Trip Report: Viva Las Vegas!
First published in 2006. Reformatted 2025. Las Vegas is someplace that I always thought would be interesting to visit. I finally had my chance, when I had to work on Nellis Air Force Base for two weeks. Just a reminder PIN means Permanent Installation Number and ILC means Installation Location Code; I include these for Air Force properties when I know them.Saturday, 2 December 2006
The flight from DFW to LAS was full, but uneventful. Most of the tourists were headed straight for The Strip, but I headed south on the interstate into California. Army Air Forces Modification Center No. 1 CA, aka Daggett Municipal Airport. My first stop in California was this former WWII modification center. The facility consisted of three hangars and four long, open maintenance sheds. These structures were constructed mostly of redwood, including the roof trusses. The hangars still stand and appeared disused. The interior of the hangars was a showcase of wood truss craftsmanship. Two of the four long sheds still stand, and now house private aircraft based at the airport. An elevated water storage tank and a wooden building also still stand from the wartime years. Douglas Aircraft Company operated the modification center for the Army Air Forces.General view
General view
Maintenance shed
Maintenance shed
Maintenance shed
Maintenance shed
Maintenance shed
Maintenance shed
Hangar
Hangar
Hangar
Hangar interior
Hangar interior
Hangar interior
Hangar interior
Elevated water storage tank
Building Norton Air Force Base CA. This was one of the 1990s BRAC casualties, and it has been very extensively reworked. Large parts of the base are blocked off by construction fences, and many of the Air Force buildings are replaced or heavily modified. I was pleased to find the SAGE Direction Center (DC-17) still with Air Force signage. It is located near an older manual Air Defense Control Center.
SAGE Direction Center DC-17
SAGE Direction Center DC-17
SAGE Direction Center DC-17
SAGE Direction Center DC-17
Manual air defense control center
Manual air defense control center
Manual air defense control center
Manual air defense control center
Hangar
Hangar
Elevated water storage tank I had lodging reservations on March Air Reserve Base, California, and I arrived there at sunset. Part of the former March Air Force Base is still very military, and a huge part was lopped off as the "civilian side" although it does have several military enclaves sprinkled on it. I drove 310 miles in eight hours, before stopping for the night.
Sunday, 3 December 2006
George Air Force Base CA. This was my first target of the day and I arrived at sunrise. I had heard horror stories about George's post-BRAC "destruction," but I found lots of intact or near-intact Air Force buildings waiting for me. The base was quite recognizable, and I was delighted to find a WWII barracks and not one but four WWII-era demountable hangars. The Air Defense Command alert area still has a Butler first-generation alert hangar. Some bermed, multi-cubicle munitions storage magazines still stand, along with other buildings and structures in the storage area. Also standing are dormitories, the theater, and an elevated water storage tank. The former base housing is in rough shape, having been used for military training.Buildings
Dormitory
Barracks
Hangars
Buildings
T-10 hush house
Fire station
Control tower
Bomb trainer building
Warehouse
Hangar
ADC alert hangar
ADC alert hangar
ADC multi-cubicle munitions magazine
ADC multi-cubicle munitions magazine
Munitions building
Munitions building
Dormitory
Theater
Elevated water storage tank
Base housing gate
Base housing Edwards Air Force Base CA. I wish I had a week to explore the far reaches of this historic installation, but I had to settle for a quick visit to the Air Force Flight Test Center Museum.
General view
General view
General view Air Force Plant No. 72 CA. This plant was operated by Air Products, Inc. I don't know exactly what took place at this unimproved site (a small airstrip and an elevated water storage tank are the only structures I know of) but I believe it was related to the boron-based fuels program. Need to learn more about this one. I could not find a decent access road to the site, so I settled for a photo looking over the general area of the plant from the NNW.
General view Boron Air Force Station CA. This former radar site was visible from Kramer Junction, several miles away. The FAA still operates a radar here, making use of some of the Air Force buildings.
General view
General view George Radio Relay Annex CA. Remnants of the WWII-era Hawes Auxiliary Field are mostly gone, but the large Cold War communications bunker is visible for miles. This was one of two Survivable Low Frequency Communications System (SLFCS) transmitters (a twin to the Silver Creek, Nebraska, site). This facility was stripped of useable equipment years ago, and has been heavily vandalized. Walking around the exterior of the bunker, it looked like a set out of a science fiction movie. There are three entrances, and the inside was nasty-smelling and swirling with dust. Several small structures and various concrete features adorn the top of the bunker, damaged and covered with graffiti.
Exterior
Exterior
Exterior
Exterior
Exterior
Exterior
Exterior
Exterior
Exterior
Exterior
Exterior
Exterior
Exterior
Interior
Interior
Interior
Interior
Interior
Interior
Interior
Interior
Interior
Interior
Interior Enough fun, time to get back to Nevada. I checked into my motel in North Las Vegas, near Nellis. This would be home base for two weeks. This was a 386-mile day, covered in 8.5 hours.
Monday, 4 December 2006
Settling in for our work, we familiarized ourselves with Nellis AFB.Saturday, 9 December 2006
I normally work on the middle weekend of these trips, but this time due to work complications I had the weekend off. Plancor 201 NV. In Henderson, I located this former magnesium plant. The plant was built and owned by the Defense Plant Corporation during WWII, and operated by Basic Magnesium, Inc. The plant was sponsored by the Army Air Forces, to ensure a magnesium supply for aircraft production.General view
General view
General view Kingman Army Air Field AZ. My next destination was in Arizona. My pal Tim had confirmed the existence of a well-preserved WWII control tower at Kingman. Seeing that tower, with its intact control cab, was like looking back in time. A museum occupied one of the vintage buildings.
Control tower
Control tower
Control tower
Control tower
Control tower
Building
Hangar
Hangar
Hangar
Hangar
Hangar
General view Driving back to Vegas, I crossed Hoover Dam again, this time at sunset, and the place was still thick with tourists.
Sunday, 10 December 2006
This was a fairly long trip for a Sunday. I left the hotel early, at 0530. Lathrop Wells Gap Filler Annex NV. I paused to take a photo from the gate in the direction of the demolished gap filler building.View from gate Tonopah Air Force Base NV. My first stop in Tonopah was the airport, an "Army Air Field" in WWII, and briefly redesignated as an "Air Force Base" in the late 1940s. I found three wooden aircraft hangars, starkly visible for miles. They were in pretty rough condition, but had interesting roof truss construction. One or two older buildings still stand on the flightline. I also found the munitions storage area, with three igloos and a few other ammunition storage buildings, some of them very small. I noticed two features that appeared to be in-ground water storage tanks.
Hangar
Hangar
Hangar
Hangar detail
Hangar
Hangar
Hangar
Hangar detail
Hangar
Hangar interior
Hangar interior
Airport beacon and building
Building
Building
Munitions storage igloo
Munitions storage igloo
Munitions storage igloo
Munitions storage structures
Munitions storage structure
Munitions storage structure
Munitions storage structure
Water reservoir
Water reservoir Tonopah Air Force Station NV. This radar site was actually a few separate properties. The support area was in town, consisting mostly of metal buildings, one of which still displayed some Air Force markings. Adjacent to the support area was the housing area, still used as residences. The original radar location was atop a hill at the south edge of town. The later radar location was several miles away, northwest of town atop a higher peak. The roads had cleared up nicely as the day progressed, and I made it back to my North Las Vegas digs by 1500. In 9.5 hours on the road, I drove 462 miles.
Support buildings
Support buildings
Support buildings
Support buildings
Support buildings
Support buildings
Support buildings
Support buildings
Housing
Housing
Housing
Original radar location
Original radar location
Later radar location
Later radar location
Later radar location Updated March 29, 2025
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