This airfield was located on the northwest shore of San Francisco Bay, between Novato and San Rafael, CA. Construction of Hamilton Army Air Field began ca. 1932. Below, an undated and unsourced photograph taken during the construction phase. It appears that the first two of the final nine hangars is under construction.
Hamilton Field Under Construction, Ca. 1932-34 (Source: Web)
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Below, right, from Popular Aviation (PA) magazine, May, 1935, the dedication of Hamilton Field is documented.
Hamilton Field Dedication, 1935 (Source: PA)
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Hamilton Field was initially designated as a bomber facility. The commander at its dedication and during the latter part of the 1930s was Register pilot Hap Arnold. A valuable source is the Abandoned Airfields Web site at the link, which provides additonal information and photographs of the Field. It also traces the evolution of the naming of the Field over the years it was in service.
As WWII approached, the bombers were moved to Utah. During WWII, Hamilton Field became a primary west coast pursuit base. It housed at least four pursuit groups and 4,000 officers and enlisted men. The facility's area was expanded to about 1,600 acres, and its short runways (see below) were extended to 8,000 feet.
Piston aircraft gave way to jets after WWII ended (F-89 Scorpions, F-104 Starfighters and later to F-101B Voodoo interceptors and T-33 Shooting Star trainers in the 1960s), and various command designations were accomodated.
By 1973, Hamilton Field was assigned to the Air Force Reserve and Coast Guard; few line aircraft were housed there. Hamilton Air Force Base was decommissioned in 1974 and the transport squadron in residence was transferred to March Field, farther south. By the early 1990s the facility was dismantled, and, while most of the hangars still remain, they were repurposed to civilian offices and other facilities during the early 2000s. At the Abandoned Airfields link, above, you'll find current photographs of the area that was Hamilton Field. The more recent photos show the conversion of an operating Golden Age airfield into housing tracts and a reclaimed wetland over the course of 90 years. A theme which marked the fates of many such fields. See the image at the bottom of this page.
Below, from this REFERENCE, page 26, is a verbal description of Hamilton Field as it stood in 1937.
Facility Directory Description of Hamilton Field, 1937 (Source: Webmaster)
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The aerial photograph, below, dates from 1938 and is from this REFERENCE. The arrow inked on the negative points north. As above, note that by this time it was a fully military field and that service was, "... in emergency only for civilians." By 1938, seven large hangars were constructed.
Aerial of Hamilton Field, Ca. 1938 (Source: Link)
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Below, a Google Earth image of the current location of Hamilton Field. Orient yourself by the nine hangars at the left. The runway areas are flooded, the attempt being to re-establish the historic wetlands.
Hamilton Field Location, Ca. 2014 (Source: Google Earth)
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THIS PAGE UPLOADED: 12/27/14 REVISED: 12/25//22
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