Camp Callan
Encyclopedia
Camp Callan was a United States Army
anti-aircraft artillery replacement training center that was operational during World War II
. It was located in La Jolla, California
, but was closed after WWII ended. Few traces of the former base can be seen today.
in the La Jolla area. It occupied a roughly rectangular piece of land approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) north-to-south and 0.5 mile (0.80467 km) east-to-west. This land is on the Torrey Pines Mesa and is near the Pacific Ocean
. The northern portion of the former base is today the Torrey Pines Golf Course
and the Torrey Pines State Reserve
. The southeastern portion of the former base is now part of the University of California, San Diego
campus. The rest of the southern portion of the former base includes private land (both residential and commercial), the Scripps Green Hospital
and research institutes such as the Salk Institute for Biological Studies
. This portion of the former base is in the vicinity of present-day Genesee Avenue and North Torrey Pines Road.
710 acres (2,873,270.6 m²) of land for $1.00 a year. The city council also leased an additional 0.9 acres (3,642.2 m²) to the military. Margaret C. Hawkins leased the military 120.08 acres (485,946.9 m²) and F.T. Scripps, Inc. leased them 72.12 acres (291,859.5 m²). The military acquired 367 acres (1,485,197.6 m²) by revocable permit from the city council and 12.85 acres (52,002.2 m²) by license from the city council. Altogether, 1282.95 acres (5,191,919 m²) of land for the base was authorized for acquisition by the government
.
announced plans to create a replacement training center for Coast artillery
units in the Torrey Pines Mesa area. Men inducted into the military under the Selective Service Program
would be assigned to this new training center. The purpose of this training center was to teach trainees how to fire long-range weapons in the event the Imperial Japanese Navy
tried to attack the West Coast of the United States
. This training center was named "Camp Callan" in honor of Major General Robert Emmet Callan, a distinguished Coast Artillery officer.
Construction of the base began in November 1940 and official occupation of the camp was marked by a military flag-raising ceremony that took place on January 15, 1941. Twenty officers and one hundred and twenty enlisted men were present. They were all members of the first unit of operations personnel at the new base. Brigadier General Francis P. Hardaway was the new camp's first commander. He spoke on the importance of the camp to the defense program at this ceremony.
On February 24, 1941, the first large guns arrived at the camp. Nine of these guns were French-made 155 mm guns that dated back to World War I
. Around five thousand trainees arrived at the camp between the last week of February and the end of March. They arrived by rail at a nearby reopened railroad station. The first trainees came mostly from Fort Ord
and Fort MacArthur
in California
, Fort Sheridan
in Illinois
, Fort Missoula
in Montana
and Fort Vancouver
in Washington.
The first military review was held on April 2, 1941. Six thousand men passed in formation before Major General Joseph A. Green, Chief of Coastal Artillery. He congratulated them on the progress they had made in such a short time. Since the camp did not have its own military band
, a 100-piece Marine Corps band provided music for this ceremony.
so they decided to place full training emphasis on anti-aircraft weapons rather than on a combination of seacoast artillery and anti-aircraft weapons. This change marked the beginning of a two-year period of peak activity for the camp. Approximately fifteen thousand trainees were going through their training during each thirteen week training cycle.
Training ranges on the base included a 1,000-inch range, a 200-yard rifle range, a pistol range, an automatic weapons range and a 3-inch anti-aircraft gun range. The trainees learned to use 155 mm, 90 mm, 75 mm, and 40 mm caliber guns as well as the associated fire control equipment
. Gun firing positions were established for this training.
In addition to artillery gun positions and small arms ranges, a variety of other facilities and structures were built on the base. These improvements included barracks and cantonments, a 910-bed station hospital, offices, five Post Exchanges
, three theaters, five chapels, support buildings, storage buildings and a landfill. In all, the developed part of the base covered twenty-three blocks and had over 297 buildings at this time.
Various living amenities were provided for the health, general education and war training schooling of the trainees, much like other Army camps of the time. A weekly newspaper called The Range Finder and an annual pictorial review called The Callander were published at the camp. The camp eventually got its own 40-piece military band as well.
, Texas
and the camp assumed an important role in preparations for massive overseas amphibious assaults. However, this period of camp activity was short-lived. By May 8, 1945, the war was over in Europe
and by August 15 the Japanese had surrendered
. Because of these changes, this training was no longer needed. On November 1, 1945, Camp Callan was declared surplus.
was facing a shortage of lumber and building materials. This problem was made worse because many veterans chose to stay in San Diego after the war. In order to mitigate this problem, the San Diego City Council negotiated with the War Department to acquire most of the buildings and facilities of the camp (which numbered around five hundred at the time the camp closed). The selling price was $200,000. These material were then resold to veterans and other citizens at reasonable prices. Several thousand homes, several churches and many utilities were constructed from this material. The city recouped its $200,000 investment and made a $250,000 profit on these sales. Part of this profit went to build the Veteran's War Memorial Building in Balboa Park.
Today, almost all evidence of improvements or buildings built on the former base during its existence (except the landfill) have disappeared. A few foundations remain in the area to the north of the UC San Diego campus. The old main entrance of the base is at the Torrey Pines Inn off of Torrey Pines Road.
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
anti-aircraft artillery replacement training center that was operational during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It was located in La Jolla, California
La Jolla, San Diego, California
La Jolla is an affluent, hilly seaside resort community, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean in Southern California within the northern city limits of San Diego. La Jolla had the highest home prices in the nation in 2008 and 2009; the average price of a standardized...
, but was closed after WWII ended. Few traces of the former base can be seen today.
Location and current use
Camp Callan was located near U.S. Highway 101 about 15 miles (24.1 km) north of downtown San DiegoSan Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
in the La Jolla area. It occupied a roughly rectangular piece of land approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) north-to-south and 0.5 mile (0.80467 km) east-to-west. This land is on the Torrey Pines Mesa and is near the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. The northern portion of the former base is today the Torrey Pines Golf Course
Torrey Pines Golf Course
Torrey Pines Golf Course is a municipal public golf course owned by the city of San Diego, California. It sits on the coastal cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean in the community of La Jolla south of Torrey Pines State Reserve. It has two famous golf courses, the North Course and the South Course....
and the Torrey Pines State Reserve
Torrey Pines State Reserve
Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve is a coastal state park located in the California community of La Jolla, San Diego, California, off North Torrey Pines Road . Although it is located within San Diego city limits, it remains one of the wildest stretches of land on the Southern California coast...
. The southeastern portion of the former base is now part of the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
campus. The rest of the southern portion of the former base includes private land (both residential and commercial), the Scripps Green Hospital
Scripps Health
Scripps Health is a nonprofit health care system based in San Diego, California. The system includes four hospitals and 19 outpatient facilities, and treats a half-million patients annually through 2,600 affiliated physicians....
and research institutes such as the Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Salk Institute for Biological Studies
The Salk Institute for Biological Studies is a premier independent, non-profit, scientific research institute located in La Jolla, California. It was founded in 1960 by Jonas Salk, the developer of the polio vaccine; among the founding consultants were Jacob Bronowski and Francis Crick. Building...
. This portion of the former base is in the vicinity of present-day Genesee Avenue and North Torrey Pines Road.
Acquisition
On October 9, 1940, the San Diego City Council leased the United States militaryMilitary of the United States
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
710 acres (2,873,270.6 m²) of land for $1.00 a year. The city council also leased an additional 0.9 acres (3,642.2 m²) to the military. Margaret C. Hawkins leased the military 120.08 acres (485,946.9 m²) and F.T. Scripps, Inc. leased them 72.12 acres (291,859.5 m²). The military acquired 367 acres (1,485,197.6 m²) by revocable permit from the city council and 12.85 acres (52,002.2 m²) by license from the city council. Altogether, 1282.95 acres (5,191,919 m²) of land for the base was authorized for acquisition by the government
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
.
Early period of operation
On November 22, 1940, the War DepartmentUnited States Department of War
The United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...
announced plans to create a replacement training center for Coast artillery
Coastal artillery
Coastal artillery is the branch of armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications....
units in the Torrey Pines Mesa area. Men inducted into the military under the Selective Service Program
Selective Service System
The Selective Service System is a means by which the United States government maintains information on those potentially subject to military conscription. Most male U.S. citizens and male immigrant non-citizens between the ages of 18 and 25 are required by law to have registered within 30 days of...
would be assigned to this new training center. The purpose of this training center was to teach trainees how to fire long-range weapons in the event the Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
tried to attack the West Coast of the United States
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
. This training center was named "Camp Callan" in honor of Major General Robert Emmet Callan, a distinguished Coast Artillery officer.
Construction of the base began in November 1940 and official occupation of the camp was marked by a military flag-raising ceremony that took place on January 15, 1941. Twenty officers and one hundred and twenty enlisted men were present. They were all members of the first unit of operations personnel at the new base. Brigadier General Francis P. Hardaway was the new camp's first commander. He spoke on the importance of the camp to the defense program at this ceremony.
On February 24, 1941, the first large guns arrived at the camp. Nine of these guns were French-made 155 mm guns that dated back to World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Around five thousand trainees arrived at the camp between the last week of February and the end of March. They arrived by rail at a nearby reopened railroad station. The first trainees came mostly from Fort Ord
Fort Ord
Fort Ord was a U.S. Army post on Monterey Bay in California. It was established in 1917 as a maneuver area and field artillery target range and was closed in September 1994. Fort Ord was one of the most attractive locations of any U.S. Army post, because of its proximity to the beach and California...
and Fort MacArthur
Fort MacArthur
Fort MacArthur is a former United States Army installation in San Pedro, Los Angeles, California . The fort is named in honor of Lieutenant General Arthur MacArthur...
in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Fort Sheridan
Fort Sheridan, Illinois
Fort Sheridan is a residential neighborhood spread among Lake Forest, Highwood, and Highland Park in Lake County, Illinois, United States. It was originally established as a United States Army Post named after Civil War Cavalry General Philip Sheridan, to honor his services to Chicago...
in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, Fort Missoula
Fort Missoula
Fort Missoula was established by the United States Army in 1877 on land that is now part of the city of Missoula, Montana, to protect white settlers in Western Montana from possible threats from the native American Indians, such as the Nez Perce....
in Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
and Fort Vancouver
Fort Vancouver
Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading outpost along the Columbia River that served as the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company in the company's Columbia District...
in Washington.
The first military review was held on April 2, 1941. Six thousand men passed in formation before Major General Joseph A. Green, Chief of Coastal Artillery. He congratulated them on the progress they had made in such a short time. Since the camp did not have its own military band
Military band
A military band originally was a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the title of Bandmaster or Director of Music...
, a 100-piece Marine Corps band provided music for this ceremony.
Middle period of operation
A period of significant change for the camp began in March 1942. The military had seen the terrible damage the Luftwaffe had inflicted on the United KingdomBattle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...
so they decided to place full training emphasis on anti-aircraft weapons rather than on a combination of seacoast artillery and anti-aircraft weapons. This change marked the beginning of a two-year period of peak activity for the camp. Approximately fifteen thousand trainees were going through their training during each thirteen week training cycle.
Training ranges on the base included a 1,000-inch range, a 200-yard rifle range, a pistol range, an automatic weapons range and a 3-inch anti-aircraft gun range. The trainees learned to use 155 mm, 90 mm, 75 mm, and 40 mm caliber guns as well as the associated fire control equipment
Fire-control system
A fire-control system is a number of components working together, usually a gun data computer, a director, and radar, which is designed to assist a weapon system in hitting its target. It performs the same task as a human gunner firing a weapon, but attempts to do so faster and more...
. Gun firing positions were established for this training.
In addition to artillery gun positions and small arms ranges, a variety of other facilities and structures were built on the base. These improvements included barracks and cantonments, a 910-bed station hospital, offices, five Post Exchanges
Base exchange
A Base Exchange is a type of retail store operating on United States military installations worldwide...
, three theaters, five chapels, support buildings, storage buildings and a landfill. In all, the developed part of the base covered twenty-three blocks and had over 297 buildings at this time.
Various living amenities were provided for the health, general education and war training schooling of the trainees, much like other Army camps of the time. A weekly newspaper called The Range Finder and an annual pictorial review called The Callander were published at the camp. The camp eventually got its own 40-piece military band as well.
Late period of operation
The training emphasis at the camp changed again during June 1944. The anti-aircraft training program was transferred to Fort BlissFort Bliss
Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in the U.S. states of New Mexico and Texas. With an area of about , it is the Army's second-largest installation behind the adjacent White Sands Missile Range. It is FORSCOM's largest installation, and has the Army's largest Maneuver Area behind the...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and the camp assumed an important role in preparations for massive overseas amphibious assaults. However, this period of camp activity was short-lived. By May 8, 1945, the war was over in Europe
Victory in Europe Day
Victory in Europe Day commemorates 8 May 1945 , the date when the World War II Allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany and the end of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. The formal surrender of the occupying German forces in the Channel Islands was not...
and by August 15 the Japanese had surrendered
Victory over Japan Day
Victory over Japan Day is a name chosen for the day on which the Surrender of Japan occurred, effectively ending World War II, and subsequent anniversaries of that event...
. Because of these changes, this training was no longer needed. On November 1, 1945, Camp Callan was declared surplus.
Disposal
After the camp was declared surplus, the land it was on was disposed of over the course of a year. 710 acres (2,873,270.6 m²) and an additional 0.9 acres (3,642.2 m²) of leased land was cancelled on March 25, 1946. 120.08 acres (485,946.9 m²) of leased land was cancelled on August 9, 1946. 72.12 acres (291,859.5 m²) of leased land was cancelled on June 30, 1946. 367 acres (1,485,197.6 m²) of permit land was cancelled on December 13, 1945. 12.85 acres (52,002.2 m²) of licensed land was cancelled on March 25, 1946. The land under permit was released in lieu of restoration clause. The landfill was not on the permit land.After closing
At the time the camp closed, Southern CaliforniaSouthern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
was facing a shortage of lumber and building materials. This problem was made worse because many veterans chose to stay in San Diego after the war. In order to mitigate this problem, the San Diego City Council negotiated with the War Department to acquire most of the buildings and facilities of the camp (which numbered around five hundred at the time the camp closed). The selling price was $200,000. These material were then resold to veterans and other citizens at reasonable prices. Several thousand homes, several churches and many utilities were constructed from this material. The city recouped its $200,000 investment and made a $250,000 profit on these sales. Part of this profit went to build the Veteran's War Memorial Building in Balboa Park.
Today, almost all evidence of improvements or buildings built on the former base during its existence (except the landfill) have disappeared. A few foundations remain in the area to the north of the UC San Diego campus. The old main entrance of the base is at the Torrey Pines Inn off of Torrey Pines Road.