Lake Havasu Auxiliary Airfield #6
Honoring World War II
Kingman Army Airfield's
Yucca Gunnery Range
Marker:
Lake Havasu Auxiliary Air Field #6
Location:
Havasu Airpark
591 Beachcomber Boulevard
Lake Havasu City, Mohave County, Arizona
34.466699, -114.355745
Historical Significance:
Site #6 is located on the western point of Pittsburg Point in Lake Havasu City. When the United Stated entered WWII, the U.S. Army established airfields nationwide for the purpose of training pilots and aircrew. In 1942, the U.S. military built the Havasu Auxiliary Airfield #6 to serve as an emergency landing strip as part of its World War II defense plan. In 1943, the military expanded this airfield to include barracks, officers’ quarters and a mess hall.
This location soon was used as a rest and rehabilitation (R&R) location for Air Force personnel, with fishing, swimming, boating, skeet shooting, and hiking readily available for soldiers on leave. B-17 bombers landed weekly, dropping off a new load of personnel and picking up the previous week’s personnel to be returned to their bases.
After the military closed the facility in 1946, it remained privately owned by Corinne and Victor Spratt of Needles, California. Site #6 was eventually purchased from the Spratts by Robert P. McCulloch as a test center for his McCulloch outboard motor line of products. He is responsible for bringing London Bridge to Lake Havasu City, Arizona. The plaque reads, “Site #6 / Site #6, now officially known as Lake Havasu Auziliary Field #6, was acquired by the Army Air Forces during World War II as an emergency landing field for the Kingman Army Air Field’s Yucca Aerial Gunnery Range. The emergency field was established in 1943 and consisted of two runways. In 1944 the site was improved for use as a rest and convalescent camp for the Kingman Army Air Field. United States servicemen enjoyed swimming, fishing, skeet shooting, motor boating, and hiking activities while relaxing on the banks of lake Havasu. / [unreadable line of text] / Marker dedicated by Havasu Chapter and the Arizona Society Daughters of the American Revolution / November [unreadable text], 2003.”
Dedicated:
November 3, 2003
Sponsor:
Havasu Chapter, NSDAR
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