Camp Kearny facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Camp Kearny |
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| San Diego, Southern California | |
View of the flight line at Camp Kearny, 1945
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| Type | United States Army installation |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1917 |
| In use | 1917–1946 |
Camp Kearny was a military base in San Diego County, California. It started as an Army base and later became a Navy base. The camp was open from 1917 to 1946. Today, the same land is home to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. The base was named after Brigadier General Stephen W. Kearny.
Contents
History of Camp Kearny
How Camp Kearny Started
The Army built Camp Kearny in 1917. It was on a large piece of land, about 12,721 acres (51.5 square kilometers), north of San Diego. Part of this land was the Miramar Ranch. This ranch was first owned by a newspaper man named E. W. Scripps. He named the area Miramar, which means "view of the sea."
The new base was named to honor Brigadier General Stephen W. Kearny. He was a leader in the Mexican–American War. He also served as a military governor of California. Camp Kearny was one of 32 new camps the Army created in 1917. These camps helped train soldiers for World War I. The first leader of the camp was Major James Stuart McKnight. Airplanes sometimes landed on the camp's parade ground. But a real airfield was not built during World War I.
After the war, Camp Kearny helped soldiers return home. Joseph E. Kuhn was in charge until it closed in 1920. The camp was mostly empty after 1920. However, the government kept it for military and civilian planes. The U.S. Public Health Service used it for a while. In 1927, the Ryan Aircraft Company used the field. They tested the weight of the famous plane, The Spirit of St. Louis. This plane was being built for Charles A. Lindbergh. From 1929 to 1930, the place was called Airtech Field.
In 1932, the Navy added a tall pole called a mooring mast. This mast was for giant helium dirigibles. These were like huge blimps. The Navy's two big airships, the USS Akron and USS Macon, visited the base. Each airship was about 785 feet (239 meters) long.
The Akron first visited Camp Kearny on May 11, 1932. That visit ended badly. A strong gust of wind lifted the airship. This caused two ground workers to die and one to get hurt. Even so, the Navy kept using the base. The Macon moored at Camp Kearny four times in 1934. These airships were based at Moffett Field in Sunnyvale, California.
In 1940, the Navy started to make Camp Kearny bigger and better. By 1941, the base covered over 26,000 acres (105 square kilometers). On February 20, 1943, it became Naval Auxiliary Air Station Camp Kearny. It had three runways. One was a 3,000-foot (914-meter) asphalt runway. It was mainly for parking planes. The other two were 6,000-foot (1,829-meter) concrete runways. The main job of the base was to train pilots. They learned to fly PB4Y Liberators (B-24s). These planes were built by the nearby Consolidated Aircraft Company.
Marine Corps Use and Future
In 1934, part of the base was rented to the Marine Corps. They used it for training and shooting ranges. When World War II began, the Marines took over the northern part of Camp Kearny. They called it Marine Corps Air Depot Camp Kearny. In 1943, the Marines changed their base name. It became Marine Corps Air Depot Miramar. This was to avoid confusion with the Navy base. The Marine base mainly helped Marine squadrons get ready for the South Pacific.
The Marines also built a training base on Camp Kearny's land. It was called Camp Holcomb. It was named after Major-General Thomas Holcomb. He was the leader of the Marine Corps at that time. By 1940, too many new recruits were coming in. The local training base, Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, was too small. So, the Marines replaced Camp Holcomb with a much larger training base. It was built directly east of Camp Kearny. This new base was called Camp Elliott. It was named after George F. Elliott, another former Marine Corps leader.
After World War II ended, the Navy used Camp Kearny to send soldiers home. On May 1, 1946, the Navy left Camp Kearny. They gave it to the Marines. The base then became MCAS Miramar. In 1947, the Marines moved to MCAS El Toro. Miramar was then called a Naval Auxiliary Air Station, NAAS Miramar. Later, it became a full air station and was renamed NAS Miramar. Miramar is still active today. It is home to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.
Images for kids
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Rosedale Naval Outlying Landing Field map
