Carlston Ranch: Roads Tied to History

Carlston Ranch, a 1,200+ acre development located south of Derrick Road on National Parks Highway, has renamed several of its streets. The impetus for renaming the streets is a nod to the history of the Carlsbad Army Airfield, now the Cavern City Airport. The history of these names goes back to World War II. Neil Elsey, one of the principles at Carlston Ranch, describes the process below.

“In October of 2019, we were working with the city on new street names for Carlston Ranch. In response to the fact that Carlston Ranch is adjacent to Cavern City Airport, we did some research on the history of Carlsbad Army Airfield (now Cavern City Airport).”

The following list was approved by the city, using historical names from Carlsbad Army Airfield (CAAF). the air base. In order from Derrick Road running south:

Continental Drive: The airport was occupied by Continental Airlines before being taken over by the U.S. in 1942 to train bombardiers.

Carlston Ranch Drive: ‘Nuff said.

Ford Circle: Tennessee Ernie Ford (who became a Hall of Fame Country singer and actor) was trained and based at CAAF during the war.

Norden Drive: Norden was the top secret bomb sight that was only deployed in three locations in the U.S. for training.

Rehnquist Court: Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist was trained and based at CAAF during the war.

Haston Road: Existing roadway.

Aviation Way: The first developed entrance off of National Parks Highway to Carlston Ranch next to Cimarex into the Business Park area.

Valiant : The Vultee BT-13 “Valiant” joined the Fairchild PT-19 and the Boeing-Stearman PT-13/17 series as the most widely used United States primary trainers of World War II. 

Del Paso Road: Existing roadway.

Navigation Way: The first plane assigned to the field was the BT-13A Valiant Trainer and was the bomber training aircraft the top secret Norden Bombsight assigned to the 386th Army Air Force Base Unit which was stationed at the airfield. The original navigation computer started out as a Computer Altitude Correction TYPE-2 Specification No. 27326 Serial No. AC42 Order No. AC-25013 Harry H. Knepper, Inc., but was modified into a Bomb Error Computer by the Theory Department at the CAAF airfield. Blue Devil was the name of the bombs they dropped which became the centerpiece of their logo.

South Tagwood: This is the western extension of the Mesa Verde street which already bears this name to connect to Valiant Drive in Carlston Ranch.  That extension will be named Beacon Drive.

“The CAAF Museum is within one mile of Carlston Ranch,” Elsey continues. “The classic triangular airfield was built in World War I and after the war was taken over by Continental Airlines and the US Postal Service. In October of 1942, at the outset of WWII, the government retook control of the airfield for bomber pilot and navigation training. Carlsbad was one of three top secret locations picked for bomber pilot training in the country. The reason it was a top-secret base was because the training bombers were equipped with the top secret NORDEN bombsite. There were approximately 5000 airman and support troops stationed at CAAF.”

Carlston Ranch:

Dominic Longoria: Cell: (505) 681-4657; e-mail: dominic@longoriarealty.net

Gary Lane: Cell: (602) 330-8470; e-mail: garyl@lbgdevelopment.com

Website: CARLSTON RANCH - REPcre

Carlsbad Department of Development:

Kristen Gamboa: Cell: (575) 302-5651; e-mail: kristen.gamboa@developcarlsbad.org

Jeff Campbell: Cell: (575) 302-4751; e-mail: jeff.campbell@developcarlsbad.org

Kim Lacey: Cell: (575) 637-1249; e-mail: kim.ackman@developcarlsbad.org