1) Tustin Military History
A. Introduction
My name is Pete Beatty from Tustin California. This movement started 10 years ago at an event in the South Hangar. We called it SaveTheHangars.com.

B. Our goal is to establish a Militay Museum in Tustin so we can Preserve - Protect - and Educate others about our Military past.

2) Chief of Naval Avation Rear Admiral W.A. Moffett /
James Irvine II

A. In 1928, Chief of Naval Aviation Rear Admiral W.A. Moffett arrived at Eddie Martin Airfield, now John Wayne Airport, to meet with James Irvine II, owner of the Irvine Ranch, to discuss the Tustin and the Canada del Toro sites (later El Toro Marine Base)

B. He sought a base location on the West Coast for the Navy’s rigid airship program as a means of protecting the nation’s coasts.

C.Irvine was reluctant to sell either site. Both were productive and profitable as farm fields..
B. But more importantly the country was headed toward a resession and food production would be critical.

C. The Santa Ana (Tustin) site, which had a very high water table that made it ideal for farming. High water table (Lima beans) - Later was a major challenge for builders.

D. In 1931 Moffett chose an alternate location in Northern California.

3) War! Oahu Bombed by Japanese Planes (Newspaper)

A. In 1941 after Pearl Harbor, the War Department returned to Orange County.

B. Orange County was selected as the area to house and maintain blimps intended to patrol for enemy submarines along the southern California coast from San Diego to Santa Barbara.

C. Again they negotiate with James Irvine. He was offered, and finally accepted, $100,000 for the Tustin site as well as the El Toro site, the equivalent of about $20 per acre.

4) Hanagar - Photo of construction
- Before they started there was only 1 pad with 1 Blimp
- They were in a hurry to get things moving.
A. Because materials were in short supply during the war and steel was needed to produce ships and weapons, the hangars were constructed out of wood, a domestically produced, readily available resource.

B. Oregon Douglas Fir. was heavily treated with metallic salts as a fire retardant.
C. Shipped from Oregon Sections were pre-assembled, drilled and ready for fabricarion.

5) Time Line
Groundbreaking - April 1, 1942
A. To design the hangar's they chose one of their own, a Navy design engineer. (For Zeppelins - 805 ft long) (K class Blinps 252 ft long)

B. Because of the power of the eminent domain the Navy started work before the final agreement was reached.

Hangar 1 October 1942 - Completed July 1943
Hangar 2 December 1942 - Completed September 1943

A. The base was essentially completed on September 1, 1943
B. All the work being completed by October 20, 1943
C. Only took 18 months and 25 days after starting.
D. Cost estimated 8 million dollars— final cost was $10,062,482.08

Tustin Hangar 1 - North - Bldg 28 / Hangar 2 -South - Bldg 29

6) December 1943 / Both Hangars from the Air

A. Aerial view shows both hangers, the control tower, landing pads, helium purification plant & storage tanks, barracks, mess hall, recreation buildings, etc.

7) No Title / Photo of both hangars

A. Tustin was a quiet agricultural community with a population of approximately 900 people / Orange County 130,000

B. During World War II, the LTA Base, employed: Officers: 100 / Enlisted men: 500 / Civilian employees: 180 (A total of 780 personal which almost doubled the town's population)

8) Hangar Facts

A. 17 Stories High (192 feet)
1088 feet long (3 football Fields)
297 feet wide (1 football field)
Each door has a concrete pilar to hold the door (145ft high)
Doors - 120 feet high, 37 feet wide leaf set on carriage rails.

1600 poured concrete piles
49 & 65 feet deep
Concrete floor slabs 400 sq feet each, 5 inches deep
Overall floors 296,000 feet or 6.8 acres
- 1949 NAS was decommissioned, placed on inactive list

9) Korea and Vietnam - Photo of hangar with helicoper
A. 1951 Recommissioned as Marine Corps Air Facility
1. Korea - June 25, 1950 - July 27, 1953 (Years of Conflict)
May 1951 Officers: 19 / Enlisted men: 243 (A total of 262 personal)

It was the country's first air facility developed solely for helicopter operations. (Became the largest in the US at the time)

B. Vietnam - November 1, 1955 - April 30 1975 (Yrs. of Conflict)
1. 1969 Recommissioned as Marine Corps Air Station (Helicopter)
2. Had a population of about 4,500 people living on the base.
(5,000 military and civilian personnel.)
Tustin Population 1960 2,006 - 1970 22,190 - 1980 32,000

10) Our Goals
1).To establish a Military Museum
2). To Preserve what we can of items: photos, official papers, letters, tapes, videos, etc.
3). To Protect what is collected using technical tools and preservation techniques.
4). To Educate the public on the importance of remembering and learning from the past.
5). A place where Tustin can honor their veterans and the men and women who served there.

11) To Honor
A) Tech Sgt, Joseph L Brand Jr - United States Marine Corps
- HMR0161 (Marine Helicopter Transport Squadron -
- Locations First squadron / Flew a Sikorsky HRS)
- MIA 12 February 1953
- Last duty station - Tustin
- Survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter all under the age of 4
B) Brand Dr, Tustin, CA 92782 - Off of Pioneer Road

12) Image of the Control Tower
A) This is the building we want as our Military History Museum
B) Built in 1964 the Navy does not cosider it historic
C) Outside was construced with corrugated steel sheets.

13) Image of the Control Tower with North Hanger burning

14) How can you help?
A) Sign up on our Interest List
- Let us know what you are interested in and how you could help
- We will email you on our progress with the City and Navy along with
related news and events.

B) Share our information
- Tell family, friends, at work, non-profit organizations
- Tell people you know who worked or served at the hangars.
- Send out information on our goals; email, Facebook, etc.

C. Volunteer to help
1. We are setting up different groups.
- Help at the Tustin Musium, at public events
- Join an advisory group

D) Donate your military memorabilia
- Items only related to service at the Tustin Hangars.

E) Donate Money
1. We are a non-profit
2. The Tustin Community Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization, supporting the Tustin Military History

Notes:

Sources:
- Tustin Hangars - "Titans of History" Documentary
- Lighter-Than-Air by David Crawley

A. During World War II, seventeen large hangars were built to house US Navy blimps. Today, six of these wooden hangars still exist: Moffett Field (2), Tustin, California (1), Tillamook, Oregon (1), Lakehurst, New Jersey (2).

B. A rigid airship is a type of airship (or dirigible) in which the envelope is supported by an internal framework rather than by being kept in shape by the pressure of the lifting gas within the envelope.

C. A blimp , or non-rigid airship, is an airship (dirigible)[1] without an internal structural framework or a keel.

D. A semi-rigid airship is an airship which has a stiff keel or truss supporting the main envelope along its length. The keel may be partially flexible or articulated and may be located inside or outside the main envelope.

E. Moffett Field, south of San Francisco, was established in 1931 as the West Coast base for the Navy’s rigid airship program. There are three airship hangars at the base: Hangar 1, which was built in 1933 for the USS Macon, and hangars 2 and 3, across the runways from the main base. Hangar 3 was constructed from 1942-1943

F. USS Akron - Rear Admiral William A. Moffett, was among the dead

In 1991 and again in 1993, under the authority of the Base Realignment and Closure Act of 1990, it was announced that MCAS Tustin would be closed. Operational closure of the base occurred in July 1999. Of the approximately 1,600 acres, 1,294 acres are now known collectively as "Tustin Legacy."