Hamilton Air Force Base in Novato
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- Опубліковано 6 лют 2025
- What an exciting past Hamilton has. I would have never thought that so much WWII history was right here in my backyard.
Hamilton Field was originally a bomber installation. On May 5, 1934, the first planes assigned to Hamilton were Martin B-10 and B-12 bombers of the 7th Bombardment Group, having been transferred from March Airfield. Shortly thereafter, amphibious reconnaissance aircraft of the 88th Observation Squadron were assigned to Hamilton.
The B-12 bombers housed at Hamilton Field were phased out in 1937, and the 7th Bomb Group was re-equipped with the Douglas B-18 Bolo. The B-18 was a standard two-engine short-range bomber and was capable of airlifting combat-equipped troops en masse, a significant advance in combat techniques at the time.
The next step forward in bomber technology was the development of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, a four-engine airplane that was bigger, faster, and heavier than any previous bomber and required a longer and stronger runway to operate. Because the runway at Hamilton Field was not adequate for the B-17, the larger planes had to go elsewhere. In 1939, the 7th Bombardment Group was designated a "heavy" bomb group and was moved to Fort Douglas, Utah on September 7, 1940, to train with B-17s.
Fighter mission
Hamilton became a fighter base under the USAAC Air Force Combat Command in December 1940, becoming the home of the 9th, 10th and 11th Pursuit Wings. The 9th PW was reassigned from March Field, bringing the 14th and 51st squadrons equipped with the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk. Two other pursuit wings, the 10th, with the 20th and 35th Pursuit Groups, and the 11th, with the 51st, 54th and 55th Pursuit Groups, were activated at Hamilton in December 1940, all equipped with P-40s, the Republic P-43 Lancer, and a scattering of older Curtis P-36 Mohawks.
The arrival of the pursuit wings and their crews caused crowding at the base and initiated the first of many housing problems. Hamilton was assigned to the USAAC 4th Air Force, on December 7, 1941, and the airfield was designated an air defense base for the West Coast as part of the Western Defense Command on January 5, 1942.
Attack on Pearl Harbor
In response to the growing crisis in the Pacific, on December 6, 1941, the 38th Reconnaissance Squadron (30th Bombardment Group) with four B-17Cs and two new B-17Es left Hamilton Field bound for Hickam Field, Hawaii on their way to Clark Field in the Philippines to reinforce the American Far East Air Force there. None were armed. After leaving Hamilton, and flying all through the night, the bombers arrived over Oahu on the morning of December 7, 1941, and faced an unusual welcome. The B-17s had arrived over Oahu during the Japanese air attack on Hawaii which triggered American entry into World War II. They arrived at Pearl Harbor at the height of the attack (radar operators mistakenly thought that the Japanese attack force was this flight arriving from California). Two of the planes managed to land at a short fighter strip at Haliewa, one made a belly-landing at Bellows, one set down on the Kahuku Golf Course, and the remainder landed at Hickam under the strafing of Japanese planes.
The B-17Es of the 7th Bombardment Group were moved back to Hamilton from Utah for deployment to the Far East. Six of them arrived in Hawaii just after the Pearl Harbor attack, but the rest of them were ordered to remain in California and were sent south to Muroc AAF near Rosamond.
World War II
During World War II, Hamilton was an important West Coast air training facility. Its mission was that of an initial training base for newly formed fighter groups. The airfield was rapidly expanded to a wartime status, with construction of additional barracks, mess halls, administration buildings, warehouses, Link trainer buildings, schools, hospital and other structures.
Hamilton was the preferred West Coast base to be assigned. It was beautiful when there were hundreds of airmen to keep it maintained. The flight of B-17's that landed at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941 flew from Hamilton. Great memories of airshows every year. The hangers were used in dozens of movies locations. Indiana Jones, The Right Stuff and many commercials.
@@jamesallen8418 Wow, I never knew all that. Thanks for your comment.
Flew with the 312th troop carrier squadron res 1962-64 C119G boxcars . So strange to view it with no activity as was true in the days of my time there . Thnx for posting
Wow, I bet you have some great stories to tell. Thanks for watching.
Very enjoyable Paul! I could name most of the model planes.
Wow, that's impressive! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
I grew up just over the hill from Hamilton AFB circa 1960. I remember watching the Niki missiles rise up from their silos from our grammar school playground. The Cold War was very real, even for a kid back then. My friend’s dad was the head of security on the base.
A friend of mine rented a house across Hwy. 101 in Novato, and it had a fall-out shelter. I'm sure it was a crazy time to be a kid.
Stationed at the USCG Pacific Strike Team from 1980 - 83. Airfield w.as still active used by the Army for some Beechcraft’s that they had there. Coast Guard C130’s would fly in for loading exercises with our oil pollution response equipment. Parts of The Right Stuff was filmed there. Novato has changed a bit over the years, gone are Golden Egg Omelet Shop, train station and Will Liebs Chicken Ranch on Hill Road.
Thanks for your insights on Hamilton. I've lived in Novato for 14 years and I'm still learning.
I live in the house at the top of the hill across from the triangle on San Jose, we used to walk the railroad tracks picking blackberries, and yes they made awesome blackberry pies! Circa 85-90
That's awesome. Did trains run back then?
@@Bayareaandbeyond777 no, but you had to run across farmers field in hopes of not getting shot with salt pellets! We cut across from that parking lot (used to be old thrift store in 80s where we would skateboard), run up the hill across the railroad tracks to capart housing.... or meet with friends from capart and walk the train tracks
@@Bayareaandbeyond777 we would walk through Spanish hous8ng to get to the pool, oh my, every day of summer, had my 13th birthday party at night there. So many places we would run around.
@@theforgottenson0916 I good old days. Pur generation is the last to play outside. I had so much fun as a kid riding my bike all over the place. I grew up in Mill Valley and would hitchhike up Mt. Tam and ride down all the trails. To be young again.
Too bad you didn’t read the placards I created for most of the exhibits I built as Curator there. It is a great little museum with an incredible amount of history.
You're right it's a great museum. Unfortunately, people don't watch videos that people read in. No one has an attention span anymore. Thank you, Tiktok.
the housing is the former officers housing
I have to apologize... I was on my damn phone and accidentally deleted the thread with my information about the back story of the bell at the beginning of the video and the mystery building at the end. In any case, you know the story now. If you would like me to repost a point summary, let me know.