Editing Edwards Air Force Base (section)

===World War II===
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On the afternoon of [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|7 December 1941]], the [[41st Bombardment Group]] and the 6th Reconnaissance Squadron moved to Muroc from [[Davis-Monthan Army Airfield]], [[Arizona]], with a collection of [[B-18 Bolo]]s, [[B-25 Mitchell]]s, and an [[A-29 Hudson]]. On Christmas Eve, the 30th Bombardment Group and the 2d Reconnaissance Squadron arrived from [[New Orleans Army Airbase]], [[Louisiana]], for crew training. On 23 July 1942, the Muroc Bombing and Gunnery Range, Muroc Lake, California, was designated as a separate post (Exempted Status).<ref>Hq Fourth AF G0 No. 83, 23 July 1942</ref> The name of the facility at the time was "Army Air Base, Muroc Lake."<ref name="AFSCHIST"/>

In July 1942, '''Muroc Army Airfield''' became a separate airfield from March Field and was placed under the jurisdiction of [[Fourth Air Force]]. Throughout the war years, the primary mission at Muroc was providing final combat training for bomber and fighter aircrews just before overseas deployment. Among its sub-bases and auxiliaries were:
* [[Bishop Army Airfield]] {{Coord|37|22|23|N|118|21|49|W}}
* [[Blythe Army Airfield]] {{Coord|33|37|09|N|114|43|00|W}}
* [[Palmdale Army Airfield]] {{Coord|33|37|43|N|118|05|04|W}}
* [[Desert Center Army Airfield]] {{Coord|33|44|52|N|115|19|31|W}}
* [[Gary Army Airfield]] {{Coord|33|40|45|N|114|38|36|W}}

Muroc was initially used for [[IV Bomber Command]] Operational Unit training. The [[B-25 Mitchell]] 41st and 30th Bombardment Groups and the [[A-20 Havoc]] 47th Bombardment Groups trained at the station in early 1942. The training provided newly graduated pilots eight to 12 weeks of training as a team using the same aircraft they would use in combat. In 1942, the training mission was transferred to [[IV Fighter Command]], with [[P-38 Lightning]] OTU training for the 78th and 81st Fighter Groups. In 1943, the 360th Fighter Group and 382d Bombardment Groups were assigned permanently to Muroc for P-38 Lightning and [[B-24 Liberator]] Replacement Training (RTU) of personnel.<ref>Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, AL: Office of Air Force History. {{ISBN|0-89201-092-4}}.</ref>

[[File:Bell P-59 Airacomet 060913-F-1234P-013.jpg|thumb| First production P-59A with a [[P-63]] behind]]

In the spring of 1942, the Mojave Desert station was chosen as a secluded site for testing America's first jet, the super-secret [[Bell Aircraft]] [[P-59 Airacomet]] jet fighter. The immense volume of flight tests being conducted at Wright Field, in Ohio, helped drive a search for a new, isolated site where a "Top Secret" airplane could undergo tests "away from prying eyes." The urgent need to complete the P-59 program without delay dictated a location with good, year-round flying weather, and the risks inherent in the radical new technology to be demonstrated on the aircraft dictated a spacious landing field. After examining a number of locations around the country, they selected a site along the north shore of the enormous, flat surface of Rogers Dry Lake about six miles away from the training base at Muroc.<ref name="HIST" />

[[File:XP-80A Gray Ghost af.jpg|thumb|left|Lockheed XP-80A "Gray Ghost", 1945]]

Ground tests began five days after the first XP-59 arrived on 21 September 1942. First flight took place on 30 September when the XP-59 rose to {{Convert|10|feet|}} altitude for {{Convert|0.5|mile|}} during taxi testing. However, the first official flight was 1 October 1942 with NACA, Navy Bureau of Aeronautics, [[Royal Air Force]], Army, Bell and [[General Electric]] personnel on hand.<ref name="AFSCHIST" /><ref name="Daso">{{cite book|title=Architects of American Air Supremacy: General Hap Arnold and Dr Theodore von Kármán|last=Daso|first=Dik A.|date=September 1997|publisher=[[Air University Press]]|pages=75,77,420}}</ref>{{Rp|77}}

As with virtually all of the test programs conducted during the war years, most of the actual flight test work on the P-59 was conducted by the contractor. Although Army Air Forces (AAF) pilots flew the aircraft from time to time, and flight test engineers from Wright Field reviewed the data, the formal preliminary military test and evaluation program did not commence until the Fall of 1943, a year after the first flight. Designed to validate the contractor's reports, this preliminary evaluation consisted of a very limited number of flights and was essentially completed within a month. Formal operational suitability and accelerated service tests did not get underway until 1944, well after the AAF had decided that the airplane would not be suitable for combat operations and would, instead, be relegated to a training role.<ref name="HIST" />

The P-59s were tested at Muroc from October 1942 through February 1944 without a single accident and, though the aircraft did not prove to be combat worthy, the successful conduct of its test program, combined with the success of the Lockheed XP-80 program which followed it in early 1944, sealed the future destiny of the remote high desert installation. Muroc would thenceforth become synonymous with the cutting edge of the turbojet revolution in America.<ref name="HIST"/>

Aircraft testing continued at this desert "Army Air Base", then on 8 November 1943, the base title was changed to "Muroc Army Air Field, Muroc".<ref>Hq Fourth AF G0 No. 188, 26 November 1943</ref> In the fall of 1944, [[Eighth Air Force]] ran tests to determine how well conventional fighters stood up against jets. Also, in October 1944, a small detachment arrived at the base for experimental work in rocket firing and achieved such success that they remained through most of 1945.<ref name="AFSCHIST"/>

Other World War II test flights included the [[Northrop JB-1 Bat]].

In 1943, a replica of a Japanese cruiser, nicknamed "[[Muroc Maru]]", was constructed in Rogers Dry Lake where it was used for bombing training until 1950.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/rogers-dry-lake.htm|title=Rogers Dry Lake|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=1 December 2017}}</ref>