Marine Corps Air Station Miramar


Marine Corps Air Station Miramar is a United States Marine Corps installation that is home to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is the aviation element of the I Marine Expeditionary Force. It is located in Miramar, a community of San Diego, California, about north of downtown San Diego.
The airfield has been named Mitscher Field since 1955, after Admiral M. A. Mitscher, who was the commander of Task Force 58 during World War II. The air station is the former location of Pacific Fleet fighter and Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft and is best known as the former location of the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School, its TOPGUN training program and the movie of the same name. In 1996, NFWS was relocated to Naval Air Station Fallon in western Nevada, 60 miles east of Reno, and merged into the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center. During the heyday of TOPGUN at NAS Miramar, the station was nicknamed "Fightertown USA".

Geography

The base contains. It is bisected by Kearny Villa Road and Interstate 15. The area east of Kearny Villa Road, called "East Miramar", is undeveloped and is used for military training. Miramar is recognized as the world's largest Master Jet Air Station.

History

Native Americans were the first inhabitants in the vicinity of the base. Spain claimed the San Diego area in 1542 and colonized it beginning in 1769. In 1846, the crown issued a land grant that included the area of the current base to Don Santiago Argüello. After the American Civil War, the land was divided and sold to people such as Edward Scripps, a newspaper publisher from the eastern United States, who developed a ranch on the site. It was Scripps who named the area Miramar, meaning "view of the sea". The land was predominantly used for grazing and farming into the early 20th century.

1918–1941

During World War I, the U.S. Army acquired of land in the Miramar Ranch area, on a mesa north of San Diego. Camp Kearny was opened on 18 January 1917 and was named after Stephen W. Kearny, who was commander of the Army of the West during the Mexican–American War. The base was primarily used to train infantrymen on their way to the battlefields of Europe. During World War I, an airstrip was never built on the property, although Army and U.S. Navy aircraft from Naval Air Station North Island did land on the parade deck. Following the Armistice, the base was used to demobilize servicemen and was closed on 20 October 1920. More than 1,200 buildings were demolished when the camp closed.
Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis airplane was built in nearby San Diego. Lindbergh used the abandoned Camp Kearny parade field to practice landings and take-offs before making his historic solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean.
During the 1930s, the Navy briefly used the air base for helium dirigibles. In 1932, a mooring mast and hangar were built at the camp for the dirigibles, but when the program was abandoned, the base was quiet again.

World War II

By the time World War II began, Miramar was already undergoing a "precautionary" renovation. Camp Holcomb was built on part of old Camp Kearny, to be used for U.S Marine Corps artillery and machine gun training. Camp Elliott became home to Fleet Marine Force Training Center, West Coast, and the 2nd Marine Division, charged with defending the California coast. Runways were constructed in 1940, and the 1st Marine Air Wing arrived on 21 December of that year. The Navy commissioned Naval Auxiliary Air Station Camp Kearny in February 1943, specifically to train crews for the Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer, which was built less than away in San Diego. A month later, the Marines established Marine Corps Air Depot Camp Kearny, later renamed Marine Corps Air Depot Miramar, to avoid confusion with the Navy facility.
The big Privateers proved too heavy for the asphalt concrete runway the Army had installed in 1936 and the longer runways built in 1940, so the Navy added two concrete runways in 1943.
During the 1940s, both the Navy and the Marine Corps occupied Miramar. East Miramar was used to train Marine artillery and armored personnel, while Navy and Marine Corps pilots trained on the western side. The bases were combined and designated Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in 1946.

Naval Air Station

In 1947, the Marines moved to MCAS El Toro in Orange County, California, and Miramar was redesignated as NAAS Miramar. It became NAS Miramar on 1 March 1952. In 1954, the Navy offered NAS Miramar to San Diego for $1 and the city considered using the base to relocate its airport. But it was deemed at the time to be too far away from most residents and the offer was declined.
Only the western half of Miramar's facilities were put to use; the old east station began to deteriorate, with many buildings sold as scrap. Miramar found new life as a Navy Master Jet Station in the 1950s. The eastern half, former Camp Elliot, was used by the United States Air Force for Project Orion, and later by NASA; it was the site of several launches. The base really came into its own during the Vietnam War. The Navy needed a school to train pilots in dog-fighting and in fleet air defense. In 1969, the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School was established organizationally as part of VF-121, which was then the F-4 Phantom Fleet Replacement Aviation Maintenance Personnel, which trained the maintainers who joined the fleet as qualified "Phantom Phixeres".
In October 1972, Miramar welcomed the F-14 Tomcat and fighter squadron VF-124, a former Fleet Replacement Squadron tasked with the mission to train new Tomcat crews. Formerly, VF-124 had been training pilots in the F-8 Crusader. That task was handed over to Light Photographic Squadron 63 that then became "Crusader College" The first two operational Tomcat squadrons, VF-1 known as the "Wolfpack" and VF-2 known as the "Bounty Hunters," trained here before deploying aboard in 1974.
NAS Miramar was also the west coast E-2 squadrons home. VAW-110 the west coast fleet replacement squadron and fleet squadrons VAW-112, VAW-113, VAW-114, VAW-116 and VAW-117. With the change to MCAS Miramar, the training squadron was disestablished and moved to NAS Norfolk, Virginia. The fleet squadrons were moved to NAS Point Mugu, California.

1990s–Present: Marine Corps Air Station

In 1993, the Base Realignment and Closure commission recommended that MCAS El Toro and MCAS Tustin be closed down and that NAS Miramar be transferred to the Marine Corps. BRAC also recommended that all Navy Pacific Fleet F-14 aircraft and squadrons and Pacific Fleet F-14 training be consolidated with the Atlantic Fleet and be relocated to NAS Oceana, Virginia. BRAC recommended that Pacific Fleet E-2C training be consolidated with Atlantic Fleet E-2C training at NAS Norfolk, that all Pacific Fleet E-2C aircraft and squadrons be relocated to NAS Point Mugu, and that the Naval Fighter Weapons School and Navy Reserve adversary squadron VFC-13 be relocated to NAS Fallon, Nevada.
In 1999, MCAS El Toro and MCAS Tustin were closed and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing returned to Miramar when it officially became Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. On 1 October 1997, Colonel Thomas A. Caughlan became the first Marine commanding officer of MCAS Miramar since World War II. Caughlan was also the last commanding officer of MCAS Tustin.
In 2005, the BRAC Commission directed instructor pilots and support personnel from Miramar to Eglin AFB in Florida, sufficient to stand up the Marine Corps' portion of the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter program Training Site. This will lead to an eventual phasing out of fighter pilot training at Miramar by 2015 as the F/A-18 Hornets are retired.
In 2006, the San Diego County Proposition A proposed obtaining 3000 acres at MCAS Miramar to develop a commercial airport. The proposition was defeated 62 percent opposed to 38 percent in favor.

Noise

Numerous noise complaints have been lodged against MCAS Miramar going back for decades funded partly by real estate developers. MCAS Miramar is located near the center of the City of San Diego. It is surrounded on three sides by residential areas including Mira Mesa, Scripps Ranch, University City, Clairemont, and Tierrasanta. MCAS Miramar has a web site and phone number that people can call to register complaints about noise. To lessen the noise impact to the community, MCAS Miramar has made adjustments to their operations over the years, including the use of hush-houses, limitations on engine run-ups, and modification to flight plans. In spite of efforts, noise complaints remain an issue in 2019.

Tenant Squadrons

Flying units based at MCAS Miramar:
InsigniaSquadronCodeCallsign/NicknameAssigned AircraftOperational Assignment
Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 502VMFAT-502Flying NightmaresF-35B3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 314VMFA-314Black KnightsF-35CCarrier Air Wing 9/
3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 311VMFA-311TomcatsF-35C3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 323VMFA-323Death RattlersF/A-18C3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232VMFA-232Red DevilsF/A-18C/D3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 352VMGR-352RaidersKC-1303rd Marine Aircraft Wing
Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 361HMH-361Flying TigersCH-53E3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 462HMH-462Heavy HaulersCH-53E3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 465HMH-465WarhorseCH-53E3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 466HMH-466WolfpackCH-53E3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 161VMM-161GreyhawksMV-22B3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 163VMM-163Evil EyesMV-22B3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 165VMM-165White KnightsMV-22B3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 362VMM-362Ugly AngelsMV-22B3rd Marine Aircraft Wing