Hawes Auxillary Army Air Field No.1

USA / California / Lenwood /
 closed / former military  Add category
This site was one of 4 Auxillary Air Fields (AAF) for the Victorville Army Air Field (later renamed George AFB). The Other three were Helendale, El Mirage and Grey Buttes. Site later used as a radio relay station and the outer marker for George AFB.
Hawes Auxillary Air Field participated in the 30,000 Pilot Training Program & later became a bombardier school.

The date of construction of Hawes is unknown.
The earliest reference to the field which has been located is the 1944 LA Sectional Chart.
The 1944 US Army/Navy Directory of Airfields described "Hawes Aux. #1, Army" as having a 5,600' hard-surface runway, and the remarks included, "Auxiliary to Victorville AAF."
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   34°55'22"N   117°22'28"W

Comments

  • The Hawes Radio Relay Facility was a 373.7 meters ( 1226 ft ) tall guy masted used by the USAF as a Survivable Low Frequency Communications System Site, (SLFCS) which was built on the former Hawes Airfield at Hinkley, California, USA at 34°55′1″N 117°22′36″W34.91694°N 117.37667°W. Detachment 2, 33d Communications Group out of March AFB, ran the site until its deactivation. The mission of Detachment 2 (Hawes Radio Relay Site) was to provide the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Commander-in-Chief of Strategic Air Command (CINCSAC), SAC Headquarters, the Airborne Command Post (ABNCP), and the SAC Force with a Survivable Low Frequency (VLF) Communications System for passing communications between the above agencies. Hawes provided SAC Emergency War Order communications before, during and after a nuclear attack; acts as the alternate ground station for the SAC ABNCP, and relays secure communications to and from the Automatic Digital Network (AUTODIN). The SAC SLFCS site at Hawes was activated on 3 Apr 1967 as a project assigned to the 33d Communications Squadron. The site was accepted by Headquarters USAF on 31 May 1968, and was activated for continuous operations a day later. On 19 Jul 1968, 15th Air Force assumed maintenance responsibility for the site. Hawes was located in the Mojave Desert, approximately 100 miles northeast of March AFB, and 40 miles east of Edwards AFB. Site personnel lived on Edwards AFB, and took a shuttle bus to the site. Hawes Radio Tower was a mast radiator insulated against ground, which provided communication to ground and mobile nuclear missile facilities during the Cold War. It transmitted at a maximum power of 100 kW. The facility was partially built into the ground and was designed to withstand a moderate nuclear blast from a distance of 10 miles. The facility was self-sustaining and employed a sophisticated ventilation system as well as backup diesel generators. In the mid-1980s, operations at the site ceased, and in 1986, the mast was demolished by explosives. The abandoned two-story bunker became a popular hang-out for local teenagers. Unfortunately, it also became a center for wild and sometimes violent parties. The interior was blackened from numerous bonfires and riddled with graffiti. In addition, holes and debris created by the radio tower demolition, as well as standing water in the basement caused by rains, made navigating the dark interior of the bunker extremely dangerous. Subsequently, the bunker was demolished by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and USAF in April-May 2008 after two local teenagers: Christopher Cody Thompson of Apple Valley and Bodhisattva “Bodhi” Sherzer-Potter of Helendale, were found murdered on January 5 after a botched robbery attempt. The prime suspects, David Brian Smith and Collin Lee McGlaughlin of the Covina area, are being tried for the murders.
  • http://www.airfields-freeman.com/CA/Airfields_CA_PalmdaleN.htm (scroll half-way down)
This article was last modified 12 years ago