Naval Air Station Jacksonville or
NAS Jacksonville is a military
airportAn airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
located four miles (6 km) south of the
central business districtA central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city...
of
JacksonvilleJacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida, and is the county seat of Duval County. Since 1968, as a result of the consolidation of the city and county government, and a corresponding expansion of the city limits to include almost the entire county, Jacksonville became the...
, in
Duval CountyDuval County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 778,879. The U.S. Census Bureau 2005 estimate for the county was 826,436 . Its county seat is Jacksonville, Florida.-History:...
,
FloridaFlorida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The first detail of Marines arrived from
Parris Island, South CarolinaParris Island is a former census-designated place in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 4,841 at the 2000 census. As defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, Parris Island is included within the Beaufort Urban Cluster and the larger Hilton Head Island–Beaufort...
on June 4, 1940 to secure the area formerly known as Camp Johnston. They set up a barracks in a former residence on Allegheny Rd. On October 15, 1940,
Naval Air StationA Naval Air Station is a military airbase, and consists of a permanent land-based operations locations for the military aviation division of the relevant branch of their Armed Forces - usually the Navy...
Jacksonville was officially commissioned, and became the first part of the Jacksonville Navy complex that would also include NAS Cecil Field and
Naval Station MayportNaval Station Mayport is a major U.S. Navy base in northern Duval County, Florida. It contains a military airfield with one asphalt paved runway measuring 8,001 x 200 ft. ....
.
Naval Air Station Jacksonville or
NAS Jacksonville is a military
airportAn airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
located four miles (6 km) south of the
central business districtA central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city...
of
JacksonvilleJacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida, and is the county seat of Duval County. Since 1968, as a result of the consolidation of the city and county government, and a corresponding expansion of the city limits to include almost the entire county, Jacksonville became the...
, in
Duval CountyDuval County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 778,879. The U.S. Census Bureau 2005 estimate for the county was 826,436 . Its county seat is Jacksonville, Florida.-History:...
,
FloridaFlorida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
History
The first detail of Marines arrived from
Parris Island, South CarolinaParris Island is a former census-designated place in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 4,841 at the 2000 census. As defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, Parris Island is included within the Beaufort Urban Cluster and the larger Hilton Head Island–Beaufort...
on June 4, 1940 to secure the area formerly known as Camp Johnston. They set up a barracks in a former residence on Allegheny Rd. On October 15, 1940,
Naval Air StationA Naval Air Station is a military airbase, and consists of a permanent land-based operations locations for the military aviation division of the relevant branch of their Armed Forces - usually the Navy...
Jacksonville was officially commissioned, and became the first part of the Jacksonville Navy complex that would also include NAS Cecil Field and
Naval Station MayportNaval Station Mayport is a major U.S. Navy base in northern Duval County, Florida. It contains a military airfield with one asphalt paved runway measuring 8,001 x 200 ft. ....
. Captain Charles P. Mason raised his pennant as the station's first commanding officer.
Prior to the commissioning, on September 7, Commander Jimmy Grant became the first pilot to land on the still unfinished runway in his N3N-3 biplane. More than 10,000 pilots and 11,000 aircrewmen followed their lead to earn the wings of gold at the station during World War II.
Increased training and construction characterized Jacksonville’s response to America’s entry into World War II. Three runways over 6,000 feet long were operating, as were seaplane ramps. Overhaul and Repair facilities (what is the Naval Aviation Depot today) were built to rework the station's planes.
More than 700 buildings sprung to life on the base before V-J (Victory over Japan) Day, including an 80 acre hospital and a prisoner-of-war compound which housed more than 1,500 German prisoners of war. Archbishop (later Cardinal) Francis J. Spellman dedicated the Catholic Chapel (St. Edward’s) at its Birmingham Avenue location on January 17, 1943. The chapel and other buildings constructed during the war years, intended for a life of only 20 years, are still in use.
During the late 1940’s the jet age was dawning and in 1948 the Navy’s first jet carrier air groups and squadrons came to Jacksonville. By April 1949, Jacksonville was the East Coast's plane capitol with more aircraft stationed here than at any other base from Nova Scotia to the Caribbean –60 percent of the fleet air striking force in the Atlantic area from pole to pole.
NAS Jacksonville was growing. Fleet Air Wing Eleven had just made its move to the base, bringing with it VP-3 from Coco Solo, Panama and VP-5 from San Juan, Puerto Rico. The now famous Blue Angels, who had called NAS Jacksonville home but moved to NAS Corpus Christi in the late 1940’s, performed a last air show at the station on April 29, 1950, before forming a nucleus of an operational squadron (Satan’s Kittens) which was assigned to combat in Korea. The "Blues" would not return to the station for more than two years. The Naval Air Technical Training Center was reactivated and included nine different schools.
In the mid-fifties, an air traffic control center for joint use by the Navy, Air Force, and Civil Aeronautics Administration was approved and completed at a cost of $325,000. Major changes also occurred as parking ramps were added to the land plane hangars and a -long taxiway was built.
By the mid-1950s, with the station's continuing growth, the Navy was having a tremendous impact on the economic growth in the Jacksonville area. The station had over 11,000 military assigned, along with 5,000 civilians, and a payroll of more than $35 million.
In 1973, with the assignment of Helicopter Antisubmarine Wing One, the station’s primary mission became antisubmarine warfare. Accompanying the wing were five helicopter squadrons which are still based here today. With the new wings and squadrons, opportunities grew for sea and shore assignment to NAS Jacksonville. The station's popularity grew and it became the most requested duty station for Sailors throughout the Navy.
A piece of history and Navy tradition was lost in 1986 when the last unit of Marines left the base. Marine Barracks Jacksonville had been one of the first groups to arrive at the base in 1940, but left due to mission realignments and a reduction in Marines authorized for Marine Corps Security Force duties at U.S. Naval installations.
Current operations
Today, 23,000 civilian and active-duty personnel are employed on the base. The installation is considered to be one of the hubs for naval activity in the U.S. South. Other U.S. Navy Bases in the area include
Naval Station MayportNaval Station Mayport is a major U.S. Navy base in northern Duval County, Florida. It contains a military airfield with one asphalt paved runway measuring 8,001 x 200 ft. ....
,
Naval Submarine Base Kings BayNaval Submarine Base Kings Bay is a base of the United States Navy located adjacent to the city of St. Marys in Camden County, in southeast Georgia. It is the Atlantic homeport for US ballistic missile submarines armed with nuclear weapons...
in
Camden County, GeorgiaCamden County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is one of the original counties of Georgia, created February 5, 1777. As of 2000, the population was 43,664. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 48,689 . The county seat is Woodbine, Georgia.-History:The first...
, Naval Outlying Landing Field Whitehouse, and the now closed
Naval Air Station Cecil FieldNaval Air Station Cecil Field or NAS Cecil Field was a United States Navy base, located in Duval County, Florida. NAS Cecil Field was the largest military base in the Jacksonville, Florida, area....
.
In addition to the many operational squadrons aboard, NAS Jacksonville is home to Patrol Squadron Thirty (VP-30), the Navy's largest aviation squadron and the only P-3C "Orion" Fleet Replacement Squadron that prepares and trains U.S. and NATO/Allied pilots, air crew and maintenance personnel for further operational assignments. NAS Jacksonville is also an Aviation Maintenance training facility for several aviation rates, facilitated by Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training Unit Jacksonville.
Support facilities include an airfield for pilot training, a maintenance depot employing more than 150 different trade skills capable of performing maintenance as basic as changing a tire to intricate micro-electronics or total engine disassembly, a Naval Hospital, a Fleet Industrial Supply Center, a Navy Family Service Center, and recreational facilities for the single sailor or the entire family.
Tenant Commands
Aviation Units
- Commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 11
- Commander, Helicopter Sea Combat Wing, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, Detachment Jacksonville
- Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron 3
- Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron 5
Helicopter Anti-submarine Squadron Five Nightdippers is a helicopter squadron of the United States Navy based at Naval Air Station Jacksonville. The Nightdippers are apart of Carrier Air Wing Seven and deploy aboard the .-History:...
- Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron 7
Helicopter Anti-submarine Squadron Seven , the "Dusty Dogs", is a United States Navy helicopter squadron located at Naval Air Station Jacksonville. The Dusty Dogs are attached to Carrier Air Wing Three and deploy aboard the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman...
- Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron 11
Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron 11 , also known as the "Dragon Slayers", is an United States Navy SH-60F helicopter squadron based at NAS Jacksonville. Currently attached to Carrier Air Wing 1, they deploy aboard the .-Squadron history:...
- Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron 15
Shore Commands
- Commander, Naval Region Southeast
- Commander, Naval Reserve Readiness Command Region Eight
- Fleet Area Control & Surveillance Facility
- Fleet Readiness Center Southeast
- Transient Personnel Unit
- Fleet & Industrial Supply Center Jacksonville
- Naval Air Reserve / Navy Operational Support Center
- Naval Aviation Forecast Component Jacksonville
- Naval Computer & Telecommunications Station
- Naval Supply Center Jacksonville
- Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training Unit Jacksonville
- NAVFAC Southeast Headquarters
External links
- First detail of Marines reaches city. Florida Times Union, June 5, 1940.
- Jax Air News
The Jax Air News is published in Jacksonville, Florida, for members of the military services and their families. It serves the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville .-External links:* website with current issues...
is the newspaper serving NAS Jax and the Jax Air News website contains current issues and the Florida Digital Newspaper LibraryThe Florida Digital Newspaper Library provides access to the news and history of Florida through local Florida newspapers. The Florida Digital Newspaper Library is supported by the University of Florida's George A...
contains the Jax Air News historical archives available freely and openly available with full searchable text