View source for McClellan Air Force Base

{{Short description|Human settlement in California, United States}}
{{For|the civil use of this facility after 2001|Sacramento McClellan Airport}}
{{more citations needed|date=June 2015}}
{{Infobox military installation
| name                   = McClellan Air Force Base
| ensign                 = 
| ensign_size            = 
| native_name            = 
| partof                 = <!-- for elements within a larger site -->
| location               = [[Sacramento County, California|Sacramento County]], [[California]]
| nearest_town           = <!-- used in military test site infobox -->
| country                = the [[United States]]
| image                  = A medium-range view of the Peacekeeper Gate, including the base sign - DPLA - ea1178a1cf5913fc1cabd9d505758e7e.jpeg
| image_size             = 300
| alt                    = 
| caption                = Peacekeeper Gate at McClellan AFB in 1995
| image2                 = <!--secondary image, major command emblems for airfields -->
| alt2                   = 
| caption2               = 
| type                   = Air Force Base
| coordinates            = {{Coord|38|40|04|N|121|24|02|W|type:airport|display=inline,title}}
| gridref                =
| image_map              = {{maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-align=center|frame-width=300|zoom=9|type=point}}
| pushpin_mapsize        = 300
| pushpin_map            = USA#California
| pushpin_relief         = yes
| pushpin_label          = McClellan AFB
| pushpin_map_caption    = Location in the United States##Location in California
| pushpin_label_position = 
| pushpin_mark           = Airplane_silhouette.svg
| ownership              = [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]]
| operator               = [[United States Air Force]]
| controlledby           = <!-- such as RAF Bomber Command or the Eighth Air Force -->
| open_to_public         = <!-- for out of use sites/sites with museums etc -->
| site_other_label       = <!-- for renaming "Other facilities" in infobox -->
| site_other             = <!-- for other sorts of facilities – radar types etc -->  
| site_area              = <!-- area of site m2, km2 square mile etc -->
| code                   = <!--facility/installation code, applies to US -->
| built                  = {{Start date|1935}} (as Pacific Air Depot)
| used                   = 1935 – {{End date|2001}}
| builder                = 
| materials              = 
| height                 = <!-- height of tallest part, not above sea level -->
| length                 = <!-- for border fences or other DMZs -->
| fate                   = Airfield became [[Sacramento McClellan Airport]] and McClellan Business Park. Partially realigned to [[United States Coast Guard|US Coast Guard]] as [[Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento|CGAS Sacramento]]
| condition              = Closed
| battles                = 
| events                 = 
| current_commander      = <!-- current commander -->
| past_commanders        = <!-- past notable commander(s) -->
| garrison               = [[Sacramento Air Logistics Center]]
| occupants              = <!-- squadrons only -->
| designations           = 
| website                = {{Official website|https://web.archive.org/web/20001109120000/http://www.mcclellan.af.mil/|name=Official website (archived)}}
<!-- begin airfield information  -->
| IATA                 = 
| ICAO                 = 
| FAA                  = MCC
| TC                   = 
| LID                  = 
| GPS                  = 
| WMO                  = 0724836 
| elevation            = {{Convert|23|m|0|order=flip}}
| r1-number            = 
| r1-length            = <!-- {{Convert| |m|0}} -->
| r1-surface           = 
| h1-number            = 
| h1-length            = <!-- {{Convert| |m|0}} -->
| h1-surface           = 
| airfield_other_label = <!-- for renaming "Other facilities" in infobox -->
| airfield_other       = <!-- for other sorts of airfield facilities -->
<!--  end airfield information   -->
| footnotes              = <!-- catchall in case it's needed to preserve something in infobox that doesn't work in new code -->
}}
'''McClellan Air Force Base''' (1935–2001) is a former [[United States Air Force]] base in [[California]], located in the [[North Highlands, California|North Highlands]] area of [[Sacramento County, California|Sacramento County]], {{convert|7|mi|spell=in}} northeast of [[Sacramento, California|Sacramento]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/decommissioning/complex/mcclellan-afb.html|title=McClellan Air Force Base|date=2015|website=United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission}}</ref>

==History==
For the vast majority of its operational lifetime, McClellan was a logistics and maintenance facility for a wide variety of military aircraft, equipment and supplies. Initially known as the Pacific Air Depot and Sacramento Air Depot, in 1939 the base was renamed for Major Hezekiah McClellan, a pioneer in arctic aeronautical tests. Born in 1894, he died on 25 May 1936 when his [[Consolidated P-30]] which he was flight testing crashed near [[Centerville, Ohio]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=History|url=https://www.afcec.af.mil/Home/BRAC/McClellan-AFB/History/|access-date=2020-06-10|website=www.afcec.af.mil}}</ref>

In 1986, the U.S. Air Force established the McClellan Aviation Museum on what was then McClellan Air Force Base. The museum was later chartered by the [[National Museum of the United States Air Force]].

The [[United States Coast Guard]] previously operated [[Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento]] at McClellan AFB as a tenant activity, operating and maintaining several [[HC-130 Hercules]] aircraft.  CGAS Sacramento continues to operate at McClellan following its closure as an Air Force Base and is the only remaining military aviation unit and installation on the airfield.
[[File:McClellan Air Force Base - CA 9 May 2002.jpg|left|thumb|An aerial image of McClellan AFB from 2002]]
In 1993, the base was selected by the Pentagon for closure. At first, McClellan was scratched from a list of bases to be closed, but that decision was faced with allegations that the Clinton administration was playing politics.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Pine|first1=Art|title=2 California Bases May Return to Closure List : Defense: Head of review panel cites concerns that McClellan, Presidio were dropped for political reasons|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-03-23-mn-14183-story.html|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=19 May 2017|date=1993-03-23}}</ref> The base was eventually selected for closure, and there were plans to offset the expected loss of $1.5 billion, and 11,000 jobs, to the California economy. The plan relied on privatization and other investment to offset the economic and employment losses.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Pine|first1=Art|last2=Richter|first2=Paul|title=Revised Plan for McClellan Base Sent to Clinton|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-07-10-mn-22416-story.html|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=19 May 2017|date=1995-07-10}}</ref> The base is now McClellan Business Park, a growing business enclave that hosts a diverse mix of companies spread across more than 8 million square feet of space of all types. This former military facility is now home to hundreds of private companies, as well as state, federal and local government agencies.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mcclellanpark.com/About/History|title = History}}</ref> It is also home to AmeriCorps*NCCC Pacific Region<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ncccpacificregionresources.weebly.com/about-mcclellan-park.html|title = History}}</ref>

The [[Air Force Reserve]]'s [[604th Regional Support Group]], part of [[Fourth Air Force]], was planned to move to [[March Air Reserve Base]], CA., in July 1997, as a result of various [[Base Closure and Realignment Commission]] (BRAC) changes. 

In 2005, the McClellan Aviation Museum changed its name to the [[Aerospace Museum of California]]. Various military aircraft sit on display inside one of the hangars, and many more are outside on the flightline. The museum has displays which highlight the mission of the base when it was active, as well as neighboring bases such as [[Beale Air Force Base|Beale AFB]], [[Travis AFB]] and the since closed [[Mather Air Force Base|Mather AFB]]. The museum hosts educational programs to schools in the local area.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aerospacemuseumofcalifornia.org/about.html
|title=About the Aerospace Museum of California|publisher=Aerospace Museum of California|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060620164128/http://aerospacemuseumofcalifornia.org/about.html|archive-date=2006-06-20 }}</ref>

In 2015, the ''[[Sacramento Bee]]'' reported that McClellan Airfield had been designated as a [[Superfund]] site, because the [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|Environmental Protection Agency]] has identified  326 waste areas on the base.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0902759|title=Search Superfund Site Information|last=OSRTI|first=US EPA|website=cumulis.epa.gov|language=en|access-date=2017-10-18}}</ref> Water wells closest to the base in the Rio Linda-Elverta district, have had the highest levels of [[hexavalent chromium]], which is a known carcinogen. Water from six of 11 wells tested above the state's maximum contaminant levels for chromium-6, which is 10 parts per billion.<ref name=sb>{{cite news|author1=EDWARD ORTIZ|title=Groundwater search turns up high carcinogen readings near McClellan|url=http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/health-and-medicine/article25119970.html|access-date=24 June 2015|work=The Sacramento Bee|date=June 21, 2015}}</ref>

==Names==
* Pacific Air Depot, 1935 -  1 February 1937
* Sacramento Air Depot 1 February 1937 - 1 December 1939
* McClellan Field, 1 December 1939 - 13 January 1948
* McClellan Air Force Base (dates to be confirmed, closed 2001)
* McClellan Business Park, 2009–present

== Major command assignments ==
* [[File:Mcclellan afb 8-10-2006 1-45-06 PM.JPG|thumb|Memorial Plaque of McClellan AFB]][[Material Division]], United States Army Air Corps, 24 August 1938 - 11 December 1941
* [[Air Service Command]], 11 December 1941 - 17 July 1944
* Army Air Forces Materiel and Services Command, 17 July 1944 - 31 August 1944
* [[Army Air Forces Technical Service Command]], 31 August 1944 - 1 July 1945
* [[Air Technical Service Command]], 1 July 1945 - 9 March 1946
* [[Air Materiel Command]], 9 March 1946 - 1 April 1961
* [[Air Force Logistics Command]], 1 April 1961 - 1 July 1992
* [[Air Force Materiel Command]], 1 July 1992 - 13 July 2001

==Environmental contamination==
The McClellan [[Restoration Advisory Board]] provides a forum for the local community, regulatory agencies, and Air Force to share information on current and future environmental cleanup programs and reuse at the former base.<ref>{{Cite web |title=McClellan Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) |url=https://economic.saccounty.net:443/LocateHere/McClellan/Pages/RestorationAdvisoryBoard(RAB).aspx |access-date=2022-08-04 |website=economic.saccounty.net |language=en-US}}</ref>

==See also==

* [[California World War II Army Airfields]]
* [[Western Air Defense Force]] (Air Defense Command)
* [[8th Air Division]]
* [[Doolittle Raid]]
* [[McClellan AFB Annex]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*California Military History Museum, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202001013/http://californiamilitaryhistory.org/McClellanAFB.html|date=2017-02-02|title= McClellan Air Force Base}}
*[http://aerospaceca.org Aerospace Museum of California website]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110719032205/http://www.orovillemr.com/news/ci_15249658 Oroville Mercury Register re: Aero Union move to McClellan]
*[https://www.mcclellanpark.com/ McClellan Business Park]

{{Aerospace Defense Command|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcclellan Air Force Base}}
[[Category:Installations of the United States Air Force in California]]
[[Category:History of Sacramento, California]]
[[Category:Landmarks in Sacramento, California]]
[[Category:Initial United States Air Force installations]]
[[Category:History of Sacramento County, California]]
[[Category:Military Superfund sites]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Sacramento County, California]]
[[Category:Superfund sites in California]]
[[Category:Military installations closed in 2001]]
[[Category:Business parks of the United States]]