Petaluma Bombing Target Archive Search Report ... - Corpsfuds.org

Final Preliminary Assessment - Petaluma Bombing Target
3.1 Activities at Petaluma Bombing Target
According to a renewal for Government Lease NOy (R) 45263, a portion of the Petaluma
Bombing Target was used for conducting practice bombing and target gunnery (SB0071).
In an attachment to a letter from the Naval Air Bases, Eleventh and Twelfth Naval Districts
indicates that the Petaluma Rocket Range, Target No. 5, Parcels 1 and 2 were required to provide
facilities needed to maintain gunnery proficiency of Fleet Air Units based at NAS Aiameda; NAS
Moffett Field and Reserve Units at NAS Oakland (SB0078).
A letter from the Naval Air Bases, Twelfth Naval District indicates that the Petaluma Bombing
Target and Rocket Range was in use by the proposed facility at NAAS, Santa Rosa during
the war. No improvements other than targets and rake stations were to be contemplated on the
lands leased at Petaluma. The letter hrther requests that the proposed acquisitions be effected
through the institution of condemnation proceedings under the Second War Powers Act
(CPO005).
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According to the Commander Air Force, Pacific Fleet, Petaluma Bombing Target contained the ,
most highly utilized target in the San Francisco Bay area. It was used for training by the carrier
/ air groups based at NAS, Alameda; NAS, Moffett; Santa Rosa Airfields; and NAS, Oakland
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(SB0080 and SB0078).
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Petaluma Bombing Range was closed from October 15, 195 1 to January 1952 to conform with
the terms of the Lease with Petaluma Sportsman Club for the purpose of duck season (SB0079).
According to Fred Botti, of the California Department of Fish and Game, Petaluma Marshland
contains what are called "pannes." These are large circular shapes made in the marshland by
bombs that were dropped during practice runs. The California Department of Fish and Game has
on file a 10-foot long infrared aerial photo that depicts these shapes made in the marshland.
According to Tom Corda of the Corda Ranch which is located on Nelis Island, there are stakes in
the Petaluma marshland outlining the shape of a ship which the Navy used as the target and as a
child he could see the tin fins from the bombs (Corda, January 27, 1999) .
3.2 Deactivation of the Petaluma Bombing Target
A request to deactivate Petaluma Bombing Target was made on August 22, 195 1 due to a mid-air
collision over the area on July 18, 1950 between a Navy aircraft and an Air Force aircraft
(SB0082). A response to the request states that Petaluma Bombing Range will be deactivated as
soon as new targets become available in the vicinity of the Outlying Fields, Crows Landing,
California. The response indicates that the targets will be ready for use by November 10,
1% l(SBOO8 1).
TechLaw, Inc. May 7, 1999
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