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Santa Monica Airport (IATA: SMO, ICAO: KSMO, FAA
LID: SMO), also known as Santa Monica Municipal Airport,
is a general aviation airport located largely in Santa Monica,
California, United States. The airport is located about 2 miles (3 km)
from the Pacific Ocean (Santa Monica Bay) and 6 miles (10 km) north of
LAX. According to the FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems
for 2009–2013, it is categorized as a reliever airport.
History
Originally called Clover Field, after World War I aviator lieutenant
Greayer "Grubby" Clover, the airport was the home of the Douglas
Aircraft company. The first circumnavigation of the world by air,
accomplished by the U.S. Army with Douglas World Cruisers, took off from
Clover Field on St. Patrick's day, March 17, 1924, and returned there
after some 28,000 miles (45,000 km). Cloverfield Boulevard—which
confuses the field's naming for a crop of green rather than a fallen
soldier—is a remnant of the airport's original name. Clover Field was
once the site of the Army's 40th Division Aviation, 115th Observation
Squadron and became a Distribution Center after World War II. Among
other important aircraft built there, Douglas manufactured the entire
Douglas Commercial "DC" series of reciprocating-engine-powered
airliners, DC-1 (a prototype), DC-2, DC-3, DC-4, DC-5 (only 12 built),
DC-6, and DC-7. During World War II, Bolo B-18 and B-18A bombers and
thousands of C-47 (military version of the DC-3) and C-54 (later the
civilian DC-4) military transports were built at Santa Monica, during
which time the airport area was cleverly disguised from the air with the
construction of a false "town" (built with the help of Hollywood
craftsman) suspended atop it.
1950s aerial view looking west
On May 19, 1938, at the request of Santa Monica Postmaster Philip T.
Hill (father of race car driver Phil Hill), Joanne Reid (later Jackson)
became the first woman to fly the U.S. Mail from Clover Field to Burbank
Airport (LAX -- then known as Mines Field -- was not yet the area's main
airport) as part of National Air Mail week. She was 22. She was born in
Detroit, MI on November 8, 1915 and moved to Santa Monica with her
family as a young girl. After accompanying a friend in his family's
plane, she became hooked on flying and began taking flying lessons at
Clover Field when she was 16.
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