Barstow-Daggett Airport History

8/22/2019 Barstow-Daggett Airport History

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Barstow-DaggettAirport, AER N o .CA-225-AHangarShedNo.(Barstow-DaggettAirport,NoseDockNo. )39500NationalTrailsHighwayDaggettVicinitySanBernardino CountyCalifornia 2h-A ~

PHOTOGRAPHSWRITTENHISTORICALANDDESCRIPTIVE DATA

HistoricAmericanEngineeringRecordNationalParkServiceDepartmentofth eInteriorSan Francisco,California


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HA& XW.04-27-5-A

ift-HISTORICAMERICANENGINEERINGRECORD Bars tow-DaggettAirportHangarShedNo.4 (NoseDockNo .4)

I. INTRODUCTION Location: HangarShed No .4 isone ofthreeremaining hangarsheds,or"nosedockhangars,"atBarstow-DaggettAirport.Th eairportis located approximately6 mileseastofDaggett,an d1 2mileseastofBarstow,inSa nBernardinoCounty,California(Figures an d2 ).

Minneola,CaliforniaSanBernardinoCounty7.5-MinuteSeries(Topographic),1971 Zone11 E519420N3857440May-June94 2 Sa nBernardinoCounty San Bernardino,CaliforniaStorage Constructedatthe outset ofWorldW ar II ,HangarShedNo.4 was one of onlyfoursuchbuildings,allof whichwerelocatedatBarstow-Daggett Airport(thenknownasModification CenterNo . ,Daggett).Uniquelydesigned toserveasaircraft-modificationfacilities,thehangarsheds couldaccommodatethe"noses" (includingtheengines)ofupto36 aircraftaton etime.Severalaircrafttypes,includingA-20s,C-47s,an dP-51 s,weremodifiedinHangarShedNo.4throughoutthe war,manyofwhichweredestinedto servetheU.S.allies.

Historianan dDate:attC.Bischoff,StatisticalResearch,Inc.,1998Quad:

U TM:

DateofConstruction: PresentOwner:

PresentUse:Significance:


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Barstow-DaggettAirport,HangarShedNo .4 HAERNo .CA-225-A

(page2 )II.HISTORYO F THEB A RS T O W - D A G G E T T A I RP O RTNOTE: See field records for figures.A.Introduction

Th eBars tow-DaggettAirportha sserved numerousrolesthroughoutitslonghistory.T he airport's peak ofoperationcameduringWorld W ar II,whenitservedasamodificationcenterfo rtheU.S.ArmyAir Force(USAAF).OperatedbytheDouglasAircraftCompany,Daggettwa sone ofseveralmodification centersacrossthecountrythatweredesignedto modifyaircraftfo rspecificenvironments,missions,ortasks.Duringthe war,theArmyfoundthatairplanesin theirserviceoftenha dtobealtered ormodifiedtofitveryspecificneeds.Thesemodifications couldno tbeanticipated duringtheinitialmanufactureof theaircraft.Th eArmy alsofound that,becauseofproductionvolumes,the manufacturers'factoriescould notperform the required alterations.Hence,severalmodification centerswereestablished,including on eatDaggett.Hangar ShedNo .4 wa sconstructedduringthisperiod,an dwas on eoffoursuchhangars atDaggettdesignedtofacilitatemodification ofseveraltypesofaircraft.

Priortoan dafterthewar,theDaggettairportservedin severalothercapacities,althoughinreducedform from its wartimeactivitypeak.

B .BeginningsCommunication andAirwaysStation

OriginallyaDesertAirwaysCommunicationStation,Daggett'sfirstconstructionwas abeaconandassociatedshedhousing,builtin930.T he followingyear,awellwassunk,anda40-foottowerw as erected.B y932,threerunwayswerebuilt,alongwithsmallquartersforfieldpersonnel.Inthesameyear,withflightactivityin thenationstilllightbut increasing infrequency,the facilitywas established asanAirways KeeperStation(BarstowPrinter Review[BPR],2\M ay1931).Th epresenceoftheradiobeaconatDaggettmadethestationadividingpointfortranscontinentalflights.Routesfrom Los AngelestoKansas Cityan dSaltLakeCity divergedatDaggett(BPR,9April931).B ythis time,thebeaconwascapableof maintainingvoicecommunicationwithapproachingaircraftthatpossessedradios.Alow-frequencyrangewas established atDaggettin1934,thefirstof itskindintheregion.B ythistime,weathersurveillance w as provided byDaggettpersonneltostationsinBurbank and Kansas City(BPR,21M ay1931).


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Barstow-DaggettAirport,HangarShedN o. 4 H A E RNo .CA-225-A (page3)

C.CivilAeronauticsAuthority

Inthelate1930s,theCivilAeronauticsAuthority(CAA)selectedDaggettasamunicipalairportan dacivilair field,andnegotiatedwiththeCountyof Sa nBernardinoforus e ofthefield.In1939,withpowersupplied to the facilityanda crew of fourmenonboard,Daggettwascommissioned as aCA Aintermediatefield.Daggettwa slistedas Site1 0on theAmarillotoLosAngelesroute(Johnson1976:67) .

Th eCA Aconstructedseveraladditionalbuildings,structures,andequipment.B ytheopeningof th e1940s,thefacilityconsistedofan auxiliarylandingfieldwithtw orunways,abeacon,four smallhouses,andawell(U.S.ArmyAi rCorps[USAAC]942).D.WorldW ar IIan dAirportExpansion

Earlyin1 9 4 1 ,priortoAmericaninvolvementinth ewar,$389,000w as allocatedtoenlargetheDaggettairport.Theincreaseinsizeoftheairportwas tosupportbombingan dantiaircraftoperationsbyth eUSAAC.TheAirCorpswas utilizingBicycleLake(o npresent-day FortIrwin)an dMurocDry Lake(now RogersDry Lake)foraerialmaneuvers an dtrainingan dneededadditionallandingstrips andairportstosupporttheseactivities.Fundingcamefrom theWorks ProgressAdministration (WPA),aprogram of PresidentRoosevelt's New Deal.Originally,the fundingwas not targeted fo r theCA AfieldatDaggettbecausethegovernmentha donlyleased thepropertyonashort-term leasebasis.Eventually,however,itwas decided to expandthefacility.InJanuary942 ,under thesupervisionof theU.S.ArmyCorpsofEngineers(USACE),construction beganon tw orunways:on e50feetwidean d6,400feetlong,an dtheother1 00 feetwidean d5,494feet long(BPR,6 February1941).InMarch,thefieldwas no longera"designated landingarea,"an ditwas restrictedtoonlyair carrierandgovernmentaircraft(Johnson1976:67).CompletedinMay,therunwayswerehard-surfaced an ddesignedtohandleloadsof up to30,000pounds.

W P Afundingwa sprovidedtoSan BernardinoCountyinan attemptto encouragelocalsponsorshipof theproject.TheArmyclaimedthattheywishedtoseeDaggett,andotherairports likeit,becomecommercialassetstothecommunitiesinwhichtheywerelocated(BPR,1 3 February941).Laterintheyear,theCAA agreedtospend$200,000toassistinthedevelopmentof th eairport.Itisunclearif thisfundingw as in addition tothe W P Amoniesorreplacedit.Itisalsounclear whatexactlywas constructed fo r this$200,000.The CountyofSa nBernardinoassistedby acquiringthroughcondemnationthe additional2 0acresofland necessary fo rconstruction ofthe airport(BPR,25December1941).The county alsoagreedtomaintain theairfield.Theairport,atthattime,was intendedtoserveas anauxiliaryairfieldfo rthe Victorville


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Barstow-Dagget tAirport,HangarShed No .4 H AE RNo .CA-225-A (page4)

FlyingSchoolan dtheSan BernardinoArmyA ir CorpsMaintenanceDepot(BPR,30November1941) .WithAmericaninvolvementinWorldW ar II, varioussafetymeasureswereinstituted,includingradioblackouts.Underanagreementworkedoutwiththe W arDepartment,San BernardinoCountypurchasedan dheldinfe esimpletitletheentireairportfacilityfo rthe federalgovernment.The countyalsoagreedtobearthecosts ofmaintainingtherunways(Grier1942).Therewaspowersuppliedtothesite,although itwa sinsufficientforthegovernment'sfutureuse.The AtchisonTopekaandSantaFeRailroad,approximately 9 00 feetaway,did not,at thattime,haveaspurtothe site(USAAC1942).

FurthercondemnationsuitsbroughtbySanBernardinoCountyacquiredadditionallandfo rtheDaggettAirport,bringing the totalto1,000acresinearly1942.Aspurlinefrom theAtchisonTopekaan dSantaFeRailroadwasalsobroughttotheairfieldearlyin thesameyear.It was reportedthat theairportwouldbe turnedovertothecountyoncetheimprovementswerecompleted,"unlessmilitaryoperationsnecessitateits fullfacilities"(BPR,2 9 January1942).

AgroupoffourA ir Corps officersvisited theDaggettairportinMarch9 4 2 ,whichatthattimewas knownas CA AIntermediate Field.Theofficerswere joinedby representatives from theDouglas AircraftCompanyandtheU.S.DistrictEngineer'sOffice(U.S.W ar Department1942).Apparently,Douglas had alreadyproposedan dwonacontracttomodifyaircraftatthesiteforthegovernment.Thesitewas originallysupposed tohouseapproximately80 0employees(USAAC942).Apparently,San BernardinoCountyha dencouragedrepresentatives fromtheDouglasCompanyto choosetheDaggettairportforthelocation ofanother plant(in additionto corporateheadquartersinSantaMonica)(BPR, 6 July1942).Soonthereafter,theW ar Departmentchosetheairportasamodificationcenterfo radaptingairplanesfo rcombatpurposes.Th eairport,no w consistingof1,060acres,wasleasedfrom theCountyofSan Bernardino fo r$1.00peryear.Th eairportwas enlargedtohandlethisne wrole,an dthewholefacilitywas leasedto theW ar Departmentfor theMaterialCommandbeginningonMay4 , 1 9 4 2(USACE1946:1 ) .T he governmentretained exclusiveus eoftheairport,"toa datesix monthsaftertheterminationoftheunlimitednationalemergencydeclared by thePresidentonM ay 27,1941" (SanBernardinoCounty1941:1 ) .

E.DouglasAircraftCompany

OnMay 2 9,1 9 4 2 ,theW ar Departmententeredintoacost-plus-fee contractwiththeDouglasAircraftCompany ofSantaMonica,whichagreedto operatetheDaggettmodificationcenterfo rthegovernment.


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Bars tow-Dag get!Airport,HangarShedNo .4 HAER No .CA-225-A (page5)

Douglasw as tooperatetheairportasan auxiliaryfactorytotheirheadquarters inSantaMonica,an ddid sountilmid-1944,whentheArmyA ir Forcesdeactivatedthe project.Douglaswa sto operateandmaintainth efacility,whichincludedequipment,tools,an dfixtures.Themaintenanceof therunwayremainedtheresponsibility of theCountyofSanBernardino(USACE1946:1) .Apparently,Douglasmodified an doperated upto150 aircraftatDaggettaton egiventime(USAAF1944a:2) .The facilitywastermedModificationCenterNo. ,Daggett.Th ecenteroperatedas abranchplantof the DouglasAircraftCorporation'sPlantJ(in SantaMonica).Daggettwas on eofseveralmodification centers acrossthecountry(U.S.EngineerOffice1944:3).T he centers,originally housedinairlinefacilities,soonwereestablished as permanentbasesinavarietyoflocations.Construction ofthecentersw as madethe responsibilityof theUSACE.Mostofthe centersbecameW ar Departmentproperty(unlike Daggett),an doperatedunderleasestoaircraftmanufacturers.AccordingtotheArmyA ir Force,modification centersweredesignedto :

makeairplanesoperationallysuitabletoacustomerotherthantheon eoriginallyintended;to prepareairplanesfo rspecialmissions;toinstallequipmentfo rcombatoperations;tomakelast-minuteadjustments;an dtoremedyshortagesofequipmentnotavailablewhentheairplanes leftthefactory[AirHistoricalOffice1947:15].

The U.S.EngineerOffice,inateletypetoan unknownrecipient,summedup thepurposeofthemodificationcenter:

fo rcompletedairplanesmanufacturedbytheDouglasAircraftCompanyfo rthepurposeofincorporatingoperationalchangestomakethem suitableforus ebytheBritish,Russian,Dutch,an dAmericanunitsthatwilloperateinforeignclimatesan dterrain:Toinstallequipmenturgentlyneededinordertous etheplanesincombatoperations an dtoinstall[equipment] no tavailableatthetimeof manufacture[U.S.EngineerOffice1944] .

Everyeffortwa smadetosavetime,materials,andmoneyduringtheconstruction of themodificationcenter.Thispointwas stressedbytheU.S.EngineerOfficetoits DivisionEngineerinSan Francisco:

ItisdesiredthattheconstructionofModificationCentersbe ofatemporarynaturewithemphasisonspeedofconstruction.Th euseofwoodwhereverpossiblein order tosavecriticalmaterialsisherebyapproved.Monorailequipmentandother expensiveitems or


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Barstow-DaggettAirport,HangarShedNo .4 H A E RNo .CA-225-A (page6 )

installations shouldnotbe approvedfo r us eintheseModification Centers[U.S.EngineerOffice944].

Followingseveraldelays,construction ofimprovementsnecessaryforamodification centeratDaggettbeganinthesummer of1942.The centerwa sconstructedbyseveralprivatecontractors, w ho wereoverseenbytheU.S.EngineersOffice.Duringthisperiod,thefourhangarshedswereconstructed, alongwithseveralotherfacilities,includingthreedomedhangars,2 0two-storybarracks,2 0familycottages,dispensary,administrationbuilding,theater,cafeteria,an dswimmingpool(Johnson976:67).TheCAAalsospentover $289,000to expandrunwaysand installalightingsystem (BPR,16July1942) .Constructionwascompleted by June94 2 (Figure3)(Groene1942:1 ) .

Duringthisperiod,the facilityw as knownas"DouglasTown."WorkbeingconductedatDaggettwas reportedlyto psecret.Aheavy-dutychain-link fencewith threerowsofbarbedwirealongthetopborderedthefield,an dtheperimeterwas patrolledregularly.Securitywa stight,an dthegeneralpublicwasgivenlittleinformationaboutactivities atthefacility,exceptforvaguestatementssuchas :"variousitemsareinstalledinairplanesforvarioustacticaluses"(Miller1943:10).Thefacilitywa shighlyregulated,an dinmanywayswas aclosedplant.

Aircraft-modificationworkcommencedinthefallof 1 9 4 2 .Thecompany primarilymodifiedDouglasA-20Havocsan dC-47Skytrains,alongwithNorthAmericanP-51Mustangs(Figure4).Theseplanesweremodified foruseinEngland,Russia,an dlaterthe UnitedStates and China.Other planesreportedlymodifiedwereallcargoplanes,an dconsistedofC-49s,C-53s,an dC-54s(AirHistoricalOffice947:4).Douglas operatedthe facilityfo rapproximately2 2 months,modifying4,300planes duringthatperiod.PlaneswerebroughttoDaggett,modified,an dthenflownout,withno testflightsattheairfielditself.Apparently,Daggettreceivedworkordersfrom nearbyairbases,suchas theVictorvilleArmyAir Base(Johnson1976:67).

Douglaspersonnelconsistedof over1,000civilian workers,th emajorityofwhichwerehousedonbasein barracks(Figure5) an dcottages,mostofwhichwereair-conditioned.Someofthe employeeschosetoliveoff-siteinresidences inthesurroundingcommunities.Theyate communallyin largemesshallsattheplant.Du etoincreasingly heavyworkloads,asix-dayworkweek w as inaugurated.M en worked12 days,withtw odaysoff,an dwomenworkedsix dayswithon eda yoff(BPR,2September1943).Threeshiftswerealso initiatedtohandlethelargevolumeofmodificationworkrequired.Atits peak,theDaggettfacilityemployed84 6 peopleonthefirstshift,2 04 on thesecond,and50 onthethird(U.S.EngineerOffice1944:4 ) .


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Barstow-Dagget!Airport,HangarShedN o.4 HAERN o, CA-225-A (page7) Douglas Town ha dageneralstore,canteen,library,andswimmingpool.T he employeesalsoprinted smallnewspapersentitledth e BlueRacerNewsandtheDaggettAirview News.Numeroussocialclubswereformed,an dclasseswereheldonvarioussubjects.The Douglas employeesprovidedBarstowwithan economicboost,afterga srationinghad allbuteliminatedtourist tradeinthetown.B usservicewas eventually provided to Barstow,to allowtheDouglasemployeestoshopan dgenerallyrelievetheisolationthatexistedattheairport(BPR,2September1943) .Moralew as reportedlyhigh,withteamspiritpervasive(Figure6 )(Miller1943:11).

The ArmyAir Forcesalsomaintainedasmalldetachmentofpersonnelatthefacility,consistingof detachments ofWeather an dArmyA ir CorpsSupplysquadronsfrom MaterialCommand (USAAF 944a:3) (Figure7) .TherewerereportedlyseveralRussianliaisonofficersstationedatthe DaggettModification CenterduringtheDouglas tenurethere(Johnson1976:67).

Inaddition,beginninginFebruary1943,the79thArmyA ir ForcesTechnicalTrainingDetachmentwas assignedto Daggett.Other trainingdetachments wereassignedtomodification centersin Cheyenne,Kansas City,Omaha,andTucson,amongothers.The detachment'sresponsibility w as tohouse,feed,an dtrainapprenticecrewchiefs.Thesecrew chiefs were thentobesenttoan airplanefactorytostudyacertain airplane,an dfollowitthrough allstagesofits modificationthroughoutthecountry.SeveralcrewchiefstrainedwithA-20an dC-47aircraftwerestationedat Daggettto followtheirairplanes through themodification process.The Douglas Companywa srequestedto providebarracksan damesshallfo rthesetrainees.Becauseofhousingshortages,however,many of themen sleptintentsprovidedbyMarchField.Th ecompany,however,refused tograntcreditatthemess halltoanyofthecrew chiefs,manyofwhom camewithno moneyon hand.Apparently,thecrew-chieftraineesassisted in someofthemodifications,including intstallationofbombba yga stanksinA-20Gaircraft.B yNovember1943,thedetachmentwas deactivatedandlefttheDaggettairport(Schumacker1943:1-16) .

InJanuary943,theCA A builtatoweron to p oftheDouglasAdministrationbuilding,operated byCA Apersonnel.Throughout Douglas's occupation of thefield,CA A employees remained,servinginthesamerolestheyha d always served.In December1943,the W ar Department permitted the CA Ato operate communicationsan dweather-reportingfacilitiesatth eDaggettModificationCenter.The permitincludedaRadioRangeSitean daCommunication BuildingSite(Johnson1976:67).

Fromsometimeafterthe tower wasbuiltin1943tomid-1944,theairportw as closedtoallai rtrafficexceptaircraftinvolvedin officialDouglasor militarybusiness(Johnson1976:67) ,presumablyfo rsecurityreasons.


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Barsiow-Daggett Airporl,HangarShedNo .4 H A E RN o.CA-225-A

(page8) Interestingly,duringthistime,Daggettw asdesignatedaSa nBernardinoCountyairportan dno tanArmyairfield(Barstow-DaggettAirport1998).

In April944,theRichfield O ilCorporation ofLos Angelesinstalledundergroundfuel-storagefacilitieswitha capacity of54,000 gallonsin thewesterly clearzoneoftheeast-westrunway atthe airport.T hefacilitieswereinstalledunderacontractbetweenRichfieldandDouglas,withDouglasgivenapurchaseoption.B y mid-1944,Douglasha dceasedoperationsatDaggettan dwasthusnotinterestedintheoption.Richfieldthenofferedto sellthefacilitiestotheWarDepartment,whichhadtakenoverDaggettinmid-1944 (seebelow).InMarch1945,theOfficeofthe AssistantChiefofAirStaff,Materielan dServices,recommended thatthegovernmentpurchasethefacilitiesfo racostnottoexceed$10,000(USAAC1945a).Foralmosta year,theFourthAirForceha dbeenusingthefacilitiesunderatemporaryagreementwithRichfield (USAAC 945b).F.FourthAir Force

OnJuly,1 9 4 4 ,thefacilityw as takenoverbytheFourthAirForce,which replacedtheDouglasAircraftCompanyas thetenant.Daggettw as established as asub-baseofOntarioArmy A ir Field,to act as ahousekeepingdetachmentfo rotherFourthAirForceunitsusinggunneryranges(USAAF1945a).Technically,theairportwas transferredfrom th eArmyA ir ForcesMaterialCommandto the FourthA irForce.The 4 4 4 t hArmyAir ForcesBaseUnitw as organizedattheOntariofacility an dorderedtooccupytheDaggettMunicipalAirport(USAAF1944a:I) .T he nameofthefacilitywas changed toDaggettMunicipalAirport,an ditwa scommandedbyLt.RobertA.Nagle(USAAF1944a:4 ) .Apparently,theArmyAirForceha ddecidedtotransferailmodificationofcombatairplanestoproductionlines,insteadofcontinuingto us eplantssuchas Daggett(BPR,4 May944).Itw as decidedthatallDouglaspropertythatwouldprovenecessaryinoperatingabasewould be retainedby theArmyAirForces.TheArmy,whentakingoverthefacility,hiredover30 0Douglaspersonnelalreadyon-site.Theinitialmilitarypersonnelassigned consisted of15officers and34 1enlistedmen,w ho wereassignedhousekeepingdutiesuntilfurtherorders came.Apparently,thetransition was no tcompletelysmooth,as the civilianemployeesatfirstchafedunder Armycontrol.Itappears,however,thatthis problemw as soonalleviated,andmilitaryan dcivilianemployeesgo talongwellthereafter(USAAF 1944b:4 , 2-13).The FourthAirForceusedDaggettas afighterbase,wheretraining,calibration,andtestingof aircraftgunscouldbeaccomplished(USAAF1944a, 944b) .The FourthA irForcealsooperated aFighterPilot'sInstructorSchoolandasupplybaseatDaggett.Fighterpilotinstructorsweretrainedon 2 0P-38aircraftassignedto theDaggettairfield(Figure8) .Thefighterpilotinstructorsweregenerallyveterans ofoverseas


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Barsiow-DaggettAirport,HangarShedNo .4 HAER No .CA-225-A (page9 ) servicewho weresentto Daggettafterreturningtothestatesandbeingprocessedthroughredistribution centers.Thesepilotswereto be trainedinthelatesttechniques,thensentto otherFourthA ir Forceinstallationstoteachotherfighterpilots (USAAF1944c:l-3).

Gunneryinstructor pilottrainingw as alsoaccomplished withP-38aircraftfrom other FourthAir Forcestations,whenweather wa spooratthosestations.T heprevalentclearskies an ddry climateatDaggettallowedforexcellentflyingconditions nearlyyear-round.T heDaggettfacilitywasalsoorderedtoservicetheotherstations'P-38sandequipthem forgunnerytraining(USAAF1944c:l) .

OnJuly7,944 ,thefirstbatchof traineesarrivedatDaggett.Thisfirstgroupwa sfrom theSantaMariaArmyAirBase,California,andtheyhadbeenorderedtoDaggetttoundergoair-to-airgunnerytraining(USAAF ] 9 4 4 a : 4-5) .

Soonafterits establishment, other unitswereassignedtoDaggettMunicipalAirport.In September1944 ,th eFourthAirForceGunneryHeadquartersatHamiltonFieldwa sorderedtoDaggett.Theunitconsistedof 8officers an d36 enlistedmen;7P-38aircraft,7tow-targetaircraft,an dRB-37,AT-23,an dBT-13aircraft;an dmiscellaneousequipment(USAAF1944c:3).

Inmid-September,Daggettwas designatedaCentralInstructor's School,withitsmissionsetforthinthe followingmanner:

a.T oindoctrinateallreturnedcombatfighterpilotswho aredestinedtobecomeflightinstructors,intheFourthA irForcepoliciesan dtrainingprocedures.

b.Togivetrainingtopotentialinstructorsan dsuchinstructor pilotsas may besenttoDaggettMunicipalAirportfrom otherfighter basesinthefundamentalsofaerialgunnery,camera gunnery,film assessing,an drocketfiring.

c.T oprovidefacilitiesforgunnerytrainingofotherfighterbaseunits thatmay beforcedby weatherconditions tomoveinto DaggettMunicipalAirport,temporarilyforcompletionofgunnerytraining.

d.Toconductexperimentaland developmentalworkin thefurtheranceoffixedgunnerytrainingintheFourthAirForce[USAAF1944c:1].


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Barstow-DaggcttAirport, HangarShed No .4 HAER No .CA-225-A (page0)

Th eDaggettairporttrainedinstructorsan dpotentialinstructors from other fighter basesinaerialgunnery,cameragunnery,filmassessment,and rocketfiring.T he facilitywa sessentiallyapostgraduate,or advanced,schoolfo rfighterpilotsw ho ha dalreadyreceivedbasicflighttrainingelsewhere.Daggettprovided this trainingfo rallFourthA irForcebasesin coastalandmountainousregions(Figure9) .DuringaconferenceonaerialgunneryheldatDaggettMunicipalAirportinNovember1944,inattendancewasMajorBarryM.Goldwater,GunneryOfficerofthe318thWing(USAAF1944d:18).

Duringtraining,students wouldcomplete agroundschoolthatwouldindoctrinatethem totopics suchas100-milesight,theoryofdeflection,curveofpursuit,ballistics,boresighting,effectof gravity,cameraexercises,high-altitudegunnery,an dfilmassessment.Aidinginthetrainingprocedurew as the"Gunairinstructor,"whichwas basically asimulatorcompletewithmoviescreenuponwhichthestudentwouldalignhi ssightsan dfireat anairplanesilhouette.Followinggroundschool,the studentreceivedcameratraining,wherehe firedatatowtargetwithagu n camera.Thefilm from thiscameraw as thenassessed bytheinstructor.The nextphaseof trainingincluded livefiringatto wtargetshauled by B - 2 6 airplanes(Figure10)(USAAF1944c,1994d:17-18).

Trainingwas rapid,withair-to-airgunnerystudentsonlyspendingthreeweeks atthe airfield.Atotalof2 59 gunneryinstructorpilots receivedtrainingatDaggettduringtheFourthAirForce'soccupationofthefacility (USAAF1945a:15).

Towtargets wereusedfo rair-to-airgunnerytraining.ThetargetsthemselvesweremaintainedatDaggettan dtowedbyplanessuchastheB - 2 6 ,theA-20,an dthe A - 2 4 (USAAF1945a: 18).Th eB - 2 6 swerealsoutilizedfornightanti-aircraftfiringatCampirwin.Radio-controlled airplanes( P Q - 1 4 sandCQ-3s)werealsousedas expendable targetsinanti-aircrafttraining.OtherunitscametoDaggetttous ethefacilitiesan dtow targets.Theseunitsbroughttheirow nplanesan dtow-targetplanes,bu tmadeuseofth equartersandotherservices atDaggett(USAAF1944e:5).

Daggettalsoconductedexperimentalan ddevelopmentalworkinfixed-gunnerytraining.Thebaseservedasalaboratoryforgunnerytraining,an dpersonnelatthebasesucceededin developing improvedfixed-gunnery techniques.Tw o enlistedmen assignedto theOrdnanceSection,forexample,submittedanideaforan improvementin aircraftarmamenttoPattersonField,Ohio.Theideaconsistedofabooster-motor mechanism toimproveperformanceof theP-38sduringviolentcombatmaneuvers(USAAF1944c:35).Anotherexperimentalproject,begunelsewherebutimplementedatDaggett,w as theuseof infra-redsightingin night-fightertraining.Infra-red lampswereinstalledon P-61 ircraft,whichwerethentestflownnearthe airport(USAAF1 9 4 4 d : 1 9 , 1 9 4 5b : 9 - 1 2 ) .


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Barstow-DaggettAirport,HangarShedN o.4 HAERNo .CA-225-A (page1)

Themajority ofthemaintenancework was accomplishedbyDouglasemployeesw hoha dstayedtoworkfo rtheArmyA irForce.The P-38swereunfamiliarto theDouglasemployees (as tw asa Lockheedairplane),an dsometrainingwa snecessary.Th eArmyAirForces utilizedthe hangarsan dhangar shedsbuiltduringtheDouglasoccupancyofthefacility.HangarShedNo.3,fo rexample,wasusedbytheArmyA ir ForceSupplyfo rreceiving,storing,and issuingmaterialfo rus eatthe facility(USAAF1944a:6-7, 945a:20).TheRadioMaintenanceShop,takenoverfromDouglas,testedan dfixedseveraltypesofradios.Becauseof thelargeamountof work tobe accomplishedattheairfieldan dthe relativelack ofmanpower,theFourthA irForcerequestedadditionalworkersfromtheW arManpowerCommissioninL os Angeles.Itis not knownifadditionalemployeeswerefound(USAAF1944a:11).

Unfortunately, crashesoccurredrelativelyoften,an dtheywerethesourceof manyquestionsand closescrutinyduring officialinspectionsbyvisiting officers.A tleastonecaseofamid-aircollisiontookplacebetweentw oP-38s.Other crashesoccurredat HarpersLake(October 2 5) an datalocation 3milessouthwestofDaggett(October 27).Daggettsalvagedmanyof theplanesthatcrashed nearby (USAAF1944a:8,1944c) .

Anordnancesectionoperatedattheairport,turningou t.50-caliberammunitionforgunnerytraining(USAAF 1944a:9).Thebase utilized theMojaveRange of thenearbymarinebase,locatedapproximately2 5milesnorthwestofDaggett,foritsair-to-airgunnery training.ThegunneryrangeatEdwardsAFB (thenknownas Muroc) w as alsousedoccasionallyby personnelfrom Daggett(USAAF1944a:14) .

Othermiscellaneousplanesoperatedfrom theairport,includingseveralclassesofairplanesfrombombers to cargoto transport(USAAC1945b).An additional O P T - 1 3 s arrivedinOctober 944.Six oftheseplanes wereusedintheGunneryInstructor's School,tw owereusedforadministrative purposes,an dtw owereheldinreserve.TwoAT-23aircraftalsoarrivedin thefallof1 9 4 4 ,an dbothwereused fortheGunneryInstructor's School.T he Fourth apparentlycompletedseveralconstructionprojects duringtheiroccupancy,includingatleaston efiringbuttformachine-gunpractice,a small-armsrange,an dagas-trainingchamber convertedfrom an officebuilding(USAAF1945c).

AerialrockettrainingwasquitenewtotheArmyduringthewar,an dmostpilotshad littletonoexperience withtheweapons.EventuallyanAircraftRocketSchoolwas establishedby nineofficers whoha dgonethroughacourseofinstructionatth eNavalOrdnanceTestStationatInyokem(today'sChinaLakeNavalA irWeaponsStation).ThefirstrockettrainingcourseheldatDaggettwasinMarch945.ArocketfiringrangewasbuiltatLangfordDryLakenearDaggettinM ay945,an dthefirsttestsweremadenJune


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Barstow-DaggettAirport,HangarShedNo .4 HAERN o.CA-225-A (page2)

(USAAF1945a:14,945b:17).BecauseofV-JDay,however,thebasewassoontobeclosed.Manyofthe officersattheDaggettMunicipalAirporthopedthatthefacilitywould bemadeapermanentbase,andpointedtoits tw orunways,excellentflyingweather,an damplebuildings(Figures1an d12).T he basealsohad mess halls,apostexchange,an dacommissary;fewrecreationalfacilitieswereavailable,however.Therew as no serviceclub,an dtheonlysportfacilitiesconsistedofabaseballdiamondandtw ovolleyballcourts.Becauseofits isolatedlocation,therewerefew leisureoutletsinthesurroundingarea.The townof Daggettwa ssmallandprovidedlittlerecreation.Barstow,althoughalargertownthanDaggett,wa slackingindiversionsas well.Troops atDaggettwereprovidedsomeentertainment,however;in1945,JimmyDurante,TommyDorsey,and theUSO show"Hollywood Hi-Jinks"wereon-baseattractions (USAAF1945a:34-35,1945b:19).

Moreimportant,thebasealsolackedadequatewarehouse facilities,fuel-storage capabilities,housing,an dsewagefacilities (USAAF1944e:12-13) .Becausethe en dofthewar w as near,fundingforbaseconstruction wa sextremelylimited.Although officersof theFourthA ir Forcewantedne wfacilitiestobe builtatDaggett,moneywas tight:"A taconferenceheld recentlyinWashington,D.C.,GeneralArnoldstatedthathewouldnot approveon edimeforan ypostthat wouldnotbe apermanentArmyB a s eafterthew ar isover"(USAAF1944c:10-ll).

TheDaggettMunicipalAirportwa splacedoninactivestatusonOctober 5,1945,an dthe444thArmyAir ForceBaseUnitwa sdiscontinuedeffectiveOctober2 0,1945(USAAF1945a: l ) .

G.NavyAcquisition

B ywar'send,theairportwastakenoveras surpluspropertyby theW arAssetsAdministration(WAA)an dwa stransferred totheNavyDepartmentin1946 (Figure13).The NavypaidtheW A A atotalof$141,450 fo rtheentirefacility.Th eNavyapparentlywas toremovetheimprovementsmadetotheairportfacilityan dcompensateSan BernardinoCountyaccordingly(U.S.Navy946).TheNavyoperatedthefacilityas partofitsBarstow Annex.TheannexwasaMarineCorpsDepotofSupplies,whichincludedamainbaseofoperations atNebo,anauxiliaryfacilityatYermo,an dtheDaggettairport.T he Barstow Annexwa sdesignedtoprovideMarineCorps postsandstations withallclassesofsuppliesan dequipment.TheMarineCorpsused theairportasanElectronicsRepairDepotan dalsofo rgeneralstorage.Daggettwa stheonlyfacilityou tof thethreethatwas leasedproperty;the restwereownedby thegovernment.B y1 9 4 7 ,theCA A had resumedcompletemaintenanceresponsibilityfo rthefield(Barstow-DaggettAirport1988).


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Barstow-DaggettAirport,HangarShedN o. 4 HAERN o.CA-225-A (page3)

In 952 ,whentherewere700 personnelstationedatDaggett,theNavywantedtopurchasetheproperty (U.S.Navy952).T he landwas leasedata rateof$1.00pe ryear,withan optiontobu yat$13,200.B y1958,however,theMarineCorpsleft theairport,an dtheCAA,whichbecameknownastheFederalAviationAgency (FAA)the followingyear,tookoverthefieldonceagain(Barstow-DaggettAirport1988).

H.S an BernardinoCountyOccupation

InNovember1959,th efederalgovernmentturnedtheentireairportcomplexbackover to San BernardinoCounty.However,thefederalgovernmentretainedcertainrightstoth eairport,includinglandingprivileges(SanBernardinoCounty1959).

In1 9 6 1 ,theairportinBarstowclosed,andDaggettbecametheonlycivilianairportin thearea.Soonthereafter,thefieldbecameknownas the"Barstow-DaggettAirport."In1 9 6 2 ,amanufacturer of mobilehomestookupresidencein theairportandreconfiguredthreeof thehangarsandthreeofthehangarshedsfo rthiswork(Johnson1976:67).Throughoutthe1970san d1980s theU.S.Armytemporarilyutilizedtheairfieldfo rvariousoperationsandmaneuvers.In1981,theArmybeganleasing tw oofthelargehangarsforus eby tw ohelicopterunitsfromFortIrwin-NationalTrainingCenter(NTC).T he CaliforniaHighway Patrolalsobeganusingtheairfieldinthesameyear.In1987,HangarShedNo.3(immediatelywestofNo .4)burned downcompletely(Barstow-DaggettAirport1988).Thefollowingyear,th eairportceasedtobean FAAflightservicestation.

Today,thefacilitycontinuesto b eknownasthe Barstow-DaggettAirport,an di tis reportedlyon eofthe busiestsmallairportsin thecountry.T he facilityis currentlyadministeredbytheSan Bernardino County PublicServices Group,AirportsDivision.FortIrwin-NTCcontinuesto useportionsofthefacilityfo rhelicopteractivities.Currenthelicopter operationsincludeflight trainingontheNTC,supporttotheSpaceShuttlemissionsatEdwards AFB,an dtransportofmilitaryand civilian dignitariesto othermilitary installationsor civilianair fields.HelicoptersinusepresentlyincludeUH-1(Htiey),OH-58(KiowaWarrior),UH-60(Blackhawk),and BellJetRangers(civilian)(USACE1998:2-3).III.I M P O RT A N C E O F DAGGETT AIRFIELD DURING W O R L DW A R II

The DaggettairfieldservedseveralimportantrolesduringWorld War II.Asa modificationcenter,thefacilityconfiguredairplanes fo r specific purposesan denvironments.


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Barstow-DaggettAirport,HangarShedNo .4 H A E R No .CA-225-A (page4) Duringth ewar,nearly00percentof bombersand50percentoffighterscomingofftheassemblylinesrequiredmodificationofsomekind inordertobe suitableforcombatuse.Inaddition,manydefects an ddeficienciesinairplanes wouldbe discoveredbythesquadrons thatactually flewtheairplanesincombat.Thesedeficiencies wouldbe reportedtoboththemanufactureroftheaircraftan dtheArmyA irForceMaterielDivision,bothofwhomwoulddevisechangestoremedytheproblem.Thesechangeswouldbe implementedinthemodification centers.Whena changewas officiallyadopted,deviations weremadetotheoriginalspecificationsoftheaircraft.Inthisway,themodificationcentersplayeda crucialroleinthe improvementofAmerican aircraft(AirHistoricalOffice 947:1-10) .Someof thereported destinationsof theplanesmodifiedatDaggettincluded Russia,England,an dChina.Althoughtherangeofmodifications performedisno tcurrentlyknown,airplanes wereapparentlyfittedfo rspecificcombatuses.Thisworkwa sperformedundertightschedules,withlimited manpoweran dscarce materials.Modifications performed by theDouglas AircraftCompanyfo rtheArmyA irForces wereoftenon airplanesbuiltby other manufacturers.AlongwithDouglasA-20HavocsandC-47Skytrains,theplantalsomodifiedNorthAmericanP-51Mustangs.Thisflexibilityreflectsthecooperative spiritthatprevailedontheAmericanhomefrontduringWorldW ar II .

Th eDouglasoperationsatDaggett alsoreflecttheAmericancivilian workforce'scommitmenttothew areffort.Employeesof theDouglasCompanythatwereassignedto Daggettlivedinanisolatedarea,oftenfa rfromtheir homes.Th eweathercould beoppressive.Workshiftsoftenextended to1 2 straightdayson the job,an dmanyoftheemployeesperformed difficultmanuallabor.Their quartersweresimple;fewservices wereavailable,andrecreationwaslimited.Securitywas tight,an dtheemployeeslivedinquasi-military fashion,theirmovements restrictedbythesensitivenatureof theworkbeingaccomplished.

UndertheArmyAir Forces,theairfieldservedotherimportantrolesintrainingand development.Althoughthemajorityof thistrainingwasaccomplishedlateinthewar effort,manypilots andgunnersweretrainedinfiringfrom P-38aircraft,includingair-to-airan dair-to-groundmaneuvers.TheP-38Lightningwa sone of theUnitedStates'preeminentfighters,anaircraftthataccountedformoredownedJapanese aircraftthanan yotherAmericanplane.Itsrevolutionarydesignatwinengine,twinboom,an dsinglenacellecockpitprovidedfo ran extremelypowerfulbutlightweightaircraft.

Therew as apparentlyasignificant amountofinnovationby themembersofthebaseunitassignedtoth eDaggettArmyAirfield.Manyimprovementsweremadetovarious aspects of thegunnerysystems on theP-38aircraft,as wellasotheraircraftusedatthebase.Th eus eofrocketsinair-to-ground combatwasalsostudied


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Barstow-DaggettAirport,HangarShedNo .4 HAER No -CA-225-A (page5)

an dpracticedbyunitsatDaggett.T he potentialfo rtargetpracticeongunneryrangeson nearby dry lakeswas studiedbyArmyA irForcepersonnelatDaggett.T heus eof rocketryincombatw as relativelynew,andagreatdealw as learnedfromexperimentsperformedattherangesan dattheairport.

IV.AIRCRAFTMODIFIEDATDAGGETT B YTHED O U G L A SAIRCRAFTC O RP O RA T I O N A.DouglasA-20Havoc

One ofthemost extensivelybuiltlight bombers ofWorldW ar II,theA-20was usedinavarietyofrolesin severaltheaters.

Originallyconceivedin1936,theA-20w as the firstattackairplanetoutilizeatwin-enginedesign.TheUSAAC'srequirementsfo rtheairplane,as related to performance an dgun/weaponcarryingcapacity,however,leftnoalternativeotherthana twin-enginedesign.Whenitwasreconfigured in1938,one of themostunusualfeaturesoftheairplanewasthe presenceofaninterchangeablefuselagenosesection.T he aircraftcouldbe relatively easilychangedfromabombertoan attackplanebyusingdifferentnosesections.Intheattackconfiguration,asolid nosepiecefittedwithfour,30-caliberguns,alongwith ventralan d dorsalguns,wasinstalled.In the bomber configuration,thenosewas equippedwithabomb-aimingpanel.

T he firstorder fortheairplanecamein1939fromth eFrench,who realized thepotentialits speedan dmaneuverability offered.TheGermanLuftwaffe's high-performance,advancedaircraftprovedthemilitary efficacy ofthesene wtypesofplanesduringtheSpanishCivilWar.TheFrench requiredmanychangestotheoriginalairplane,whichDouglashurriedly completed justintimefo rtheGermanattackinearly 940.Only6 0DB-7s(astheplanewas originally known),however,wereoperationalbythis time,an donly1 2wereactuallyusedinattacksagainstGermanarmoredcolumns.WhenFrancefellshortlythereafter,GreatBritaintookoverthebalanceoftheorders.

SubsequentmodificationstotheA-20tomeettheRoyalA irForce's(RAF)needfo ranightfighterincludedtheinclusionofairborneinterceptionradar,additionalarmor,eightmachinegunsinthenose,flame-damping exhaustsystems,an dablackfinish.Thesereconfigured airplanesweregiventhenameHavocI .T heHavocII was equippedwith12machinegunsin thenose,an ddualflightcontrolsforthegunners.Previously,the gunnerscouldno tcometothepilot'said inan emergency.InDecember1940,theseaircraftbecameoperational.Subsequentimprovementstotheaircraftledto thedesignationDB-7B.Thesewereusedextensively inNorthAfrica,largelyreplacingtheRAF'sBristolBlenheims.


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Th efirstbomber versiontoservewiththeUSAACwastheA-20A,similartotheDB-7B.Douglas grantedalicensetotheBoeingCompanytoproduce14 0A-20Csfo rsupplytotheRAF.VersionsofthisplanewerebuiltfortheSovietUnionunderLend-Leasein1942.

Th elargestproduction modelwas theA-20G,whichw as builtby DouglasinSantaMonica.T he A-20Gwas slightlylongerthanearliermodels,andcontained two.50-caliber machineguns,four20-mm cannoninthenose,an dtw o.50-calibergunsinthe rear cockpit.Th efirstgroupof A-20Gsw as suppliedtotheSovietUnion.Subsequentvariationsallowedfo radditionalbomb-carryingcapabilities,extrafueltanks,an dstrongerarmor.

AdditionalmodelsincludedimprovedA-20Gs,H, J,an dKmodels.Atotalof7,385A-20sw as builtbythetimeproductionendedinSeptember1 9 4 4 .T he planesha dservedtheUnitedStates,GreatBritain,theSovietUnion,Brazil,theNetherlands, Australia,New Zealand,andSouthAfrica(Mondey1996:100-105).

B .Douglas C-47Sk y train

Designedfrom theDouglasCompany'ssuccessfulcommercialtransportairplane,theDC-2,theC-47entered production in1940.Producedingreaternumberthanan yothertransportairplane,theC-47w as labeledwithmanynames,includingSkytrain,Skytrooper,Dakota,an dGooneyBird.BecauseDouglas 'sSantaMonica factorywasalreadyovercrowded withA-20s,asecondfacilitywa sbuiltinLongBeachtohandletheUSAAC's contractfortheC-47.UnlikesomanyotherWorldW ar II-era planes,theC-47remainedlargelyunchangedthroughoutits production.

Th eC-47'screw consistedof pilotandco-pilot/navigatorinaforwardcompartmentan daradiooperatorinaseparatecompartment.Theplanecouldcarryup to6,000pounds of cargo,or 2 8fullyarmedparatroopers,or 18stretchersan damedicalteam ofthree.

C-47sbegantosupplytheUSAACin1 9 4 1 .Production ordersincreasedso rapidly thatasecondproduction linew as establishedatTulsa,Oklahoma.C-47Bs,withslightlyimprovedengines,wereusedto supplyalliedbasesinIndiaan dChina,whereflyingovertheHimalayaswas required.

Th eformationoftheUSAAC's Air TransportCommandsawtheincreaseduseof theC-47asacargotransportaircraftinmanytheaters ofthewar.Beginninginmid-1942,theUSAAC's TroopCarrier Commandalsousedthe planesfo rcarryingairbornetroops.ThousandsofparatrooperswerecarriedbyC-47sduringthe


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Barstow-DaggettAirport,HangarShedNo .4 HAERNo.CA-225-A(page7)

invasionofSicilyan dtheD-dayoperation.Additionalrolesfo rthisaircraftincludedtowinggliders,servingas electronic countermeasureaircraft,and ferryingavarietyof specializedequipment.Over1,000C-47swerebuiltduringtheaircraft'sproductionhistory(Mondey1996:114-119) .

C.NorthAmericanP-51Mustang

Conceivedlate n comparison o otherfighters usedduringWorldW ar II,theP-51w as developedfollowingacontractbetweentheRA F an dNorthAmericanAviationforanadvancedfighterin1940.B yMay1,941,onlysevenmonthsfrom theprototype's maidenflight,thefirstproductionmodelw as flown.

Deliveredto the RAF,andsoonthereafternamedtheMustang,theP-51w as fastan dmaneuverableatlowaltitudes.Unfortunately,theenginesintheP-51decreased inoutputas theplaneclimbedinaltitude.InSeptember1942 ,theUSAACreceived its first batchofMustangs,whichwouldgo ontoserveintheinvasions of Sicilyan dItaly.Theseplaneswereequipped withfour.50-calibermachinegunsand underwing rackstoaccommodateupto1,000poundsofbombs.

The performanceproblemat highaltitudes wa ssolved inlate942 ,withtheinstallation ofan improved enginethatproducedapproximately ,400horsepower at19,800feet.T he earlierenginescouldmusteronly1,325horsepowerat3,000feet,decreasingrapidlyafter12,000 feet.Thesene w P - 5 1 B an dCmodelsweremanufacturedattheNorthAmericanfactoryinInglewood,California,an data second facility inDallas,Texas.Themajorproductionmodelbecamethe P-51D,whichincludedabubblecanopyforimprovedpilotview,modifiedrearfuselage,andsixmachineguns.

Atotalof over14,000Mustangsw as builtduringtheproject's life,an dtheseweresupplied to China,France,Netherlands,UnitedKingdom,Canada,New Zealand,an dAustralia (Mondey1996:196-204) .

V.BUILDING DESCRIPTION

A.HangarShedsatBarstow-Daggett Airport

The hangarshedsat theBarstow-DaggettAirportweredesignedby Lippincott,Bowen,an dRoweEngineersof L os Angeles,an dbuiltbytheUS ACE,Los Angeles District.T hebuildings wereoriginallyusedbytheDouglasAircraftCompany.Builtinthesummerof1 9 4 2 ,thehangarshedswerepartof alargeconstruction program attheDaggett airfield.T hecostofthe shedswas approximately$705,000.Thehangarsheds were


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Barstow-DaggeuAirport,HangarShedNo .4 HAER No .CA-225-A (page8)

alsoutilizedbytheFourthAirForcewhentheybegantheiroccupancyofthe facilityin1944.Throughoutthelate1940s ,the hangarshedswerenumberedT30,T50,T70,T90,fromwesttoeast.HangarShed T9 0(now No .4)isthesubjectof thecurrentinvestigation.

Measuring1,350 feetlong,witha40-foot-overhangroof,thesesheds:"contained35to4 0stallsforworkingon planes,eachequippedwithabench,avise,an dsometools;an dacompleteair-pressuresystem throughout"(Figure14)(USAAF1944b) .Thefourhangarshedswereidenticalinsizeanddimension,andwereallofframeconstruction(SanBernardinoCounty1959).

Becausetimewas so limited,paintingw as kepttoaminimum atDaggettduringtheinitialconstruction ofthe facility.Unlessessentialfo r functionalreasons,paintw as no tto beappliedtointeriorsurfaces(U.S.EngineerOffice1944) .Thiswa scertainlythe caseforthehangarsheds.

TheDouglasAircraftCompanyusedth ehangarshedsfo r themodification of avarietyof aircraft.SomeoftheaircraftmodifiedincludedDouglasA-20Havocs,C-47Skytrains,an dNorthAmerican P-51Mustangs.Littleinformation could be obtainedregarding specificmodificationsmadetotheseaircraft.Apparently,theyweremodifiedfo r"combatuse."Itha salsobeenreported thatmanyoftheseairplanes'finaldestination was Russia (Johnson1976:67).

Alongwithmaintenancefunctions,theFourthA ir Forcealsoutilizedtheshedsforstoragean dsupplyforseveralsegmentsof thecommand."HangarThree,"fo rexample,was assignedtothe base'ssupply division.Ordnancearmamentan dautomotivepartswereamongsome ofthe divisionsmakinguseofthestoragespaceprovided by thehangarsheds.In somecases,thehangarsweresubdividedamongvariousunits(USAAF 1945d:22) .Ane w operations buildingwasalsoconstructedinHangarShedNo.3,whichwa sused byvisitingorganizations.Apostcarpenter'sshop,blueprintroom,an daclassroomwereallinstalledinto"ShedTwo."Threeofthebays onHangarShedNo .2 wereenclosedintoorder toprovidemorestoragespace(USAAC1944c).

Duringth eNavy'soccupation ofthe facility,thehangarshedswerenumberedT708,T709,T710,a nd T 71 1 ,fromwesttoeast(SanBernardino County1959).Th ehangarshedsduringthisperiodwereusedprimarilyfo rstorage,acapacityinwhichtheylargelyservetoday.Therewerealsothreetraditionalhangar buildings atthebase,measuring160x12 3x52 feet,alsobuiltduringthesummerof1 9 4 2 ,whicharestillstandingtoday.

Consultation withtheUSACE'sConstruction Engineering ResearchLaboratories(CERL)bytheUSACEL os


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Barsiow-DaggettAirport,HangarShedN o. 4 HAERN o. CA-225-A (page9)

Angeles DistrictindicatesthatthehangarshedsattheBarstow-Daggett Airportareth eonlysuchbuildings onDepartmentof Defense property withintheUnitedStates(Joe1998:2).Itis no tcurrentlyknownif thereweresimilarsuchbuildingsbuiltatotherlocationsduringthewar.However,theredo no tappeartohavebeenan yotherlikebuildings constructedattheother modificationcentersacross thecountry(Toole1945:i18-124) .

B.HangarShed No.4

Measuring ,350feetlong,4 0feetwide,an d50 feethigh,HangarShedNo.4 was originallyoneoffoursuchbuildingsconstructedat theDaggettAirport.Builtonaconcretefoundation,thebuildingconsisted of threewalls,withtheentireeasternfaceopen(Figure15).Becausetheprevailing windsintheCaliforniahighdesertcomefromthewest,thisconfiguration makesfunctionalsense.Thebuildingprovidedover55,000squarefeetof work space(Figure16).

The building wa ssupportedby 36 concrete beamsthatsupportedwood beamsholdingtherooftrussesin place(Figure17).The spacescreatedbetweentheseconcretebeams,measuring37feet6inches,wereutilizedas baysfo r themodificationofaircraft(Figure18).Thesebaysweretermednosedocksby someof theoccupantsofthefacility.In eachba ytherew as alsoon edoorway,equippedwitha sliding wood door,in thewestwall(Figure9) .Abovethedoorswa saseriesoffourventilators, complete withflapsthatcouldbe opened or closed(Figure20).Theventilators cameintw odesigns.O nese t ofdoubleventilatorsexistedaboveeachofthedoors,an dtw osingleventilatorswereplacedon eithersideofthesetofdoubleventilators (Figure21) .

Hangar ShedNo.4 ,liketheotherthree,was constructedalmostentirely ofredwood.Wallcladdingconsistedof horizontalshiplap,alsomilledfrom redwoodlumber(Figure22) .The majority ofthe structuralelements an dcladdingisoriginal.

The roofconsistedofaside-gable,woodtruss (Figure23),withcompositionmaterialontop.Th egabledends werecladded withredwoodshiplapsiding,layedvertically,as opposedto thewalls,whichwerelayedhorizontally.Alsoincluded intheroofconstruction was acontinuousventilator,extendingalongth elengthof theto pof thebuilding(Figure24) .

Asidefromdoorwaysonthewestsideofthebuilding,therewa sawoodslidingdooronthenorthen dandon ethree-paneldooronth esouthend.Therewasalsoonesmall,single-panewindowadjacenttothedooron thesouthend.Tw oshedswereconstructed ontheoutsideofthebuilding,onthewestside(Figure25).In addition,roomswereconstructed in theinteriorof thebuilding,all ofwhich existtoday(Figures 2 6 an d27).


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Barstow-DaggettAirport,HangarShedNo .4 H A E RNo .CA-225-A (page2 0) The roomson thenorthan dsouthendsofthe buildingwereoriginally usedas "warm-up"rooms.Th eothertw ospaceswerewashroomsan dtoilets.The room on thesouthen disthemostalteredportionofthebuilding today(seebelow).

TheDouglasAircraftCompanyinstalledvariousequipmentinthehangarsheds,includingbenches,vises,andtools.T he hangarshedswerealsoequippedwithair-pressurehookups,water,an delectricity.

HangarShedNo.4 clearlyreflects itshistoricroleofairplanemodification an drepair.Builtfo raspecificuse,thebuildingservedthisroleinexemplaryfashion.The building'sconstructionalsoreflectsits historicalassociation.Dueto a shortageofmetalproductsduringthewar,thehangarshed,likemanyother buildings constructed duringthesameperiod,was builtalmostentirelyofredwood.Likeso manyotherfunctionalbuildingsconstructedduringthewar,thehangarshedswerewellbuilt,although theyweredesignedtolastonlytemporarily.It isatestamenttotheirconstructionthatso manyWorld W ar IItemporary buildingsstillexisttoday.

C.Modifications

Perhapstheleastalteredofthefourhangarsheds,No.4 islargelyinits originalform.T hesuperstructureis original.However,manyof thedoorways havebeencoveredover,andmanyotherslack theirdoorsaltogether(Figure28).Inaddition,manyoftheventilators havebeen coveredover.Isolatedsupportbeams havebeenreplacedinplaces,alongwithafew piecesofwallcladding.Tw ointrusivemodemdoorshavebeenconstructed inthewestwail,on einB ay 2 ,an dtheotherinB ay9(Figure29).

Th eonlysignificantalteration to thehangarshed wa sin1994 whentheAirForceinstalledtoilets an dofficespacesintw odifferentplaces.T he originalwarm-uproom locatedatthesouthen d oftheshedwa sreconfiguredontheinterioratthistime.Atwo-story officebuildinglargelysupplanted theroom thatexistedthereoriginally(Figure30).This reconfigurationincludedconstructionofanadditionalstoryan dreplacementoftheoriginaldoor ontheexteriorofthehangarshedwithamodem,single-panelwooddoor.Twone w windowswereinstalled inthesouthen dofthehangarinthesecondstoryof theoffice,alongwithamodern,1 -over-1 -lightsashwindowonthefirstfloor.New windowshavealsobeeninstalledintheinsideportionoftheoffice,no tcu tintothehangarshed's walls.

Asecond,one-storywashroom,locatedbetweenBays9an d10wasalsoreconfiguredto serveas toiletsat thesametime,alsoin1994 (Figure31).


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Barstow-Daggett Airport,HangarShedNo ,4 HAER N o. CA-225-A (page2!)VI.REFERENCESCITED

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Barstow PrinterReview (BPR)[Barstow,California]1931 ContractL et forRadioBeaconnearDaggett.9April.Barstow,California.

1931 DaggettBeaconRadioStationAccepted.21May.Barstow,California.1941 EnlargeDaggettAirport.6 February.Barstow,California.

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1941ondemnationActionStartedby County.2 5December.Barstow,California.1942nother30 0AcresDaggettAirport.29January.Barstow,California.1 9 4 2oStartWorkShortlyonHugeDouglas AircraftFactoryHere.6July.Barstow,California.1 9 4 3tartB usServiceDouglasWorkers.2September.Barstow,California.1 9 4 4rm yAirForcestoTakeOver DaggettAirport.4 May.Barstow,California.Barstow-DaggettAirport1988 Historyof theDaggettInterstateAirwayCommunicationsStation(INSACS).Manuscriptonfile,

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Barstow-Dagget tAirport,HangarShedNo .4 HAER N o.CA-225-A (page2 2 )

Grier,C.E.] 942 C.E.Grier,BoardofSupervisors,San BernardinoCountytoColonelJohnD.Corkhille,AirCorps,

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Utilities Branch,ConstructionDivision,toAreaEngineer,Modification Center No . ,Daggett,California,letter,25August.O nfile,Air ForceHistoricalResearchAgency,MaxwellA ir ForceBase,Montgomery,Alabama.

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Engineers,L osAngeles,totoMs.A nn Huston,HABS/HAERCoordinator,Divisionof NationalRegisterPrograms,U.S.DepartmentoftheInterior,NationalParkService,WesternRegion,San Francisco,letter,3March.O nfile,U.S.ArmyCorpsofEngineers,L osAngeles District,L os Angeles,California.

Johnson,Ronald1976 HistoryoftheDaggettInterstateAirwayCommunicationStation.InOnceUponADesert:A

BicentennialProject,editedbyPatriciaJemiganKeeling,pp.67-70.MojaveRiverValleyMuseum Association, Barstow,California.

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Daggett,California,byLeopoldShumackerII,Sgt.,ArmyAirForces.A r m yA irForcesWesternTechnicalTrainingCommand,December1943.T he Lo sAngelesCivilianSchoolsArea,AMilitary History,vol.XIV,editedbySgt.RobertL.Anderson.Manuscripton file,A ir ForceHistoricalResearchAgency,MaxwellAirForce Base,Montgomery,Alabama.

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Division,Santa Monica.RecordGroup18,B ox844.NationalArchives,PacificRegion,LagunaNiguelOffice,LagunaNiguei,California.

1 9 4 5a MemorandumrelativetopurchaseofRichfieldOilCorporation'sfuelstoragefacilities,DaggettArmyAirfield,2 9March.RecordGroup18,Records oftheArmyAirCorps;Entry2,A irAdjutantGeneral'sUnclassified DecimalFile,1 9 4 4 - 1 9 4 6 ;B ox2 2 7 7 .NationalArchives,CollegePark,Maryland.

1945b Correspondencerelativetoproposedconstruction,DaggettArmyAirfield,1 9 4 4 - 1 9 4 5 ;ConstructionRequest953,2April.RecordGroup18,RecordsoftheArmyA ir Corps;Entry2 ,A ir AdjutantGeneral's UnclassifiedDecimalFile,1 9 4 4 - 1 9 4 6 ;B ox 2 2 7 7 .NationalArchives,CollegePark,Maryland.


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Barslow-DaggettAirport,HangarShedNo .4 HAERNo .CA-225-A

(page2 4 ) U.S.ArmyAirForces(USAAF)1 9 4 4 a HistoryofDaggettMunicipalAirport(444thArmyA ir ForcesBaseUnit) July 94 4to31August

1944.HeadquartersDaggettMunicipalAirportOfficeoftheCommandingOfficer,Daggett,California.Compiledby CarlF.Spaeth,2 nd Lieutenant,Air Corps,HistoricalOfficer.August.Manuscript on file,A irForceHistoricalResearchAgency,MaxwellA ir ForceBase,Montgomery, Alabama.

1 9 4 4 b Memorandum fo rtheDeputyChiefofA ir Staff(ATTN:Gen.Timberlake).Subject:ConstructionRequestNo .9 4 5-Shooting-in-Butt,DaggettArmyA irField,California,10July.RecordGroup8 ,Records oftheArmyA ir Corps;Entry2 ,AirAdjutantGeneral'sUnclassified DecimalFile,1 9 4 4 - 1 9 4 6 ;B ox 2309.NationalArchives,CollegePark,Maryland.

1944c HistoryofDaggettMunicipalAirport October1944 to 31October1 9 4 4 .HeadquartersDaggettMunicipalAirportOfficeof theCommanding Officer,Daggett,California.Compiledby PaulR.Stockwell, 2 nd Lieutenant,AirCorps,HistoricalOfficer.October-November.Manuscripton file,A irForceHistoricalResearchAgency,MaxwellAirForceBase,Montgomery,Alabama.

1944d HistoryofDaggettMunicipalAirport. Novemberto31December1 9 4 4 .Manuscriptonfile,A ir ForceHistoricalResearchAgency,MaxwellA irForceBase,Montgomery,Alabama.

1944e HistoryofDaggettMunicipalAirport September1 9 4 4 to30September1944.Headquarters DaggettMunicipalAirportOfficeoftheCommandingOfficer,Daggett,California.CompiledbyP aulR. Stockwell,2 ndLieutenant,A irCorps,HistoricalOfficer.Manuscriptonfile,AirForceHistoricalResearchAgency,MaxwellA irForceBase,Montgomery,Alabama.

1945a HistoryofDaggettMunicipalAirport(444thArmyA ir ForceBaseUnit)FinalInstallment,2September1945.U.S.ArmyA irForces,FourthAirForce,318thFighterWing.CompiledbyJamesA.Parrish,Captain,A ir CorpsHistoricalOfficer.Manuscriptonfile,A irForceHistoricalResearchAgency,MaxwellAirForceBase,Montgomery,Alabama.

1945b History ofDaggettMunicipalAirport.April1945.Manuscriptonfile,AirForceHistoricalResearchAgency,MaxwellAirForceBase,Montgomery,Alabama.


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Barsiow-DaggettAirport,HangarShedNo .4 HAERNo .CA-225-A

(page2 5) 1945c MemorandumtoCommanding General,FourthA irForce,San Francisco.ConversionofExisting 2 0'

x48'OfficeBuildingforG as Chamber,DaggettMunicipalAirport,Daggett,California,23March.RecordGroup18,Recordsof theArmyA irCorps;Entry2,AirAdjutantGeneral'sUnclassified DecimalFile,1 9 4 4 - 1 9 4 6 ;B ox 2277.NationalArchives,CollegePark,Maryland.

U.S.ArmyCorpsofEngineers(USACE)1946 DeclarationofSurplusRealProperty.DaggettMunicipalAirport(DaggettArmyAirfield)

ModificationCenterNo.,Daggett,California.U.S.ArmyCorpsofEngineers,Los AngelesDistrict.Record Group270,B ox4 0.NationalArchives,PacificRegion,LagunaNiguelOffice,LagunaNiguel,California.

1998 Draft EnvironmentalAssessment fortheU.S.Army'sBarstoxv-DaggettHeliportConstruction Project,San Bernardino,California.May.U.S.ArmyCorpsof Engineers,Los AngelesDistrict.

U.S.EngineerOffice,Los Angeles 1944 W ar DepartmentIndustrialFacilities Inventory:ModificationCenterNo .,Daggett,California.U.S.

EngineerOffice,L os Angeles,California.2 5May1944.Manuscriptonfile,AirForceHistoricalResearchAgency,MaxwellAirForceBase,Montgomery,Alabama.

U.S.Navy1 9 4 6 AppraisalReportfo rImprovements.DaggettMunicipalAirport,San Bernardino,California.U.S.

Navy, 1 thNavalDistrict,PublicWorks,San Diego.Manuscripton file,NationalArchives,PacificRegion,LagunaNiguelOffice,LagunaNiguel,California.

1952 InstallationFactualData.BarstowAnnex(MarineCorpsDepotofSupplies,San Francisco),Barstow,California.U.S.Navy,MilitaryPublic WorksProgram.October15 ,952.Manuscriptonfile,U.S.ArmyCorpsof Engineers,L os AngelesDistrict

U.S.W ar Department1 9 4 2 SpecialOrdersNo.59 .WarDepartment,A ir Corps,MaterialDivision,OfficeoftheWesternDistrict

Supervisor,SantaMonica.RecordGroup18,B ox 844.NationalArchives,PacificRegion,Laguna NiguelOffice,Laguna Niguel,California.


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Barstow-DaggellAirport,HangarShedNo.4 HAER No .CA-225-A (page2 6 )VII.INFORMATIONSOURCES

The documentationprojectbeganwithareviewof materialscollected byprevious USACEinvestigations at Daggettas wellassources locatedinarchivesin Tucson.Additionalarchivalresearchwas conductedon-siteattheBarstow-DaggettAirport,inprivatecollectionsinBarstow,atvariousUSACE offices,an dat theNationalArchives,PacificRegion,LagunaNiguelOffice,LagunaNiguel,California.T he researchaimedatdevelopingahistoriccontextforthebuildingaswellas documentingthe buildingas it currentlyexists.

Th eBoeingCompanies(whichno wincludeDouglasAircraft)inLongBeach,California,was contactedfo rarchivalmaterial.PublicAffairspersonnelsearchedDouglasCompanyarchives,but foundonlyafew historicphotographsan don enewspaperarticleonthe Daggettfacility.Th eDaggettHistoricalSocietywas contacted fo rinformation,bu twasunabletoprovideassistance,as theircollectionsarecurrentlyundergoingreorganizationan dare no topenforpublicreview.Archivalresearchw as alsoperformedattheU.S.A ir ForceHistoricalResearchAgency,MaxwellA irForceBase(AFB),Montgomery,Alabama.ResearchatMaxwellAF Bfocusedonlocatingphotographs ofDaggettArmyAirfield( 1 9 4 2 - 1 9 4 4 )an dDaggettMunicipalAirport( 1 9 4 4 - 1 9 4 5 ) ,datingto th e World W ar IIperiod.

Archivalsourcesusedindeveloping thehistoriccontextconsistedofofficialArmyAirForcehistories of theDaggettMunicipalAirport;newspaperarticlesfromtheBarstow-Printer Review;letters an dothercorrespondencefromairportofficials;selectedsecondarysources (i.e.,Johnson1976);an dofficialcounty documents suchas leasesan ddeeds.O ne articlepublished bytheDouglasAircraftCompanyw as alsolocated, providingmuchinformationon theDouglasoccupationoftheairfield.TheMojaveRiverValleyMuseumwas contactedforinformationonthehistoryoftheDaggettfacility,andmuseum staffreferred theauthortolocalhistorianMrs.GermaineL.Moon.Mrs.Moonprovidedcopiesofseveralcontemporarynewspaperarticles concerning theDaggettairfield.

Information onbuildingconstruction historywas obtainedfromtwoas-builtdrawingslocatedattheBarstow-DaggettAirport.Inaddition,periodphotographs wereexamined,andbuildingdescriptions weregleanedfrom reportsan dassessmentsdatingtothew ar years.Becauselittleha sbeendoneto alterHangarShedNo .4 ,therearefew subsequentdrawingsfo rthebuilding.In addition,becausebuildingoccupancyha schangedsomanytimes(DouglasCompany,USAAF,U.S.Navy,Sa nBernardinoCounty,FortIrwin-NTC),building vouchers andotherarchitecturaldocumentsweredifficulttolocate.O nese tofplans,completedin1995by theBarstow-DaggettAirport,providedinformationonrecentalterationsmadetothebuilding.


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Barstow-Daggett Airport, HangarShedNo.4 H A E RNo .CA-225-A (page2 7) VIII.PROJECTINFORMATION

A.ProjectPurpose

Thecurrentdocumentationprojectisaresultof theproposedBarstow-DaggettHeliportProject,proposed by theU.S.Army's FortIrwin-NTC.T heNTC currentlyleasesaportionof theBarstow-DaggettAirportfrom theCountyof San Bernardino(who ownsthefacility).TheNTCutilizestheairport forhelicopteroperations,bu thasfoundthatmanyofthe facilitiesinus eareinadequateandrequiremodernization.TheHeliportProjectwouldresultinthefollowingchangestotheairport:(1 )demolition an d removalofHangarShedNo.4 ;(2 )construction ofane w HelicopterHangarand RightOperationsBuildings;(3)constructionofa ne w WashRackandIndustrialWasteTreatmentPlant;(4 )removalan dreplacementof 225,000squarefeetofconcreteapron;(5)construction ofane wWasteWater TreatmentPlant;(6 )upgradeandinstallationofne w utilitylines;(7)installation ofthreenewwater-supply wells;and(8)pavingofan existing gravelparkinglo tandaccess road.

HangarShedNo .4w as determined eligible fo r listingintheNationalRegisterofHistoric Places( N RH P )byUS ACEarchaeologists duringa previousinvestigation.Becausedemolitionand removalofHangarShedNo .4wouldconstitute anadverseimpacttothisNationalRegister-eligibleresource,aMemorandum ofAgreement(MOA)was preparedamongtheCaliforniaStateHistoricPreservationOfficer,theAdvisoryCouncilon HistoricPreservation,theUSACE,andSan BernardinoCounty.Th eM O A stipulatedcertainmitigationmeasuresthatwouldbe required to providecompliancewithSection1 06 oftheNHPA.

O ne conditionstipulated in theM O Awa sdocumentationof the hangar usingstandardsset forthinth eNationalParkService'sHAER program.Tocomplywiththesemeasures,HangarShedNo.4 w as documentedthroughtheus eoflarge-format photography(seeIndextoPhotographs)an darchivalresearch.Workwa sperformedbySR Ifo rthe USACE,L osAngelesDistrict,undercontractDACW09-98-D-0004,DeliveryOrderNo.2.SRI'sContractingOfficer'sTechnicalRepresentativewa sM r.RodericMcLean.

B .PersonnelInvolved

Historicalresearch an dfieldstudiesfo rthisprojectwereconductedin May1998bySRIHistorianM r.MattBischoff,theprojectdirectorandprincipalauthor,an dDr.TeresitaMajewski,theprincipalinvestigator.Dr.Majewskialsoprovidedoverallmanagementoftheprojectan deditorialoversightofthereport.Mr.David DeVries,of MesaTechnical,undercontracttoSRI,completed large-formatphotodocumentationof Hangar


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Barstow-Daggett Airport, HangarShedN o. 4HAER N o. CA-225-A (page2 8)

ShedNo.4 an dalsophotographedtw oof theoriginalbuildingplans,whichwerelocatedatBarstow-DaggettAirport.Mr.MarkSwanson,undercontracttoSRI,performed archivalresearchattheAirForceHistoricalResearchAgency,MaxwellAFB ,Montgomery,Alabama.SRI'sproductionandgraphicsstaffcontributed to thesuccessfulcompletion ofthisproject by formatingandeditingfigures,photographs,an dthereportitself.

Severalindividualsatvariouslocationsprovidedinvaluableassistanceduringtheresearch fo rthisproject.Ms .ConnieF .Vojkufka,AirportManagerofDesertAirportsfortheCountyof San Bernardino,provided accesstoth ebuilding,as-builtdrawings,archivalmaterials,buildinginformation,aswellas generaloverallhelpduringthefieldwork phase.Ms.DoritaWilliams,attheBarstow-DaggettAirport,alsogreatlyassisted by locatingbuildinginformationand documents relatedto airporthistory.Mrs.GermaineL.Moon,oftheMojaveRiverValleyMuseum,Barstow,providedaccess toher personalcollection of materialsrelating toregionalhistory.

Mr.Don Hansen,Public Affairsofficer withthe BoeingCompanies,scouredtheDouglasCompanyArchivesinLongBeach,California,fo rinformationontheDaggettfacilityduringtheperiod19421944.

Severalindividuals withtheUSACE,LosAngelesDistrict,alsoprovidedinvaluableassistance.M r.RodericMcLean,Archeologist,was particularlyhelpfulinorganizingmeetingtimes,dates,an d placesattheBarstow- Daggett Airport.Mr.McLeanalsomadeavailablenumerous historicaldocumentscollectedfroma varietyofotherarchives.Healsowentou t ofhi swa ytolocatesourcesofadditionalinformation byprovidingcontactsattheUSACESurvey/MappingDepartmentinElMonte,California.M r.Don Hermanson,Mr.JesseHernandez,an dM s.Barbara Root,alloftheUSACESurvey/Mapping(Baseyard),wereextremelyhelpfulinoursearchforhistoricmaps,photographs,an ddrawings.SeveralotherUSACEemployeesinth eLosAngelesan dSacramentoDistrictofficesalsoassistedinlocatinghistoricmaterials.

ResearchersattheU.S.A irForceHistoricalAgencyatMaxwellA F B ,Montgomery,Alabama,assistedinlocating historicphotographsandwerediligentinattemptingto makethesematerialsavailabletoSRI.Ms.SuzanneDewberry,ArchivistattheNationalArchives,PacificRegion,Laguna NiguelOffice,Laguna Niguel,California,lenthe rexpertiseandincrediblefamiliarity withthearchives toourresearch efforts.

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Barstow-Daggett Airport History

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