Hemet/San Jacinto

Overview

The Hemet/San Jacinto region was home to 41 schools under the wing of the Army Air Forces. As a result, its air bases were crucial in the United States’ fight in the Pacific Theater of World War II. However, after the war many airfields, such as the Hemet-Ryan Airport, were inactivated. They were often absorbed by the County they were located in and served other purposes. For example, the Hemet-Ryan Airport now hosts Cal Fire air attack operations.

Before the War

Since 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had arranged the rush to join with the Army Air Forces (AAF).[1] This was important because the AAF trained pilots to for World War II. In California alone, the AAF established 41 schools which prepared troops to fight strategically in battle.[2] One of these schools was located at Hemet-Ryan Airport. The airfield was opened in September 1940 by the United States Army Air Corps.

World War II

After the attack on Pearl Harbor the United States took part in World War II. The United States quickly grew its military and expedited the manufacturing of necessary equipment and vehicles. From 1941-1942, the country transitioned from having the Army Air Corps as the aerial warfare service of the U.S. to having it under the branch of the AAF.Southern California was heavily impacted as many of the Navy and Air Force bases were in this region. The state worked strategically to situate troops from all over the nation. The Hemet/San Jacinto region was vital in manufacturing air force supplies and training pilots. The Hemet-Ryan Airport was assigned to the West Coast Training Center and more than 14,000 cadets were trained there.[3]

After the War

On December 1944, the Hemet-Ryan Airport was inactivated and eventually became a public airport owned by Riverside County.[4] For 50 years, this airport was home to a commercial glider flight school.[5] However, at the same time is was the base for Ryan Air attack, a joint operation by the United States Forest Service and the California Division of Forestry began. Now, it still hosts Cal Fire air attack operations, but it also is home to a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department aviation unit.[6]

Hemet circa 1960's

Footnotes

[1] R. Ray Ortensie, "Embry-Riddle at War: Aviation Training during World War II," review of Embry-Riddle at War: Aviation Training during World War II, by Stephen G. Craft, Air & Space Power Journal 26, no. 5 (2012): 154, https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/Portals/10/ASPJ/journals/Volume-26_Issue-5/ASPJ-Sept-Oct-2012.pdf.

[2] Ortensie, 155.

[3] Revolvy, “Hemet-Ryan Airport,” Revolvy, accessed November 18, 2018. https://www.revolvy.com/page/Hemet%252DRyan-Airport.

[4] Revolvy.

[5] Revolvy.

[6] Revolvy.