Lincoln Regional Airport / Karl Harder Field

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Location / Airway

Location / Name

CALIFORNIA:  Placer County

Lincoln Regional Airport
AKA Karl Harder Field

GPS: 38.904830, -121.343533

Contract Air Mail

CAM #8 Los Angeles CA-Seattle WA
San Francisco-Seattle airway
San Francisco-Redding Section

Operator

Observations and Notes

The airfield was constructed in 1942 by the U.S. Army Air Corps.  At the time, the airfield was known as Lincoln Auxiliary Field - Mather Flying School and its primary use was to provide a location for emergency landings and training.  In 1946 the City of Lincoln was granted a permit to operate a municipal airport on the site. 

This beacon was used by the early airmail pilots to fly their planes over "The Hump" as the route from Reno to San Francisco was commonly called.  It was located on Contract Air Mail Route No. 18 at site No. 11B in Colfax, and moved to it's current location about 1965.  According to Tony Lattuca, airport manager, the original beacon light was replaced just a few years ago, after it stopped working.  The had to exchange it to get the current beacon, which is similar to the original.  This beacon light operates from dusk to dawn daily.

Contributors Photos

Courtesy of Tony Lattuca-Airport Manager 2015

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Links

Sky Vector Airport information

Lincoln Regional Airport website, Lincoln, CA.

The airfield was constructed in 1942 by the U.S. Army Air Corps to serve as an auxiliary training field for B-25 bombers during World War II. At the time, the airfield was known as Lincoln Auxiliary Field - Mather Flying School. The original airport operations were conducted from the west side of the airport and remnants of the old military barracks remain today. 

Lincoln Auxiliary Field History

Established in 1942, the former Lincoln Auxiliary Field was built as an auxiliary airfield for the Army Air Forces' Advanced Flying School at Mather Field near Sacramento. The primary use of the Site was to provide a location for emergency landings and general training in support of operations at Mather Field. The Site was built to a standard design consisting of three 4,000-feet runways arranged in a triangle, with a fourth runway (3,463-feet) bisecting the triangle. 

Auburn Journal Friday Feb 07 2014
18_11B SF-SL Colfax

Beacon in Colfax in 1924 ....recalled the tower ending up at Lincoln Airport about 1965.

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