p.53-94 (pdf) - Natural Resources Defense Council
p.53-94 (pdf) - Natural Resources Defense Council
p.53-94 (pdf) - Natural Resources Defense Council
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Appendix C U.S. Nuclear Weapons, Location Profiles<br />
CALIFORNIA<br />
Rank: No. 12<br />
Nuclear Warheads: 160<br />
North Island<br />
NAVAL AIR STATION<br />
CALIFORNIA ranks 12th (tie) in number of nuclear warheads deployed,<br />
a decline from 6th place in 1992 and 4th place in 1985. A<br />
single storage site now exists–Naval Air Station North Island located<br />
in San Diego, with a notable support base at Travis AFB and<br />
the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. This is a significant<br />
change from three sites in the state in 1992 and five in 1985.<br />
Closed nuclear storage sites include former SAC bomber bases<br />
Castle AFB in Atwater and Mather AFB in Sacramento; one of<br />
two main Army central nuclear weapons storage sites at Sierra<br />
Army Depot in Herlong, near the Nevada border; and the Naval<br />
Weapons Station Concord in the San Francisco Bay area.<br />
Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego is believed to be<br />
the only remaining nuclear storage depot supporting the Pacific<br />
Fleet (with closure of nuclear sites in Alaska, Concord, and Hawaii).<br />
Half of the Navy’s stock of 320 nuclear Tomahawk missiles<br />
and W80 warheads are presumed to be stationed at North Island.<br />
The Special Weapons Office (Code 505) of the Weapons Department<br />
is located in Building 743. The Office formerly stored B57<br />
and B61 gravity bombs for aircraft carriers and Marine Corps air-<br />
craft and B57 nuclear depth bombs for Navy anti-submarine warfare. The bunkers are at the northwest<br />
tip of North Island, visible from Point Loma.<br />
North Island claims to be the birthplace of naval aviation. The Navy’s first aviator Lt. T.G. Ellyson<br />
was trained at North Island by Glenn Curtiss in 1911 and the first sea plane flight took place at North<br />
Island. Charles Lindberg started his famous journey to Paris from North Island in 1927. The air<br />
station grew rapidly during World war II as a major training, staging and deployment center for ships<br />
and squadrons.<br />
From the early days of the nuclear age, North Island was central to the Navy’s capability. A<br />
Nuclear Weapons Training Group, Pacific was established at the Air Station, an outgrowth of the<br />
early Special Weapons Unit Pacific (SWUPAC), which was established by the Chief of Naval Operations<br />
under Commander, Naval Air Force, Pacific, in June 1953. Personnel were drawn from Naval<br />
Special Weapons Units, then located at Sandia Base in Albuquerque. These small units provided<br />
technically trained teams temporarily to aircraft carriers which had nuclear weapons capability. By<br />
1958 sufficient commands in the Pacific Fleet had developed nuclear weapons capabilities to necessitate<br />
assignment of teams as a permanent part of the ship’s company. In June 1958 the Command<br />
was reorganized as the Nuclear Weapons Training Center, Pacific, with a mission to conduct training<br />
for Pacific Fleet units. The Center became the Nuclear Weapons Training Group, Pacific in September<br />
1970.<br />
During the 1980s the Command provided nuclear weapons orientation, employment planning,<br />
and technical training to over 8,500 personnel in 40 courses varying from one to 61 days. In addition<br />
to training, the Group conducted Navy Technical Proficiency Inspections and Nuclear Weapons Acceptance<br />
Inspections in support of the Pacific Fleet. Since the removal of nuclear weapons from ships<br />
and submarines, the mission has ceased, and the new Naval Weapons Inspection Center has taken<br />
over the nuclear role.<br />
56 TAKING STOCK