FLIGHT STRIPS

FLIGHT STRIPS

R2 - 5/20/2009 update - pictures added

The development of the Flight Strips was a bit unorthodox as it was not funded from the Department of Commerce’s (DOC) Civil Aviation Agency (CAA). Rather funded through the federal Government’s road construction funds and built by the Army Corp of Engineers. This data base covers those airfields that were labeled “Flight Strips” (or just FS for short) from 1941 to 1945. Scott D. Murdock has on his website www.airforcebase.net/aaf/fltstrps.html a nice explanation of the background on Flight Srips. I am not going to repeat his well researched information.

Twenty eight (28) Flight Strips appear to have been built during WW2. Most were used by the military – in part or whole. A few did not report military operations. This does not mean that military aircraft did not use these FSs, but rather were like any airstrip that could be used in case of an emergency or special operations.

Twenty five (25) of the Flight Strips are still active today being used by local communities as civil airports. Remains can still be seen from those Flight Strips that have been closed. These are:

Caliente FS 2 – Caliente, NV
Low FS 1 – Knolls, UT
Sahuarita FS 1 – Sahuarita, AZ

One of the 28 Flight Strips listed in the data base is unusual. “Palisades (Navy)” located at Corona Del Mar, CA is charted using the “FS” symbol (a rectangle) but FS is not in the name. It was depicted as a FS on 1945, ’46, & ’47 San Diego SACs, 1945 11M RAC and 1946 & ’47 Mojave Desert WAC-404. It was not depicted on earlier charts. (This airfield is written up with pictures on Paul Freeman’s website - www.airfields-freeman.com under the California section – Orange County). The runway did not match the normal Flight Strip construction practice. A Flight Strip may have been intended at this location, but the war overtook plans and it was used by the Navy as an Out Lying Field (OLF) but the symbol remained. Confusing.

Some sources have indicated that a few more Flight Strips might have existed. These include:

Napa, CA – Been unable to confirm a Flight Strip at Napa. An airfield was built in 1942 and became Napa AAF till the end of 1943 or early 1944. Was built using a standard AAF triangle layout of three runways. From 1944 to the present, it has been Napa County Airport. Was a Flight Strip planned here but was superseded by the war?
Leadville, CO – Been unable to confirm that a FS was built in Leadville. During WW2, there was a dirt/turf 4,500 ft. runway that was used as an emergency auxiliary airfield by Patterson AAF. No reference to it as being a FS and was charted only as an auxiliary (not FS) and did not fit the normal pattern for a FS airstrip. It has been reported it was sometimes referred to as a flight strip.
Battle Mountain FS (Aux) – at Battle Mountain, NV. This airfield is located 4 miles SE of Battle Mountain. This airfield does indeed exist today (code BAM). It was built in the 1942-43 time frame. Battle Mountain FS (Aux) airport started off with two runways (one paved and one gravel). If this is a true FS, then it would be the only one to have had two runways built at the beginning. No chart depicted this as a FS (always depicted civil). No directory has listed it as a FS. However, it’s name "Battle Mountain FS (Aux)" and the “FS” in the name may have led some to identify this airfield as a Flight Strip. Often confused as being a CAA intermediate in some documentation too. The CAA did have an intermediate at Battle Mountain, NV. This field was located almost adjacent to the town on its WSW side. The CAA did move the beacon and other CAA operations to the new field when it opened. (The previous CAA intermediate at Battle Mountain became a civil airport till it closed – see CAA/FAA intermediate section and the Nevada airfield data base on this website.) Again, it was always charted as civil/commercial. The U.S. Navy did use this field during WW2. Funding is unclear and may have had several sources. Possibly some Flight Strip funds were used?
Odessa, TX – Unconfirmed and no evidence of a FS at Odessa ever. Coordinates given appear to be the same location as Odessa Airport – now gone. The Odessa Airport started back in the late 1920s and operated till 1947-48. It had several dirt runways, longest being 4,300 ft during WW2 period.

The normal practice for Flight Strips was a single runway, paved (either concrete or bituminous). Some runways had packed gravel shoulders. Runway lengths varied from 4,200 to 7,100 feet. Width was normally 150 ft. Some of the active Flight Strips are in a poor state of repair today.