Qualla: San Clemente Naval Auxiliary Air Station

San Clemente Naval Auxiliary Air Station: Introduction

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit US Navy, Public domain. In 1934, workers carved two 1,600-foot dirt runways into the volcanic terrain of San Clemente Island, creating an airfield that would play a small but vital role in preparing America for war. The Works Progress Administration improved and expanded the facility in 1938, paving the runways and building a hangar. When World War II came, Marines trained here in Vought SB2U Vindicator aircraft and Grumman J2F Duck seaplanes, learning the skills they would need to fight across the Pacific. San Clemente Naval Auxiliary Air Station never achieved fame, but it served its purpose, and its ghost remains in the helipads that now occupy the old runway.

Image: US Navy | Public domain

San Clemente Naval Auxiliary Air Station: New Deal Airfield

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit US Navy, Public domain. The Navy acquired San Clemente Island on November 7, 1934, and immediately set about building an airfield near the island's center. The original construction was modest: two dirt runways, each 1,600 feet long, scratched from the arid landscape. Four years later, the Works Progres...

Image: US Navy | Public domain

San Clemente Naval Auxiliary Air Station: Training for the Pacific War

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit US Navy, Public domain. With the outbreak of World War II, San Clemente Airfield became a Marine Corps training base. A Marine squadron was stationed at the airfield by 1942, conducting air scouting training with 19 Vought SB2U Vindicator aircraft and a single Grumman J2F Duck seaplane. The Vindicator, ...

Image: US Navy | Public domain

San Clemente Naval Auxiliary Air Station: Decline and Transformation

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit US Navy, Public domain. After the war, the airfield's importance gradually diminished. By 1977, the 2,000-foot runway had been removed entirely, and the east-west 5,000-foot runway sat unused for long periods, sometimes closed altogether. The reduced airfield found occasional use for amphibious and air ...

Image: US Navy | Public domain