Historic California Posts, Camps,
Stations and Airfields
Drakes Bay Range
Drakes Bay Air to Ground Gunnery
Range, Drakes Bay Dive Bombing Target, Camp Hydle, Camp Murphy's
Ranch, Camp Hydle Maneuver Area, Camp Hydle Skip and Dive Bombing
Range
US Army Corps
of Engineers History (28 September 1999)
Drakes Bay Range is located in Marin County,
California, and is located approximately 11 miles southwest of
Inverness and 30 miles northwest of San Francisco, California.
It lies within the Point Reyes National Seashore. Drakes Bay
Range consisted of three major facilities: the Camp Hydle Maneuver
Area, the Drakes Bay Dive Bombing and Proposed Aerial Mine Laying
Area, and the Wildcat Military Reservation. The Wildcat Military
Reservation site is addressed here
The Camp Hydle Maneuver Area was leased from Leland Murphy under
lease W59-QM-713 which expired under its own terms at an undetermined
time. Lease W59-QM-943 superseded lease W59-QM-713. The Camp
Hydle Maneuver Area consisted of the Camp Hydle Skip and Dive
Bombing Range, the Camp Hydle Target Practice Area, and the Camp
Hydle Artillery Outpost. Drakes Bay Dive Bombing Range was located
in the ocean near Drakes Bay. The exact location of the target
is unclear and a permit for the use of this target has not been
found.
During World War II the former Camp Hydle
Maneuver Area performed target practice against towed targets
in Drakes Bay out past Chimney Rock and monitered bomb targeting
accuracy in Drakes Bay.
Camp Hydle Maneuver area (lease W59-QM-943)
was excessed prior to April 1945. Supplemental Agreement No.
three of lease W59-QM-943 allowed the Army to exclude the 18
acres on Limantour Spit that was used for the Camp Hydle Skip
and Dive Bombing Range. The Camp Hydle Skip and Dive Bombing
Range was released on 31 December 1946. The release date for
the Drakes Bay Dive Bombing Range and Proposed Aerial Mine Laying
Area is unclear. The Drakes Bay Range and surrounding area comprise
the Point Reyes National Seashore. The PRNS was established by
President Kennedy in 1962. At present the park contains over
140 miles of hiking trails, three visitor centers, biking, four
hike in camp grounds, whale watching,
Sacramento District, US Army
Corps of Engineers
Undated Corps
of Engineers History
Site Names:
Drakes Bay Range consisted of three major facilities: the Camp
Hydle Maneuver Area, the Wildcat Military Reservation, and the
Drakes Bay Dive Bombing Range and Proposed Aerial Mine Laying
Area. The Camp Hydle Maneuver Area was also known as Camp Murphy's
Ranch and the Wildcat Military Reservation was also known as
Wildcat. The Camp Hydle Maneuver Area contained the Camp Hydle
Skip and Dive Bombing Range, the Camp Hydle Target Practice Area,
and Camp Hydle, also known as the Camp Hydle Artillery Outpost.
The Camp Hydle Maneuver Area, the Camp Hydle Skip and Dive Bombing
Range, the Camp Hydle Artillery Outpost, the Camp Hydle Target
Practice Area, the Wildcat Military Reservation, and the Drakes
Bay Dive Bombing Range and Proposed Aerial Mine Laying Area are
names that will be used throughout the remainder of this report.
It is unclear exactly which facilities went with the Drakes Bay
Range and which ones belonged with the Point Reyes Gunnery Range,
a separate history. The Wildcat Military Reservation property
is addressed under a separate
history.
Location:
All of the sites at Drakes Bay are located within the Point Reyes
National Seashore (PRNS) in western Marin County, California,
approximately 11 miles southwest of Inverness and 30 miles northwest
of San Francisco, California. Drakes Bay is bordered by the Pacific
Ocean to the west and US Highway 1 to the east. See Figure 2
for the location map. Camp Hydle was located approximately one
half mile east of Limantour Beach, on a hill overlooking Drakes
Bay. The Camp Hydle Skip and Dive Bombing Range was located on
Limantour Spit. The Camp Hydle Target Practice Area was located
in the Pacific Ocean. The Drakes Bay Dive Bombing Range and Proposed
Aerial Mine Laying Area was located near Chimney Rock in Drakes
Bay. The exact location of the two targets in the ocean, Camp
Hydle Target Practice Area and Drake's Bay Dive Bombing Range
and Proposed Aerial Mine Laying Area, is unclear. The Wildcat
Military Reservation stood on a rugged promontory at Drakes Bay
six miles southwest of Olema. See map below for the layout of
Drakes Bay and the neighboring properties.
Site Histories:
During and after World War II, Drakes Bay Range hosted training
in skip bombing, dive bombing, landing barge practice, and air
sea rescue. Dive bombers operating from Hamilton Army Airfield
(AAF), Santa Rosa AAF, and Naval Air Station (NAS) Alameda practiced
in the waters at Drakes Bay, Abbotts
Lagoon, and Tomales Bay.
Camp Hydle Maneuver Area .
The property that formed the Camp Hydle Maneuver Area was leased
from Leland Murphy under lease W59-QM-713 which expired under
its own terms at an undetermined time. Lease W59-QM-713 was superseded
by lease W59-QM-943 which secured the use of the property for
the US Army Ground Forces. The Camp Hydle Maneuver Area was occupied
by the 4th Air Force by permission of the Western Defense Command.
The Camp Hydle Maneuver Area, the Camp Hydle, and the Camp Hydle
Skip and Dive Bombing Range were located on 10,532 acres. The
Target Practice Area was located in the ocean within Drakes Bay.
The Camp Hydle Target Practice Area was located beyond 100 yards
from the mean high tide.
The Camp Hydle Maneuver Area, Camp Hydle,
and the Target Practice Area were released on 15 February 1945,
but lease W59-QM-943 was modified to exclude the property required
for the Camp Hydle Skip and Dive Bombing Range. Supplemental
Agreement No. 3 to that lease left a long sand spit (Limantour
Spit) consisting of about 18 acres for the Camp Hydle Skip and
Dive Bombing Range. The Camp Hydle Skip and Dive Bombing Range
was released on 31 December 1946. The actual leases for this
property have not been located, only references to theses leases
have been located.
Camp Hydle
The Camp Hydle was located approximately
one half mile east of Limantour Beach, on a hill over looking
Drakes Bay. Mr. Charlie Zetterquist, a long time resident of
the Point Reyes area, stated that there were cement filled sandbags
stacked around three or four guns. Several of these sandbag shaped
cement blocks are still located on the hillside and were observed
during a recent site visit. During World War II, the Camp Hydle's
guns performed target practice against towed targets in Drakes
Bay. Other sources indicate that Battery B, 56th Coast Artillery
Regiment, a battery of four M-1918 GPF155mm seacoast guns, was
stationed on Limantour Beach at Drakes Bay beginning 7 December
1941. The guns stood under camouflage nets on the beach. Nearby
stood a tent used as a plotting room and the Battery's assigned
searchlights and anti aircraft machine guns. Observation crews
with telephones and range scopes were positioned along the bay.
The four gun battery had a large degree of autonomy for firing
on suspected targets. No other battery units were in the area.
Camp Hydle Skip and Dive Bombing Range
The Camp Hydle Skip and Dive Bombing Range
was located on Limantour Spit at Drakes Bay which was part of
the property leased for Camp Hydle Maneuver Area. Mr. Lee Murphy,
Jr., the son of Mr. Leland Murphy and a long time resident of
the Point Reyes area, discovered a small practice bomb on Limantour
Spit in 1947. No other evidence indicating the type of ordnance
used at this facility has been found. The exact dates of the
use of this range are unclear.
Limantour Spit, Camp
Hydle Skip and Dive Bombing Range (Wikimapia)
Drakes Bay Dive Bombing Range and Proposed
Aerial Mine Laying Area
Drakes Bay Dive Bombing Range was located in the ocean near Drakes
Bay. The exact location of the target is unclear. According to
Mrs. Scotty Mendoza, a landowner at Point Reyes, aircraft from
Hamilton AAF dropped bombs which did not explode at a target
near Chimney Rock inside of Drakes Bay. The target was towed
by boat to this location each time it was used. These aircraft
approached the target from the northeast and passed directly
over the "B" Ranch house as they dove toward the target.
According to Mrs. Mendoza, the target practice in Drakes Bay
began in December 1941 and did not end until shortly after the
conclusion of the war.
According to a memorandum from Headquarters,
Continental Air Forces dated 6 March 1946, when Santa Rosa AAF
was being excessed, the decision was made to retain the Drakes
Bay Gunnery Range for use by pilots from Hamilton AAF and to
attempt to re establish the danger area with the Interdepartmental
Air Traffic Control Board. This gunnery range was an over water
range and did not restrict water navigation. The Drakes Bay Gunnery
Range is believed to be the same area as the Drakes Bay Dive
Bombing and Proposed Aerial Mine Laying Area.
Prior to 1952, aerial mine laying practice
was conducted in Drakes Bay by Naval Aviators from NAS Moffet
Field and NAS Alameda. This target was located in the ocean.
The exact location is unknown. On 31 July 1953, the District
Public Works Officer; H.T. Ransford, requested the re establishment
of a permanent danger zone for the area that was used for practice
aerial mine laying in Drakes Bay. United States Army Corps of
Engineers (USACE) San Francisco denied this request after a
public hearing on the matter.
According to a memorandum from Commander
Fleet Air, Alameda, dated 4 March 1952, the Government initiated
action to rescind the Drakes Bay Danger Area when target ranges
at Crows Landing were to be activated. No description of the
location of the Drakes Bay Danger Area has been located. The
Drakes Bay Dive Bombing Range and Proposed Aerial Mine Laying
Area was located beyond 100 yards of the mean high tide.
Site Deactivation and Current Uses
The area around Drakes Bay comprises the PRNS. This National
Seashore was established by President Kennedy in 1962, and is
operated by the National Park Service under the Department of
Interior. At present, the park contains over 140 miles of hiking
trails, three visitor centers, biking trails, and four hike in
campgrounds. Activities available to the public include whale
watching, horseback riding, bird watching, and lighthouse tours.
Many of the ranches purchased by the Government continue to be
operated as dairies and cattle ranches under long term leases.
Source: Sacramento District,
US Army Corps of Engineers
