Corona AWS Post Site
US 1877, CA 72
Corona AWS Post

Corona AWS Post - courtesy of Dillon Family Collection

Lookout Details

Registry Numbers US 1877, CA 72 (view other lookout sites in United States, California)
Date Registered December 24, 2019
Nominated by Brad Eells
Location Foothill Ranch
Riverside County, California
Coordinates N 33° 50.056' W 117° 34.340' (view using Google Maps)
N 33° 50' 03" W 117° 34' 20"
N 33.834265° W 117.572329°
Elevation 1,240 ft (378 m)
Built Circa 1934
Removed Unknown
Administered by United States Army Ground Observer Corps

Description

Corona World War 2 Aircraft Warning Service Tower 

When the United States entered World War 2, there was a fear among the land that the Japanese would attack the mainland just as they had attacked Hawaii. Therefore lookout towers were built and should a Japanese aircraft be spotted in the skies, immediately their movement would be tracked as the observation towers would phone in to a military manned response center.
In our area there were towers in Corona, Prado, Norco and Temescal Valley. They were manned by citizen volunteers, and it was a responsibility that Corona’s citizens took very serious.

Corona’s lookout tower was located on Foothill Ranch. Some historical estimates say the tower existed around the corner of Chase and Main, other accounts show that the tower was nestled more towards the mountains. Hopefully as more future research is done, the exact location will present itself.

Currently on display at the Corona Heritage Museum are items donated by the Dillon family that once belonged to Helen Dillon who was a Corona volunteer that donated her time to man the aircraft watchtower.

In case your wondering how successful these towers were, the government tried to paint a couple of captured Japanese planes with U.S. marking and fly them to March Air Force Base for further study, the lookout towers all spotted them along the way and lit up the response centers.

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History of Corona Note: Thank you Ed Dillon for preserving your families history.

History of Corona Note: 3 of the pictures are from the Heritage Room archives located at the Corona Public Library.

History of Corona Note: Please visit the Corona Heritage Park & Museum to see the current exhibit showing Corona’s AWS Tower. (History of Corona Facebook Post - 3-4-2018)

The exact location of the post is unknown but local sources put it at Upper Drive just west of South Main Street. The structure design is different than those seen on the Los Padres National Forest.

Map

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Photos

AWS Post and Weather Station

AWS Post and Weather Station - courtesy of Dillon Family Collection

Photo courtesy of Dillon Family Collection

Service Certificate

Service Certificate - courtesy of Dillon Family Collection

AWS Armband

AWS Armband - courtesy of Dillon Family Collection