Blythe Army Air Field

Blythe Army Air Field was a United States Army Air Forces installation located near Blythe, California, active primarily during World War II. Established in 1942 as part of the West Coast, the facility supported Army Air Forces Training Command flight training, staging, and coastal defense operations, contributing to broader North African Campaign and Pacific War logistics and aircrew preparation. The airfield's development paralleled efforts at other Southwestern training bases such as March Field, Mather Field, Luke Field, and Kearns Army Air Base.

History

Construction commenced in 1942 under the direction of the United States Army Corps of Engineers as the United States expanded its airfield network following the Attack on Pearl Harbor and declaration of war. The site was selected for its proximity to the Colorado River, favorable desert flying conditions, and access to rail lines like the Southern Pacific Railroad and Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. Initial units included bomber transition groups and single-engine fighter schools transferred from bases such as Pueblo Army Air Base and Moses Lake Army Air Base. Blythe's mission shifted among functions typical of Army Air Forces Training Command bases, including pilot gunnery practice influenced by tactics developed during the Battle of Britain and North African Campaign. The airfield supported deployment processing for units bound for theaters including the China-Burma-India Theater and Pacific Theater of Operations.

Facilities and Infrastructure

The airfield featured multiple runways surfaced with steel matting and later concrete, taxiways, hangars, hangar maintenance shops similar to those at Will Rogers Field and Douglas Army Airfield, and a control tower modeled after standards at Hamilton Field. Support infrastructure included barracks, mess halls, a motor pool, and a fuel depot compatible with 100-octane aviation gasoline distribution practices used at Albuquerque Army Air Field. Blythe possessed bombing and gunnery ranges used for practice by units operating aircraft types such as the B-17 Flying Fortress, B-24 Liberator, P-38 Lightning, and P-40 Warhawk. Navigation aids reflected technologies contemporaneous with LORAN-era developments and instruments taught in Instrument Flight Rules courses derived from practices at Amarillo Army Air Field and Seymour Johnson Field.

Units and Operations

Throughout its active period, the airfield hosted a rotation of Army Air Forces operational and training units, including fighter and bomber replacement training units (RTUs), liaison detachments, and air-sea rescue detachments modeled after those at Brownsville Army Airfield and Muroc Army Air Field. Units staged at Blythe for transcontinental movements alongside elements from First Air Force and Fourth Air Force and coordinated with Air Transport Command for crew ferrying to North Africa and Australia. The airfield supported ordnance handling and aerial gunnery training that mirrored curricula at Yuma Army Air Field and Kingman Army Airfield. Specialized schools at Blythe trained personnel in aircraft maintenance aligned with standards promulgated by the Air Technical Service Command and coordinated medical evacuation flights adhering to doctrine from Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Letterman Army Hospital.

Postwar Use and Closure

Following the surrender of Imperial Japan in 1945 and the subsequent demobilization of US forces, many Southwestern airfields underwent drawdown and disposal under the War Assets Administration. Blythe Army Air Field was declared surplus and placed on disposition schedules comparable to Riverside Municipal Airport (California) and Edwards Air Force Base transitions. Equipment and salvage were redistributed to depots such as Sharpe Army Depot and Chambers Field, while remaining structures were transferred to local authorities and private entities. The closure reflected wider patterns of postwar base reduction overseen by United States Department of War and later the Department of Defense reorganization.

Current Status and Preservation

Today the former airfield lands have seen mixed adaptive reuse, with portions repurposed for agricultural operations along the Palo Verde Valley and segments rehabilitated for civilian aviation use akin to conversions at Ontario International Airport (1938–1946 site) and Blythe Municipal Airport developments. Remnants of runways, foundations, and revetments remain discernible in aerial imagery, drawing interest from historians associated with institutions such as the National Park Service, American Aviation Historical Society, and local heritage groups like the Riverside County Historical Commission. Preservation efforts reference methodologies used at sites like Davis-Monthan Air Force Base's aircraft boneyard and incorporate records from the National Archives and Records Administration and Library of Congress collections. Commemorative activities occasionally involve veterans' organizations including the Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion, while scholarly work on the airfield features in regional studies by University of California, Riverside, California State University, San Bernardino, and the Western History Association.

Category:Airports in Riverside County, California Category:United States Army Air Forces airfields in California