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Peik Auxiliary Field

1934 establishments in California1940s in CaliforniaDefunct airports in CaliforniaHistory of California
SanDiegoAirpark CA 48SepSect
SanDiegoAirpark CA 48SepSect

Peik Auxiliary Field also called Peik Field and Peik Airport was an airfield used during World War II to support the San Bernardino Army Air Field, Desert Training Center and San Diego Municipal Airport, called Lindbergh Field. The local Peik Airport was built in 1934 by Arnold Peik, is son Leander Peik (1927-2011) and his family, barnstormers from Wisconsin, that also ran a flight school at the airport. Leander Peik dad taught him to fly when he was 10 years old, he became the airport manager at a young age. With the start of World War II there was a demand for trained pilots and the Army took over the Airport. Auxiliary fields, like Peik, were used to support the training of US Army pilots during World War II. The runway was located in Mission Bay of San Diego, California. The runways as in the southeast corner of Mission Bay, near the current Interstate 5 and Interstate 8 interchange. The entrance to the Peik Auxiliary Field was at the end of Anna Avenue, which at the time extended into Mission Bay. When the I-5 was built Anna Avenue was removed west of the Santa Fe train tracks. For the war, many new trained pilots were needed. Peik Auxiliary Field provided a place for pilots to practice landing and take off without other air traffic. Peik Auxiliary Field site offered flight training without distractions. The United States Army Air Corps's Army Air Forces Basic Flying School, the Army Air Force Pilot School used Peik Auxiliary Field for fighter pilots training. The Army took the runway from 800-feet to 2,600-feet long and 150-feet wide made of turfgrass. To support the training of the many pilots, San Bernardino Army Air Field operated a number of auxiliary airfields. After the war, Peik Auxiliary Field was returned to the Peik family. The Peik family closed the airport in 1955 and no trace of the runway can be found today, the site is open land in Mission Bay with Sea World Drive cutting across the past runway..

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Peik Auxiliary Field (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Peik Auxiliary Field
Sea World Drive, San Diego Old Town

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 32.764486 ° E -117.209635 °
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Sea World Drive

Sea World Drive
92109 San Diego, Old Town
California, United States
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SanDiegoAirpark CA 48SepSect
SanDiegoAirpark CA 48SepSect
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Derby Dike
Derby Dike

Derby Dike is an Earthworks levee embankment built along the San Diego River in San Diego County, California, by Lieutenant George Derby in 1853. The Derby Dike is a California Historical Landmark No. 244 listed on June 10, 1936. The Derby Dike ran from Old Town San Diego to Point Loma, about 5 miles (8km). A California historical marker is at Taylor Street and Presidio Drive. Before the Derby Dike was built the San Diego River would often overflow its banks and flood parts of Old Town, San Diego and San Diego, California. The other problem was the river would flood San Diego harbor with debris. Lieutenant George Horatio Derby with the United States Army Corps of Topographical Engineers had the Derby Dike built so the river would flow into False Bay, now called Mission Bay, rather than into the at San Diego Bay's harbor. This was one of the first major US Government projects in California. While the Derby Dike helped with the flooding and debris flow into the Harbor, there were still major floods that overwhelm the Derby Dike. A major flood in 1853 destroyed parts of the Derby Dike, and the San Diego River flowed back ino the harbor. By 1875, the Derby Dike was repaired and the river was flowing back into False Bay. A major flood in 1884 again destroyed parts of the Derby Dike, and was repaired again. The Sweetwater Dam was built in 1888 to help stop the flooding problem. Six other dams were built on San Diego River, the last in 1898. The San Diego River was not fullly contained til the 1950s. The largest dam on the river is the El Capitan Dam completed in 1934 that is 27 miles up river from Old Town, San Diego.Derby-Pendleton House was constructed in 1851 by Lieutenant George Horatio Derby.