Black Rock Desert Gunnery Range

"An undated list of Gunnery Range and Target Area Releases Since World War II by the Twelfth Naval District (12ND) states that the North Range (Lovelock North) of the Lovelock Aerial Gunnery Range consists 676,758 acres of Public Lands and 41,241.34 acres of patented lands. The land was granted to the DoD from the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management(BLM) in a letter dated 13 January 1945. No records pertaining to the usage of this property from 1945 until 1949 were found. A letter Permit from the Department of the Interior dated 22 September 1949 granted 272,000 of the 718,000 acres to the DoD revoking the remaining 446,000 acres, stating that the 272,000 "is all that is available to the Navy." The DoD renamed the 272,000 acres to Black Rock Desert Gunnery Range." (FUDS Site Summary)

The Engle Act of 1958 (Public Law 85-337,H. R. 5538) is "An Act to provide that withdrawals, reservations, or re strictions of more than five -thousand acres of public lands of the United States for certain purposes shall not become effective until approved by Act of Congress, and for other purposes."

However, the act states "nothing in sections 1, 2, or 3 of this Act shall be deemed to be applicable" to "naval gunnery ranges in the State of Nevada designated as Basic Black Rock and Basic Sahwave Mountain."

Elko Sectional Chart Restrictions 1956

No.	Name	Activity	Controlling Agency	Altitude	Time
R-266	Black Rock Desert	Air-to-Air Gunnery, Rocket, Bombing and Photo Flash Bombs	COMNABS 12	To 60,000	1 hr. before sunrise to 1 hr. after sunset, except Sundays
				To 15,000	1 hr. after sunset to 0100, except Sunday
R-430	Sahwave Mountains	Air-to-Air Gunnery	COMNABS12	Unltd.	Unltd.

See Also

• History
• World War II

External Resources

• Wikipedia
• Loomis, David (1993). "Combat zoning: military land-use planning in Nevada"
• Corpsfuds, Site Survey Summary Sheet for DERP FUDS Site No. J09NV1115 Lovelock North Gunnery Range
• Corpsfuds, Real Property Report. p. 184 is an April 2, 1959 article from the Lovelock Review Miner about use of the range.
• "History of Use for Roads in the Jackson Mountain Area, Nevada," p. 73.
• Jerome E. Edwards, "Pat McCarran: Political Boss of Nevada," Letter about 5,800 acres being set aside. The actual amount was as much a 700,000 acres.
• Derrel S. Fulwider, "From Resource Management to People Management: Reflections of a Federal Land Manager," p 5-7, Winter-Spring 1986, The Humboldt Historian. Discussion of DeLong Ranch and the Gunnery Range.
• Robert K. Wilcox, "First Blue: The Story of World War II Ace Butch Voris and the Creation of the Blue Angels," p. 256 mentions returning from the Black Rock Desert Gunnery Range and having problems landing at Fallon.
• Bureau of Mines, "Red Butte Mining District," Information Circular, Issues 8246-8252, 1964 The Red Butte Mining District is within the Black Rock Gunnery Range.
• The Engle Act (BLM)

Historical Resources

• Pershing County Road Map, 1954
• Nell Murbarger, "Navy Land Grab in Nevada's Black Rock Country," October 1956, Desert Magazine.
• Serial Set Vol. No. 11901, Session Vol. No.5 84th Congress, 2nd Session H.Rpt. 2856. July 21, 1956 "Title: Providing that withdrawals or reservations of more than 5,000 acres of public lands of the United States for certain purposes shall not become effective until approved by act of Congress. July 21, 1956. -- Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed."
• Reno Evening Gazette, "Navy Helicopter Down in Humboldt" October 3, 1957. A helicopter went down near in the Jackson Creek area.
• Desert Magazine, "Here and There on the Desert," October, 1958. The Navy conducted firing practice for the first time since the end of WWII over the Basic Sahwave air-to-air gunnery range. Is this south of the Black Rock Desert Gunnery Range?. The source is given as the Lovelock Review Miner.
• Elko Sectional Chart," 1959, UNLV. Information about restrictions for the ranges.

Possible Sources for Maps

• FAA FAQ: How can I get out-of-date charts for collecting, historical or litigation purposes?
• U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, "Sectional aeronautical chart," 1956-66. Index Map
• U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, "Sectional aeronautical chart," 1956-66.
• Klamath Falls (V-1) Sectional Aeronautical Chart 1944
• Klamath Falls (V-1) Sectional 1951 on Ebay does not cover the Gunnery Range.
• Klamath Falls Aeronautical Chart 1956 Probably does not cover the Gunnery Range.
• Elko Sectional Chart 1948
• Elko Sectional Chart 1953 - Map sold on Ebay appears to have the Gunnery Range indicated.
• Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields: Northwest Nevada
• Reno sectional aeronautical chart, 1963.