Mather Air Force Base
Mather Air Force Base
 Mather Field |
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| Part of Air Training Command (ATC) | |
| Sacramento County, California | |
2006 USGS airphoto
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 Mather AFB
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| Coordinates | 38°33′14″N 121°17′51″W / 38.55389°N 121.29750°WCoordinates: 38°33′14″N 121°17′51″W / 38.55389°N 121.29750°W |
| Type | Air Force Base |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by | United States Air Force |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1918 |
| In use | 1918–1993 |
| Battles/wars |
 World War I  World War II |
| Garrison information | |
| Garrison | 323d Flying Training Wing |
Mather Air Force Base (Mather AFB) was a United States Air Force Base, which was closed in 1993. It was located 12 miles (19 km) east of Sacramento, on the south side of U.S. Route 50 in Sacramento County, California. Mather Field was one of 32 Air Service training camps established after the United States entry into World War I in April 1917.
The Mather AFB land has various post-military uses including Sacramento Mather Airport, established in 1995. Some of the land was included in the City of Rancho Cordova, when it was incorporated in 2003.
Mather Air Force Base was named after Second Lieutenant Carl Spencer Mather, a 25-year-old army pilot killed in a mid-air collision while training at Ellington Field, Texas on January 30, 1918. Mather learned to fly in 1914 at the Curtiss Flying School in Hammondsport, New York, and became an instructor there at the age of 20. He enlisted as an aviation cadet in August 1917 and as a licensed pilot was commissioned with part of his class as a second lieutenant on 20 January 1918. He continued training to earn a Reserve Military Aviator rating and promotion to first lieutenant but was killed ten days later. The remainder of his class requested that Mills Field be renamed in Mather's honor.
In January 1918, the Department of War sent a cadre of officers to the Sacramento, California area to survey sites for an aviation school. The group decided on a location about 12 miles southeast of Sacramento called Mills Station. An agreement to lease the land to the Army was concluded, and the construction of some 50 buildings began on 15 March 1918. Mills Field, named after the local community was opened on 30 April 1918. It covered over 700 acres and could accommodate up to 1,000 personnel. Dozens of wooden buildings served as headquarters, maintenance, and officers’ quarters. Enlisted men had to bivouac in tents. Mather Field's first commander was 1st Lieutenant Sam P. Burman, who assumed command on 15 March 1918. The first unit stationed there was the 283d Aero Squadron, which was transferred from Rockwell Field, North Island, California.
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