Naval Air Station Grosse Ile
Encyclopedia
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
, and game show host Bob Barker
Bob Barker
Robert William "Bob" Barker is a former American television game show host. He is best known for hosting CBS's The Price Is Right from 1972 to 2007, making it the longest-running daytime game show in North American television history, and for hosting Truth or Consequences from 1956 to 1975.Born...
.
Early years
Naval Air Station Grosse Ile was commissioned 7 September 1929 as Naval Reserve Air Base Grosse Ile at Grosse Ile, Michigan. Though that was the official beginning, the air station traces its roots back to July 1925 when four US Naval reservists started an aviation unit near Detroit. At first they had no aircraft, and for over a year had to operate using only classroom instruction. The first aircraft assigned to the Detroit Naval Air Reserves was a single Consolidated NYConsolidated NY
-External links:* accessed July 16, 2007* accessed July 16, 2007* accessed July 16, 2007* accessed July 16, 2007-See also:...
-1, and would remain their sole aircraft for another year. The base at Grosse Ile began with a single tin hangar floated down the Detroit River
Detroit River
The Detroit River is a strait in the Great Lakes system. The name comes from the French Rivière du Détroit, which translates literally as "River of the Strait". The Detroit River has served an important role in the history of Detroit and is one of the busiest waterways in the world. The river...
from the unit's former home near downtown Detroit. By 1927 a large hangar had been built on Olds Bay at the southern tip of the island for use by Navy seaplanes. By 1935 the Navy had acquired all the property formerly owned by The Detroit Aircraft Corporation
Detroit Aircraft Corporation
The Detroit Aircraft Corporation was incorporated in Detroit, Michigan on July 10, 1922, as the Aircraft Development Corporation. The name was changed in 1929...
and a Curtiss-Wright flying school, and had occupied the former Curtiss-Wright hangar, which became the base's primary hangar.
ZMC-2
The airship ZMC-2ZMC-2
The ZMC-2 was the only successfully-operated metal-skinned airship ever built. Constructed at Naval Air Station Grosse Ile by The Aircraft Development Corporation of Detroit, the ZMC-2 was operated by the U.S. Navy at Lakehurst, New Jersey from 1929 until its scrapping in 1941...
, the Navy's only all-metal airship, was constructed on the site from 1925 to 1929 by the Detroit Aircraft Corporation
Detroit Aircraft Corporation
The Detroit Aircraft Corporation was incorporated in Detroit, Michigan on July 10, 1922, as the Aircraft Development Corporation. The name was changed in 1929...
. The hangar where the airship was constructed measured 120' high, 120' wide and 180' long, and remained the largest structure on the base until it was disassembled in 1960, and its roof reused in the construction of a bowling alley in nearby Trenton, Michigan
Trenton, Michigan
Trenton is a small city in Wayne County in the southeast portion of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 18,853...
.
1930s
During the depression money was hard to come by, but NRAB Grosse Ile, MI continued to grow, many of its reservist drilling without pay. By the end of 1930 the first Marine unit had been commissioned and based at Grosse Ile.World War II
World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
would come only 30 years after the Navy had acquired its first aircraft and 14 years after naval aviation had come to Grosse Ile, it would face a war that would change the world and base forever. During the war over 5,000 pilots received training at Grosse Ile, mostly Navy cadets, along with over a thousand British RAF pilot trainees. With this rapid expansion the base gained the new designation of Naval Air Station. The primary aircraft stationed at Naval Air Station Grosse Ile during the war years were Consolidated PBY Catalina, Vought F4U Corsairs, Curtiss SB2C Helldiver
SB2C Helldiver
The Curtiss SB2C Helldiver was a carrier-based dive bomber aircraft produced for the United States Navy during World War II. It replaced the Douglas SBD Dauntless in US Navy service. Despite its size, the SB2C was much faster than the SBD it replaced...
s, and Grumman TBM Avengers. Training was conducted using SNJ
T-6 Texan
The North American Aviation T-6 Texan was a single-engine advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces, United States Navy, Royal Air Force and other air forces of the British Commonwealth during World War II and into the 1950s...
, and Boeing Stearman
Boeing Stearman
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Avis, Jim and Bowman, Martin. Stearman: A Pictorial History. Motorbooks, 1997. ISBN 0-76030-479-3.* Bowers, Peter M. Boeing Aircraft since 1916. London:Putnam, 1989. ISBN 0-85177-804-6....
. Immediately following the end of WWII the base was equipped with several squadrons of the huge Martin AM Maulers, and for a short time six McDonnell FH-1 Phantoms, the only jets ever based on the island.
Postwar
After the war the base's runways were too short for use by the new generation of Navy jet fighters, and efforts to expand their lengths were met with disapproval by township citizens, so in the 1950s the base would see use as an ASW training base, which would continue until the base closed. During this time the base was principally supplied with A-1 SkyraiderA-1 Skyraider
The Douglas A-1 Skyraider was an American single-seat attack aircraft that saw service between the late 1940s and early 1980s. It became a piston-powered, propeller-driven anachronism in the jet age, and was nicknamed "Spad", after a French World War I fighter...
s, S2F anti-submarine warfare aircraft, as well as Marine Corps Reserve R4Q and R5D cargo aircraft.
Nike site D-51
In 1956 the Army came to NASGI. A Nike site designated D-51 was built on the base, armed with three Nike Ajax SAM's to defend Detroit against Soviet strategic bombers. The Nike site was operated by U.S. Army personnel who were housed and fed alongside the Navy crews. The Nike site closed in 1963, and was never upgraded to the nuclear-armed Nike Hercules. The Nike missile site is now a conservation area and bird sanctuary controlled by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services.Helicopters
The base would also receive a small number of helicopters in the late 1950s, beginning with the Piasecki H-25, also known as the HUP-1. Later the crews converted to the larger HSS-1 Seabat. With no Coast Guard station nearby, the helicopters were a highly useful addition to NASGI, and were soon earning their keep performing rescue operations for stranded boaters on Lake Erie and along the Detroit River. On one occasion the base's HUP-1's retrieved 17 fishermen stranded on an ice flow during a snowstorm.1960s
The air station entered the 1960s on a 604 acres (2.4 km²) installation training over 2,000 Naval and Marine Reservists. For the Navy, the principal aircraft remained the A-1 SkyraiderA-1 Skyraider
The Douglas A-1 Skyraider was an American single-seat attack aircraft that saw service between the late 1940s and early 1980s. It became a piston-powered, propeller-driven anachronism in the jet age, and was nicknamed "Spad", after a French World War I fighter...
and S-2 Tracker
S-2 Tracker
The Grumman S-2 Tracker was the first purpose-built, single airframe anti-submarine warfare aircraft to enter service with the US Navy. The Tracker was of conventional design with twin engines, a high wing and tricycle undercarriage. The type was exported to a number of navies around the world...
, while the Marines converted to the OV-10 Bronco
OV-10 Bronco
The North American Aviation Rockwell OV-10 Bronco is a turboprop light attack and observation aircraft. It was developed in the 1960s as a special aircraft for counter-insurgency combat, and one of its primary missions was as a forward air control aircraft...
. Many of the men stationed at Naval Air Station Grosse Ile would serve in Vietnam. On 1 October 1960, future Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Henry Rumsfeld is an American politician and businessman. Rumsfeld served as the 13th Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford, and as the 21st Secretary of Defense from 2001 to 2006 under President George W. Bush. He is both the youngest and the oldest person to...
was designated as an aircraft commander with Air Antisubmarine Squadron 731 (VS-731), where he flew the S2F Tracker. The base closed in the fall of 1969, with its function and squadrons being moved to the newly-established Naval Air Facility Detroit, located north of the city of Detroit as a tenant organization at what was then Selfridge Air Force Base, now Selfridge Air National Guard Base.
Grosse Ile Township Airport
Immediately following its closing the base was transformed into the Grosse Ile Municipal AirportGrosse Ile Municipal Airport
Grosse Ile Municipal Airport is a public airport located two miles south of the central business district of Grosse Ile, in Wayne County, Michigan, United States. It is owned by the Township of Grosse Ile.Although most U.S...
. There are still some signs of the old naval air station, with the former Hangar 1 now serving as the Township Hall and offices. A museum is located in the township offices and a memorial garden dedicated to the old base and the men and women that served there is located on the old flight line ramp adjacent to Hangar 1. The original Curtiss-Wright flying school hangar still remains and is used to house civilian aircraft and a dance studio. Even the original tin hanger floated down the Detroit River in 1927 still stands, though it's on land controlled by the United States Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
and not accessible to the public. As of 2011, the airport was averaging 24,000 takeoffs and landings a year.
Aircraft
- ZMC-2ZMC-2The ZMC-2 was the only successfully-operated metal-skinned airship ever built. Constructed at Naval Air Station Grosse Ile by The Aircraft Development Corporation of Detroit, the ZMC-2 was operated by the U.S. Navy at Lakehurst, New Jersey from 1929 until its scrapping in 1941...
- Consolidated NYConsolidated NY-External links:* accessed July 16, 2007* accessed July 16, 2007* accessed July 16, 2007* accessed July 16, 2007-See also:...
-1 - Loening OLLoening OL|-See also:-References:* John Andrade, U.S.Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909, Midland Counties Publications, 1979, ISBN 0-904597-22-9...
-9 - Curtiss TS-1
- Naval Aircraft Factory TS-1
- Boeing F4B-4
- Martin T4MMartin T4M|-See also:-Bibliography:*Angelucci, Enzo . World Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft. London: Jane's, 1981. ISBN 0 7106 0148 4.* Donald, David . The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. Aerospace Publishing. 1997. ISBN 1-85605-375-X....
- Grumman FFGrumman FF|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Cacutt, Len, ed. "Grumman Single-Seat Biplane Fighters." Great Aircraft of the World. London: Marshall Cavendish, 1989. ISBN 1-85435-250-4....
-2 - Vought O2U Corsair
- Naval Aircraft Factory N3N Canary
- SNJT-6 TexanThe North American Aviation T-6 Texan was a single-engine advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces, United States Navy, Royal Air Force and other air forces of the British Commonwealth during World War II and into the 1950s...
- Boeing StearmanBoeing Stearman|-See also:-Bibliography:* Avis, Jim and Bowman, Martin. Stearman: A Pictorial History. Motorbooks, 1997. ISBN 0-76030-479-3.* Bowers, Peter M. Boeing Aircraft since 1916. London:Putnam, 1989. ISBN 0-85177-804-6....
- Consolidated PBY Catalina
- Curtiss SB2C HelldiverSB2C HelldiverThe Curtiss SB2C Helldiver was a carrier-based dive bomber aircraft produced for the United States Navy during World War II. It replaced the Douglas SBD Dauntless in US Navy service. Despite its size, the SB2C was much faster than the SBD it replaced...
- Grumman TBM Avenger
- Vought F4U Corsair
- Martin AM Mauler
- McDonnell FH-1 Phantom
- Douglas A-1 Skyraider
- Grumman S-2 TrackerS-2 TrackerThe Grumman S-2 Tracker was the first purpose-built, single airframe anti-submarine warfare aircraft to enter service with the US Navy. The Tracker was of conventional design with twin engines, a high wing and tricycle undercarriage. The type was exported to a number of navies around the world...
- Piasecki H-25
- HSS-1 Seabat
- Lockheed P-2 Neptune
- R4Q
- R5D
- North American-Rockwell OV-10 BroncoOV-10 BroncoThe North American Aviation Rockwell OV-10 Bronco is a turboprop light attack and observation aircraft. It was developed in the 1960s as a special aircraft for counter-insurgency combat, and one of its primary missions was as a forward air control aircraft...