Lovelock Aerial Gunnery Range | |
|---|---|
military region | |
 1955 map of "U. S. Prohibited, Restricted, Caution and Warning Areas on Elko Sectional Chart": "Black Rock Desert" (R-266) and "Sahwave Mountains" (R-430) | |
| Coordinates: 37°32′N 116°12′W / 37.533°N 116.200°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Nevada |
| Counties | North: Pershing South: Humboldt |
| Years | 1945–1963 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 0 sq mi (0 km2) |
Lovelock Aerial Gunnery Range was a World War II facility in two Nevada areas used for "aerial gunnery, strafing, dive bombing [and] rocket fire".[1] By 21 November 1944, the Lovelock Range had been approved by the Secretary of the Navy to be developed for Naval Air Station Fallon,[1] and on 13 January 1945, "Lovelock Air to Air" began[2] when "leased under the Second War Powers Act".[3] By February 1945,[2] land was being acquired[4] for the North Range in the Black Rock Desert which was 1,122 sq mi (2,910 km2) that included 64.4 sq mi (167 km2) of "Patented" (leased private) land.[2] The South Range in the Granite Springs Valley was 2,436 sq mi (6,310 km2), and in March 1945 "1920 Acres more" were added.[2]
The post-war range was reactivated in October 1945 when the United States Navy closed more than 1,563 sq mi (4,050 km2) to the public in the two Lovelock Aerial Gunnery Range regions.[5] The Department of the Interior permit for the North Portion was cancelled by a 6 March 1946 letter, and the Bureau of Yards and Docks was directed to cancel the leases for the South Portion on 7 January 1947.[6]
- ^ a b Stephens, Albert Lee Jr. (21 November 1944), Enclosure (A): Memorandum for District Public Works Officer (attachment to letter), Enclosure (A),
Churchill Flight Strip…Adjacent to highway between Fallen and Carson City, Nevada, near Lahontan reservoir … The strip is under the jurisdiction of the Public Roads Administration and has been used by the Army in connection with the Reno Army Air Base.
(pdf p. 143 of Archive Summary Report—Findings: Dixie Valley Bombing Target No. 21) - ^ a b c d Gunnery Range and Target Areas Released Since WW II – 12th Naval District (Report).
Churchill County East Range
(pdf p. 143 of Archive .Summary Report—Findings: Dixie Valley Bombing Target No. 21) - ^ Command History: U.S. Naval Auxiliary Air Station Fallon, Nevada; June 10, 1944 – December 31, 1958 (Report). Vol. OPNAV Report 5450-5). 1959 [circa].
When World War II started, the Army chose several places in Nevada for the construction of small air fields to be used as part of the western defense program. Some of the places selected were Minden, Winemucca, Lovelock, and Fallon. Army Engineers began the original work here in June of 1942; constructing the first two runways and connecting taxiways. These were the EW (7/25) and the NE-SW (13/31) strips and each was 5200 feet in length. The work was finished in December 1942. The original cost of the project was $464,000. 438,000 was for the runways and $26,000 for lighting. The land was leased to the CAA by the county. …this station also has the use of the Churchill Flight Strip (Lahontan Dam) built by the Public Roads Administration. … two large free gunnery areas, on predominantly waste land have been acquired, and requisite rocket bombing and ground-strafing targets have been constructed
(pdf p. 35 of Archives Search Report—Findings: Dixie Valley Bombing Target No. 21. Note: The c. 1959 sentence with "Minden, Winemucca, Lovelock, and Fallon" was subsequently used in edited form in 1973's Welcome Aboard ("Fallon, along with Nevada sites at Minden, Tonopah, Lovelock and Winnemucca") and that edited quotation was used verbatim in the 2002 Archives Search Report, p. 4-1. The 1997 The Economic Evolution of Fallon returned to the originally list's wording, but added "the Civil Aviation Administration and the Army Air Corps began building four airfields" and capitalized "Western Defense Program".) - ^ "Navy To Use Dixie Valley: Settlers Leaving Gunnery Range". Reno Evening Gazette. 28 June 1945. p. 8. Retrieved 22 December 2015. (pdf p. 161 of Archive Summary Report—Findings: Dixie Valley Bombing Target No. 21)
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Loomiswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Naval Air Bases, Twelfth Naval District: Status of Facilities (Report). 15 February 1947. (pdf p. 143 of Archive Summary Report—Findings: Dixie Valley Bombing Target No. 21). A lease for "NAAF Lovelock" ended on 1 January 1947.
