HISTORY OF THE TUSTIN BASE

1942 The U.S. Navy leases 1,600 acres of land from James Irvine as a base for dirigibles conducting wartime surveillance along the California coastline. Construction of barracks, mess halls, maintenance shops, a helium storage unit and two huge blimp hangars begins April 1. Five months later, the new field, known as the Santa Ana Naval Air Station--Lighter-Than-Air, opens with the two hangars still under construction.

1943 In October, crews complete the landmark hangars, costing $2.5 million each. These prefabricated structures are among the largest unsupported wooden buildings in the world. Each is about 178 feet high, 300 feet wide and more than 1,000 feet long, large enough to hold three football fields laid end to end. Each hangar houses six blimps belonging to Patrol Squadron 31. The blimps, able to fly safely at low altitudes in poor visibility, conduct anti-submarine patrols to protect U.S. warship convoys.

1945 At the end of World War II, the Navy converts the base into a target aircraft training school under the Naval Air Technical Training Command. One hangar is utilized for aircraft storage, but several blimps remain at the field.

1949 The Navy officially decommissions the base, which is utilized as an outlying field by the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station and Los Alamitos Naval Air Station.

1951 Shifting gears with the outbreak of the Korean War, the Navy recommissions the base as a helicopter training facility and renames it the Santa Ana Marine Corps Air Facility. Col. Lawrence H. McCulley is named commanding officer. Although Marines operate it, two Navy blimps call the field home. Naval Reserve lighter-than-air unit sets up and begins anti-submarine training on weekends.

1953 The Korean War ends, but the Marine Corps’ use of helicopters in battle establishes a prominent place for the craft in military operations. At the same time, the Navy’s more sophisticated anti-submarine equipment makes blimps obsolete. The lighter-than-air reserve unit disbands, and helicopter squadrons fill both hangars. The facility becomes the largest Marine Corps helicopter base in the nation.

1969 During the Vietnam War, the facility is renamed the Marine Corps Air Station (Helicopter) Santa Ana. It is home to Marine Air Group 16, Marine Training Group 30 and Marine Air Group 56.

1974 Movie company films scenes for the feature film “The Hindenberg” at the base.

1976 The city of Tustin annexes the facility on April 23.

1978 Name changes to Marine Corps Air Station (Helicopter) Tustin. The two former dirigible hangars are put on the National Register of Historic Places.

1981 Two helicopters collide and burn over the base on Feb. 10, killing six Marines and injuring another. The tragedy sparks controversy over the base’s proximity to encroaching residential and commercial developments.

1984 Military officials, the Irvine Co. and the cities of Tustin and Irvine begin negotiations on a proposed extension of Jamboree Boulevard through MCAS--Tustin. The extension is sought as an east-west link between the Santa Ana and San Diego freeways and to pave the way for future development near the base.

1985 Although helicopters remain in force at the base, the designation is dropped from its official name. The facility becomes the Marine Corps Air Station-Tustin. A chemical spill at the base on April 7 contaminates 10,000 gallons of water along a channel leading to Upper Newport Bay. A day later, state Fish and Game Department officials accuse the Marines of failing to alleviate what they called “serious” soil contamination at the base.

1987 The Marine Corps denies the city of Tustin’s request that the base halt flights of the controversial Super Stallion helicopter over populated areas.

1990 Construction begins on an extension of Jamboree Boulevard through the base. While on a tour of California military bases, Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney restates his intent to close down several military facilities nationwide due to defense budget cuts. He pays a brief visit to MCAS-Tustin and nearby El Toro Marine Corps Air Station on April 24 but declines to comment on whether the bases are on the military’s current list of closures.

1991 On April 12, Secretary Cheney recommends closing the Tustin Marine Corps Air Station, creating widespread speculation on the future utilization of a 1,200-acre portion of the base that the Defense Department has the option of selling.

Source: Times files and “From Jennies to Jets,” by Vi Smith.