Lovelock Aerial Gunnery Range

Lovelock Aerial Gunnery Range was a World War II facility in two Nevada areas used for "aerial gunnery, strafing, dive bombing [and] rocket fire". By 21 November 1944, the Lovelock Range had been approved by the Secretary of the Navy to be developed for Naval Air Station Fallon, and on 13 January 1945, "Lovelock Air to Air" began when "leased under the Second War Powers Act". (pdf p. 35 of Archives Search Report—Findings: Dixie Valley Bombing Target No. 21. Note: The c. 1959 sentence with "Minden, Winemucca, Lovelock, and Fallon" was subsequently used in edited form in 1973's Welcome Aboard ("Fallon, along with Nevada sites at Minden, Tonopah, Lovelock and Winnemucca") and that edited quotation was used verbatim in the 2002 Archives Search Report, p. 4-1.  The 1997 The Economic Evolution of Fallon returned to the originally list's wording, but added "the Civil Aviation Administration and the Army Air Corps began building four airfields" and capitalized "Western Defense Program".) By February 1945, land was being acquired for the North Range in the Black Rock Desert which was 1122 sqmi that included 64.4 sqmi of "Patented" (leased private) land. The South Range in the Granite Springs Valley was 2436 sqmi, and in March 1945 "1920 Acres more" were added.

The post-war range was reactivated in October 1945 when the United States Navy closed more than 1563 sqmi to the public in the two Lovelock Aerial Gunnery Range regions. The Department of the Interior permit for the North Portion was cancelled by a 6 March 1946 letter, and the Bureau of Yards and Docks was directed to cancel the leases for the South Portion on 7 January 1947.

Black Rock Desert Gunnery Range
The 1942 area of 973 sqmi in the Black Rock Desert for World War II USAAF aerial gunnery (Targets 25, 26, 27 in areas 1, 2, 3) was used for a 1949 Navy range of 745 sqmi that was reactivated near Sulphur, Nevada. After a 1955 request by congressman Clair Engle, the Black Rock Desert Gunnery Range was closed by 1964.

Sahwave Mountain Air to Air Gunnery Range
In 1958, after the World War II, Lovelock South range was "renamed Sahwave Mountain Air to Air Gunnery Range. The 500,000 acres was acquired by Public Land Order No. 3632. Formal acquisition of the range was completed in August". Used for "only machine gun" fire, the 547906 acre "Basic Sahwave air-to-air gunnery range" was in use by October 1958.

On 25 October 1976, after an INS platform failure during night training, Lockheed SR-71A, 61-7965, (Article 2016) was lost near Lovelock. The pilot and reconnaissance systems operator both ejected safely.