Historic California Posts, Camps, Stations and Airfields
Naval Outlying Field Livermore
 
 

Prior to Navy use, the Site was a private airfield. Beginning in 1929, the airport was designated by the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) as a civil emergency airfield known as Livermore Intermediate Airport.

On 24 March 1942 the Navy Department acquired the CAA Intermediate Airport at Livermore through Federal condemnation against the airport owners; Mr. James Anderson, et al. This acquisition measured 111.13 acres. The airport was commissioned as Outlying Field (OLF) Livermore and was subordinate to Naval Air Station (NAS) Livermore. On 27 November 1942, the Site was expanded by 150.20 acres which was acquired through the Federal condemnation process against Gandolfo Gudetti, et al. This acquisition allowed for a North/South runway.

OLF Livermore supported the training at NAS Livermore by providing an emergency airfield for the student pilots as well as providing an “off-site” location for training. OLF Livermore was one of 12 OLFs that surrounded NAS Livermore. During this period the primary aircraft using OLF Livermore would have been the Stearman N2S “Kaydet”, the Naval Air Factory N3N “Yellow Peril”, and the Timm N2T “Tudor” primary training aircraft.

The 1945 issue of the Army-Navy Directory of Airfields indicated that OLF Livermore had two sod and gravel runways (North/South, 4,000’ x 300’, and East/West, 3,700’ x 300’), and that no fuel or oil storage existed on-Site. Aviators were informed that such services were available at NAS Livermore. Records on file at the National Archives indicated that the field did have emergency electrical power generation systems to support airfield communications and lighting.

After NAS Livermore transitioned from being a pilot training installation to being a deployment staging area for Carrier Air Groups, carrier type aircraft such as F6F “Hellcat”, F7F “Tigercat”, and F4U “Corsair” fighters, TBM “Avenger” torpedo bombers, and SB2C “Helldiver” dive bombers would have used the Site for emergency landings and for overflow staging when the main base reached capacity. This mix of aircraft continued after World War II when NAS Livermore operated as a home for Naval Reserve aircraft until 1950, when that installation was transferred to the Atomic Energy Commission. This transfer resulted in all of the remaining OLFs associated with NAS Livermore becoming surplus to the needs of the U.S. Navy.

The General Services Administration quitclaimed the Site to the City of Livermore on 22 October 1953.

Building List

 Building

Type
 Family Dwelling  Wood Frame, 1410 sq. ft.
 Family Dwelling  Wood Frame, 1410 sq. ft.
 Radio Powerhouse  Wood Frame
 Garage  Not specified
 Line Shack  Wood Frame, 129 sq. ft.
 Instrument House  Wood Frame
 Laundry  80 sq. ft.
 Boundary Fence   4’-6” high x 15,670 linear feet
 Sanitary Sewer System  6-inch vitrified tile/septic tank, 50 feet long
 Domestic Water System  ¾-inch steel pipe, 50 feet long
 Flagpole  Steel, 30 feet high
 Beacon Tower  Steel, 51 feet high
 Auxiliary Powerhouse  Not specified
 Flight Operations Building  Wood Frame
 Hangar  Not specified
 Hangar  Not specified
 Hangar  Not specified
 Lavatory  Not specified
 Tool House  Wood Frame
 Runway  Gravel, 300’ x 4000’
 Runway  Sod, 300’ x 3,700’
Source: GSA Form 30a, Buildings, Structures, Utilities, and Miscellaneous Facilities, Schedule A, Supplement to Report of Excess Real Property, dated 14 August 1952, National Archives, San Bruno, CA


Starting in 1953, the City of Livermore operated the Site as an airfield. The airport was then known as the Livermore Sky Ranch, the predecessor of the current Livermore Municipal Airport. In December 1965 the Site was developed for residential use and Livermore Municipal Airport was opened approximately 1 mile west of former Livermore OLF. The Site currently contains hundreds of residential lots, an elementary school, and two parks owned by the City of Livermore.

 

 
 
 
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Updated 8 February 2016