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Paso Robles (120.657W 35.608) is a town in central California. Sherman Field and Estrella Field were both located nearby.
Sherman Field was established as a primitive dirt strip in the 1920s and gradually expanded until late 1940, when the Army leased the field from the city of Paso Robles for $1 a year. Extensive improvements were made, including a 4200' (1280 m) all-weather runway. After wark broke out in the Pacific, the Army had turned the airfield over to the Navy, which used it only as an emergency field. The Navy relinquished the lease in 1945 and the field fell into disuse. 115 Observation Squadron was based here when war broke out in the Pacific.
In August 1942 the Navy began construction of a second airfield on a 1249 acre (505 hectare) plot northeast of Paso Robles (120.628W 35.674N). Two 4700' (1430 m) runways were completed by 8 April 1943, but the Navy turned the project over to the Army and the field was completed as Estrella Army Air Field. The field was used for training in night flying and also for some early flight testing of the Bell P-59 jet fighter. However, the base was closed on 15 October 1944 and the property turned over to the city of Paso Robles in August 1947 for use as a civilian airport.
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The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2013 by Kent G. Budge. Index
