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Camp Hydle, also called Drakes Bay Range, was a large training center during 
Camp Hydle, also called Drakes Bay Range, was a large training center 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 ...
, located at Drakes Bay
Drakes Bay ( Coast Miwok: ''Tamál-Húye'') is a bay along the Point Reyes National Seashore on the coast of northern California in the United States, approximately northwest of San Francisco at approximately 38 degrees north latitude. The ...
, on what is now Point Reyes National Seashore
Point Reyes National Seashore is a park preserve located on the Point Reyes, Point Reyes Peninsula in Marin County, California. As a national seashore, it is maintained by the US United States National Park Service, National Park Service as an ...
on the coast of northern California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
in the United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. The camp had several training sites: Camp Hydle, Drakes Bay Air to Ground Gunnery Range, Drakes Bay Dive Bombing Target, Camp Murphy's Ranch, Camp Hydle Maneuver Area, and Camp Hydle Skip and Dive Bombing Range. Also at the camp were 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. ...
training and air sea rescue
Air-sea rescue (ASR or A/SR, also known as sea-air rescue), and aeronautical and maritime search and rescue (AMSAR) by the ICAO and IMO, is the coordinated search and rescue (SAR) of the survivors of emergency water landings as well as people w ...
training. The site was of Marin County, California
Marin County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat a ...
land on the West Coast of the United States
The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast and the Western Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the Contiguous United States, contig ...
. The complete area from Stinson Beach
Stinson Beach is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Marin County, California, on the west coast of the United States. Stinson Beach is located east-southeast of Bolinas, right across the channel that terminates the ...
to the south and Dillon Beach to the north was called the Point Reyes Gunnery Range at Point Reyes
Point Reyes ( , meaning 'Cape of the Kings') is a prominent landform and popular tourist destination on the Pacific coast of Marin County in Northern California. It is approximately west-northwest of San Francisco. The term is often applied ...
. The Gunnery Range also included: two radar towers, horse stable, two lifeboat Stations, the Point Reyes Lighthouse, lookout towers, and land strafing targets (rake). The dive bomber
A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact througho ...
airplane
An airplane (American English), or aeroplane (Commonwealth English), informally plane, is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, Propeller (aircraft), propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a vari ...
s came from Hamilton Army Airfield
Hamilton Field (Hamilton AFB) was a United States Air Force base, which was inactivated in 1973, decommissioned in 1974, and put into a caretaker status with the Air Force Reserve until 1976. It was transferred to the United States Army in 1983 ...
(AAF), Santa Rosa Army Airfield (AAF), and Naval Air Station Alameda
Naval Air Station Alameda (NAS Alameda) was a United States Navy Naval Air Station mostly in Alameda, California, with a slight portion of it within San Francisco proper, on San Francisco Bay.
NAS Alameda had two runways: 13–31 measuring and ...
(NAS). In addition to Drakes Bay the planes also training using the nearby Abbotts Lagoon
Abbotts Lagoon is a lagoon on the northwestern coast of the Point Reyes National Seashore, southwest of Tomales Point, in California,
United States. The inland portion of the lagoon receives freshwater runoff, but the lagoon may be brackish fr ...
, and Tomales Bay
Tomales Bay is a long, narrow inlet of the Pacific Ocean in Marin County in northern California in the United States.
Geography
Tomales Bay is approximately long and averages nearly wide, with relatively shallow depths averaging 18 ft, eff ...
. The landing craft training used Limantour Beach and Limantour Spit. Anti-aircraft gun
Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...
training was important training for the Pacific War
The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...
. Camp Hydle base was inland east of Limantour Beach. For gunner training planes towed targets across Drakes Bay. Ships also trained at the base, like the and . The Navy's Camp Hydle took over the Point Reyes Lifeboat Station during the war. The 50 men at the Station were air sea rescue pilots, dropping rafts to plane crew that landed in the ocean during training. The first troops arrived at the site on December 7, 1941. The site was also used as a coast defense
Coastal management is defence against flooding and erosion, and techniques that stop erosion to claim lands. Protection against rising sea levels in the 21st century is crucial, as sea level rise accelerates due to climate change. Changes in s ...
spot, looking out for Japanese subs and ships. Most of the land was leased from Leland Murphy (Murphy Ranch), after the war in 1962, the site became Point Reyes National Seashore.
See also
*California during World War II
California during World War II was a major contributor to the World War II effort. California's long Pacific Ocean coastline provided the support needed for the Pacific War. California also supported the European theatre of World War II, war in ...
*List of beaches in California
This list of California beaches is a list of beaches that are situated along the coastline of the State of California, US. The information in this article draws extensively from the ''California Coastal Access Guide'', a comprehensive resource ...
*List of California state parks
This is a list of parks, historic resources, reserves and recreation areas in the California State Parks system.
List of parks
See also
* California State Beaches
* List of California State Historic Parks
* Parks in California
*California Dep ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Camp Hydle Camp Hydle American Theater of World War II Former training facilities of the United States Army Installations of the United States Army in California Formerly Used Defense Sites in California California in World War II 1941 establishments in California