Camp San Luis Obispo Army Airfield

Military Decommissioning. The airfield was a purpose-built military facility to support the massive training operations at Camp San Luis Obispo during World War II. With the end of the war, the need for such a large training camp and its associated airfield diminished drastically. The base was downsized, and the airfield was deemed surplus to the military's needs.

The site is located entirely within the boundaries of the still-active Camp San Luis Obispo, which is now operated by the California National Guard. The original runway layout is still clearly visible from satellite imagery, but the surfaces are no longer maintained for aviation. The former runways and aprons have been repurposed as roads, vehicle staging areas, and open grounds for various military training exercises. Additionally, a large portion of the former airfield, particularly on its southern end, is now occupied by the Camp SLO Solar Farm, which provides power to the base.

Constructed in 1941, the Camp San Luis Obispo Army Airfield was a critical support facility for one of the nation's largest military training centers during World War II. Its primary role was to host Army observation and liaison squadrons that worked directly with the infantry and artillery divisions training on the ground. These units flew small aircraft like the Piper L-4 Grasshopper and Stinson L-5 Sentinel to perform missions such as artillery spotting, tactical reconnaissance, and courier flights. The airfield featured two paved 4,500-foot runways and a large parking apron, supporting the training of hundreds of thousands of soldiers who passed through the camp before deployment to overseas theaters.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening the site as an airport. Its location within an active and secure military installation, its current use for essential military training and energy generation, and the proximity of the well-established San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport (KSBP) make its reactivation as an airfield both impractical and unnecessary.