Mather Airport History
Sacramento Mather Airport is a former Air Force base that has prospered despite initial concerns associated with its decommissioning. Initially, the property was known as Mills Field but it has evolved into what is now knows as Mather Airport. Interestingly, Mather Airport has risen from the ashes of abandonment more than once.
Mather Field was inspired by Second Lieutenant Carl Mather, an Air Force test pilot who was killed in an air collision at Ellington Field, Texas in January 1918. Mather earned his pilot's license and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Army Signal Corps on January 20, 1918 at the age of 16. Five days later, he was tragically killed during one of the first training classes for World War I pilots. The remainder of his class was stationed at Mills Field after training and requested that the facility be renamed in Mather's honor. On May 2, 1918, the name was officially changed from Mills Field to Mather Field.
During this time, Liberty Iron Works in North Sacramento produced Curtiss JN-4 aircraft that were delivered to Mather Field to help train pilots for the war. On June 11, 1918 a Sacramento-built Curtiss JN-4 piloted by Lieutenant John F. Buffington became the first aircraft to take off from Mather field. Jennies were used for a number of non-military purposes after World War I.
The 1920's
By 1923, Mather Field was closed due to the decline in population at the field after the armistice agreement that halted World War I halted pilot training at Mather Field. Remaining personnel at Mather Field were sent to bases in other states and
The 1930's
In 1930, Mather Field was selected to host an all Air Corps tactical exercise. The Globe Wrecking Company of Chicago was hired to dismantle and demolish the buildings at Mather Field over the course of six months in late 1933.
In 1935, barren airstrip provided the ideal location for field training. The 70th Service squadron descended upon the lifeless field to erect tents and shelters to support the 7th Bombardment Group from Hamilton Field for ten days.
The 1940's
Mather Field would not be dormant for long. Prior to the entrance of the United States into World War II, construction began to rebuild Mather Field . By 1941, the air base was fully activated. During the war, Mather Field was used for pilot, navigator, observer, and bombardier training. Mather Air Force Base also served as a stopover location for troops, aircraft, and materials departing fro or returning from combat duty in the Pacific.
The 1950's to 1990's
In 1958, the Strategic Air Command B-52 wing was assigned to the base. Although the squadron was inactivated in 1989, the aircraft continued to use the airfield for touch-and-go exercises. Beginning in the 1970’s, Mather Air Force base also served as a center for inter-service and international undergraduate navigator training. In the 1990's, Mather Air Force Base was the site of all formal long-range, over-water Air Force Navigator training.
The Air Force announced its intention to close Mather Air Force Base in 1988. Sacramento County Board of Supervisors examined the potential for conversion of the base land to a public use facility through and appointed the Sacramento Area Commission on Mather conversion to aid this process. In 1991, the Board of Supervisors endorsed a comprehensive plan to reuse the base for civil aviation purposes. Environmental analyses were performed to support the plan and the Air Force issued a record of decision in 1993, the same year Mather Air Force Base ceased operation. The Air Force transferred the base to the County of Sacramento, which in turn reopened Mather Airport for civilian use on May 5, 1995.
To learn more about the noise considerations in the environmental analysis converting Mather Air Force Base to civilian use: Mather Air Force Base Conversion EIS Process and Aircraft Noise Impacts
The New Millennium
The former air force base is now home to the Mather Regional Park, the Mather Commerce Center by McCuen Properties, and Mather Airport. Currently, Trajen FBO Network, and the Sacramento County Sheriff's Air Operations Bureau all call Mather Airport home.
