Time Flies By

In the 1930s, Hollywood producers saw the value of the magnificent beach at Point Mugu. With the Santa Monica Mountains to the northeast and a vast open ocean to the south, the setting was ideal for glamorous movie stars to languish beneath fake palm trees.

The U.S. military also viewed this former virgin wetland and lemon grove on a beach as the perfect site for an unglamorous missile testing center.

Fifty years ago this week, on Oct. 1, 1946, Point Mugu was christened as the first Naval Air Missile Test Center on the Pacific.

Today marks the first day of the Point Mugu Air Show, where in addition to streaking jet fighters, there will be a display of missiles, historic photographs and newspaper clippings commemorating the base’s golden anniversary.

The Blue Angels, who are also celebrating their 50th anniversary, will be showing off the flying techniques of today--if weather permits. Several other stunt fliers will participate in the free air show.

With the United States invigorated by victory in World War II and beginning a historic race against the Soviets to be the world’s military superpower, Navy brass began scouting for a location for missile testing on a sea range that was clear of ships. Point Mugu fit the bill.

Since the naval station’s birth, progress has been significant. Technological advances have brought the Navy from the days of the primitive wooden “Bat” glider missile to today’s highly sophisticated electronic warfare systems.

But two years ago, Point Mugu came perilously close to being shut down by the federal government in scaling down the military from its Cold War peak.

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Although, Point Mugu was spared, less work is coming its way and its 8,800-employee payroll continues to shrink.

While Mugu’s future is by no means assured, hopes remain that it will continue to be seen as a critical component of missile development and testing.

“I’m hopeful that Point Mugu will remain a vital organization for the Navy,” said Capt. Stephen Beal, commanding officer of the Mugu air weapons station. “I am hopeful that we will have a long future here at Point Mugu.”

Point Mugu has always seemed unique in the Navy’s scheme of things.

When expanding the missile testing system in 1946, top officials searched in Florida, Puerto Rico and San Diego. But when they saw Mugu’s wide open spaces, chain of target islands nearby and mild weather conditions, they knew they had found the place.

“It reminded me of when people would yell ‘Eureka!’ ” said the base’s founding father, Capt. Grayson Merrill. “It was a universal feeling we had in the group--we never found anywhere near the [qualities] that we found here, so we stopped looking.”

There was some initial opposition from local farmers. But the $55-million base still opened with President Truman’s blessing.

Although Point Mugu was supposed to be a missile testing center, with its sister base at China Lake responsible for missile development, the technology was also invented at Mugu.

In 1948, eight German civilian scientists, who had helped the Nazis develop some of their wartime weaponry, were brought to Mugu in a plan called Operation Paper Clip--named after all the red tape involved in bringing them to the United States. This group became instrumental in the base’s development of guided missiles and improving mechanical designs of antiquated missiles.

“They were the former enemy and we were bringing them over here,” Merrill said. “There was a lot of worry about their loyalty. But it was a real fun operation and they were a group of really fine people.”

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During the 1950s, as the Cold War heated up, development focused on creating submarine-launched bombardment missiles. One missile tested was an early, rough version of today’s Tomahawk missiles, which were used in the Persian Gulf War.

The technological progress is astounding, Merrill said.

“I never foresaw in those days the kind of precision guidance that we see in the Tomahawk missile,” Merrill said. “Things happened that were beyond my imagination, frankly.”

These early missiles had to be launched into the ocean for testing, an expensive endeavor, unlike today when the weapons can be tested in highly sophisticated simulation rooms.

“The early missiles were not very reliable,” said Maxwell White, the head civilian engineer who is now the base historian. “We would fire the missiles and see if they worked. Those weapons would take a beating when they were launched.”

In the 1960s, at the height of the Cold War, the need to test and develop sophisticated missiles was critical to the military. Its importance was stressed by President Kennedy, who visited Mugu in 1963. In his presidential campaign, Kennedy had cited the “missile gap” with the Soviets, and in front of 60,000 people at Mugu he spoke of the need for U.S. military preparedness.

During the 1970s and ‘80s, Mugu continued to test and evaluate missiles, including subsonic and supersonic targets for other missiles--a long way from the original missiles like the motorless Bat, which glided onto a target using radar.

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But with the 1990s and the end of the Cold War, the Pentagon began reducing the number of its troops and bases.

Today, instead of Soviet spy ships “fishing” off of Point Mugu, Russian military officials have come to test some of their weapons. Three years ago, Russians toured the facility for guidance on cleaning up environmentally sensitive areas.

Those old Soviet missiles Mugu scientists used to simulate for target practice are now for sale--relics of an era long past.

“We were declared enemies, and now we are sharing information systems,” Capt. Stephen Beal said. “It is very ironic how over these 50 years, things have changed.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Air Show Schedule Times are for today and Sunday. Free admission. Weather conditions: patchy late night and early morning low clouds along the coast, temperature in the mid- to low 60s.

MORNING

8:00: Gates open

9:30: Rob Harrison’s Zlin 50LS

9:45: Mini-Max Demonstration

10:00: Bill Cornick Aerobatics

10:20: Black Sheep Show Team

10:40: Smoke-N-Thunder

10:50: Confederate Air Force fly-bys

11:30: Welcoming Ceremonies, invocation, naval weapons test squadron Point Mugu fly-by, missing man formation, flag presentation by SEALS.

11:40: John Collver

11:55: Naval Weapons Test Squadron Point Mugu fly-by

AFTERNOON

12:10: Joann Osterud in the Budweiser Ultimate

12:25: Gee Bee

12:45: F-117 Takeoff

12:50: Frank Ryder

1:00: VX-9 Bombing and Strafing Demo

1:20: Channel Islands Air National Guard C-130E

1:30: Don Johnson’s Toyota Corolla Demonstration

1:45: HCS-5 Sneak Attack

1:58: F-117 Returns

2:00: Sean Tucker 1-800-COLLECT

2:15: John Pigott’s Sukhoi

2:30: Longs Drugs Wild Thing

2:45: Smoke-N-Thunder Jet Car

2:50: Blue Angel C-130 Fat Albert JATO demonstration

3:05: U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Team, Blue Angels