Hamilton AFB
Airfield Identification
May 1934 to October 1973
United States of America
CITY: Novato, CA
IATA/ICAO CODES: Nil
COORDINATES: 39°03'N / 122°31'W
OTHER NAMES: Hamilton Field (1934-1948), Hamilton AFB (1948-1974)
Commando Operations
Hamilton Field opened in 1934 and quickly became a major Air Force facility on the West Coast. It grew further during World War II, as a fighter training base.
Air Transport Command used Hamilton as a major aerial port and transshipment facility for troops and cargo heading to the Pacific and China-Burma-India Theaters. In the initial postwar years, Hamilton remained Air Transport Command's primary West Coast facility until 1948, when Military Air Transport Service (MATS) moved most activities to nearby Travis AFB. During this time Hamilton functioned also as a major separation center for returning troops. MATS, and later Military Airlift Command (MAC), retained a presence at Hamilton through the Air Force Reserve, which based several Air Transport, and later Military Airlift wings at the base until its closure.
Along with its air defense mission, Hamilton AFB was headquarters for the 349th Troop Carrier Wing, an Air Force Reserve unit which was activated on 10 May 1949 and operated at Hamilton through 25 July 1969 with the exception of a brief period during 1951-1952. The 349th was bestowed the history and lineage of the World War II 349th Troop Carrier Group, which had been part of the 9th Air Force IX Troop Carrier Command in Europe. Units attached to the 349th were the 349th Troop Carrier Group, Medium (27 June 1949 to 2 April 1951) and 310th, 311th, 312th and 313th Troop Carrier Squadrons. It was known as the "Golden Gate Wing" and flew the Commando. During the Korean War, the reserve personnel of the 349th were called to active duty and used as fillers in other wings that were not up to combat strength. Consequently, the 349th Troop Carrier Wing was inactivated on 2 April 1951. It was reactivated in May 1952 as a fighter-bomber wing, and it returned to transport duties in 1957, albeit equipped with the Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar.
The Air Force ceased all operations at Hamilton on 1 October 1973, and the base was subsequently turned into an office and residential area.
Units & operators based
1503rd AAF Base Unit (Hamilton Field)
349th Troop Carrier Wing (May 1949 to April 1951)