History
HOW IT ALL BEGAN...
In the early fall of 1944, as a result of America's accelerated missile program, it became evident that a land range somewhere in the United States would be required so missiles could be test fired and recovered after flight for further study. These studies would provide data to aid in the development of future missiles for military application. A group of specially-selected officers and civilians representing the War Department and the Corps of Engineers visited all sites designated as "possible." One area, in the Tularosa Basin of southern New Mexico, fit the bill. It would eventually become White Sands Proving Ground (WSPG).
In a Real Estate Directive dated Feb. 8, 1945, the seeds for WSPG were sown. This document declared the area to be of military necessity. The majority of selected land which would make up WSMR was already under the control of the War Department. It was comprised of Fort Bliss Antiaircraft Firing Range, Dona Ana Target Range, Castner Target Range and Alamogordo Army Air Field's Alamogordo Bombing Range.
In addition to acreage controlled by the Army, other public domain and private lands would be added in the following years to comprise the new proving ground.
Work at the desert site began in June 1945, as buildings and roads were constructed from plans prepared two months earlier. Since the prevailing attitude was that WSMR would only be a short-term project, temporary buildings, such as old Civilian Conservation Corps structures and a hanger were moved here from Sandia Base in Albuquerque, N.M. An Army Forces circular dated July 13, 1945, officially announced the July 9 establishment of WSPG. Lt. Col. Harold R. Turner was its first commander.
In the early years, Fort Bliss was responsible for most of the administrative and supply services at WSPG. The impact area north of the main post (the Alamogordo Bombing Range) was still under the jurisdiction of the Army Air Corps.
The Army's first launch area, now referred to as Launch Complex 33, was established six-and-a-half miles east of the headquarters area. To provide protection for personnel and equipment at the launch site, the Army built a reinforced concrete blockhouse. Construction of the Army blockhouse began on July 10. It was followed by the addition of concrete launching pads, a wooden observation tower and a 75-foot service gantry with 2,000 feet of track.
In mid-August 1945, 300 railroad freight cars of V-2 components captured in the European Theater of Operations arrived in New Mexico. The Santa Fe Railroad spotted 10 cars per day in Las Cruces, N.M., for unloading and transport by military personnel to WSPG on the east side of the Organ Mountains.
To get an idea of the magnitude of the logistics challenge, every railroad siding from El Paso, Texas, to Belen, N.M., a distance of 210 miles, was full of railroad cars. The Army hired every flatbed truck in Dona Ana County to move the material. The task was completed in 20 days. Meanwhile, the new proving ground celebrated its first milestone with the launching of a modified Tiny Tim booster rocket on Sept. 26, followed by a dummy WAC Corporal rocket the next day. The remaining months of 1945 saw an influx of troops arriving for duty at WSMR. Testing continued as contracts were let for more permanent structures at both the firing facilities and in the main post area.
In 1946, WSMR began its famous modified V-2 launches. These continued through 1952. Meanwhile, the Navy signed on at WSMR with the construction of a Naval cantonment area just west of the Army headquarters. In addition, launching facilities for the Navy were constructed two miles east of the Army's launch complex.
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