He renames it Consair. 1939 - Miramar Naval Air Station develops on the site of Camp Kearny. 1940s - Isolationism abruptly ends as San Diego becomes a major training and staging area of American forces in the Pacific. 1941 - Belle Benchley becomes director of the San Diego Zoo. She began as a bookkeeper in 1925.
Submarine nets block the bay.
Marines acquire Rancho Santa Margarita and rename it Camp Pendleton. Fleet's Consair merges with Vultee to become Convair. 1944 - The San Diego County Water Authority is formed. After the war, it merges into the Metropolitan Water District. 1947 - Colorado River water arrives via the San Diego Aqueduct.