Mather Air Force Base Mather Field | |
|---|---|
| Part ofAir Training Command (ATC) | |
| Sacramento County, California | |
 2006 USGS airphoto | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Air Force Base |
| Controlled by | United States Air Force |
| Location | |
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  Mather AFB Location in the United States Show map of the United States Mather AFB Location in California Show map of California | |
| Coordinates | 38°33′14″N121°17′51″W / 38.55389°N 121.29750°W /38.55389; -121.29750 |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1918 |
| In use | 1918–1993 |
| Battles/wars |  World War I  World War II |
| Garrison information | |
| Garrison | 323d Flying Training Wing |
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Mather Air Force Base (Mather AFB) was aUnited States Air Force Base, which was closed in 1993 pursuant to a post-Cold WarBRAC decision. It was located 12 miles (19 km) east ofSacramento, on the south side of U.S. Route 50 inSacramento County, California.Mather Field wasone of 32 Air Service training camps established after the United States entry intoWorld War I in April 1917.[1]
The Mather AFB land has various post-military uses includingSacramento Mather Airport, established in 1995. Some of the land was included in the City ofRancho Cordova, when it was incorporated in 2003.[2] Mather Field also now serves as home of the 149th Intelligence Squadron of the195th Wing, Air National Guard.
Mather Air Force Base was named afterSecond Lieutenant Carl Spencer Mather, a 25-year-old army pilot killed in a mid-air collision while training atEllington Field, Texas on 30 January 1918.[3] Mather learned to fly in 1914 at the Curtiss Flying School inHammondsport, New York, and became an instructor there at the age of 20. He enlisted as an aviation cadet in August 1917 and as a licensed pilot was commissioned with part of his class as a second lieutenant on 20 January 1918. He continued training to earn aReserve Military Aviator rating and promotion to first lieutenant but was killed ten days later. The remainder of his class requested that Mills Field be renamed in Mather's honor.[3]
In January 1918, theDepartment of War sent acadre of officers to the Sacramento, California area to survey sites for an aviation school. The group decided on a location about 12 miles southeast of Sacramento called Mills Station. An agreement to lease the land to the Army was concluded, and the construction of some 50 buildings began on 15 March 1918. Mills Field, named after the local community was opened on 30 April 1918. It covered over 700 acres and could accommodate up to 1,000 personnel. Dozens of wooden buildings served as headquarters, maintenance, and officers' quarters. Enlisted men had to bivouac in tents. Mather Field's first commander was 1st Lieutenant Sam P. Burman, who assumed command on 15 March 1918. The first unit stationed there was the 283d Aero Squadron, which was transferred fromRockwell Field, North Island, California.[3]
Only a fewU.S. Army Air Service aircraft arrived with the 283d Aero Squadron, Most of theCurtiss JN-4 Jennys to be used for flight training were shipped in wooden crates by rail. Mather Field served as a base for primary flight training with an eight-week course. The maximum student capacity was 300.
In 1917, flight training occurred in two phases: primary and advanced. Primary training consisted of pilots learning basic flight skills under dual and solo instruction. After completion of their primary training at Mather, flight cadets were then transferred to another base for advanced training.[3] Training units assigned to Mather Field:[4]
With the sudden end of World War I in November 1918, the future operational status of Mather Field was unknown. Many local officials speculated that the U.S. government would keep the field open because of the outstanding combat record established by Mather-trained pilots in Europe. Locals also pointed to the optimal weather conditions in the Sacramento area for flight training. Cadets in flight training on 11 November 1918 were allowed to complete their training, however no new cadets were assigned to the base. The separate training squadrons were consolidated into a single Flying School detachment, because many of the personnel at Mather were being demobilized. Flight training activities finally ceased on 8 November 1919.[3]
With the end of World War I, in December 1919 Mather Field was closed as an active airfield. However, a small caretaker unit was assigned to the facility for administration. Nonetheless, on 13 December 1919, theUnited States House of Representatives passed an appropriations bill for $9.6 million for the purchase of additional land at military camps "which are to be made part of the permanent military establishment". Mather Field was allocated $78,000 of this amount.[5]
Mather was used by the aerial forestry patrol. It also was used intermittently to support small military units. However, with the return to a peacetime economy, Mather Field were deemed unnecessary as a military training facility, and it was closed on 12 May 1923. The War Department ordered the small caretaker force at Mather Field to dismantle all remaining structures and to sell them as surplus. Throughout the remainder of the 1920s, the War Department leased the vacant land to local farmers and ranchers.[3]
Mather Field was reactivated on 1 April 1930 as a sub post of thePresidio of San Francisco andHamilton Field during the 1930s, and ofStockton Field briefly in 1941. Mather, however, had to be refitted with new electrical, water, and telephone lines. Soon, Mather was again alive with activity, though the renovation process could not compare to the original base construction.[3]
Note: The airfield served only for aerial forest patrol, beginning 8 January 1919. It was placed on inactive status, 22 June 1922; and closed on 12 May 1923. The airfield was reactivated 1 April 1930; and placed in inactive status, 1 November 1932. It was designated a subpost of the Presidio of San Francisco, unk-13 May 1935; designated a subpost of Hamilton Field, 13 May 1935; designated a subpost of Stockton Field, 21 February 1941.
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The Field was reestablished as a separate post and activated on 13 May 1941. The field area was increased from 872 to 4,418 acres (17.88 km2) in June 1941. Sub-bases and auxiliary fields of Mather included:
In 1941 Mather Field became the site for advanced navigator training. TheArmy Air Forces Navigator School began operating on 2 August 1941. Major new construction was completed 16 March 1942. The school consisted of a rigorous 18-week course consisting of instruction incelestial navigation anddead reckoning. To complete the course, cadets were required to spend 100 hours navigating during both local and long-range flights. However, in 1943,Army Air Forces Training Command transferred the Navigator School from Mather Field to Ellington Field, near Houston, Texas.[3]
Mather became a twin-engine Advanced Flying School, training pilots onNorth American B-25 Mitchell medium bombers. In 1944–45 it became an aerial port of embarkation to the Pacific in preparation for the expected transfer of large numbers of men and aircraft from Europe to the Pacific.[3]
During the summer of 1945, the509th Composite Group was transferring from itsSecond Air Force training base atWendover Army Air Field, Utah, the group landed at Mather prior to embarking on its trans-Pacific movement toTinian (in theMarianas Island chain).
During theCold War, Mather AFB became the sole aerial navigation school for theUnited States Air Force (USAF) after its companion navigation schools atHarlingen AFB, Texas, andJames Connally AFB, Texas, were closed andEllington AFB was converted into a jointAir National Guard base,Coast Guard air station andNASA flight facility in the 1960s.
The3535th Navigator Training Wing ofAir Training Command (ATC), was responsible for bombardier training beginning in 1946 and later transitioned to undergraduate navigator training (UNT), advanced navigator bombardier training, electronic warfare officer training andweapon systems officer training after the closure of the other navigator training bases. Renamed the 3535th Flying Training Wing, the wing initially flew theConvair T-29 for USAF navigator training until 1974, when it was replaced by theBoeing T-43A (Boeing 737-200) aircraft.
The 3535th was replaced by the323d Flying Training Wing on 1 April 1973. In 1976, following the decommissioning of Training Squadron Twenty-Nine (VT-29) atNaval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas, the 323d began training studentNaval Flight Officers (NFO) in the Advanced Maritime Navigation training pipeline.U.S. Navy students in this pipeline were destined to fly land-based naval aircraft such as theLockheed P-3 Orion,Lockheed EP-3 Aries andLockheed EC-130 andLockheed LC-130 Hercules aircraft. This resulted in the UNT course being redesignated as Interservice Undergraduate Navigator Training (IUNT). The Navy also activated Naval Air Training Unit (NAVAIRTU) Mather as the parent activity for Navy instructors, Navy students andNATO/Allied naval aviation students assigned to the 323d at Mather. The Marine Aerial Navigation School also relocated to Mather in order to train enlistedUnited States Marine Corps andUnited States Coast Guard navigators for Marine Corps KC-130 and Coast Guard HC-130 aircraft.Cessna T-37 aircraft were added to the IUNT curriculum in the late 1970s for USAF students destined for high performance aircraft such as theF-4 Phantom II/RF-4,F-111/FB-111 andB-1 Lancer.
The 323d continued training USAF navigators, NFOs, NATO/Allied students, and conducting advanced training for radar navigator/bombardiers, electronic warfare officers and weapons systems operators until it was inactivated on 30 September 1993. Concurrent with the wing's inactivation, all USAF navigator and NFO maritime navigation pipeline training was moved toRandolph AFB, Texas and consolidated under the12th Flying Training Wing, which up until that time trained and certified instructor pilots.
Mather AFB had a late 1940s/early 1950sRadar Bomb Scoring detachment of the 3903rd Radar Bomb Scoring Squadron.[6]
The Mather AFB general surveillance radar station was established after a second stage of "additionalLashup stations and heavy radar equipment [was] authorized" in the fall of 1949.[7]: 124 Site L-37 began operation with anAN/CPS-6 in June 1950, and the668th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron was assigned on 1 January 1951 . The station later converted toAN/FPS-20A andAN/FPS-6 and AN/FPS-6B radars. By 1960 the station became a joint-use facility with theFederal Aviation Administration (FAA) and in 1961, the two height-finder radars were removed. The station became part of theSan Francisco Air Defense Sector with the radars providing radar data to theBeale AFB DC-18 SAGE Direction Center via theBurroughs AN/FST-2 Coordinate Data Transmitting Set atMill Valley Air Force Station (Z-28). The 668th was inactivated on 1 September 1961, and Detachment 2 of the666th Radar Squadron performed subsequent operations until inactivated on 1 September 1966. The FAA operates the Mather radar site with an AN/FPS-91A of theJoint Surveillance System.
On 1 April 1958,Strategic Air Command (SAC)'s4134th Strategic Wing composed of the72d Bombardment Squadron and904th Air Refueling Squadron was assigned to Mather AFB, the latter flying theKC-135A Stratotanker. TheStrategic Wings were formed in the late 1950s as part of SAC's plan to disperse its heavy bombers over a larger number of bases, thus making it more difficult for theSoviet Union to knock out the entire fleet with a surprise first strike. The wing had one squadron ofB-52 Stratofortresses with 15 aircraft. Four[8] of the planes were maintained on 15-minute alert, fully fueled, armed, and ready for combat. The remaining planes were used for training in bombardment missions and air refueling operations. The wing also had a squadron of KC-135 tankers. The 4134th Strategic Wing was discontinued on 1 February 1963.
Det. 1 320 BW operated at the old bomber alert area atMountain Home AFB, from 1969 until the spring of 1975 when it disbanded and the two bombers and two tankers returned to Mather.
Concurrent with the inactivation of the 4134th, the320th Bombardment Wing was activated and absorbed its assets. It operated as a tenant unit from 1963 to 1989, initially with the B-52F Stratofortress before converting in 1968 to the B-52G. The441st Bombardment Squadron replaced the 72d and the 904th Air Refueling Squadron was transferred from the 4134th to the 320th.. In addition to SAC nuclear alert, the 320th also conducted conventional operations, including maritime missions in support of the U.S. Navy with aerial mines andAGM-84 Harpoon missiles. The 320th was inactivated on 30 September 1989.[9]
The940th Air Refueling Group, anAir Force Reserve unit, moved to Mather AFB fromMcClellan AFB in 1977, shortly after it transitioned to the KC-135A. Operationally-gained by SAC, the unit upgraded to the KC-135E in 1986. With SAC's inactivation in 1992, the unit was then gained by theAir Mobility Command and redesignated the 940th Air Refueling Wing in 1993. Following the closure of Mather AFB, the 940th relocated back to McClellan AFB in 1993. When McClellan closed in 1998 the wing then moved to its current station atBeale AFB.[10]
Parts of the airfield were listed on theNational Priorities List as aSuperfund site on 22 July 1987. The entire site was listed on 21 November 1989.[11]On 30 September 1993, the 5,845 acres (23.7 km2), including 129 acres (0.52 km2) of easements, of Mather AFB was decommissioned under the1988 Base Realignment and Closure Commission. Most of the base was transferred toSacramento County. Current sites of the former air force base include:
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Source for major commands and major units assigned:[12][13]
There are rare wetlandvernal pools, which are unique to California,[14] and numerous plant and animal species exist on the site that became Mather Air Force Base. The chiefly grassland ecological community continues to hold a considerable number of plants, mammals, birds and arthropods. Within the plant community are large numbers of native grass andforb species. One example of a native wildflower found here is theYellow Mariposa Lily.[15] Another example is theVernal Pool Buttercup var. trisepalus.[16] The vernal pools at Mather are also habitat toAhart's Dwarf Rush var. ahartii,Boggs Lake hedgehyssop, and the rareLegenere limosa.[17]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
Served…from October, 1957 to June, 1962. …Keesler AFB for tech school, then…at Los Angeles RBS site
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