''Muroc Maru'', officially AAF Temporary Building (Target) T-799, was a replica of a Japanese constructed on the floor of

Rogers Dry Lake Rogers Dry Lake is an endorheic desert salt pan in the Mojave Desert of Kern County, California. The lake derives its name from the Anglicization from the Spanish name, Rodriguez Dry Lake. It is the central part of Edwards Air Force Base as its ...

in southern

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 ...

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 ...

. Used to train bomber pilots and bombardiers in techniques for attacking warships, ''Muroc Maru'' remained in place until 1950, when it was demolished.

Construction

AAF Temporary Building (Target) T-799 was built during 1943 on the southern end of Rogers Dry Lake in California for the purpose of training

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

bomber pilots, navigators and bombardiers in bombing,

strafing Strafing is the military practice of attacking ground targets from low-flying aircraft using aircraft-mounted automatic weapons. Less commonly, the term is used by extension to describe high-speed firing runs by any land or naval craft such a ...

, and the identification of warships, including

skip bombing Skip bombing was a low-level bombing technique independently developed by several of the combatant nations in World War II, notably Italy, Australia, Britain, Soviet Union and the United States. It allows an aircraft to attack shipping by skippi ...

techniques. The lakebed site was chosen for the training site as its flat base resembled the ocean, reinforced by the bright

sand dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

s sculpted to give the appearance of a wake around the 'ship'. Designed to mimic the size and appearance of a ''Takao''-class

heavy cruiser A heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm (8 inches) in calibre, whose design parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval Treat ...

of the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...

, the structure was constructed from four-by-four

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

and

chicken wire The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and ...

, with

tar paper Tar paper, roofing paper, felt paper, underlayment, or roofing tar paper is a heavy-duty paper used in construction. Tar paper is made by impregnating paper with tar, producing a waterproof material useful for roof construction. Tar paper is ...

covering the "hull" to complete the illusion of a solid, fully constructed ship. The structure cost $35,819.18 to build ($ in dollars ).

Operational history

Upon completion of the structure, Army Air Force pilots assigned to train at the nearby

Muroc Army Air Field Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, California, Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino County and a souther ...

– now

Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, California, Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino County and a souther ...

– using the "ship" gave it the nickname ''Muroc Maru'', after the location of the vessel and "Maru" being a common suffix for Japanese ship names. The structure was used for training until 1950, when it was declared a hazard to air navigation and disassembled following clearance of

unexploded ordnance Unexploded ordnance (UXO, sometimes abbreviated as UO) and unexploded bombs (UXBs) are explosive weapons (bombs, shell (projectile), shells, grenades, land mines, naval mines, cluster munition, and other Ammunition, munitions) that did not e ...

References

External links

WW2 newsreel
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217235213/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfPba6u6gqI&gl=US&hl=en , date=2022-02-17 on the ''Muroc Maru'' Edwards Air Force Base Landlocked ships Former training facilities of the United States Army 1943 establishments in California 1950 disestablishments in California History of Kern County, California Aviation in World War II Buildings and structures in Kern County, California

Construction

Operational history

See also

References

External links