Needles Army Air Field

Needles Army Air Field in the 1945 Army Air Forces Directory of Airfields
Needles Army Air Field (Needles Airport, Needles Auxiliary Field). Full size image

History

Located 5.5 miles south of Needles, this airport was used by the Army to support training throughout the California-Arizona Maneuver Area and also served as an auxiliary field for March Field. It had been returned to civil operations by January 1945 and survives today as Needles Municipal Airport.

The Bureau of Land Management history preserved on the museum page describes the site as an 800-acre airport established in 1933 through the Works Progress Administration. During World War II the War Department acquired the existing airport and surrounding land, expanded the runways, and used the field primarily for the transport of United States Army officers.

US Army Air Forces Directory of Airfields page for Needles Airport
Extract, US Army Air Forces Directory of Airfields (January 1945). Full size image

Source: California State Military Museum: Needles Army Air Field