War Eagle Field

War Eagle Field was an airport and training center located outside of Lancaster, California. Polaris Flight Academy, which opened on the field's grounds on July 15, 1941, trained cadets for the Royal Air Force and the Royal Canadian Air Force. (The school also used two auxiliary fields, Liberty Field and Victory Field.) After the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor, the flight school began training cadets for the United States Army Air Forces. This was the only civilian school offering basic flight training in the United States during the Second World War. The primary trainer in use was the BT-13 Valiant.

In 1944, the flight school changed its name to Mira Loma Flight Academy. The school closed in 1945, and the land was bought by Los Angeles County. The airfield was converted to a detention facility, and it continues to be used for that purpose.

External links

* [http://www.av.qnet.com/~carcomm/wreck19.htm History of Polaris Flight Academy]
* [http://www.members.tripod.com/airfields_freeman/CA/Airfields_CA_PalmdaleS.htm#wareagle War Eagle Field from Abandoned and Little Known Airfields]
* [http://www.militarymuseum.org/WarEagleField.html War Eagle Field from the California State Military Museum]