Desert Center Airport

Desert Center Airport is a private-use airport located five nautical miles (6 mi, 9 km) northeast of the central business district of Desert Center, in Riverside County, California, United States.The airport located at the end of an unnamed road, one mile (1.6 km) east of CA Route 177 (Desert Center - Rice Road), 127mi northeast of San Diego.HistoryWorld War II useDesert Center Army Air Field was built in the early 1940s was a subbase of Thermal Army Air Field and served as a support base for the Air Technical Service Command. The airfield was located within the Desert Center Division Camp,which encompassed over 34000acre. Desert Center was one of the areas included in the California Arizona Maneuver Area, used during 1942-44 to train General Patton's armored forces for desert combat prior to it deploying to North Africa.Desert Center AAF was first known as the Desert Center Airdrome. According to a history of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Airdrome Detachments, a detachment of the 475th Base Headquarters & Air Base Squadron was the first administrative unit stationed at Desert Center, arriving on 15 January 1943. It was described as having 5,500' runways. The field also had taxiways & a parking apron. More than 40 buildings were constructed at the airfield, including an operations building, power house, Link Trainer building, hangar and various supply buildings. The 74th Reconnaissance Group was the first flying unit at the field, arriving in December 1942 while the facility was under construction. It was variously equipped with O-52s, L-1s, L-4s, B-25s, P-39s and P-40s and trained to provide air support and reconnaissance to the Army ground forces training at the desert combat training facility.