Location
Lat 32° 52′ 4″ N, Long 117° 8′ 30″ W NAS Miramar is located in Miramar in northern San Diego. To the north is the suburb Mira Mesa. Still in use today as MCAS Miramar.

Construction
During World War I, the U.S. Army acquired land in the Miramar area and developed the area into "Camp Kearny" opened on January 18, 1917. The base was primarily used to train infantrymen on their way to the battlefields of Europe. During this era, Army and Navy aircraft from Naval Air Station North Island landed on the parade field. Camp Kearny was closed on October 20, 1920.

Next, Charles Lindbergh used the parade field for practice flights with "Spirit of St. Louis" prior to his trans Atlantic flight. During 1932, the US Navy briefly used the area for dirigibles and build a mooring mast and hangar for the program that were later abandoned.

Wartime History
During the war, Camp Holcomb was built on part of Camp Kearny and used by the US Marine Corps for artillery and machine gun training. Renamed Camp Elliott (also know as "East Miramar") was used by Fleet Marine Force Training Center, West Coast and the 2nd Marine Division, charged with defending the California coastline.

During 1940, runways were constructed. The western side of the base known as "West Miramar" was used by Navy and Marine aircraft. On December 21, 1942 the 1st Marine Air Wing (MAG) was established at this location. During February 1943, designated Naval Auxiliary Air Station Camp Kearny (NAAS Camp Kearny and was used for training PB4Y-2 Privateer aircrews.

In March 1943, the Marines established Marine Corps Air Depot Camp Kearny, later renamed Marine Corps Air Depot Miramar, to avoid confusion with the Navy facility. Two concrete runways were built to accommodate heavy bomber operations.

Postwar
In 1946, Camp Elliott "East Miramar" and the airbase at "West Miramar" were combined and renamed Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS Miramar). In 1947, the Marines moved to MCAS El Toro and Miramar was redesignated as a Naval Auxiliary Air Station Miramar (NAAS Miramar). Also known as "Miramar Naval Air Station" or "Naval Air Station Miramar". Only the western half of Miramar’s facilities were put to use. Many buildings were sold as scrap.

In the 1950s, the eastern half (Camp Elliot) was used by the United States Air Force (USAF) for Project Orion and NASA. In 1955, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS Miramar) was renamed Mitscher Field in honor of Admiral Marc A. Mitscher.

During 1969, the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School was established. In October 1972, VF-124 (F-14 Tomcat) began training pilots including squadrons VF-1 and VF-2 before deploying aboard USS Enterprise (CVN-65) during 1974. Re

Today
During 1995, NAS Miramar was realigned by the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) and turned over to the US Marine Corps (USMC) and renamed Marube Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS Miramar) and used as a fixed wing and helicopter base. Airport codes: IATA: NKX, ICAO: KNKX.

References
MCAS Miramar Official Website

Contribute Information
Do you have photos or additional information to add?

Last Updated
July 19, 2024