Yuma Proving Ground is proud to call itself America's premier test facility and the proving ground of the 21st century. Our record of achievement in testing reflects a high return on investment as well as outstanding efficiency and effectiveness.
Yuma Proving Ground is 25 miles north of the city of Yuma, Arizona. It is approximately 180 miles east of San Diego, California, and approximately 185 miles southwest of Phoenix, Arizona.
Yuma Proving Ground is part of the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command and is one of only two general purpose proving grounds within the command. Specific proving ground capabilities include testing of: artillery; mortars; mines; ground and aircraft weapons; target acquisition and fire control systems; wheeled and tracked vehicles; and air delivery material, equipment and techniques.
HISTORY:
Modern military equipment testing in Yuma can be traced back to 1943, when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened the Yuma Test Branch. The test site was located on the Colorado River below Imperial Dam for the purpose of testing new bridge designs, boats, vehicles, and well-drilling equipment for the Allied Armies of the Second World War. Supervisors of the dam regulated the flow of water, which provided ideal conditions for testing bridges and boats. Much of the test branch construction was performed by Italian prisoners of war.
The area was also a portion of General George Patton's California-Arizona Maneuver Area, used to train soldiers for service in World War II's North African desert campaigns.
The Yuma Test Branch was closed on January 1, 1950, and the facilities turned over to the Corps of Engineers. One year later the facility was reactivated as Yuma Test Station under the control of the Sixth Army. The principal mission of the station was to conduct desert environmental tests of military equipment. In 1962, the station was reassigned to the U.S. Army Materiel Command and placed under the immediate control of the Test and Evaluation Command.
The name was changed from Yuma Test Station to Yuma Proving Ground in 1963. On June 19, 1974, YPG was designated a Department of Defense Major Range and Test Facility, becoming one of 26 ranges and test facilities so named.
Yuma Proving Ground: Installation
Installation Overview
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Name : Army Community Service
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Address : Bldg 309
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City : Yuma
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State : AZ
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Zip : 85365
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Phone : (520) 328-3350/2513 or DSN 899-3350/2513
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Fax : (520) 328-2597 or DSN 899-2597
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