Sweetwater Dam Naval Outlying Landing Field was a

airfield An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...

near

Naval Auxiliary Air Station Brown Field In urban planning, brownfield land is land previously used for industrial purposes or some commercial uses. Brownfield or Brown Field may also refer to: Places *Brownfield, Maine * Brownfield, Missouri *Brownfield, Texas ** Brownfield Independe ...

and

Naval Air Station North Island Naval Air Station North Island or NAS North Island , at the north end of the Coronado peninsula on San Diego Bay in San Diego, California, is part of the largest aerospace-industrial complex in the United States Navy – Naval Base Coronado (N ...

used to support the training of

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 ...

pilots 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 runway, built in 1944, was located in what is now a neighborhood, eight miles east of

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, California. The Navy leased 135.45 acres of grassland from

Rancho de la Nación Rancho de la Nación was a Mexican land grant in present-day southern San Diego County, California, given in 1845 by Governor Pío Pico to John (Don Juan) Forster. The grant encompassed present-day National City, Chula Vista, Bonita, Sunny ...

to complete the airfield; it had a single 3,000-foot east/west asphalt runway. The airfield closed in 1946. In 1949, the runway became a private civil airport, known as Sweetwater Dam Airport; it was also called Paradise Mesa Airstrip. The airport was named after the nearby

Sweetwater Dam Sweetwater Dam is a dam across the Sweetwater River in San Diego County, California. It is located approximately east of San Diego, and borders Bonita to the southwest and La Presa to the northeast. The -high masonry arch dam impounds Sweet ...

that makes

Sweetwater Reservoir Sweetwater Reservoir is a artificial lake in San Diego County, California, formed by Sweetwater Dam on the Sweetwater River. Construction of the dam was completed in 1888. Environment The area surrounding the reservoir is home to several spec ...

; it closed in 1951 and the runway became home to the Paradise Mesa Drag strip. The Carlsbad, California's Oilers Club helped start the drag strip with the first meet on March 11, 1951. At its peak, 25 clubs were using the strip. The drag strip closed in 1959. Houses were built on the site, now called Paradise Hills; no trace of the runway can be found today. Today, part of the site is also Daniel Boone Elementary School.Paradise Mesa - San Diego’s First Dragstrip
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sweetwater Dam Naval Outlying Landing Field 1940s in California Formerly Used Defense Sites in California United States in World War II 1944 establishments in California

See also

References