Historic California Posts: Blythe Army Air Field

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Historic California Posts:
Blythe Army Air Field
(Gary Field)


Also known as Blythe Army Air Base, this field was located 7 miles west of the town of Blythe on what is now Interstate Highway 10. The field was built for the I Troop Carrier Command but was given up by that command, without ever occupying it, to the 4th Air Force as a California-Arizona Maneuver Area (CAMA) training field. The 46th Bomb Group and later the 34th Bomb Group occupied the field during the CAMA days and flew a variety of planes including B-17s, B-24s, A-31s and A-36s. Blythe Army Air Field later became a sub-base of Muroc Army Air Field (now Edwards Air Force Base) and after the war it became Blythe's local airport.
There was another airfield in Blythe, Gary Field, near the present-day golf course, which had a private pilot training school known as the Morton Air Academy. The school was contracted by the Army Air Corps early in the war to give primary training to Air Corps cadets. Gary Field had a total of three auxiliary airfields during World War II:

A-1 Ripley #1 (10 miles south)
A-2 Ripley #2 (8 miles south)
A-4 (which was located a mere half mile to the west).

The Primary Flying School at Gary used the Stearman PT-17. The contract flying schools were mostly staffed by civilian instructors. The Commanding Officer was an Army Air Forces officer, and usually there were Army Air Forces check pilots who made sure the students were qualified. The Commander at Gary was Major Frank Fuller of the Fuller Paint Company fame. The civilian head was Roger Pryor, who was a musical director for one of the Hollywood film studios
Source: World War II Sites in the United States: A Tour Guide and Directory by Richard E. Osbourne

Known Units at Blythe Army Air Field

34th Bomb Group (Heavy) 15 December 1942-April 1944. B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators 4th Bombardment Squadron 7th Bombardment Squadron 18th Bombardment Squadron 391st Bombardment Squadron
46th Bombardment Group (Light) 23 May 1943-November 1942. A-20 Havoc 55th Bombardment Squadron 51st Bombardment Squadron 83rd Bombardment Squadron 87th Bombardment Squadron
55th Bombardment Group (Dive) 2 November-11 December 1942 A-24 Dauntlesses 499th Bombardment Squadron 500th Bombardment Squadron 501st Bombardment Squadron 502nd Bombardment Squadron
398th Bombardment Group (Heavy) April 1943 B-17 Flying Fortresses 600th Bombardment Squadron 601st Bombardment Squadron 602nd Bombardment Squadron 603rd Bombardment Squadron

Updated 18 May 2008

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