Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields:
Texas: Western Corpus Christi area
© 2002, © 2008 by Paul Freeman. Revised 2/20/08.
Aransas Pass Municipal (revised 5/28/06) - Cabaniss NOLF (revised 10/6/07)
Cliff Maus Airport (revised 5/28/06) - Cuddihy NAAS - NOLF 26832 / Field #36 (revised 2/20/08)
Orange Grove NALF (revised 3/4/06) - Rodd NAAS (revised 12/25/05) - Waldron NOLF
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Naval Outlying Landing Field #26832 / Field #36, Driscoll, TX
27.68 North / 97.78 West (West of Corpus Christi, TX).
NOLF "26832", as depicted on the July 1943 Corpus Christi Sectional Chart (courtesy of David Brooks).
This field was one of a large number of satellite airfields built during WW2
to support Navy flight training in the Corpus Christi area.
The date of construction of Field #26832 has not been determined.
The earliest depiction of the field which has been located
was on the July 1943 Corpus Christi Sectional Chart (courtesy of David Brooks).
Brian Rehwinkel reported, “According to a 1943 Navy memo, this field consisted of 250 acres of land.
During most of its use during WWII, Field # 36/ Designation 26832 was assigned to NAAS Cuddihy Field.”
"26832 (Navy)” was still depicted as an active airfield
on the 1949 Corpus Christi Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It was described as having an 1,800' hard-surface runway.
A December 22, 1951 aerial photo of In the photo of Field # 36 / OLF 26832 (courtesy of Brian Rehwinkel).
Brian observed, “You see the repeat of the partial star-shaped runway layout.”
The field had a total of 4 runways.
There did not appear to be any buildings at the site.
Also note the “36” - the field # painted in large numerals.
Brian observed, “Similar to the Pensacola area fields, the large concentration of training fields necessitated the marking of fields for pilots.”
NOLF 26832 was evidently abandoned by the Navy at some point between 1949-64,
as it was no longer depicted at all on the July 1969 Brownsville Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
nor on the 1969 USGS topo map.
The telltale star-shaped outline of a Corpus Christi auxiliary airfield was still discernible in the 1995 USGS photo.
The outline of the airfield was still perceptible in a 2003 aerial photo as well.
The site of Field #26832 is located southeast of the intersection of Route 665 & CR-85.
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Cliff Maus Airport, Corpus Christi, TX
27.77 North / 97.44 West (Southwest of Houston, TX)
A 1929 photo of the first meeting of the Corpus Christi Aero Club,
founded by Cliff Maus & R. J. Roberts (courtesy of Steve Cruse).
According to the 2/20/02 issue of the Corpus Christi Caller-Times,
Corpus Christi didn't get around to building its first airport until 1928.
That was after Charles Lindbergh flew over Port Aransas on his "goodwill hop" from Washington to Mexico City.
Lindbergh could have landed in Corpus Christi, city leaders thought, if there had been an airport.
Voters passed a $50,000 bond issue in 1928 to build an airport
and the city bought a 180 acre pasture off old Brownsville Road.
The airport consisted of a hangar, business office, and shell runway.
The runway had not been completed when aviator Cliff Maus landed his plane
at the new field with his business partner Bob Maverick on board.
Shortly afterwards in 1928, a new airline company moved to the airport.
It was the Texas Air Company (TAC) owned by Maus & Maverick.
It was mainly a crop-dusting operation,
but on the first day at Corpus Christi the company was hired to fly 2 golfers to a tournament in San Antonio.
Maus' first crop-dusting job was on the Weil farm near the airport.
Corpus Christi also hired Maus to spray the city with mosquito insecticide.
Maus & Maverick began a flying school, the Southern Academy of Aeronautics,
with lessons priced at $5 a flight.
After one month, the school graduated its first 2 pilots: J. A. Knolle & J. Luther Petty.
Regular passenger service began in 1929.
Southern Air Transport, using a six-seater Fokker,
operated between San Antonio, Corpus Christi, and Brownsville.
A round-trip flight cost $27.
By the end of 1930, the city's airport was humming,
with some 250 planes (military & commercial) landing per month.
The Army Air Corps, flying out of Kelly Field in San Antonio,
began using Corpus Christi as a stopover for training flights.
The airport was enlarged & 3 runways forming a large "A" were added.
Cliff Maus was named the airport manager at a salary of $250 a month.
For 3 days in 1930, an exhibition team led by Clyde "Upside Down" Pangburn gave demonstrations at the airport.
People were taken up for flights over the city for $1 each.
In 1931, a brief stop was made by Jimmy Doolittle,
who touched down for 16 minutes during his attempt to set a new speed record from Ottawa, Canada, to Mexico City.
But the biggest event for the airport in those early years occurred in 1932,
when American Airways (later to become American Airlines) began air mail & passenger service to Corpus Christi.
The American Airways plane was a 10-passenger Fairchild.
It landed at Corpus Christi on an afternoon flight from Brownsville.
When it took off for San Antonio, the plane was carrying 360 pounds of mail,
inaugurating regular air-mail service for Corpus Christi.
Maus left as airport manager in 1934 to take a job with Braniff Airways.
He was killed soon afterwards when his plane crashed in a thick fog on the outskirts of Fort Worth.
After his death, the City Council voted to change the name of the airport to Cliff Maus Municipal Airport.
Braniff began flying out of Corpus Christi in 1935 with a six-passenger Lockheed Vega.
Later that spring, it switched to a 10-passenger Lockheed Electric on its Dallas-Brownsville flight.
The following year, Braniff added a Corpus Christi-Houston flight.
Eastern Air Lines began flying out of Corpus Christi in 1939.
Cliff Maus Airport, as depicted on the July 1943 Corpus Christi Sectional Chart (courtesy of David Brooks).
David Brooks recalled, "I flew in & out of there several times on Braniff & Trans Texas before it was shut down.
It was small from my recollections, the 'long' runway being only about 4,000 ft.
I had a Braniff pilot friend who flew to Corpus Christi
and he complained about its small size; he flew Convair 340s.
The terminal building was very small, each carrier had about 10 feet of counter space.
Eastern, Braniff and Trans Texas were the only carriers & there were less than 20 flights per day."
In 1947, the city of Corpus Christi assumed operation of Cuddihy Field, a former WW2 Navy airfield.
Cuddihy competed with Cliff Maus, and the city considered enlarging Cuddihy & making it the city's major airport.
Many private aircraft moved to Cuddihy after 1947.
A 1949 view of a DC-3 at in front of a hangar at Cliff Maus Field (courtesy of Steve Cruse).
The 1949 Corpus Christi Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
described Cliff Maus Airport as having a 4,500' hard-surface runway & a control tower.
Victor Gonzalez recalled, “I was 4 years old when we moved to Airport Road & Navajo Street.
The landing / take-off patterns were right over our rooftops.
Those Convairs, DC-3s, DC-6s shook our old house on a daily basis.
At night, when there was a prevailing southern wind, they would light up our yards with their powerful landing lights.
I spent most of my spare time at the airport visiting all the buildings,
from the check-in counters to the kitchens, the hangar, the Government small building (weather bureau).
I made friends with Leslie, a porter for Braniff Airways.
I would help him sweep the DC-3s and fit new white cloth seat protectors
for some fountain soft drinks served right out of the stainless steel food & drink containers on board.
I would spent days around the airport, and also wave 'bye'
to the pilots passing north on Airport road on their way home or to the Driscoll Hotel.”
Victor continued, “One of my biggest thrills was in October of 1952,
when campaigning Richard Nixon stopped by Corpus Christi on his leased Braniff Airways DC-6.
They cut the barbed wire fence at the end of the north runway next to airport road
and made a make-shift driveway for cars to go in to the airport near the runway.
School was let out half day & I went to see the speech this man gave from a wooden platform they had constructed.
Two beautiful Braniff stewardesses were waiting by the top of the stairs to the plane waiting there.
They invited me and a friend to sit in the pilot's seat...
From the captains' seat I could look down to Mr. Nixon speaking for Dwight Eisenhower.”
In the early 1950s, the need for a larger airport became evident;
there was not enough room to expand Cliff Maus.
The city began looking for a new location.
The Portland area was considered, but it was decided that this would conflict with the Navy's flight paths.
The city decided in 1955 to build a new airport in the Clarkwood area.
A 1960 photo of dignitaries boarding a DC-3 at Cliff Maus Field
for the short flight to the new Corpus Christi International Airport (courtesy of Steve Cruse).
Corpus Christi International Airport opened in 1960.
Mayor Ellroy King & Eastern Airlines President Eddie Rickenbacker were flown on a DC-3
for the short flight from Cliff Maus Field to the new Corpus Christi International Airport.
Cliff Maus Airport presumably closed after the opening of the new field.
Cliff Maus Airport was still depicted on the 1964 Corpus Christi Sectional Chart (courtesy of John Voss),
although it was labeled "closed".
The Aerodromes table on the chart described the field as having a total of 3 runways,
with the longest being a 4,503' asphalt runway.
In 1970, the Corpus Christi State School was opened,
built on 201 acres that formerly were the site of the Cliff Maus Airport.
Kent Dyer recalled, "I used to live in Corpus Christi, and worked at the Corpus Christi State School.
The story I hear is that as TDMHMR was building the State School,
it was hampered by constantly digging up tarmac.
To this day, if you want to plant a tree, they pull out the backhoe."
The remains of the 2 runways were still depicted along the southern end of the airport property in the 1975 USGS topo.
The remains of the 2 runways at the southeast end of the former airfield were still visible in the 2002 USGS aerial photo.
Several ball fields had been built among the remains of the runways.
A circa 2001-2005 aerial view looking north at the remains of 2 runways
at the site of Cliff Maus Airport.
Eric Patrick reported in 2006, “There are 3 hangars that are still sitting there,
but they are in quite a bit of disrepair.
I think the control tower is still standing too.”
The southern portion of the former airport is labeled "Airport Park" on recent street maps.
The site of Cliff Maus Airport is located southeast of the intersection of Old Brownsville Road & Airport Road,
appropriately enough.
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Aransas Pass Municipal Airport (O3R), Aransas Pass, TX
27.88 North / 97.12 West (Northeast of Corpus Christi)
Aransas Pass Airport, as depicted in the 1970 TX Airport Directory (courtesy of Ray Brindle).
Photo of the airfield while open has not been located.
This former airport may have been constructed at a Navy installation,
due to its close proximity of nearby port facilities
& the numerous other satellite airfields for nearby Corpus Christi Naval Air Station.
It is located adjacent to Corpus Christi Bay.
The date of construction of Aransas Pass Municipal is unknown.
It was apparently built at some point between 1949-63,
as it was not depicted at all on the 1949 San Antonio Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy).
The earliest reference to the airport which has been located is the 1963 TX Airport Directory,
which describes the field as having a 2,000' hard-surface runway.
The manager is listed as Paul Lomax, of the First State Bank.
By 1970, the runway had been slightly lengthened,
as the 1970 TX Airport Directory (courtesy of Ray Brindle)
depicted Aransas Pass as having a 3,200' asphalt Runway 15/33,
as well as a parallel taxiway & a ramp area on the northeast side of the runway.
The 1985 TX Airport Directory (courtesy of Steve Cruse) depicted the runway configuration as basically unchanged.
USGS aerial photo 1995.
According to local pilot Jeffery Sternberg,
Aransas Pass Airport was still an active municipal airport up to 1996.
It was closed sometime after that,
and the runway is now completely lined with trailer homes.
Aransas Pass was depicted as an abandoned airfield on the 1998 World Aeronautical Chart.
A circa 2001-2005 aerial view looking north at the former Aransas Pass Airport
showed the runway remained completely intact, lined with trailers.
A circa 2001-2005 aerial view looking east at the former terminal building / hangar
on the ramp of the former Aransas Pass Airport.
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Cuddihy Naval Auxiliary Air Station (KCUX), Corpus Christi, TX
27.72 North / 97.51 West (South of Corpus Christi International Airport, TX)
"(Navy) Cuddihy", as depicted on the July 1943 Corpus Christi Sectional Chart (courtesy of David Brooks).
This airfield was used during WW2 as one of 3 satellite fields for Corpus Christi NAS,
which conducted primary & advanced flight training for American cadets & those of several foreign countries.
The date of construction of Cuddihy Field has not been determined.
The earliest depiction of the field which has been located
was on the July 1943 Corpus Christi Sectional Chart (courtesy of David Brooks).
As built during WW2, the field consisted of four 5,000' asphalt runways,
a large paved ramp area on the north side with 3 large hangars,
and a housing area with a large number of buildings north of the hangars.
During WW2, Cuddihy had a total of 7 outlying fields.
A 1944 aerial view looking north at Cuddihy (National Archives photo).
Cuddihy was closed at an unknown date after WW2.
It was used for a few months in 1947 as the temporary campus
of the Arts & Technological College (later to become Texas A & M University at Corpus Christi).
In 1947, the city of Corpus Christi assumed operation of Cuddihy Field,
and it began to be used as a civil airport.
Most private aircraft were moved from Corpus Christi's Cliff Maus Airport to Cuddihy Field in 1947.
The 1949 Corpus Christi Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
described Cuddihy Field as having a 5,000' hard-surface runway & a control tower.
Cuddihy was listed among active airfields in the 1963 TX Airport Directory (courtesy of Steve Cruse),
which depicted the field as having 2 of the 4 original runways still maintained.
The operators were listed as Coastal States Aviation Inc & Coastal States Aircraft Corp.
At some point in the next 20 years, Cuddihy became a private airfield.
It was listed as such in the 1982 AOPA Airport Directory (courtesy of Ed Drury),
with a single 5,000' asphalt Runway 13/31.
The 1989 USGS topo map depicted Cuddihy Field as having one full-width runway (13/31),
whereas the former Runway 17/35 was shown as being considerably narrower than its original width.
A 1990 photo by John Voss of the 3 ex-Navy hangars which remain at Cuddihy.
As seen in the 1995 USGS aerial photo,
the ramp area is in very poor condition, but all 3 hangars are still standing.
Only one runway is still maintained (13/31, 5,000' long), but appears to be in poor condition.
The north/south runway still exists, in a similar state.
All of the east/west runway & most of the northeast/southwest runway have been broken up.
According to Jeffery Sternberg (who visited the site in 2001),
numerous small industrial buildings line the remaining active runway.
As of 2002, Cuddihy is still listed as an active private airfield,
although the "Owner" field in the Airport Facility Directory is blank.
A single aircraft is listed as being based at the field.
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Orange Grove Naval Auxiliary Landing Field (NOG), Alice, TX
27.9 North / 98.05 West (Northwest of Kingsville NAS)
NALF Orange Grove, as depicted on the 1964 Corpus Christi Sectional Chart (courtesy of John Voss).
This field was built to serve as a satellite airfield for nearby Kingsville & Corpus Christi Naval Air Stations.
According to Ken (who was stationed at NALF Orange Grove from early 1966 to the end of 1967),
“NALF Orange Grove was opened in 1957.
I looked in all the logs while on duty & to the best of my knowledge this is when it opened.”
The earliest depiction of Orange Grove which has been located
is the 1964 Corpus Christi Sectional Chart (courtesy of John Voss).
"NALF Orange Grove" was described as having a single 8,000' paved runway & a control tower.
Ken recalled, “I was a Navy Airman in the crash crew [from 1966-67].
While a minimum of 3 personnel were on duty at all times - no one lived on station.
Everyone lived in Alice, TX.
During Huricane Buella in 1967, sustained winds reached 126 miles / hour on station.
During a hot spell in summer 1967 operations were suspended for a day when the temperature was 112 degF.
The asphalt roll-offs following the concrete tough & go pads were too hot.
Just for fun, Navy & Marine Instructors would fly 'wheels up' below the tower's telephone line (about 25 feet high)
and the administration building just across from the tower.
An average of 21 enlisted personnel were assigned to this landing field at any one time during my duty years.
The highest ranking person on station was a Chief Petty Officer.”
Ken continued, “Operations were conducted by squadron instructors. Aviation officers in training were bussed in.
Day & night & carrier landings were simulated (touch & go) using the 'ball system' & later a fresnel lens system.
This took place from about 6:00 am to 11:00 pm.
Elapsed time between touchdowns was 12-15 seconds (non stop) group rotation.
An exception was when the carrier was in the Gulf for a training exercise.
Aircraft were Navy Grumman TF9J Cougars from Kingsville & Beeville.
No aircraft remained on station overnight unless it was not in condition to fly.
An S-2F is buried upside down, just after the roll-off of one runway (southern end).
The nose wheels & part of the landing gear were still exposed in 1967.
Remains of a crashed Cougar are buried in a pit north of the tower.”
A second runway was constructed at Orange Grove at some point between 1964-69,
as the July 1969 Brownsville Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
depicted the field as having 2 paved runways, with the longest being 8,000'.
USGS aerial photo 1995.
As of 2003, the airfield consisted of two 8,000' runways: 1/19 & 13/31,
and it is still used as a satellite airfield for NAS Kingsville & NAS Corpus Christi.
According to Naval Aviator Jeffery Sternberg,
Orange Grove is used mainly for jet touch & go training from Kingsville,
and for IFR training using its radar facility (it has a TACAN & PAR approach).
The field's Fire Department kitchen also makes a good breakfast for about $2.
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Rodd Naval Auxiliary Air Station, Corpus Christi, TX
27.65 North / 97.38 West (Southeast of Cabanis NOLF, TX)
"(Navy) Rodd", as depicted on the July 1943 Corpus Christi Sectional Chart (courtesy of David Brooks).
The federal government acquired 861 acres on this site in 1940,
and activated Rodd Field in 1941.
Rodd Field was used for Naval Cadet flight training
& as an auxiliary landing field for the nearby Naval Air Station Corpus Christi.
The airfield eventually consisted of a total of 4 paved 6,100' runways,
taxiways, a ramp area, 3 hangars, and a street grid with a total of 75 buildings.
The earliest depiction of the field which has been located
was on the July 1943 Corpus Christi Sectional Chart (courtesy of David Brooks).
During WW2, Rodd had a total of 4 outlying fields:
Rodd NOLF #10 (1 mile SSW of Aberdeen), of which no trace remains,
Rodd NOLF #11 (13 miles SSE of Aberdeen), of which no trace remains,
Rodd NOLF #25 (12 miles ESE of Bishop), of which no trace remains,
and Rockport NOLF (4.5 miles north of Rockport), which was reused as Aransas County Airport.
A 1944 aerial view looking northeast at Rodd Field (National Archives photo).
"NAAS Rodd" was still depicted as an active airfield
on the 1949 Corpus Christi Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy),
and was described as having a 5,100' hard-surface runway.
Rodd Field was closed at some point after 1949,
and was declared excess in 1958.
The General Services Administration sold portions of the property to several private parties in 1960.
GSA transferred 136 acres of the northern portion of the base to NASA in 1964,
which established the Texas Manned Space Flight Network Tracking Station at the site.
The Texas MSFN Tracking Station opened in 1967,
and was operated by the Bendix Field Engineering Corporation.
The station's administrative offices were located in one of the former Navy hangars,
referred to as the main operations building.
In addition to the administration offices, the hangar housed telemetry systems, command system,
computers, and other communications equipment.
Located about one mile south of the hangar was the VHF Acquisition Aid equipment.
The Unified S-Band system & power generating equipment were located a half mile north of the hangar.
During the Apollo Program, this Texas station acted as a remote station,
remoting telemetry data, tracking information, and voice communications to MCCH in Houston.
The station also acted as an uplink facility between the lunar vehicles & the MCCH Control Center.
By the time of the July 1969 Brownsville Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy),
the airfield at Rodd was no longer depicted at all.
The NASA facility was closed by 1974, at which point their property was transferred back to GSA.
The 1975 USGS topo map no longer depicted any runways on the property (just one remaining hangar),
and labeled the property as “NASA tracking facility”.
The Rodd property was conveyed in 1980 to the City of Corpus Christi, which built Bill Witt Park.
The park still exists today on that part of the property.
The 1984 USGS topo map labeled the property as “Radio facility”.
The City of Corpus Christi acquired 175 acres along the southern periphery of the airfield 1987-1988,
which became Oso Creek Park.
A 1990 photo by John Voss of the remaining hangar at NAAS Rodd.
A 1990 closeup by John Voss of the remaining hangar at NAAS Rodd.
USGS aerial photo 1995.
The outline of the southwest intersection of the runways is still barely discernable.
A recent photo by Jason Grant of the remaining hangar at Rodd.
A recent, starkly-beautiful photo by Jason Grant of the remaining hangar at Rodd.
A recent photo by Jason Grant of the wrecked interior of the remaining hangar at Rodd.
A visit to the site in 2001 by Jeffery Sternberg provided an update of the status of Rodd.
Most of the ramp area also still existed,
as well as one of the 3 hangars (which was in an advanced state of deterioration).
The street grid & a number of small concrete buildings still existed.
Most of the runways had been removed,
with the exception of an 800' segment of the east/west runway
(visible as a white line in the above aerial photo, north of the baseball diamonds),
which was currently used as a parking lot for the baseball fields.
The control tower remained, just south of the remaining runway segment.
A circa 2005 aerial photo looking north at the sole remaining hangar at Rodd.
From a set of circa 2005 aerial photos,
it appears as if Rodd's control tower was removed at some point between 2001-2005.
A 1996 Army Corps of Engineers report gives more details of Rodd.
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Cabaniss Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NGW), Corpus Christi, TX
27.7 North / 97.43 West (Southwest of Downtown Corpus Christi, TX)
"(Navy) Cabaniss", as depicted on the July 1943 Corpus Christi Sectional Chart (courtesy of David Brooks).
This field was built in 1941 as one of 3 satellite airfields for nearby Corpus Christi Naval Air Station,
which conducted primary & advanced flight training for American cadets & those of several foreign countries.
The earliest depiction which has been found of Cabaniss
was on the July 1943 Corpus Christi Sectional Chart (courtesy of David Brooks).
It depicted the field as “(Navy) Cabaniss”.
During WW2, Cabaniss had a total of 10 Outlying Landing Fields.
A 1943 aerial view looking east at Cabaniss Field (National Archives photo).
"NAAS Cabaniss" was still depicted as an active airfield
on the 1949 Corpus Christi Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy),
and was described as having a 5,000' hard-surface runway.
Cabaniss was evidently closed by the Navy at some point between 1949-64,
as the 1964 Corpus Christi Sectional Chart (courtesy of John Voss)
described the field as "permanently closed".
At some point after 1964, Cabaniss was reopened as a satellite airfield for Navy use.
“Cabaniss Field”, as depicted on the 1975 USGS topo map.
Seagulls shooting touch & go landings in front of the control tower & hangar at Cabiniss, 1984 (courtesy of Steve Cruse).
A 1990 photo by John Voss of a remaining hangar at Cabaniss.
USGS aerial photo circa 1990s.
On May 11, 1997 a Continental Airlines pilot misjudged the location of Corpus Christi International Airport
and landed his Boeing 737 on the Cabaniss airfield instead – 4.5 miles away from his intended destination.
“It essentially was pilot error & he landed on the wrong runway," said Continental spokesman Ray Scippa.
“It's unusual, obviously, but it's something that could happen & did.”
He said the jet, which took off from Houston with 59 people aboard, landed around 10:40am at Cabaniss Field.
The runway at Cabaniss is about 3,000' shorter than the strip at Corpus Christi International.
Passengers had to wait on the plane for almost 3 hours before buses arrived to take them to the right airport,
said Leah Godfrey, whose 9-year-old son, Stephen, was on the plane.
“The runway was all cracked, not as smooth as the airport runway we usually land on.
It looked funny, and it was bumpy,” said Stephen, a 4th-grader at Andrews Elementary School in Portland.
“After we landed, the stewardess told us to stay in our seats & that they had made a mistake.”
None of the people aboard Flight 1760 was hurt.
The 54 passengers & their luggage were taken by bus to the airport where they were supposed to have flown.
Another crew was sent to take the plane back to Houston, where Continental is based, Scippa said.
A Continental spokeswoman said the flight returned to Houston Intercontinental after 9 pm Sunday.
Scippa said the original crew of 5 members was pulled so the airline could conduct an internal investigation.
“The pilot has said that he thought he was lined up with the right airfield,”
said Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Roland Herwig, who is based in Oklahoma City.
“But the reason is still under investigation.”
He said the investigation will include interviews with the pilot, air traffic controllers and dispatchers.
The National Transportation Safety Board also will investigate.
As of 2003, a total of 4 runways still remained at Cabaniss.
Runways 13/31 & 17/35 were still operational (both 5,000'), and Runway 13/31 was lighted.
Cabaniss had an active tower, and it was used primary for multi-engine day & night touch & go's.
A circa 2005 aerial photo looking south at the 2 remaining hangars at Cabaniss -
showing the very poor condition of the facilities.
A circa 2005 aerial photo looking east at Cabaniss's control tower & fire department -
both of which appear to be of relatively recent construction.
A 2007 photo by Jesse O'Neal of the sign for the “Marine Corporation Cabaniss Inc.” which sits in front of an abandoned Cabaniss hangar.
Jesse O'Neal reported in 2007, “I am an air traffic controller.
I spend most of my days at either field [Waldron & Cabaniss] working traffic or playing cards, depending on workload.
About 6 months ago I ventured into the hangers at Cabaniss, it was really neat.
The paintings were still on the walls from years ago, when it was a schoolhouse,
all paintings had a 'pay attention in class' theme.”
A 2007 photo by Jesse O'Neal of the interior of an abandoned Cabaniss hangar.
A 2007 photo by Jesse O'Neal of the interior of an abandoned Cabaniss hangar.
A 2007 photo by Jesse O'Neal of mural of an A-1 Skyraider inside an abandoned Cabaniss hangar.
A 2007 photo by Jesse O'Neal of looking outward from one abandoned Cabaniss hangar toward another.
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Waldron Naval Outer Landing Field, Corpus Christi, TX
27.64 North / 97.32 West (South of Downtown Corpus Christi, TX)
"(Navy) Waldron", as depicted on the July 1943 Corpus Christi Sectional Chart (courtesy of David Brooks).
Waldron was built as a satellite airfield in 1943 for nearby Corpus Christi Naval Air Station.
The earliest depiction of the field which has been located
was on the July 1943 Corpus Christi Sectional Chart (courtesy of David Brooks).
A 1944 aerial view looking southeast at Waldron Field (National Archives photo).
It depicted the field as having 4 paved runways, large ramps, and 2 large hangars.
A WW2-era matchbook cover from Waldron Field (courtesy of Steve Cruse).
During WW2, Waldron had an outlying field, Waldron NOLF #14 (12 miles SSE of Aberdeen).
"Waldron" was still depicted as an active airfield
on the 1949 Corpus Christi Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy),
and was described as having a 5,000' hard-surface runway.
Waldron was evidently closed at some point between 1949-64,
as it was labeled "Aband airport" on the 1964 Corpus Christi Sectional Chart (courtesy of John Voss).
However, the field was brought back into limited use by the Navy at some point between 1964-69
as an Outlying Field for NAS Corpus Christi,
as "OLF Waldron (Navy)" was once again depicted as an active airfield
on the July 1969 Brownsville Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The 1989 USGS topo map depicted Waldron Field as having 4 paved runways.
Both hangars had evidently been removed at some point between 1944-89.
A 1990 photo by John Voss of a Navy T-34C Turbo Mentor at Waldron.
The 1995 USGS aerial photo shows that 2 of Waldron's runways are still maintained (with the primary runway being 5,000'),
while 2 others have been abandoned but are still discernible.
According to Naval Aviator R.E. Hight (LTjg, USNR), Waldron is still used as a NOLF for NAS Corpus Christi, as of 2001.
No squadrons are based there, but T-34s use the field to practice touch & go's.
A circa 2005 aerial photo looking north at Waldron's control tower -
which appears to be of relatively recent construction.
Circa 2005 aerial photos show that the only buildings located along Waldron's ramp
are the control tower & a small metal building for the fire department,
both of which appear to be of relatively recent construction.
No trace remains of the 2 large hangars which occupied the ramp area during WW2.
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