Livermore Naval Air Station

The Livermore Naval Air Station was at the site where the Lawrence Livermore Lab is now. 
It was established in early 1942, just after the attack on Pearl Harbor, in order to train pilots for the war.

629 acres of ranch land were bought from W. Gatzmer Wagoner for the site, located between Vasco & Greenville roads, with East Ave. as the southern border.
Construction began in early 1942, and was well underway by March.  The first planes landed in March or early April of 1942.

Over 4000 pilots were trained at the base, with training continuing until October 15, 1944.  The station was used as a stopover point for fighter planes from aircraft carriers after that.

In 1946 the Naval Air Station was used by the Naval Reserves.

The base was finally closed in 1946.
Alameda county took over the land in a lease in 1947.  Is was used by Livermore schools until Junction Ave School was completed.
In 1950 plans were announced to use the base for a atomic particle accelerator.
In 1952 the Livermore Radiation Laboratory was established on the land, which is now Lawrence Livermore National Lab.
Many of the original Air Station buildings are still in use.  See page 2 for details.

The Golden Gator was the Air Station publication.  Some copies are available at the Livermore Heritage Guild History Center.

Links
LLNL History page on the NAS

Livermore Naval Air Station airfield looking north east, with the intersection of Vasco and East Ave. at the bottom.  Greenville road is on the far side, going from the right toward the upper left.  It crosses the WP railroad tracks near the upper left, just after the tracks curve northward.  The large square is the runway, apparently providing the ability to take off or land from any direction.  The tarmac, where planes were parked, is the white area near the buildings.

Page 2 shows a close-up of the buildings area, and shows what those buildings are used for now.

Early 1942, during the initial construction, looking east.  East Ave. is to the right.  The airfield would be to the left of this photo.  The completed buildings are labeled #8 and #9 on the photo on Page 2.  The flagpole would be near the upper right corner of the building on the right.  They are still used by the lab today.

NAS photos

Naval Air Station photos are from two major sources:
The Livermore Heritage Guild collection (Marked with courtesy notice)
A book titled: "NAS Livermore - A Unit of the Naval Air Primary Training Command - A Pictorial Review of Station Activities"  This book was produced by the Naval Air Station in 1944.

Next Page

The Book Early Livermore contains 128 pages of Livermore Historical photos and commentary. It is available for 19.99 plus tax at the Livermore Heritage Guild History Center at the Carnegie Building. Click here for more information