coalinga Chamber of Commerce by the Army Air Force.
"Coalinga, Army" was described in the 1944 US Army/Navy Directory of Airfields (courtesy of Ken Mercer)
as having a 3,600' runway.
With the end of WW2, the Coalinga Airport site was declared surplus by the military on April 21, 1945,
and both leases were terminated on May 19, 1945
(according to a 1992 Army Corps of Engineers report).
A 1945 aeronautical chart (courtesy of Dan MacPherson) depicted Coalinga as an auxiliary airfield.
Coalinga Municipal was listed among active airports in the 1962 AOPA Airport Directory,
with two paved runways, and the operator listed as "Crumpton Flying Service".
The airport was used by crop-dusting aircraft from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s
(according to a 1992 Army Corps of Engineers report).
The runway at Coalinga had evidently been lengthened by 1976,
as the 1976 Pilot's Guide to CA Airports (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
depicted Coalinga Municipal as having two paved runways: 5,280' Runway 12/30 & 4,120' Runway 1/19.
Several taxiways led to a ramp at the southeast corner of the field,
where Coalinga Air Service & West Hills Aviation (a crop dusting service) were located.
In the 1982 AOPA Airport Directory (courtesy of Ed Drury),
Coalinga was described as having two asphalt runways (12/30: 5,280' & 1/19: 4,120'),
and the operator was listed as Kiwi Kopters.
As of a 1992 Army Corps of Engineers report,
the Coalinga Airport property was owned by Chevron U.S.A.
The property was leased by Chevron to the City of Coalinga,
and was subleased to Spencer Aviation Company.
A site visit showed there to be 11 structures located on the site.
All of the structures were either built by the City of Coalinga or private individuals.
Three of the 11 structures were built within 1987-92.
All of the structures were described as well maintained and in good physical condition.
An aboveground storage tank located west of the Spencer Aviation office
was used by the California Highway Patrol to store aviation fuel for their helicopters.
Paul Freeman flew a Cessna into Coalinga Airport in 1994,
to find it a very lonely place with weeds growing up through badly deteriorating runways.
USGS aerial photo 1994, shortly before the airport was closed.
In the late 1990s, the New Coalinga Municipal Airport (a few miles to the east)
was built to replace the original airport.
Both fields were still depicted as active airports on 1998 aeronautical charts,
but the original Coalinga Airport has since closed (at some point between 1998-2002).
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