Marine Corps Air Station Miramar
San Diego,California in theUnited States
An aerial view of MCAS Miramar during 2008
Site information
Type	Marine Corps Air Station
Owner	Department of Defense
Operator	US Marine Corps
Controlled by	3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
Condition	Operational
Website	www.miramar.marines.mil
Location
MCAS Miramar Location in the United States
Coordinates	32°52′04″N117°08′30″W / 32.86778°N 117.14167°W /32.86778; -117.14167
Site history
Built	1917 (1917) (asCamp Kearny)
In use	1917 – 1920 1929 – present
Garrison information
Current commander	Colonel R. Erik Herrmann
Garrison	Marine Aircraft Group 11 Marine Aircraft Group 16 Marine Air Control Group 38
Airfield information
Identifiers	IATA: NKX,ICAO: KNKX,FAA LID: NKX,WMO: 722930
Elevation	145.3 metres (477 ft)AMSL
Runways Direction Length and surface 6L/24R 3,657.6 metres (12,000 ft) concrete 6R/24L 2,438.7 metres (8,001 ft) porous European mix Helicopter strip (LHD) 304.8 metres (1,000 ft)
Helipads Number Length and surface 1 30 metres (98 ft)  2 30 metres (98 ft)  3 30 metres (98 ft)  4 38 metres (125 ft)  5 38 metres (125 ft)
Source:Federal Aviation Administration[1]

Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS Miramar) (IATA:NKX,ICAO:KNKX,FAALID:NKX) is aUnited States Marine Corps installation that is home to the3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is the aviation element of theI Marine Expeditionary Force. It is located inMiramar, a community ofSan Diego, California, about 14 miles (23 km) north ofdowntown San Diego.

The airfield has been named Mitscher Field since 1955, afterAdmiral M.A. Mitscher, who was the commander ofTask Force 58 duringWorld War II.^[2] The air station is the former location ofPacific Fleetfighter andAirborne Early Warning and Control aircraft (F-4 Phantom II,F-14 Tomcat,E-2 Hawkeye) and is best known as the former location of theUnited States Navy Fighter Weapons School (NFWS), itsTOPGUN training program andthe movie of the same name. In 1996, NFWS was relocated toNaval Air Station Fallon in westernNevada, 60 miles east of Reno, and merged into theNaval Strike and Air Warfare Center (NSAWC). During the heyday of TOPGUN at NAS Miramar, the station was nicknamed "Fightertown USA".^[3][4]

The base contains 23,116 acres (93.55 km²). It is bisected by Kearny Villa Road andInterstate 15. The area east of Kearny Villa Road, called "East Miramar", is undeveloped and is used for military training.^{[citation needed]} Miramar is recognized as the world's largest Master Jet Air Station.

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Kumeyaay 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 DonSantiago Argüello. After theAmerican Civil War, the land was divided and sold to people such asEdward 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".^[5] The land was predominantly used for grazing and farming into the early 20th century.

DuringWorld War I, theU.S. Army acquired 12,721 acres (5,148 ha) of land in the Miramar Ranch area, on a mesa north of San Diego.^[6]Camp Kearny was opened on 18 January 1917 and was named afterStephen W. Kearny, who was commander of theArmy of the West during theMexican–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 andU.S. Navy aircraft fromNaval Air Station North Island did land on the parade deck. Following theArmistice, the base was used to demobilize servicemen and was closed on 20 October 1920.^[7] More than 1,200 buildings were demolished when the camp closed.

Charles Lindbergh'sSpirit 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 forheliumdirigibles. 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.

By the time World War II began, Miramar was already undergoing a "precautionary" renovation. Camp Holcomb (later renamed Camp Elliott) 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 the2nd Marine Division, charged with defending the California coast. Runways were constructed in 1940, and the1st Marine Air Wing arrived on 21 December of that year. The Navy commissioned Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) Camp Kearny in February 1943, specifically to train crews for theConsolidatedPB4Y-2 Privateer,^[8] which was built less than 10 miles (16 km) 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 theasphalt 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 (Camp Elliott) 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.^[9][10]

In 1947, the Marines moved toMCAS El Toro inOrange County, California, and Miramar was redesignated asNAAS Miramar (Naval Auxiliary Air Station Miramar). It becameNAS Miramar (Naval Air Station 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.^[11] 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 NavyMaster Jet Station in the 1950s. The eastern half,former Camp Elliot, was used by theUnited States Air Force forProject Orion^[12] (having been transferred temporarily),^[13] and later byNASA;^[14] it was the site of several launches.^[15] The base really came into its own during theVietnam War. The Navy needed a school to train pilots in dog-fighting and in fleet air defense. In 1969, theUnited States Navy Fighter Weapons School was established organizationally as part ofVF-121, which was then the F-4 Phantom Fleet Replacement Aviation Maintenance Personnel (FRAMP), which trained the maintainers who joined the fleet as qualified "Phantom Phixeres".

In October 1972, Miramar welcomed theF-14 Tomcat and fighter squadronVF-124, a formerFleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) tasked with the mission to train new Tomcat crews. Formerly, VF-124 had been training pilots in theF-8 Crusader. That task was handed over toLight Photographic Squadron 63 (VFP-63) that then became "Crusader College" The first two operational Tomcat squadrons,VF-1 known as the "Wolfpack" andVF-2 known as the "Bounty Hunters," trained here before deploying aboardUSS Enterprise (CVN-65) 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 (disestablished 1995), VAW-116 and VAW-117. With the change to MCAS Miramar, the training squadron was disestablished and moved toNAS Norfolk, Virginia. The fleet squadrons were moved toNAS Point Mugu, California.

In 1993, theBase Realignment and Closure (BRAC) commission recommended thatMCAS El Toro andMCAS 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 (with the exception of those assigned toCarrier Air Wing 5 in Japan) and Pacific Fleet F-14 training be consolidated with the Atlantic Fleet and be relocated toNAS Oceana, Virginia. BRAC recommended that Pacific FleetE-2C training be consolidated with Atlantic Fleet E-2C training at NAS Norfolk, that all Pacific Fleet E-2C aircraft and squadrons (with the exception of those assigned toCarrier Air Wing 5 in Japan) be relocated to NAS Point Mugu, and that theNaval Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN) andNavy Reserveadversary squadronVFC-13 be relocated toNAS Fallon, Nevada.

In 1999, MCAS El Toro and MCAS Tustin were closed and the3rd Marine Aircraft Wing returned to Miramar when it officially became Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.^[16] 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.^[17]

In 2005, the BRAC Commission directed instructor pilots and support personnel from Miramar toEglin AFB in Florida, sufficient to stand up the Marine Corps' portion of theF-35 Lightning IIJoint Strike Fighter program (JSF) Training Site.^[18] This will lead to an eventual phasing out of fighter pilot training at Miramar by 2015 as theF/A-18 Hornets are retired.

In 2006, the San Diego County Proposition A proposed obtaining 3000 acres (12 km²) at MCAS Miramar to develop a commercial airport.^[19] The proposition was defeated 62 percent opposed to 38 percent in favor.^[20]

Numerousnoise complaints have been lodged against MCAS Miramar (and its predecessor, NAS Miramar) going back for decades funded partly by real estate developers^[21] (Pardee Construction Co). MCAS Miramar is located near the center of the City of San Diego. It is surrounded on three sides by residential areas includingMira Mesa,Scripps Ranch,University City,Clairemont, andTierrasanta. 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 ofhush-houses, limitations on engine run-ups, and modification to flight plans. In spite of efforts, noise complaints remain an issue in 2019.^{[22][23][24][25][26]}

Flying units based at MCAS Miramar:^[27][28]

Insignia	Squadron	Code	Callsign/Nickname	Assigned Aircraft	Operational Assignment
	Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 502	VMFAT-502	Flying Nightmares	F-35B	3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
	Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 314	VMFA-314	Black Knights	F-35C	Carrier Air Wing 9/ 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
	Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 311[29]	VMFA-311	Tomcats	F-35C	3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
	Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 323	VMFA-323	Death Rattlers	F/A-18C	3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
	Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232	VMFA-232	Red Devils	F/A-18C/D	3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
	Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 352	VMGR-352	Raiders	KC-130	3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
	Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 361	HMH-361	Flying Tigers	CH-53E	3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
	Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 462	HMH-462	Heavy Haulers	CH-53E	3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
	Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 465	HMH-465	Warhorse	CH-53E	3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
	Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 466	HMH-466	Wolfpack	CH-53E	3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
	Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 161	VMM-161	Greyhawks	MV-22B	3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
	Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 163	VMM-163	Evil Eyes	MV-22B	3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
	Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 165	VMM-165	White Knights	MV-22B	3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
	Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 362	VMM-362	Ugly Angels	MV-22B	3rd Marine Aircraft Wing

Flying and notable non-flying units based at MCAS Miramar:^[27][28]

There have been a number of aviation accidents:

• On 4 December 1959, anF3H Demon with Navy pilot ENSAlbert Joe Hickman crashed into the adjoining community of Clairemont Mesa. The pilot stayed with the aircraft to avoid hitting a school. The city named an elementary school in Mira Mesa after him.^[31]
• On 12 August 1968, a U.S. NavyVought F-8 Crusader (F-8C) fighter jet ofVF-124 crashed while returning to (then) NAS Miramar, from nighttimeSidewinder missile training with three other F-8 Crusader fighters. The pilot, LT (JG) Roman S. Ohnemus, 25, did not eject, and died in the crash. The incident occurred in the dark, early morning hours in remote, brush-covered terrain off what is now Canyon Hills Park and Spitfire Way in Mira Mesa(somewhat level except for narrow valleys), north of (then) NAS Miramar, and Miramar Road, west ofU.S. Highway 395 (nowInterstate 15), and south of Black Mountain. A small brush fire was started by the crash. Live missiles presented a dangerous crash site to the first-arriving state forestry firefighters, who were woken by the crash. They were from the nearby fire station located at Carroll Canyon and then Highway 395 (between 1 and 2 miles) Miramar California Division of Forestry (nowCalFire) fire station.^{[32][citation needed]}
• On 22 December 1969, an F-8J Crusader ofVF-194 crashed into a hangar at NAS Miramar, after the pilot ejected. 14 died and 30 were injured.^[33] Pilot Lt. C. M. Riddell ejected safely. Five other fighters, including twoF-4 Phantoms, were damaged in the repair facility fire that ensued. Helicopters and military and civilian ambulances were used to transport the injured toBalboa Naval Hospital,San Diego.^[34][35]
• On 27 March 1978, anF-14 Tomcat fromVF-1 crashed intoI-15^[36] just short of the runway and was stopped on the northbound lanes by a concrete divider. One aviator in the Tomcat was killed.
• On 7 November 1978, anA-4 Skyhawk used by the Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, theBlue Angels, crashed and the pilot was killed.^[37]
• On 11 March 1985, an F-8 Crusader crashed into a parking lot of a nearby industrial park. The pilot ejected safely.^[38]
• On 3 December 1985, U.S. Navy Capt Henry M. Kleeman was killed when his F/A-18 Hornet skidded 5000 feet and flipped on a wet runway.^[39]
• On 21 March 1987 an F-14 Tomcat crashed just south of Poway Road, into the canyons of what is now the Mercy Road area, approximately 4 miles from the base. Both crewmembers ejected safely.
• On 26 June 1987, anA-3 Skywarrior fromVQ-1 was practicing night Field Carrier Landing Practice (FCLP) - The aircraft impacted the ground after turning downwind subsequent to take off. Three crewmembers were killed.^[40]
• On 11 March 2004, aUC-35 crashed on east Miramar at the approach end of the runway. Four Marines were killed.^[41]
• In November 2006, anF/A-18D Hornet fromVMFAT-101 crashed on the eastern perimeter of the base, with the pilot ejecting safely.^[42]
• On 8 December 2008, four people were killed, two homes were destroyed and three homes were damaged when anF/A-18D Hornetcrashed about 2 miles (3.2 km) from the base.^[43] The plane was returning from training exercises with theUSSAbraham Lincoln, which was off the coast ofSan Diego. The pilot was attempting to steer the aircraft to an unpopulated area when he lost all engine, electrical and hydraulic power. He ejected safely.^[43]
• On 24 August 2023, anF/A-18 Hornet crashed east of the base close to theI-15. The sole pilot aboard died after ejecting from the aircraft.^[44][45]

On 30 January 2010, theDepartment of Veterans Affairs dedicated a newNational Cemetery at the northwest corner of MCAS Miramar.^[46] The cemetery is an extension ofFort Rosecrans National Cemetery and when complete will accommodate approximately 235,000 deceased veterans and spouses.^[47]

• MCAS Miramar was home to theFlying Leatherneck Aviation Museum, which closed in 2021.
• TheMiramar Airshow is a majorairshow held each year at MCAS Miramar the last weekend of September.https://miramarairshow.com/

• Kearny Mesa, where MCAS Miramar is located
• List of United States Marine Corps installations
• List of airports in California
• Pogogyne abramsii is an endangered plant found on the grounds of MCAS Miramar.
• United States Marine Corps Aviation
• San Diego International Airport is another airport located in San Diego.

 This article incorporatespublic domain material from websites or documents of theUnited States Marine Corps.

• O'Hara, Thomas (2005).Images of America – Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. Charleston, SC: Arcadia.ISBN 0-7385-3058-1.
• Sherrod, Robert (1952).History of Marine Corps Aviation in World War II. Washington, D.C.: Combat Forces Press.
• Shettle, M. L. (2001).United States Marine Corps Air Stations of World War II. Bowersville, Georgia: Schaertel Publishing Company.ISBN 0-9643388-2-3.

• Stewart, Noah; Anteon Corporation (January 2004).Historic Overview(PDF) (Report). United States Marine Corps. MCAS Miramar Environmental Management.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toMarine Corps Air Station Miramar.

• Marine Corps Air Station Miramar
• USMC Air Station Miramar Overview & PCS Information
• Miramar Air Show
• Flying Leathernecks Museum web site
• FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective March 20, 2025
• Resources for this U.S. military airport:
  • FAAairport information for NKX
  • AirNavairport information for KNKX
  • ASNaccident history for NKX
  • NOAA/NWSlatest weather observations
  • SkyVectoraeronautical chart for KNKX
• Miramar National Cemetery official website

• United States Marine Corps air stations
• Military facilities in San Diego County, California
• Military in San Diego
• World War II airfields in the United States
• Military installations in California
• Airports in San Diego County, California

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