Posted on 11/15/2003 6:06:26 PM PST by concentric circles
How times have changed since the Mugu Fish Camp and pier at Point Mugu was a serene recreational destination for Ventura County residents and people from the inland areas of Southern California. To be sure, the drone of propeller-driven airplanes probably prompted a quick look from visitors, but the thunderous roar of supersonic jets was still well beyond their imagination.
So, no doubt, was the thought that the area would one day be called a historic site. That designation will come this afternoon.
Built about 1929-30 on a sand spit between the ocean and Mugu Lagoon, the camp offered local fishing from the pier and deep-water fishing from chartered boats.
Eventually, the area grew to include tent cabins, small houses, a store and cafe. Movies such as "The Real Glory" with Gary Cooper and "A Yank in the RAF" with Tyrone Power were shot near the lagoon.
And then, on Dec. 7, 1941, America was pulled into World War II. The military cocked its covetous eye at the land and coastal possibilities offered by Mugu and, slowly, everything began to change.
By 1942, a military camp was taking shape on some 4,000 acres of beach and tidal marshlands around the lagoon. Army anti-aircraft batteries and Seabees began training there, the Seabees building the first runway, 5,000 feet long, with metal Marsden mats.
Loons, American versions of the German V-1 rockets, were test-fired at the base. A dirt knoll was built on the beach that had a Loon launch pad, catapult and operations building.
In 1946, President Truman approved the building of the Naval Air Missile Test Center at Point Mugu. Three years later, the Naval Air Station was established to provide the test center with logistical and operational support. Since then, the base has undergone several organizational overhauls and testing has evolved with developing technology, but the mission has been steadfast: to put the best weapons possible in the Navy's arsenal.
This afternoon, NAVAIR Point Mugu Weapons Division, which tests and evaluates the latest technology for various naval aircraft, and the rest of Naval Base Ventura County at Point Mugu will be designated a historic site by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, a society of 30,000 aerospace engineers and scientists.
During ceremonies, a plaque will be installed recognizing more than 55 years of the Navy's weapons systems at Point Mugu. That includes the first missile launched from a submarine, a Loon fired by the USS Cusk off the coast in 1947; the first guided missile to destroy an airborne target, a Lark fired from the base in 1950; and the testing of other missiles over the years, including the Sparrow, Regulus, Bullpup, Polaris, Trident, Harpoon, Tomahawk, SLAM and Sidewinder.
The Weapons Division also develops electronic warfare capabilities and software systems for the carrier-based aircraft T/A-14 Tomcat and EA-6B Prowler.
In addition to Tom Smith, a director of AIAA, speakers at the ceremony will include Rear Adm. David Venlet, commander of NAVAIR Weapons Division, and Capt. Paul Grossgold, commanding officer of Naval Base Ventura County. The Weapons Division has two locations, Point Mugu and China Lake; Venlet's headquarters is at China Lake.
Immediately after the ceremony, there will be a ribbon-cutting for a new archival building just outside the base's main entrance. Inside will be historic displays that include Sparrow, Phoenix and Harpoon missiles and many photographic exhibits. The archives will be available to the public from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, said John Hart, temporary archivist.
Assisting with the exhibit is Bill Cuneen, a retired Navy captain. He recalls what it was like when he came on board the base as vice commander of the Pacific Missile Test Center almost 30 years ago and he compares those years with today.
"When I came here in 1975, the organizations on the base had just become the Pacific Missile Test Center," said Cuneen, who retired from the Navy in 1979. Now, the organization that was the test center is just a tenant on the base, confined to a few buildings and the 250-mile range, which is a critical part of the Weapons Division.
"Again in 1975, there were many more people on the base then there are now," he said. "And we were doing a lot of testing of a lot of missiles. But that's died down. There aren't as many tactical missiles being developed, but we have very good missiles now."
Cuneen, who has been president of the Missile Technology Historical Association since 1982, said the evaluation process of missiles has changed in recent years. In the past, it was mainly concerned with how the missile performed after firing.
"Now they're looking at what happens before it's fired," he said. "They want to know how the operator made the decision to fire the missile; what kind of information does the operator get; and how was it decided to launch the right missile at any specific target. Aircraft today have a variety of weapons and, in Iraq, for instance, other people call on aircraft to fire on targets.
"They're building a new extension on the range operations building at Mugu to provide more of an ability to operate these network concepts during combat situations. It used to be called the Battle Management Center and now it's called the Network Centric Warfare Center."
AIAA established its Historic Aerospace Site program in 1999 to preserve and promote sites of significant accomplishments made by the aerospace profession both to industry and the public.
Good post, cc.
NAMTC Point Mugu... Reading this brings back some interesting memories.... Of course, none of which can be talked about. :-)
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