The original airport, at Salinas Road and Highway One (about four miles
south of town), was the location of the Naval Auxiliary Airfield,
effectively an Airship base. Prior to the special election this
southern airfield supported the Navy’s Airship patrols for submarines
off our coast. The Airship flight squadrons were based at Moffett Field
and Watsonville was an auxiliary field where Airships and flight crews
were stationed.
The Airships departed on 12-hour submarine patrols, convoy escort flights or on many occasions, to perform air-sea rescues. Crews were stationed here for about a month before being rotated with another crew and Airship. Local men stationed at Watsonville were Don Wilson, George Davis, Vern Dietz and Ron Hill. When the heavier-than-air station northwest of town became operational, the former Airship facility was closed down in late 1945 as the Airships were no longer required.
