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Norton Air Force Base
Norton Air Force Base (IATA: SBD) (1942–1994) was a United States Air Force facility 2 miles (3.2 km) east of downtown San Bernardino in San Bernardino County, California.
For the majority of its operational lifetime, Norton was a logistics depot and heavy-lift transport facility for a variety of military aircraft, equipment and supplies as part of Air Materiel/Air Force Logistics Command (1946–1966), then as part of Military Airlift/Air Mobility Command (1966–1994).
Major secondary missions of Norton Air Force Base was as Headquarters Air Defense Command for Southern California, during the 1950s and 1960s. The Air Force Audio-Visual Center produced air force films for training and public relations. The Air Force Now film, shown at monthly commander's calls at air force bases around the world was produced at Norton. Norton hosted numerous Air Force Reserve transport units. The Office of the Inspector General was located at Norton, as was the Directorate of Aerospace Safety and the Air Force Audit Agency Headquarters.
Norton AFB was closed in 1994 as a result of Base Realignment and Closure action 1988.
Norton Air Force Base was named for San Bernardino native Captain Leland Francis Norton (1920–1944). His parents were Mr. and Mrs. Thomas F. Norton, of 716 Twenty-first Street, San Bernardino. He was commissioned 6 September 1942, at Columbus, Mississippi. Lieutenant Norton was sent to England in January 1944 after duty in the North Atlantic, flying from bases in Greenland. His parents received word on 5 May 1944 that he had been promoted to the rank of captain following a series of pre-invasion "softening-up" bombing missions. While attacking a marshaling yard on his 16th combat mission, Captain Norton's Douglas A-20 Havoc was struck by antiaircraft fire on 27 May 1944 near Amiens, France. After ordering his crew to bail out, Captain Norton perished with his aircraft. His portrait hung in the officers' club until base closing.
Norton Air Force Base began before World War II as Municipal Airport, San Bernardino, under Army Air Corps jurisdiction. The $100,000 publicly owned 900-acre site (360 ha) was dedicated on Tuesday, 17 December 1940. Due to inclement weather, the ceremonies were held on the grounds of the National Orange Show rather than at the airport itself. During the summer of 1941, it became a training base to meet the needs of the 30,000 Pilot Training Program. In December 1941, within days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, combat-ready fighter planes arrived to protect the Los Angeles area from enemy attack.
The first commanding officer was Colonel (later Major General) Lucas Victor Beau Jr., from February 1942. He set up his initial office at the San Bernardino Chamber of Commerce.
On 1 March 1942, the airport was renamed San Bernardino Army Air Field and the San Bernardino Air Depot was established there. The first aircraft arrived at the new base on 2 June 1942. The base was under the administration of the Fourth Air Service Area Command. All runways were completed by December and night flying was initiated in March 1943. Requests to establish commercial air service by Western Air Lines in mid-late 1942 were refused.
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Norton Air Force Base
Norton Air Force Base (IATA: SBD) (1942–1994) was a United States Air Force facility 2 miles (3.2 km) east of downtown San Bernardino in San Bernardino County, California.
For the majority of its operational lifetime, Norton was a logistics depot and heavy-lift transport facility for a variety of military aircraft, equipment and supplies as part of Air Materiel/Air Force Logistics Command (1946–1966), then as part of Military Airlift/Air Mobility Command (1966–1994).
Major secondary missions of Norton Air Force Base was as Headquarters Air Defense Command for Southern California, during the 1950s and 1960s. The Air Force Audio-Visual Center produced air force films for training and public relations. The Air Force Now film, shown at monthly commander's calls at air force bases around the world was produced at Norton. Norton hosted numerous Air Force Reserve transport units. The Office of the Inspector General was located at Norton, as was the Directorate of Aerospace Safety and the Air Force Audit Agency Headquarters.
Norton AFB was closed in 1994 as a result of Base Realignment and Closure action 1988.
Norton Air Force Base was named for San Bernardino native Captain Leland Francis Norton (1920–1944). His parents were Mr. and Mrs. Thomas F. Norton, of 716 Twenty-first Street, San Bernardino. He was commissioned 6 September 1942, at Columbus, Mississippi. Lieutenant Norton was sent to England in January 1944 after duty in the North Atlantic, flying from bases in Greenland. His parents received word on 5 May 1944 that he had been promoted to the rank of captain following a series of pre-invasion "softening-up" bombing missions. While attacking a marshaling yard on his 16th combat mission, Captain Norton's Douglas A-20 Havoc was struck by antiaircraft fire on 27 May 1944 near Amiens, France. After ordering his crew to bail out, Captain Norton perished with his aircraft. His portrait hung in the officers' club until base closing.
Norton Air Force Base began before World War II as Municipal Airport, San Bernardino, under Army Air Corps jurisdiction. The $100,000 publicly owned 900-acre site (360 ha) was dedicated on Tuesday, 17 December 1940. Due to inclement weather, the ceremonies were held on the grounds of the National Orange Show rather than at the airport itself. During the summer of 1941, it became a training base to meet the needs of the 30,000 Pilot Training Program. In December 1941, within days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, combat-ready fighter planes arrived to protect the Los Angeles area from enemy attack.
The first commanding officer was Colonel (later Major General) Lucas Victor Beau Jr., from February 1942. He set up his initial office at the San Bernardino Chamber of Commerce.
On 1 March 1942, the airport was renamed San Bernardino Army Air Field and the San Bernardino Air Depot was established there. The first aircraft arrived at the new base on 2 June 1942. The base was under the administration of the Fourth Air Service Area Command. All runways were completed by December and night flying was initiated in March 1943. Requests to establish commercial air service by Western Air Lines in mid-late 1942 were refused.