Editing Mojave, California (section)

===Mojave Airport: aviation and military use===
Located near [[Edwards Air Force Base]], [[Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake]], and [[Palmdale Regional Airport]], Mojave has a rich aerospace history. Besides being a general-use public airport, Mojave has three main areas of activity: flight testing, space industry development, and aircraft heavy maintenance and storage. The closest airfield to the city, formerly known as the Mojave Airport, is now part of the [[Mojave Air and Space Port]].

In 1935, Kern County established the Mojave Airport  {{Convert|0.5|mile||1}} east of town to serve the gold and silver mining industry in the area. The airport consisted of two dirt runways, one of which was oiled, but it lacked any fueling or servicing facilities. In 1941, the Civil Aeronautics Board began improvements to the airport for national defense purposes that included two {{Convert|4500|by|150|foot}} asphalt runways and an adjacent taxiway. Kern County agreed the airport could be taken over by the military in the event of war.<ref name="auto">{{cite web |url=http://californiamilitaryhistory.org/MCASMojave.html/ |title=Historic California Posts: Marine Corps Auxiliary Air Station, Mojave |work=California State Military Department |access-date=July 3, 2015 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150424162414/http://californiamilitaryhistory.org/MCASMojave.html |archive-date=April 24, 2015 }}</ref>

Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the [[U.S. Marine Corps]] took over the airport and expanded it into Marine Corps Auxiliary Air Station (MCAAS) Mojave. The two existing runways were extended and a third one added. Barracks were constructed to house 2,734 male and 376 female military personnel. Civilian employment at the base would peak at 176. The Marines would eventually spend more than $7 million on the base, which totaled {{Convert|2312|acre|}}.<ref name="auto"/>

Many of the Corps' World War II aces received their gunnery training at Mojave. During World War II, Mojave hosted 29 aircraft squadrons, four Carrier Aircraft Service Detachments, and three Air Warning Squadrons. At its peak, the air station had 145 training and other aircraft. Mojave also had a {{Convert|75|by|156|foot}} swimming pool that was used to train aviators in emergency water egress and for recreation. The base's 900-seat auditorium hosted several USO shows that featured Bob Hope, [[Frances Langford]] and [[Marilyn Maxwell]].<ref name="auto"/>

With the end of WWII, MCAAS was decommissioned on February 7, 1946; a [[U.S. Navy]] Air Station was established the same day. The Navy used the airport for drone operations for less than a year, closing it on January 1, 1947. The base remained closed for four years until the outbreak of the Korean War. Mojave was reactivated as an auxiliary landing field to [[Marine Corps Air Station El Toro|MCAS El Toro]]. The airport was recommissioned as a MCAAS on December 31, 1953.<ref name="auto1">{{cite web |url=http://mojaveairport.com/about/history/ |title=About Mojave Air & Space Port |work=Mojave Air and Space Port |access-date=July 3, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150705114354/http://mojaveairport.com/about/history/ |archive-date=July 5, 2015 }}</ref> Squadrons used Mojave for ordnance training when El Toro had bad weather. Marine Corps reserve units were temporarily deployed to Mojave for two week periods. MCAAS Mojave personnel peaked at 400 military and 200 civilians during this period.

In 1961, after the USMC transferred operations to [[Naval Air Facility El Centro|MCAS El Centro]], [[Kern County, California|Kern County]] obtained title to the airport. In February 1972, the East Kern Airport District (EKAD) was formed to administer the airport; EKAD maintains the airport to this day. To a great extent EKAD was the brainchild of Dan Sabovich who heavily lobbied the state for the airport district's creation and ran EKAD until 2002.<ref name="auto1"/>

During the 1970s, Mojave Airport was served by commuter air carrier [[Golden West Airlines]] with scheduled passenger flights operated with [[de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter]] turboprops direct to Los Angeles ([[LAX]]).<ref>http://www.departedflights.com, Golden West Airlines system timetables & route maps</ref>