11/7/23 I'm here to pay my respects to these magnificent structures. Unfortunately we lost one of our hangars today due to a devastating fire. My Grandfather was a helicopter pilot stationed here and my Grandma worked here as well. I enjoyed the privilege of having many fond memories of my youth at MCAS Tustin. Thank you to all who served here 🇺🇲
I'm devastated by the fire , I grew up on that base from 1963 to 1975 , my father was stationed there the year I was born , I was in tears watching it on the news , I have to go there tomorrow to see for myself
I am right there wity you, but as an admirer from the outside- It was an impressive sight to see as a child, passing along the road outside of the fence...
So sad, one has burned today 11-7-23. I went there with my dad to see Blue Angel air shows as a kid. Those buildings took my breath away at there massive size. They are in my memory of great days with my dad. 🙏❤️
I grew up on that base from 1963 to 1975 my father was stationed there the year I was born , he served 30 years in the Marines with 3 tours in Vietnam, I had a great childhood growing up there , and I am in tears with the recent fire in the north hanger , so much history being lost , it's so devastating to see
My dad was stationed there in 1945! We actually took him to a Marine Corps Ball in the 70s. I asked the commanding officer if he could meet my dad. He announced him to the crowd after dinner and shook his hand. What a great memory. Just one of many I could tell about.
One of my Marine Corps buddies went on to become a CH-46 pilot, and I was able to visit him while he was stationed at MCAS Tustin. He showed me around the hangar and helo. It was a short visit, but those dirigible hangars were quite impressive! This was around 1990, and the CH-46 squadron was HMM-161.
My Grandfather, Edward “Kelly” Schelvan worked on building these massive and impressive structures back in WWII. He was a skilled carpenter, so when the government put a man on a project like these, they were frozen on that project until the government said you could leave. It was because of the shortage of able bodied men taken by the military for the war. I’m proud of my Grandpa! 🫡🇺🇸
I was stationed here in 1975. I returned in 1982, and left my 12 year service in 1990 from here. I will always cherish the times I spent at this station.
My dad was a WWII Vet. When traveling in California, we would stop at various bases. Tustin was just one. 😊 You might be able to imagine that I was there as a child on this great expanse of land. There is nothing in view anywhere but the two GIGANTIC hangers.❤❤ Then, two months ago, I got off the freeway, and BAM there they were. But all these buildings are around then.😢 Then heard heard on the news that one burned and is still burning. They believe it may take a few days to stop the fire. 😢😢😢 How did it start? 😮😢
@@Charles_Anthony Hi Charles, unfortunately and saddened to say, I agree. After all these years then as more questions arise about if the Navy and US Government need to keep them both. I'm shaking my head in disbelief. Something similar has happened her in San Diego and in other parts of our country. The explanations are useless and I REALLY don't want to hear it. The last remaining Ryan Aircraft wood hanger that stood for so many years at the southern end of Lindberg Field where so many aircraft came into existence ... it just, somehow was "mistakenly" demolished. This may have been one of the hangers in which part if not all of the Spirit of St. Louis was built. All the other buildings were sacrificed many years ago and then the last building "accidentally" ... BS!!!!!! The buildings don't need to be military either. We watched from our side balcony as the Aerospace Museum and then The original Old Globe burned down here in San Diego burned to the ground taking with it the ORIGINAL Spirit of St. Louis!!! and other unreplaceable aircraft and history. Read for yourself - www.sandiego.gov/fire/about/majorfires/1978balboa This is soooo sickening!
I served on that base from '81 to '84. I worked in hangar 2 on the CH 46 GE engines. I always used to marvel at the size of those hangars. How could that have happened to hangar 1? 😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢 Sometimes life totally sucks.
Too bad that some people think that these structures should be knocked down.Let’s keep these beautiful structures up! As a young kid I would ride my bike n just look through the fence to see the helicopters n Marines. They are the reason why I serviced 22 years in the military! Thank you big monster structures for what you have done!
I grew up on this base in the early 80's It was an amazing time. you could walk through on the weekends and the marines would show you the helicopters. It was a different time. Very cool
Wow that’s amazing, i can only imagine how it was back then I just went recently and it’s all closed off and overgrown, I couldn’t get inside anything though they boarded it all off pretty good.
@@Momeykid78they did indeed. Housing and barracks, commissary, chapel, barber, clubs. A self contained village like all US bases around the world. It was a great place to be stationed. I was there 86-90.
Saw the news of one of them burning today, hopefully this can secure the efforts for the preservation of the second one. Amazing history though, didn't know they were built out of wood. Wouldn't mind seeing it in person someday.
@@sharksport01: If it existed, which we cannot confirm, they were probably smaller than the Hanger. I've seen it up close and, if you could turn.that hanger upside down, it would easily fit every animal in the world. They're that huge.
I will always have fond memories of my time spent in both Hangers and watching the Huey cobra fly from one end through to the other at about 5 feet off the ground .
I used to drive by this base every day on the way to work as did my father (RIP) before me. My respects go out to the makers of this video as it seems to have been made with love.
My Dad briefly took me inside one of these buildings when I was a kid in the 1970s. He was a retired Marine Corps pilot. The building seemed immense from the inside. My Mom told me one time they went to a Marine Corps Birthday Ball in one of these hangars. She said it was drafty. So sorry to see that one has burned down.
Great video! I served there only 3 months at the end of 1977 with HMM-161. I had just finished boot camp and was sent there for OJT in the Com-Nav shop. There wasn't any room at my A school in Millington, TN, so the Corps sent me to Tustin. Looking back, it was a thrill to be able to work in Hanger 1. I eventually ended up at El Toro, VMFP-3, Com-Nav.
I remember these hangers in 1977 when I was in the USMC. I was with WTS-37 and briefly stationed at this air station. I was with WTS-37 formerly WERS-37 and attended a driving school for the heavy vehicles here. The class rooms were at the base of the hanger. I remember how massive the hanger doors were. Our class would drive 6x6 trucks out from the base up and out into the Santiago Canyon area. So much fun. The mess hall at Tustin was rather good. The barracks nice. Easy walk out to Red Hill Ave. I miss my fellow Marine buddies, we had a good time while at Tustin. Great memories. The hangers were used for helicopter maintenance by the various squadrons. Being sent to Tustin was a nice break from MCAS El Toro and 29 Palms.
On my way to boot in Dan Diego our bus passed Tustin just as a pair of phantoms were taking off. Needless to say a huge cheer went up and the bus rocked with enthusiasm! Truly a patriotic moment for all of us.
I was stationed there 83-85 in Crash Crew. The little house he was talking about was built by my OIC a year before I arrived. This was built for crash crew to have a place to rest during our 24 and 48 hr shifts. It was built entirely from old railroad ties. I unfortunately forgot my OIC's name.
I was stationed there at the same time you were but I was a CH46/CH53 structures mech attached to TME-32. Grand memories of working in those hangars every day.
My dad was a U.S. Marine long ago and on one weekend morning he took me into the base where those majestic hangers stood. He took me into one and to a little lad that I was at the time, it was the biggest building that I had ever been in. It was later told to me of their use during their lives of serving our country so proudly. I was saddened when their recent untimely destruction had occurred..
I went thru Tustin in 1985 while waiting a school seat for aviation maintenance during the Reagan rebuild. I remember in some days we could get small clouds and misting inside the hangars. I was a shadow to just about any of the Marines who needed a third hand with HMH-465 Avionics shop. It is a shame what is happening to the old bases, they are just disappearing after better than a half century of existence. In El Toro they are naming thenew park as The Great Park rather than as Cold War Memorial, or something more historical and marking a set of historical lessons to be learned. I left service in 1997 and got out of that state and have never looked back, but I have many good memories of my time there.
I was stationed there '85-88 while in HMM-268. I was one of the those who climbed to the top (inside) but I didn't think to carve my name. I got caught and had to spend the week mowing around hangar 2. Got some interesting pictures though!
I grew up in OC, first living in Tustin in the early 70s. I had a view from my bedroom of the hangers. Used to watch helicopters coming and going. Was just back in OC and drove by the hangers. It was odd to see them surrounded by so much development. When I inquired why the hangers had not been sold to developers the understanding was the asbestos in the buildings. My first thought on hearing about this fire is someone came up with a "solution".
I was stationed in Hanger 2 in 1986 as a Marine, working on CH-53 helicopters. Often clouds would roll in if the hanger was open and it would even rain inside. Sad that they weren’t better maintained. Often the Goodyear blimps would come in for a few days.
I was stationed at ElToro in 1970 and lived a short distance from the this base which we referred to it as LTA (Lighter Than Air). I would see these hangers everyday on my way to my base. It was a fond memory of my time in California. A few years ago as I was driving along the Oregon and as I passed thru Tellamook I saw a hanger and read about how they too had two hangers like these at Tustin and unfortunately one of those hangers burned down. Now as I heard the news about this hanger burning it saddens me to see our history disappearing.
Beautiful history and craftsmanship, just snuck onto the property yesterday and it was amazing, everything is closed off but you can still look around at all the old buildings it’s pretty dope and they have these tiger paintings on the side of the hangars which are pretty dope
@@matthewalex8579: There's only a little chain link fence protecting these world landmarks which is why an arsonist was able to torch the north hanger.
I was in the marines in the early 1980's and traveled there to the hangars once, in walking into the building the sheer size expanse across the enclosed interior was really amazing, there really was no actual reference to size or depth, it was something along the lines of vertigo, in looking at the roof from inside, it defied visual perception, and it seemed to just go on and on, the group that I was there with had to get our work done so there wasn't much time for a tour, one does not experience such a thing and come away unchanged.
I use to play golf at Pacific Grove in the 60s as a kid. At that time, revenants of WWII bunkers were still in the dunes of the golf course as lookout positions. I grew up in Santa Ana from 57 to 75. The hangers were a fixture during that time as a Helicopter airfield.
I was a member of HMM-166 for a number of years and have fond memories of my time working in these hangers. It was heart breaking to have one burn down. 😢
My father has a long history with those hangars starting his career as a Marine aviator in the late 50’s and launched three tours in Vietnam with HMM165 then later as CO of HMT-301. I spent many afternoons as a kid doing my homework in the ready room and learning cuss words from the squadron parrot Hawkeye. My father filed all the necessary paperwork and pushed it all the way up command to congress to have the hangars listed as historical buildings probably the only reason they are still there. Sad day to see one burn down and my guess is developer arson.
@@u4riahsc: You don't need to see the pattern to recognize arson. There's a lot more shady stuff going on in the world than this, but this is right in front of our collective faces and they want to pretend it just magically caught fire when it hasn't had power in decades.
NeonTyler Folf : Me neither keep those hangers they’re precious! Don’t let the bureaucrats have their way! That goes for the hanger up at Moffett Field as well! hangar number one and the two “Tustin type” hangers next to it!
@@jeffbroders9781 and they gave every excuse not to fight the fire , there are high rise buildings that catch fire and they fight those fire, There's a developer that wants that property , we will know the truth if they develop and start buildings on that property, it's worth millions
So sad to see what has happened, I'm from Canada, and only got to visit this hangar once but I was incredibly impressed with its size, it was amazing to see. I will never lose that memory of it!
This was my home.. MCAS Tustin,/LTA Base. From: Feb1974-Jun1977. When I first arrive. Myself, work at "MAG-16, S-3 OPS, Group Level. On Thursdays.. The Marine Corps band would come over from "El Toro" to play. We would go out front to hear the band. In what we called, Music appreciation. Then down to the Squadron level. With, HMM-163,S-3 OPS. The Chow-Hall was good. I live in the old Barracks first couple years. Then to the new ones at the time. I like it better cause you are a lot closer to town. Then "El Toro".
I was granted many escorts with your squadron, I dont't remember which had the blown rear transmission over lake tahoe,, but what a ride, and zero complaint. .. ruined my favorite parka... ;) {mag-16 mabs-16 com sec, really hated morse cord
Was a US Naval Sea Cadet attending the Naval Reserve Center south of these on USMCAS Tustin 1966-1972. In 1968 I was receiving a plaque for setting 5 of 7 Marine Physical Readiness Test (PRT) records. Was being presented by Helicopter Colonel Huntington base CO who had a foot recovering from a Viet Kong bullet. A pilot had been sent over for him to chew out who had just flown a double rotor Chinook Helo through one of the hangars. My plaque would wait as I waited outside the open door. He chewed on the pilot loudly and then leaned forward to his ear and said, “And I wish I’d done that when I arrived.” I grinned. He came out realizing I’d heard it all, and presented the plaque both of us still smiling for the camera.
The roof on part of one them partial caved in a few years ago. Hoping they keep the other intact and preserved. I now they use the good one for food festivals, car shoots and 5k's. I think making one into an indoor garden/recreation area would be fantastic. The problem with SoCal is they don't preserve much, they demotion and forget. Meanwhile most east coast states preserve and reuse fairly well.
So sad to see this video but great memories at the same time. It is a shame what the Irvine Company has done to the history of MCAS Tustin. Developers win again.
@@offgrid.Are they posted anywhere? I climbed the ladders back in the late 80’s, lots of barn owls at the top! They were good pigeon control, owls and the hawks.
My father was stationed at Santa Anna Army Air Force ( and later Air Force) Base in 1942, 2 years before I was born. In 1965 when I was in the Marines, it was a Marine corps helicopter air station. Later, I heard it became John Wayne Airport.
My squadron, HMM-163 was in Hangar 2 before we deployed to Futemna for six months in 1983. After we returned we were in Hangar 1 until we went Westpac in 85. Very fond memories of both hangars. Sadden to witnessed it burn on that horrible morning.
Grew up not more than 5 miles from there I remember the last time I was there inside the hangers when still operated by the Marine base during an airshow early 1989 before I moved out of state.
They should survey all of Southern California. Those LTA bases need to stay! What’s wrong with two blimp bases coming down so we can build more houses? We’ve already destroyed all the orchards , bean fields and strawberry fields. We old timers aren’t all dead yet! I remember great air shows there. Many Marine Corps Balls were held at El Toro. How sad to see the great park covering the jet landing strips ! I remain staunch in our desire to preserve both . Even though the houses and shopping centers are slowly creeping in! Let us always remember our men in arms! ❤
Fast forward to 22:40 of this video to see what the Asst City Manager of Tustin said at the time this video was created about the future plans for the site. Doesn't seem like 1 of them burning down today was an accident. 🧐
Recall an avionics tech.....Chris Difiglia ? We both reported to El Toro at the same time (4th of July 1979). I stayed at El Toro in RF4B Phantom II squadron...he got helicopters, shop on airfield side...maybe 232...HE called Two Thirty Screw. We rotated overlapped tours in early '80s, and I rarely had chance to visit shop in hangars.
too sad to hear about the fire - my dad was stationed in Lakehurst and remember one of their hangers and the size was daunting. the helicopters of HC2 flew in and he was there for the maintenance of those birds hope they keep the one thats left -
When I checked in there it was MCAS (H) Santa Ana, 77-84, Fantastic times, Wouldn't trade them for Anything. Currently working on the CH-53K to get them to the Fleet. Semper Fi.
I climbed to the top of one of those in 1972 by way of the zig zagging rafters when I was stationed there in the Marines, Helicopter Squadron HMH-363. The bad influence that talked me into it started throwing fire crackers off the top.. Needless to say I got out of there, slowing descending through the rafters as not to alert the sentry that was on guard duty way down below. I was a young 17 year old PFC and could have gotten into a lot of trouble, but was not caught. One of those was used in the filming of the Hindenburg, with George C. Scott, while I was stationed there in 1974, HMM-161. They burned a replica of the blimp to duplicate the crash for the movie on the LTA base not far from those hangars.
I thought at least one of them would be turned into an indoor sports facility (soccer, football) for the community kids. These are great buildings that should be preserved. I remember seeing the plans for the neighborhood that was to be built when I worked at a local print shop in Irvine. Then the housing market crashed in 2008 and everything stalled.
Lived in Tustin 15 years not far from the hangers. Hear one burned down and the fire department did not do much to put the fire out. Irvine company wants to clear the old base to make more housing. Hope the other one survives.
It's so sad how these historic structures were recently engulfed in flames and collapsed...I live like 10 miles away from those Hangars in Mission Viejo.
there was a substation base south of SANAS LTA at were Corona Del Mar Highschool and Eastbluff sit today. Had 2 revetments for K blimps as an emergency airfield
While stationed at MCAS El Toro(1983-1987) we would come over to Tustin to play basketball at night in the hangar and run the Volksloff run on base. My Captain was married in the base chapel and I was in his wedding.
Amazing structure, designed by an Armenian engineer, and a landmark for Tustin. Wish we could actively use it? Sports facilities, concerts? What about the Summer Olympics coming to Los Angeles? If we could ensure it's a safe, healthy building we could restore and save it. I know they used asbestos to fire proof it and i hope that can be isolated or removed. It's important to preserve our heritage instead of tearing down and rebuilding, wasting precious raw material. In Europe, the buildings are 100's of years old, with tall ceilings, and simply refitted with modern plumbing, elevators, and appliances. The walls are a foot thick, insulating and noise reducing. We should aim to build well and preserve more in the US also.