Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields: Northwestern Nevada

Northwestern Nevada

Basecamp Airfield (revised 12/26/08) - Humboldt Intermediate Field (revised 6/12/08) - Sutcliffe NOLF (revised 6/12/08)

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Humboldt Intermediate Field, Humboldt, NV

40.09 North / 118.15 West (Northeast of Reno, NV)

"Humboldt" Intermediate Field, as depicted on the April 1942 6M Regional Aeronautical Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).

Photo of the airfield while open has not been located.

The Humboldt airfield was one of the network of Intermediate Fields

which was constructed by the Civil Aeronautics Administration in the 1920s & 1930s.

The Intermediate Fields were intended for the emergency use of commercial aircraft

flying on airways between major cities.

The date of construction of the Humboldt Intermediate Field has not been determined.

The earliest reference to the field which has been located

was in The Airport Directory Company's 1933 Airport Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).

It described Humboldt as the Department of Commerce's Intermediate Field Site 28B

along the San Francisco - Salt Lake airway.

The landing area was said to consist of a triangular sod field, measuring 3,500' on each side,

which was equipped with a beacon, boundary, approach, and obstruction lights.

Describing the field as "sod" must have been quite optimistic -

there probably wasn't much sod in the Nevada desert!

The earliest depiction of the Humboldt airfield which has been located

was on the April 1942 6M Regional Aeronautical Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).

It depicted the Humboldt airfield as Site 28B.

The last chart depiction which has been located of Humbolt as an active airfield

was on the May 1945 Elko Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).

It depicted the Humboldt airfield as Site 28B.

Being in a very remote area, the Humboldt airfield remained operational (at least nominally)

much longer than most of the other Intermediate Fields.

It apparently was closed at some point between 1945-48,

as it was no longer depicted on the November 1948 Elko Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy).

The 1954 USGS topo map still depicted an “Airway Beacon”,

but did not depict anything of the airfield itself.

As seen in the 1994 USGS aerial photo,

the triangular layout of the Humboldt Intermediate Field was still quite apparent,

more than 60 years after it was constructed.

A single building was visible on the northwest corner of the field – it is not known if this building dated from the property's airfield days.

A circa 2006 aerial view showed that the remains of the Humboldt Intermediate Field were still largely unchanged.

The site of the Humboldt Intermediate Field is located in a very remote area,

15 miles southeast of Lovelock, NV.

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Sutcliffe Naval Outlying Landing Field, Sutcliffe, NV

39.94 North / 119.6 West (North of Reno, NV)

"Sutcliffe (Navy)", as depicted on the 1945 Elko Sectional Chart (courtesy of John Voss).

Photo of the airfield while open has not been located.

This field was built during WW2 as one of five satellite airfields for Fallon NAAS,

which trained Navy Carrier Air Groups.

Sutcliffe was built to support torpedo, bombing, and strafing on the adjacent Pyramid Lake.

According to John Voss, "Waterborne mobile bombing targets operated north of Latitude 40 degrees North.

Permission to bomb, strafe and drop torpedoes into the lake had to be negotiated

through a lease with the Paiute Indian Tribal Council."

The date of construction of Sutcliffe has not been determined.

It was not depicted on the 1940 Airports & Airways Map from the NV Division of Aeronautics (courtesy of Jim Mallery),

nor listed among active airfields in the 1944 US Army/Navy Directory of Airfields (courtesy of Ken Mercer).

The earliest depiction of the field which has been located

was on the 1945 Elko Sectional Chart (courtesy of John Voss),

which depicted "Sutcliffe (Navy)" as an auxiliary airfield.

Sutcliffe was apparently abandoned by the Navy at some point between 1945-49,

as it was no longer depicted at all on the September 1949 Mt. Whitney World Aeronautical Chart (courtesy of Donald Felton),

the September 1957 Reno Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy),

or the 1957 USGS topo map.

Apparently, Sutcliffe was reopened as a civilian airport at some point between 1957-66,

as that is how it was depicted on the June 1966 Reno Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy).

The Aerodromes table on the 1967 Reno Sectional Chart (courtesy of John Voss)

described Sutcliffe as having a single 2,200' gravel runway,

with "Hazardous boulders on landing strip."

The 1980 USGS topo map depicted a single 1,800' runway,

labeled simply as "Landing Strip",

which most likely indicated that Sutcliffe was closed by that point.

As seen in the 1994 USGS aerial photo,

the outline of the runway was still discernible.

Sutcliffe was definitely closed by 1998,

as it was no longer depicted at all (even as an abandoned airfield) on the 1998 aeronautical charts.

A circa 2006 aerial view showed that the remains of the Sutcliffe airfield were still largely unchanged.

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Basecamp Airfield, Warm Springs, NV

38.32 North / 116.28 West (Northwest of Las Vegas, NV)

The 1968 USGS topo map depicted the “Landing Strip” across the road from the “Central NV Test Site Base Camp”.

The Basecamp Airfield was evidently constructed by the Atomic Energy Commission,

which used it to support the base camp for the Project Faultless underground nuclear test to the north.

The Basecamp Airfield may have been built at some point between 1966-68,

as it was not depicted at all on the June 1966 Reno Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy).

The earliest depiction of the Basecamp Airfield which has been located was on the 1968 USGS topo map.

It depicted a single northeast/southwest unpaved runway, labeled “Landing Strip”.

The only buildings depicted were 3 small structures across the road to the south, labeled “Central NV Test Site Base Camp”.

The earliest aeronautical chart depiction which has been located of the Basecamp Airfield

was on the July 1970 Air Force Tactical Pilotage Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).

It was labeled as "AEC Base Camp".

Curiously, only a single year later, the Basecamp Airfield was "abandoned",

as that is how it was depicted on the 1971 Las Vegas Sectional Chart (courtesy of Vince Granato).

That was apparently when the airfield was taken over by the Air Force,

which instead of abandoning the airfield actually expanded it with a modern 7,300 foot runway,

possibly to serve as a possible emergency field for Groom Lake test aircraft.

This would seem to be supported by the fact that the Basecamp Airfield

lies directly along the extended centerline of the runways at Groom Lake.

It was labeled "Test Site Base Camp" on the 1990 NV Airports & Landing Strips Map (courtesy of Jim Mallery).

Curiously, the depiction of the Basecamp Airfield on the 1991 USGS topo map

was identical to how it had been depicted on the 1968 USGS topo map,

not reflecting any of the improvements made to the facility in the 33 subsequent years.

A late 1990s view looking northeast along the Basecamp Airfield runway.

Note the radar dome atop the mountain in the background, directly aligned along the runway centerline,

and the "thousands-remaining" signs along both sides of the runway.

A 1999 USGS aerial view of the Basecamp Airfield showed a runway that appeared to have been recently paved,

yet was also marked with closed-runway "X" symbols.

An asphalt ramp at the south end of the runway appeared to be the only other aviation infrastructure at the site -

there did not appear to be any hangars or other buildings directly associated with airfield operations.

As it exists in the 2000s, the Basecamp Airfield is a "secret" facility in plain sight:

signs on the fence say only the "U.S. Government" owns the facility,

and personnel there will not divulge any further information.

Evidence indicates it is operated by a government contractor on behalf of

the Air Force Flight Test Center, probably in support of testing at Groom Lake.

The Basecamp runway, equipped with modern navigation aids

(including a TACAN/VOR/DME adjacent to the runway, frequency 113.9),

is still depicted as an abandoned airfield on recent aeronautical charts

and has an "X" painted on each end of the runway.

Facilities for aircraft are minimal: a well-equipped fire station

& many fire extinguishers positioned along the runway,

but no hangars or other places to store aircraft.

There appear to be no aircraft at all stationed at this facility.

A circa 2006 aerial view looking northeast along Basecamp's runway, showing the closed “X” symbols.

The Basecamp Airfield is located adjacent to Route 6 about 10 miles northeast of Warm Springs.

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