Merced Army Airfield auxiliary fields
Merced Army Air Field auxiliary fields were built to support pilot training at the Merced Army Air Field. In 1940 the US Army wanted to build near Merced, California a 30,000 per year basic pilot training base. The former city of Cuba, Merced County, California near the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway rail line was chosen at at an elevation of for the main base, in Atwater, California. United States Army Air Corps leased the land from the City of Merced on 16 June 1941. Building the airbase school started on 8 July 1941 and opened on 20 September 1941 as a sub-base of Army Air Forces Western Flying Training Command at Moffett Field. First called Air Corps Basic Flying School, Merced. The US Army moved part of the: 98th Bombardment Group, 539th School Squadrons, 540th School Squadrons, 541st School Squadrons, the 90th Air Base Squadron, and the 340th Material Squadron at Moffett Field to the new base in November 1941. The Air Corps Basic Flying School was renamed the Merced Army Flying School on 7 April 1942. To support the training auxiliary fields near the Merced Army Flying School were to be built for the flight training program. Merced Army Flying School was renamed the Merced Army Air Field in May 1943 and became part of the Western Flying Training Command.
Merced Army Air Field
The Merced Army Air Field runway was long enough and strengthened to handle training for Boeing B-29 Superfortress in 1944. At its peak, 539 planes were based at Merced Army Air Field and its auxiliary fields. In April 1944 the 3026th Army Air Forces Base Unit was given command of the Merced flight school. Some of the pilots and crews that were trained at the Merced Army Airfield during the war were from the Women's Air Service Pilots. The Fourth Air Force took command of the Merced Army Air Field on 1 July 1945. On 17 January 1946 the Merced Army Air Field was renamed Castle Field, after Brigadier General Frederick W. Castle, who on 24 December 1944, continued flying his B-17 Flying Fortress so his crew could bail out, he was killed when the aircraft exploded. Castle Air Force Base was closed in 1995. The Merced County Fairgrounds was also used for training.The most common planes to land and take off at Merced Army Airfield auxiliary fields were the Vultee BT-13 Valiant and BT-15 Valiant. Cadets trained for 8 hours a day at the Auxiliary Fields. Flight instructors also were the air traffic controllers from their planes. The other planes used at the fields were Boeing-Stearman Model 75 and North American T-6 Texan.
- Merced Army Air Field auxiliary fields were :
Merced Auxiliary Field
Merced Auxiliary Field No. 1 or Merced Municipal Airport Auxiliary Field was a sub base to support training at the Merced Army Airfield. Merced Auxiliary Field No. 1 was the 1932 Merced Municipal Airport located at. The 66-acres Airport was located off California State Route 99 near the Santa Fe Railroad tracks, three miles northwest of the city of Merced, California. The city airport was dedicated on 3 April 1932 and operated by George Voight until 1936 when the city took over operation. Works Project Administration improved the site in the later 1930s. After the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, the US War Department leased the Airport to the US Army in 1942. The Merced Auxiliary Field was the main training headquarters while the Merced Army Airfield was being built. Temporary tents were put up for cadets and staff lived in the hangars and local hotels. The Merced Army Airfield was completed on 20 September 1941 and operations move to the new airbase. Merced Auxiliary Field was then used for landing and take off training, also as an emergency landing strip. After the war on 23 August 1945 the Merced Municipal Airport Auxiliary Field No. 1 was returned to the City of Merced. With the completion of the New Merced Regional Airport, the Merced Auxiliary Field was closed. The current site of the Merced Auxiliary Field now farmland and housing.Ballico Auxiliary Field
Ballico Auxiliary Field No. 2 was a 621.76-acre sub base of the Merced Army Flying School at the Merced Army Air Field. Ballico Auxiliary Field was a grain farm field in Turlock, California. With the outbreak of World War 2, in October 1942 the US Army built the Ballico Auxiliary Field for landing and off-site training, also as emergency landing field, for the Basic Flying School at Merced Army Air Field. The land was leased from Charles C. Newport, for 5 years. The Army built a 3,000-foot by 2,800-foot paved runways is a rectangle shape. Some support buildings were built: stagehouse, crash truck shelter, a control tower, a storehouse, latrines, and sheds. Based at the Ballico Auxiliary Field were troops from the 90th Air Base Squadron. In 1944 Air Field control was taken over by the 3026th Army Air Forces Base Unit for the Basic Pilot School. On 1 July 1945 Ballico Auxiliary Field and the other support fields were turned over to the US Army's Fourth Air Force. After the war the base as closed, on 10 November 1946. The land was given to the City of Turlock on 19 November 1946 to open a municipal airport. The city took over operation on 31 July 1947 and named the base the Turlock Municipal Airport. Parts of the vast base were sold off or leased to: Oliver Chance for agricultural, Golden By-Products for drying almond hulls, and the Ballico Resource Conservation District.Howard Auxiliary Field
Howard Auxiliary Field No. 3 was located in Stevinson, California at. The War Department leased 480-acre of land from two owners in 1941. For training pilots a 3,000 by 3,000 landing mat was built at the site, there were no support buildings built. Due to poor water drainage, Howard Auxiliary Field was closed on 15 April 1944 and both leases canceled by 4 September 1944. The land was returned farmland and no trace of Howard Auxiliary Field remains.