Naval Air Station North Island
Encyclopedia
Naval Air Station North Island or NAS North Island is located at the north end of the Coronado
Coronado, California
Coronado, also known as Coronado Island, is an affluent resort city located in San Diego County, California, 5.2 miles from downtown San Diego. Its population was 24,697 at the 2010 census, up from 24,100 at the 2000 census. U.S. News and World Report lists Coronado as one of the most expensive...

 peninsula on San Diego Bay
San Diego Bay
San Diego Bay is a natural harbor and deepwater port adjacent to San Diego, California. It is 12 mi/19 km long, 1 mi/1.6 km–3 mi/4.8 km wide...

 and is the home port of several aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...

s of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

. It is part of the largest aerospace-industrial complex
Military-industrial complex
Military–industrial complex , or Military–industrial-congressional complex is a concept commonly used to refer to policy and monetary relationships between legislators, national armed forces, and the industrial sector that supports them...

 in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

, Naval Base Coronado
Naval Base Coronado
Naval Base Coronado is a consolidated Navy installation encompassing eight military facilities stretching from San Clemente Island, located seventy miles west of San Diego, California, to the La Posta Mountain Warfare Training Facility and Camp Morena, located sixty miles east of San...

 in San Diego County
San Diego County, California
San Diego County is a large county located in the southwestern corner of the US state of California. Hence, San Diego County is also located in the southwestern corner of the 48 contiguous United States. Its county seat and largest city is San Diego. Its population was about 2,813,835 in the 2000...

, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

.

The Commanding Officer of NAS North Island (aka NASNI) is also the Commanding Officer, Naval Base Coronado. As such, he commands or administers Naval Amphibious Base Coronado
Naval Amphibious Base Coronado
Naval Amphibious Base Coronado is a naval installation located across the bay from San Diego, CA. The base, situated on Silver Strand, between the San Diego Bay and the Pacific Ocean, is a major Navy shore command, supporting over 30 tenant commands, and is the West Coast focal point for special...

, Outlying Field Imperial Beach
Outlying Field Imperial Beach
Naval Outlying Landing Field Imperial Beach or NOLF Imperial Beach is a United States Navy facility for helicopters, situated on approximately south of San Diego and within the city limits of Imperial Beach, California...

, Silver Strand Training Complex
Silver Strand Training Complex
Silver Strand Training Complex , formerly known as the Naval Radio Receiving Facility , is the premier training facility for U.S. Special Operations Forces...

, Mountain Training Facility LaPosta, Warner Springs Training Area, and Naval Auxiliary Landing Facility, San Clemente Island. NASNI, with only its commands in the metropolitan San Diego Area, brackets the city of Coronado
Coronado, California
Coronado, also known as Coronado Island, is an affluent resort city located in San Diego County, California, 5.2 miles from downtown San Diego. Its population was 24,697 at the 2010 census, up from 24,100 at the 2000 census. U.S. News and World Report lists Coronado as one of the most expensive...

 from the entrance to San Diego Bay to the Mexican border. NAS North Island itself is host to 23 aviation squadrons
Squadron (aviation)
A squadron in air force, army aviation or naval aviation is mainly a unit comprising a number of military aircraft, usually of the same type, typically with 12 to 24 aircraft, sometimes divided into three or four flights, depending on aircraft type and air force...

 and 80 additional tenant commands and activities, one of which, the Naval Aviation Depot, is the largest aerospace employer in San Diego.

Organization

NAS North Island also operates two other airfields in the Southern California region. One is Naval Auxiliary Landing Facility (NALF) San Clemente Island
Naval Auxiliary Landing Field San Clemente Island
Naval Auxiliary Landing Field San Clemente Island , also known as Frederick Sherman Field, is a military airport located on San Clemente Island, in Los Angeles County, California, USA. It has been owned by the United States Navy since 1937, but came into its current importance during the past...

, located approximately 70 miles northwest of San Diego
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...

 in the Channel Islands
Channel Islands of California
The Channel Islands of California are a chain of eight islands located in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California along the Santa Barbara Channel in the United States of America...

. The other is Outlying Field (OLF) Imperial Beach. Formerly an independent naval air station, OLF Imperial Beach is located in the city of Imperial Beach
Imperial Beach, California
Imperial Beach is a residential beach city in San Diego County, California, with a population of 26,324 at the 2010 census. The city is the most southern beach city in Southern California and the West Coast of the United States...

, on the U.S.-Mexico border, 10 miles south of NAS North Island. The air station was formerly known as Ream Field in 1950's and 1960s.

NAS North Island resembles a small city in its facility content and its operations. It has its own police and fire departments, as well as advanced military security stations. It has large factory-type buildings which comprise the Naval Aviation Depot, employing 3,300 civilians, and its own commissary, Navy Exchange, and housing units. Recreation facilities include officer, chief petty officer and enlisted clubs, movie theater, golf course, tennis courts, bowling alley, parks and beaches.

Its airfield has over 230 stationed aircraft, and its quay wall is homeport to two aircraft carriers: and . Additionally, the base is home to the Navy's only Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle
Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle
A Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle is a type of Deep Submergence Vehicle used for rescue of downed submarines and clandestine missions. While DSRV is the term most often used by the United States Navy other nations have different designations for their vehicles.- Chinese models :The People's...

s, Mystic
DSRV-1 Mystic
DSRV-1 Mystic is a Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle that is rated to dive up to 1500 metres. DSRV1 was built by Lockheed for the U.S. Navy and launched 24 January 1970....

 (DSRV-1) and Avalon
DSRV-2 Avalon
DSRV-2 Avalon is a Mystic class Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle that is rated to dive up to 5000 feet . The submarine was acquired in response to the loss of the so that the Navy would have a way to rescue submarine crews trapped far beneath the ocean surface.Avalon was launched in 1971...

 (DSRV-2). The DSRV motor vessel support ships are also homeported here.

North Island is headquarters for four major military flag staffs including:
  • Commander, Naval Air Forces (COMNAVAIRFOR or CNAF), responsible for maintenance and training of all naval aircraft and aircraft carriers in the Atlantic Fleet, Pacific Fleet, the Naval Air Reserve, and the Naval Air Training Command
  • Commander, Naval Air Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet (COMNAVAIRPAC or CNAP), responsible for maintenance and training of all naval aircraft and aircraft carriers in the Pacific Fleet...this is a dual-hatted post in that it is concurrently held by the Commander, Naval Air Forces
  • Commander, Carrier Strike Group One and Commander, Carrier Strike Group Seven
  • Commander Cruiser Destroyer Group One

With all the ships in port, the population of the station is nearly 35,000 active duty military, selected reserve military, and civilian personnel.
DOD Contractors perform transportation flights from the air station to NALF San Clemente Island. These DOD Contractors also provide tactical training warfare for the United States Defense Department in joint efforts with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. Some of these aircraft include C-26 Metroliner, Learjet, and Gulfstream aircraft.

History

North Island was commissioned a Naval Air Station
Naval Air Station
A 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 Navy...

 in 1917, called Naval Air Station San Diego until 1955. On August 15, 1963, the station was granted official recognition as the "Birthplace of Naval Aviation
Naval aviation
Naval aviation is the application of manned military air power by navies, including ships that embark fixed-wing aircraft or helicopters. In contrast, maritime aviation is the operation of aircraft in a maritime role under the command of non-naval forces such as the former RAF Coastal Command or a...

" by resolution of the House Armed Services Committee.

The Navy's first aviator, Lieutenant Theodore Ellyson, and many of his colleagues were trained at North Island starting as early as 1911. This was just eight years after Orville and Wilbur Wright flew the first manned aircraft at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
Kitty Hawk is a town in Dare County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,000 at the 2000 census. It was established in the early 18th century as Chickahawk....

. At that time, North Island was an uninhabited sand flat. It had been used in the late 19th century for horseback riding and hunting by guests of J. D. Spreckels
John D. Spreckels
John Diedrich Spreckels , the son of German-American industrialist Claus Spreckels, founded a transportation and real estate empire in San Diego, California in the late 19th and early 20th centuries...

's resort hotel, the Hotel del Coronado
Hotel del Coronado
Hotel del Coronado is a beachfront luxury hotel in the city of Coronado, just across the San Diego Bay from San Diego, California. It is one of the few surviving examples of an American architectural genre: the wooden Victorian beach resort...

.

North Island derived its name from the original geography. In the nineteenth century it was referred to as North Coronado Island, because it was separated from South Coronado (now the city of Coronado) by a shallow bay known as the Spanish Bight, which was later filled in 1945 during World War II. In 1886, North Coronado Island and South Coronado were purchased by a developer to become a residential resort. South Coronado, which is not an island but the terminus of a peninsula known as the Silver Strand
Silver Strand
Silver Strand may refer to:* Silver Strand , an action film directed by George Miller* Silver Strand Beach, a beach neighborhood in the city of Oxnard, California, also referred to locally as Silverstrand Beach...

, became the city of Coronado
Coronado, California
Coronado, also known as Coronado Island, is an affluent resort city located in San Diego County, California, 5.2 miles from downtown San Diego. Its population was 24,697 at the 2010 census, up from 24,100 at the 2000 census. U.S. News and World Report lists Coronado as one of the most expensive...

. Fortunately for the Navy, North Coronado was never developed. Instead, Glenn Curtiss
Glenn Curtiss
Glenn Hammond Curtiss was an American aviation pioneer and a founder of the U.S. aircraft industry. He began his career as a bicycle then motorcycle builder and racer, later also manufacturing engines for airships as early as 1906...

 opened a flying school and held a lease to the property until the beginning of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. In 1917, Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

 appropriated the land and two airfields were commissioned on its sandy flats. The Navy started with a tent city known as "Camp Trouble". As its name suggests, things did not always go well in the early days. The Navy shared North Island with the Army Signal Corps' Rockwell Field
Rockwell Field
Rockwell Field was an Army air base located in Coronado, California, near San Diego. It shared the area known as North Island with Naval Air Station North Island from 1912 to 1935. Its functions were eventually moved to March Field so that the naval air station could take over the whole area...

 until 1937, when the Army left and the Navy expanded its operations to cover the whole of North Island. In 1914, then-unknown aircraft builder Glenn Martin took off and demonstrated his pusher aircraft over the island with a flight that included the first parachute
Parachute
A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag, or in the case of ram-air parachutes, aerodynamic lift. Parachutes are usually made out of light, strong cloth, originally silk, now most commonly nylon...

 jump in the San Diego area. The jump was made by a ninety-pound civilian woman named Tiny Broadwick
Tiny Broadwick
Tiny Broadwick , or Georgia Broadwick, was a pioneering parachutist. She was nicknamed 'Tiny', as she weighed only and was tall....

. Other aviation milestones originating at North Island included the first seaplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...

 flight in 1911, the first mid-air refueling and the first non-stop transcontinental flight, both in 1923. One of history's most famous aviation feats was the flight of Charles A. Lindbergh from New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 in May 1927. That flight originated at Rockwell Field on North Island on May 10, 1927, when Lindbergh began the first leg of his journey. Forefathers of today's "Blue Angels
Blue Angels
The United States Navy's Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, popularly known as the Blue Angels, was formed in 1946 and is currently the oldest formal flying aerobatic team...

", the three-plane "Sea Hawks" from VF-6B, the "Felix the Cat" squadron, were thrilling audiences with flight demonstrations as early as 1928. They demonstrated the training skills of Navy fighter
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...

 and bomber
Bomber
A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, by dropping bombs on them, or – in recent years – by launching cruise missiles at them.-Classifications of bombers:...

 pilots and on many occasions, flew their aircraft in formation with the wings tethered together.

The list of American military pilots trained at North Island reads like the Who's Who of aviation; however, America was not the only country interested in aviation early in the twentieth century. Six years before the Naval Air Station was commissioned, Glenn Curtiss trained the first group of Japanese aviators at his flying school on North Island. Among them was a Lieutenant Yamada
Sadayoshi Yamada
- Notes :...

, later the head of the Imperial Japanense Navy's Naval Aviation arm in World War II.

Even the base's first commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander Earl W. Spencer, Jr.
Earl Winfield Spencer, Jr.
Commander Earl Winfield Spencer, Jr. was a pioneering U.S. Navy pilot who served as the first commanding officer of Naval Air Station, San Diego. He was the first husband of Wallis, Duchess of Windsor....

, USN, added a degree of celebrity to North Island. His wife was Wallis Warfield, a prominent socialite who was to remarry twice and finally become Wallis Warfield Spencer Simpson Windsor, better known as the Duchess of Windsor, for whom King Edward VIII
Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...

 gave up his throne in 1936.

During World War II
World 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...

 North Island was the major continental U.S. base supporting the operating forces in the Pacific
Pacific Theater of Operations
The Pacific Theater of Operations was the World War II area of military activity in the Pacific Ocean and the countries bordering it, a geographic scope that reflected the operational and administrative command structures of the American forces during that period...

. Those forces included over a dozen aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...

s, the Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...

, Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

, Marines
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

 and Seabees. The city of Coronado became home to most of the aircraft factory workers and dependents of the mammoth base which was operating around the clock. Major USO
United Service Organizations
The United Service Organizations Inc. is a private, nonprofit organization that provides morale and recreational services to members of the U.S. military, with programs in 160 centers worldwide. Since 1941, it has worked in partnership with the Department of Defense , and has provided support and...

 entertainment shows and bond drives were held weekly at the Ship's Service auditorium, which was later replaced by the 2,100 seat Lowry Theater. Famous people stationed here or on ships home ported here during the war years included Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Guy Madison
Guy Madison
Guy Madison was an American film and television actor.-Early life:Born Robert Ozell Moseley in Pumpkin Center, California, Madison attended Bakersfield College, a junior college, for two years and then worked briefly as a telephone lineman before joining the United States Coast Guard in...

, future television cowboy star of the 1950s and 1960s as Wild Bill Hickok
Wild Bill Hickok
James Butler Hickok , better known as Wild Bill Hickok, was a folk hero of the American Old West. His skills as a gunfighter and scout, along with his reputation as a lawman, provided the basis for his fame, although some of his exploits are fictionalized.Hickok came to the West as a stagecoach...

, was at that time Seaman Bob Mosely, a lifeguard at the NAS crews' pool. Stars like the Marx Brothers
Marx Brothers
The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act, originally from New York City, that enjoyed success in Vaudeville, Broadway, and motion pictures from the early 1900s to around 1950...

 and Bob Hope
Bob Hope
Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...

 appeared regularly at USO shows at the auditorium.

Tenant Squadrons

MH-60S KnightHawk SH-60F/HH-60H Seahawk MH-60R Seahawk SH-60B Seahawk C-40A Clipper C-2 Greyhound
  • HSC-3 Merlins
    HSC-3
    Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron Three , also known as the "Merlins", are a United States Navy helicopter squadron based at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, California...

  • HSC-8 Eightballers
    HSC-8
    Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron Eight "Eightballers" is a United States Navy helicopter squadron based at Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, California. HSC-8 is attached to Carrier Air Wing Nine and deploys aboard...

  • HSC-12 Golden Falcons
  • HSC-21 Blackjacks
    HSC-21
    Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron Two One , also known as the "Blackjacks", are a United States Navy helicopter squadron based at Naval Air Station North Island...

  • HSC-23 Wildcards
    HSC-23
    Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron Two Three , also known as the "Wildcards", are a United States Navy helicopter squadron based at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, California. The "Wildcards" currently fly the MH-60S Knighthawk helicopter...

  • HS-4 Black Knights
    HS-4
    Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Four is a helicopter squadron of the United States Navy established in 1952.-1952–1968:HS-4 was commissioned on 30 June 1952 at U.S. Naval Auxiliary Landing Field, Imperial Beach, California, equipped with the Sikorsky HO4S-3.HS-4 was the first...

  • HS-6 Indians
    HS-6
    Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron Six Indians is a helicopter squadron of the United States Navy established in 1956. The squadron was comissioned as Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Six and completed transition to Helicopter Sea Combat on 8 July, 2011...

  • HS-10 Warhawks
    HS-10 Warhawks
    Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron 10 is a United States Navy helicopter anti-submarine squadron based at Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, California. Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron 10 , a shore-based unit of Helicopter Anti-Submarine Wing, U.S. Pacific Fleet, was commissioned on 30...

  • HSC-85 Firehawks
    HSC-85
    Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 85 Firehawks is a United States Navy Reserve helicopter squadron based at Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, California. HSC-85 currently flies the HH-60H Rescue Hawk...

  • HSM-41 Seahawks
    HSM-41
    Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 41 Seahawks is a United States Navy helicopter squadron based at NAS North Island, San Diego, California.-History:...

  • HSM-71 Raptors
    HSM-71
    Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron Seven One is a United States Navy helicopter squadron based at Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, California. Nicknamed the ‘’Raptors’’, they are attached to Carrier Air Wing Nine and deploy aboard the USS John C. Stennis strike group...

  • HSM-77 Saberhawks
  • HSM-75 Wolf Pack
  • HSL-43 Battle Cats
  • HSL-45 Wolfpack (decommissioned)
  • HSL-49 Scorpions
  • VR-57 Conquistadors
  • VRC-30 Providers
    VRC-30
    Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 30 , also known as the "Providers", is a United States Navy Fleet Logistics Support squadron based at Naval Air Station North Island consisting of 5 detachments.-History:...


  • Tenant Commands


    See also



    External links

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