McClellan Air Force Base

McClellan Air Force Base (1935–2001) is a former United States Air Force base located in the North Highlands area of Sacramento County, 7 miles (11 km) northeast of Sacramento, California.[1]

Bell P-39 Repair Line.
To step up its delivery of Speedy Bell P-39 "Airacobra" fighter airplanes to American pilots in the South Pacific, the Army Air Forces Air Service Command put American production line methods to work in its repair docks at McClellan Field, California. Two and one-half million dollars worth of airplanes were overhauled by civilian Air Service Command workers at Sacramento, California preparatory to being sent against the enemy.
Memorial Plaque of McClellan AFB
For the civil use of this facility after 2001, see Sacramento McClellan Airport.
McClellan Air Force Base
Part of Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC)
Sacramento County, California
McClellan AFB, 9 May 2002
McClellan AFB
Coordinates38°40′04″N 121°24′02″W
TypeAir Force Base
Site information
Controlled byUnited States Air Force
Site history
Built1935-1938
In useOpen 1938 - IN USE
1948-2001 (as McClellan AFB); now civilian airfield
Garrison information
GarrisonAir Force Materiel Command

History

For the vast majority of its operational lifetime, McClellan was a logistics and maintenance facility for a wide variety of military aircraft, equipment and supplies. Initially known as the Pacific Air Depot and Sacramento Air Depot, in 1939 the base was renamed for Major Hezekiah McClellan, a pioneer in arctic aeronautical tests. Born in 1894, he died on 25 May 1936 when his Consolidated P-30 which he was flight testing crashed near Centerville, Ohio.[2]

The depot went through several name changes, finishing its life in 1995 as the Sacramento Air Logistics Center (SALC). The SALC reported to the Air Force Logistics Command (AFLC) and later the Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC).

In 1986, the U.S. Air Force established the McClellan Aviation Museum on what was then McClellan Air Force Base. The museum was later chartered by the National Museum of the United States Air Force.

The United States Coast Guard previously operated Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento at McClellan AFB as a tenant activity, operating and maintaining several HC-130 Hercules aircraft. CGAS Sacramento continues to operate at McClellan following its closure as an Air Force Base and is the only remaining military aviation unit and installation on the airfield.

In 1993, the base was selected by the Pentagon for closure. At first, McClellan was scratched from a list of bases to be closed, but that decision was faced with allegations that the Clinton administration was playing politics.[3] The base was eventually selected for closure, and there were plans to offset the expected loss of $1.5 billion, and 11,000 jobs, to the California economy. The plan relied on privatization and other investment to offset the economic and employment losses.[4] The base is now McClellan Business Park, a growing business enclave that hosts a diverse mix of companies spread across more than 8 million square feet of space of all types. This former military facility is now home to hundreds of private companies, as well as state, federal and local government agencies.[5]

In 2005 the McClellan Aviation Museum changed its name to the Aerospace Museum of California. Various military aircraft sit on display inside one of the hangars, and many more are outside on the flightline. The museum has displays which highlight the mission of the base when it was active, as well as neighboring bases such as Beale AFB, Travis AFB and the since closed Mather AFB. The museum hosts educational programs to schools in the local area.[6]

In 2015 the Sacramento Bee reported that McClellan Airfield had been designated as a Superfund site, because the Environmental Protection Agency has identified 326 waste areas on the base.[7] Water wells closest to the base in the Rio Linda-Elverta district, have had the highest levels of hexavalent chromium, which is a known carcinogen. Water from six of 11 wells tested above the state’s maximum contaminant levels for chromium-6, which is 10 parts per billion.[8]

Names
  • Pacific Air Depot, 1935 - 1 February 1937
  • Sacramento Air Depot 1 February 1937 - 1 December 1939
  • McClellan Field, 1 December 1939 - 13 January 1948
  • McClellan Air Force Base (dates to be confirmed, closed 2001)
  • McClellan Business Park, 2009 - present

Major command assignments

See also

References
  1. "McClellan Air Force Base". United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 2015.
  2. "History". www.afcec.af.mil. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  3. Pine, Art (1993-03-23). "2 California Bases May Return to Closure List : Defense: Head of review panel cites concerns that McClellan, Presidio were dropped for political reasons". latimes.com. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  4. Pine, Art; Richter, Paul (1995-07-10). "Revised Plan for McClellan Base Sent to Clinton". latimes.com. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  5. https://www.mcclellanpark.com/About/History
  6. "About the Aerospace Museum of California". Aerospace Museum of California. Archived from the original on 2006-06-20.
  7. OSRTI, US EPA. "Search Superfund Site Information". cumulis.epa.gov. Retrieved 2017-10-18.
  8. EDWARD ORTIZ (June 21, 2015). "Groundwater search turns up high carcinogen readings near McClellan". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
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