Camp Ibis

[Subdeacon Joe]

https://www.spl.usace.army.mil/Missions/Formerly-Used-Defense-Sites/Camp-Ibis/

 

Camp Ibis

The Camp Ibis Formerly Used Defense Site, or FUDS, is located 21 miles northwest of Needles in San Bernardino County, California. The camp comprised approximately 10,215 acres and was situated roughly between the Homer Mountains on the west and the Dead Mountains on the east. State Highway 95 passes through the western edge of the property.

In March 1942 the War Department tasked General George S. Patton Jr. with finding a desert training site that matched the conditions of North Africa. After three days of surveying, General Patton identified a vast area that reached into southeast California and southwest Arizona as the ideal location for the new Desert Training Center. Camp Ibis was established as one of the camps within the Desert Training Center.

Construction of Camp Ibis began in the winter of 1942 and was completed around March 1943. The mission of Camp Ibis and the other Desert Training Center camps was to train troops for desert warfare and to test equipment, ammunition, weapon systems and supplies. Various Army armor divisions were stationed and trained at the camp.

 

https://www.blm.gov/visit/camp-ibis-patton

 

Camp Ibis was constructed in the winter of 1942-43 and stretched more than two miles north to south. The camp consisted of several armored divisions, each numbering more than 20,000 men. It contained 23 ranges, including ones for moving targets, pistols, rifles, and .50-caliber machine guns. It also had many combat ranges, vehicle combat ranges, and transition courses contained inside. Since it is one of the better-preserved divisional camps, there are many artifacts that still exist in the area including Unexploded Ordinance (UXO).

 

 

This next site has photos 

https://www.deserttrainingcenter.com/camp_ibis.html

Facilities at Camp Ibis included: Thousands of 6-man pyramidal tents, 28 enlisted men's shower buildings, 14 officers shower buildings, 173 latrines, 234 wood-frames tents and 23 machine gun/ tank/ grenade ranges. Water was supplied to the camp by 2 deep wells and stored in a 50,000 gallon elevated tank and a 500,000 concrete reservoir. The camp also had a 4,500 foot long runway on the west side of Highway 95.

 

The camp was closed in April, 1944. Today, many remnants of the old camp exist including unit insignia, rock-lined streets and walkways and the 500,000 gallon water reservoir.

 

https://www.deserttrainingcenter.com/photos.html

 

 

 

 

 

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

Patton had the majority of the tank training held in the Anza Borrego Desert west of Hwy 86 near State Hwy 22.

We would see lots of track marks and found plenty of empty .50 BMG cases on our Jeep'n trips.