Hidden Airfield Near Garlock, California

A video tour of an isolated dry lake in the Mojave desert near Garlock, California, which was supposedly used shortly after Pearl Harbor as a hiding place for fighter aircraft based at Muroc Army Airfield (now Edwards AFB), and Naval Air Station China Lake. However, after a tour of the place, I have my doubts. Terrain clearance (or lack of it, I mean), the short length of the runway (about 3100 feet), two deep depressions in the runway, its unusability during the rainy season, lack of parking space, no means of revetting aircraft or storing fuel and munitions, all point to the fact that this area would have been rather undesirable as an airport. Even if that had been its intended use, placing aircraft here would have had to be an act of near desperation, to be done only in the event the Japanese army was encroaching on the military airfields in the area. In my opinion, pierced steel plating would not have worked in the rainy season here, due to the sheer depth and extremely low bearing strength of the wet silt of this lakebed. Even had the runway been paved, it would, in my opinion, have been under water and therefore unusable. However, the BLM naturalist at Jawbone Station was adamant that this area had, in fact, been used as a hiding place for fighter aircraft based in the area. I don't know what to think. If you have any information on this area, please feel free to post it here on YouTube or e-mail me at mojaveroads@live.com.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Hidden Airfield Near Garlock
• California

[herk115]

Or a Herk, which we did quite frequently back in the day. But my point is, there were no C-17s or Herks in early 1942, and Garlock Road probably wasn't even paved, so construction, supply, and resupply were probably unfeasible. And for the reasons I mention, maintenance probably would have been a nightmare.

[juvevk]

Keep in mind that during World War II we took a lot of islands in the pacific to build airstrips much shorter than these. From your description of the airfield, it's actually a very strategic location. If an attack came from the west and airfields along the coast were taken out, this airfield could get an advance warning and deploy it's defensive aircraft to the West. All landing probably came in from the East, like with LAX at present day. The mountains on the East would not pose an issue.

[gonefishin1950]

I stumbled on this old airstrip 35 years ago on a dirt bike trip. I don't know anything about it's history but it was definitely an old airstrip. Thanks for the memory.

[desertdreg]

it's a lost portion of the Nazca lines. the old prospector who lived in the first cabin you crossed, dawson, stole it

[Jshrew22]

There was definitely an airstrip there. Can't really say more

[dzacharias]

you can drop equipment out the back of a c17 and have that strip ready to roll in a week