Which Aerodrome Mk II
European,or N American; looks a little `Canadienne`?
Visited this airfield yesterday.
Time for a clue
The tall objects in the top right corner are wooden oil well derricks.
Texas? Well, after my clue, that would be an obvious guess, but wrong.
I hadn't noticed the 31. Today, it's 29.
I hadn't noticed the 31. Today, it's 29.
Last edited by India Four Two; 31st Jul 2011 at 14:25. Reason: speling!
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Zamperini Field, Torrance, CA
Found the picture in web
As a major oil-producing region, Torrance was once dotted with thousands of oil wells and oil derricks.
The airport was built by the United States Army Air Force about 1942, and was known as Lomita Flight Strip.
"The Lomita Flight Strip in late 1945. Note barracks in lower left later demolished for Crenshaw Boulevard. Note P-38 hardstands, oil wells (upper right), Walteria Lake (dark area, top left).
Completed by the Army Corps of Engineers in March 1943, the Lomita Flight Strip served as a training base for P-38 fighter pilots (June 1943 to April 1944) and Air Transport Command pilots (August 1944 to September 1945). In early 1946 it housed nearly 1,000 Japanese-Americans returning from relocation centers. The City of Torrance obtained a Use Permit in December 1946 and final Deed in March 1948, renaming it Zamperini Field.
Legendary Louis (Lou) Zamperini attended Torrance High School and as a junior in 1934 set a world interscholastic mile run record that remained unbroken for 20 years. Lou was the first American to finish the 5,000 meter race in the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. While attending U.S.C. in 1938, Lou set a new N.C.A.A. mile record that stood for 15 Years.
A legacy of WWII, Captain Louis Zamperini crashed in the South Pacific, was listed as Missing in Action on May 23, 1943, and was declared dead by the war department on August 28, 1944. At the end of the war it was learned that Captain Zamperini had survived 47 days adrift in an open raft and 2 ˝ years as a P.O.W. in Japan."
Completed by the Army Corps of Engineers in March 1943, the Lomita Flight Strip served as a training base for P-38 fighter pilots (June 1943 to April 1944) and Air Transport Command pilots (August 1944 to September 1945). In early 1946 it housed nearly 1,000 Japanese-Americans returning from relocation centers. The City of Torrance obtained a Use Permit in December 1946 and final Deed in March 1948, renaming it Zamperini Field.
Legendary Louis (Lou) Zamperini attended Torrance High School and as a junior in 1934 set a world interscholastic mile run record that remained unbroken for 20 years. Lou was the first American to finish the 5,000 meter race in the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. While attending U.S.C. in 1938, Lou set a new N.C.A.A. mile record that stood for 15 Years.
A legacy of WWII, Captain Louis Zamperini crashed in the South Pacific, was listed as Missing in Action on May 23, 1943, and was declared dead by the war department on August 28, 1944. At the end of the war it was learned that Captain Zamperini had survived 47 days adrift in an open raft and 2 ˝ years as a P.O.W. in Japan."
Last edited by RegDep; 31st Jul 2011 at 18:00.