AvilaBeachAmphibiousTrainingBaseMorroBay

Amphibious Training Base Morro Bay also called Camp Morro Bay and Morro Bay Section Base was a

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

training base Military education and training is a process which intends to establish and improve the capabilities of military personnel in their respective roles. Military training may be voluntary or compulsory duty. It begins with recruit training, proceed ...

for

amphibious Amphibious means able to use either land or water. In particular it may refer to: Animals * Amphibian, a vertebrate animal of the class Amphibia (many of which live on land and breed in water) * Amphibious caterpillar * Amphibious fish, a fish ...

beach

assault In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or consent, unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The base opened in 1941 to train troops for the Pacific theater of operations' island leapfrogging using

landing craft Landing craft are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as boats and barges, used to convey a landing force (infantry and vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. The term excludes landing ships, which are larger. ...

and LCVP. The base was located in

Morro Bay, California Morro Bay (''Morro'', Spanish for "Hill") is a seaside city in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Central Coast of California, the city's population was 10,757 as of the 2020 census, up from 10,234 at the 2010 ...

San Luis Obispo County San Luis Obispo County (), officially the County of San Luis Obispo, is a county on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 282,424. The county seat is San Luis Obispo. Junípero Serra fou ...

. The base was on of leased land. Ships for the base were based at the Avila's Port San Luis in San Luis Bay. Which was also leased with the yacht club and its warehouse. Added to the leased land was: two piers, mess hall, gallon water storage tanks, roads, buildings, garages, and ammo storage area. The Navy also extended the bay's breakwater. A wooden

trestle bridge A trestle bridge is a bridge composed of a number of short spans supported by closely spaced frames usually carrying a railroad line. A trestle (sometimes tressel) is a rigid frame used as a support, historically a tripod used to support a st ...

was built to get to the nearby sandspit (now

Morro Bay State Park Morro Bay State Park is a state park on the Morro Bay, California#Geography, Morro Bay lagoon, in western San Luis Obispo County, California, San Luis Obispo County, on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California. On the lagoon's ...

), the bridge was removed in 1946 and some pillars still remain. The near Estero Bay was the site of training assault also, by the Navy,

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

US Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expedi ...

and

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

also taking over the unused vacation hotel there. Nearby

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

fields had fighter aircraft fire flour shot to make the training more real. Up to 175 landing craft were at the base and 16,000 troops a day trained. In the base and in nearby

Los Osos Los Osos (Spanish for "the bears") is an unincorporated town in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Central Coast of California, Los Osos had a reported population of 14,465 in 2020. For statistical purposes, the ...

and Baywood live fire bombing, machine gun,

bazooka The Bazooka () is a Man-portable anti-tank systems, man-portable recoilless Anti-tank warfare, anti-tank rocket launcher weapon, widely deployed by the United States Army, especially during World War II. Also referred to as the "stovepipe", th ...

s, and flamethrowers were used for training. The training ended on 31 October 1945 and the site is now a

Duke Energy Duke Energy Corporation is an American electric power and natural gas holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company ranked as the 141st largest company in the United States in 2024 – its highest-ever placement on the ...

power plant built in 1955, site of three large smoke stacks. North of the former base in the notable

Morro Rock Morro Rock (Salinan: ''Le'samo; ''Chumash: ''Lisamu; Spanish: ''El Morro'') is a volcanic plug in Morro Bay, California, on the Pacific Coast at the entrance to Morro Bay harbor. A causeway connects it with the shore, making it a tied isla ...

. Avila Beach was also a

Union Oil Union Oil Company of California, and its holding company Unocal Corporation, together known as Unocal was a major petroleum explorer and marketer in the late 19th century, through the 20th century, and into the early 21st century. It was headqu ...

plant with many oil storage tanks, use for Navy ships.

Baywood Park Training Area

Baywood Park Training Area opened in July 1943 as a branch of the

Camp San Luis Obispo Camp San Luis Obispo is the original home of the California Army National Guard. It served as an Infantry Division Camp and Cantonment Area for the United States Army during World War II. History Camp San Luis Obispo, formerly called Camp Merr ...

and Amphibious Training Base Morro Bay. The site was on of leased land. The site is in the current town of Baywood-Los Osos, California and the Morro Bay State Park. The lease ended in 1947.US Army Baywood Park Training Area, FUDS
/ref> BlackHillMorroBayPanorama

References

{{WWII US ships United States in World War II Military in California

Baywood Park Training Area

See also

References