WW II bombing ranges

[steve dickey]

Google is not being much help(to me anyways) on finding sites that show where these where located. I am particularly interested in those in the southwest, Az/NM area. I grew up in Deming, NM and I know it was a Bombardier school and know of one range but I believe each school had more than one range.
Any help would be appreciated.

[shrike]

They aren't especially well documented. Your best bet is just to stooge around in Google earth looking for circles, and occasionally ships, carved into the desert. If they haven't been plowed under, or developed over they still show up. There is one I know of for sure near Eloy. Some of them are still currently bombing ranges - the Goldwater range for example

[Ken]

This link may help regarding the training bases, not so much the ranges ...

http://www.airfields-freeman.com/

[wendovertom]

I cannot speak to ranges in NM at all, but here in Wendover. . . .

Most of the Wendover range for WWII is now part of the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR). But there are several old targets just east of the range and slightly north of Dugway proving grounds that you can see from google earth. The funny thing is that from the sat images you would think they should be super easy to see on the ground - they are not - almost invisible unless you know what you are looking for. The ones here in Utah are made from "clinkers" - the black remnants from the furnaces on steam engines and coal stoves.

my .02

Tom P.

[GARY HILTON]

There are some bomb and or gunnery ranges in western, Nebraska around Chadron area and also in NE Nebraska around Scribner area...I believe you can make them out on Google Maps. The town of Boise, Oklahoma was once used as a bomb range....just once.

[JimH]

Try Google Earth Hacks...you'll obviously need google earth as well.

http://www.gearthhacks.com/dlfile26604/ ... argets.htm

http://www.gearthhacks.com/dlfile23647/ ... m-WWII.htm

Jim

[John Dupre]

I know of one in New Boston, New Hampshire that is still closed to the public because frost heaves are still bringing live bombs to the surface every few years.

[ALOHADAVE]

post your question about bombing ranges in the AZ/NM area over at the
wreck chasing message board, http://pacaeropress.websitetoolbox.com/
I have explored several in that area and know that others on the message board know more.
What in particular are you looking for?
In AZ, the Barry Goldwater Range is the biggest
In NM, The White Sands Missile Range is the biggest
Both are full of plane wrecks and old ordnance, both have restricted areas and areas open to the public.
Both can be dangerous, but both are unique and have interesting things to see and explore. Before you go be sure you know what to look out for and what the dangers are.
AlohaDave

[wls3]

Here is a list from the Army Corp of Engineers for Florida Bombing Ranges.
You may want to check them for FUDS (Formerly Used Defense Sites) in your states

http://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Missions/MilitaryProjects/FormerlyUsedDefenseSites(FUDS)/FloridaFUDS(bycounty).aspx

[dbrown]

The WWII bombing range where planes from the old Lowry airfield practiced was called the Lowry Bombing Range and was located about 20 miles SE of the Denver, in what is now Aurora, CO. See:

http://www.flbgr.org/

and

http://www.flbgr.org/AOC_status_maps/fl ... lowup.html

A portion of the area was converted into a reservoir and many munitions were found during the grading, including HVAR rocket munitions, small practice bombs and incendiary rounds of various types.

As you can see from the above links it is still possible to find munitions over the vast area.

DB

[dbrown]

Dupe message - deleted

[steve dickey]

OK, thank you all for the reply's. I guess I should be more specific in that I'm looking for the practice target rings they dropped the small bombs on and not the big ranges.
Example: Deming had "19 ranges" Holy cow!!
From this link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/38th_Flying_Training_Wing_%28World_War_II%29

Deming Army Airfield, Deming, New Mexico
AAF Advanced Flying School (Bombardment)
Opened: November 1942, Closed: December 1944 (AT-11)[6]
Aircraft carried fuselage code "D";[5] Bombardier school closed November 1944; Transferred to Second Air Force 16th Bombardment Training Wing December 1944; became B-29 Superfortress training field using modified B-25s; closed December 1945; Had three auxiliary airfields, 19 practice bombing ranges.

I have another question, from the one range I've found that is only a few miles northeast of the airport in Deming, at what typical altitude did they practice at? Doesn't seem they could get very high by the time they reached that target! Example here:

https://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=AwrB8pyRXXlWnhYA7MGJzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTI0dGc4aGdyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1nBG9pZANiYjA3NWNmMDgxZGEyNjE1MmRlYzBhZmI4MWY2MWNhMARncG9zAzE2MwRpdANiaW5n?.origin=&back=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dwwii%2Bbombardier%2Btraining%26fr%3Dyfp-t-901%26nost%3D1%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D163&w=914&h=636&imgurl=img.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fv20%2Fjinxx1%2FDeming%2520AAF%2FDAAF.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.angelfire.com%2Fdc%2Fjinxx1%2FDAAF%2FDAAF.htm&size=136.3KB&name=trio+ofAT-11s+on+a+bombing+mission+in+New+Mexico.&p=wwii+bombardier+training&oid=bb075cf081da26152dec0afb81f61ca0&fr2=&fr=yfp-t-901&tt=trio+ofAT-11s+on+a+bombing+mission+in+New+Mexico.&b=121&ni=240&no=163&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=11gsj3msq&sigb=13f5hvlj2&sigi=11rifuhu6&sigt=11hefd54t&sign=11hefd54t&.crumb=xqtrIXUDhyk&fr=yfp-t-901

[wendovertom]

Interesting read of the final Lowery report - what caught my eye wass that they could not turn over any of the displays that the clean up crew had set up to a museum. The reasoning was that they were used for field training purposes, but that since there was no where to store them they were disposed of - LOL!!

Tom P.

[JohnB]

Occasionally, you'll read about odd targets...concrete Japanese "battleships" and the like on the Muroc range and other places.
Any of those still out there?

[wendovertom]

Not a battleship but. . .
http://www.dugway.army.mil/1942-1945.aspx

http://www.cabinetmagazine.org/issues/1 ... tektur.php

Tom P.