History Naval Air Station Pensacola

1 history

1.1 navy yard
1.2 civilian employment
1.3 naval aeronautical station
1.4 naval air station
1.5 naval aviation depot
1.6 naval photography school
1.7 modern history
1.8 united states air force @ nas pensacola

history

the site occupied nas pensacola has been controlled varying nations. in 1559, spanish explorer don tristan de luna founded colony on santa rosa island, considered first european settlement of pensacola area. spanish built wooden fort san carlos de austria on bluff in 1697–1698. although besieged indians in 1707, fort not taken. spain competing in north america french, settled lower louisiana , illinois country , areas north. french destroyed fort when captured pensacola in 1719. after great britain defeated french in 7 years war , exchanging territory spain, british colonists took on site , west florida in 1763.

in 1781, ally of american rebels during american revolutionary war, spanish captured pensacola. britain ceded west florida spain following war. spanish completed fort san carlos de barrancas in 1797. barranca spanish word bluff, natural terrain feature makes location ideal fortress.

pensacola taken general andrew jackson in november 1814 during war of 1812 between great britain , united states. british forces destroyed fort san carlos swept through area. spanish remained in control of region until 1821, when adams-onís treaty confirmed purchase of spanish florida united states, , spain ceded territory us.

in 1825, designated area pensacola navy yard designated , congress appropriated $6,000 lighthouse. operational year, said haunted light keeper murdered wife. fort barrancas rebuilt, 1839–1844, u.s. army deactivating on 15 april 1947. designated national historic site (nhl) in 1960, control of site transferred national park service in 1971. after extensive restoration during 1971–1980, fort barrancas opened public. has visitor s center.

navy yard

realizing advantages of pensacola harbor , large timber reserves nearby shipbuilding, in 1825 president john quincy adams , secretary of navy samuel southard made arrangements build navy yard on southern tip of escambia county, air station today. navy captains william bainbridge, lewis warrington, , james biddle selected site on pensacola bay.

civilian employment

civilian employment began in april 1826, construction of first buildings @ pensacola navy yard, known warrington navy yard. pensacola later become 1 of best equipped naval stations in country navy yard beset recruitment , labor problems. skilled workers unavailable locally, housing limited , living conditions in pensacola rough. @ first skilled tradesmen recruited boston , other northern naval bases. many of these new civilians employees dissatisfied local conditions , wages , hours. result, on 14 march 1827 first labor strike. captain melancthon taylor woolsey able make sufficient adjustments workday men returned work after couple of days. 1 factor inhibited both military , civilian workers remaining in pensacola lack of adequate hospital. on 3 november 1828, naval surgeon isaac hulse, physician in charge of naval hospital in barrancas florida wrote commodore melanchthon taylor woolsey status report. account covers period of march november 1828 , details 66 sailors , marines admitted, names , rank, diagnosis or nature of injury, , date of discharge or death. mortality @ pensacola remain high due prevalence of yellow fever , malaria. many naval officers , men considered navy yard unhealthy , potentially lethal assignment. example, naval constructor samuel keep writing brother in july 1826 stated emphatically, “i shall not remain here unless obliged so.” despite heroic efforts medical community yellow fever revisit navy yard intermittently e.g. 1835, 1874, 1882, etc., disease coming under control work of dr. major walter reed in 1901.

from foundation until civil war enslaved labor extensively utilized @ pensacola navy yard. in may 1829 monthly pensacola navy yard list of mechanics , labors enumerates total of 87 employees, of 37 enslaved laborers. pensacola navy yard built enslaved labor. captain lewis warrington first commandant of pensacola navy yard complained board of navy commissioners “neither laborers nor mechanics obtained here.” april 1826 warrington had requested , received permission hire enslaved labor, “ recommend employment of black laborers in preference white, suit climate better, less liable change , more controlled, more temperate, , more more work. after warrington able skilled white journeymen mechanics norfolk, asked , received permission continue utilizing enslaved labor since due unhealthy conditions , poor pay white laborers not remain @ new naval station. consequence pensacola navy agent samuel r. overton advertised 38 enslaved workers promising local slaveholders 17 dollars per month common navy rations. bondsman s names found on may 1829 list of navy yard employees. allay slaveholder concerns, commandant william compton bolton advertised enslaved workers have benefit of medical attention @ no charge @ shipyard hospital. pensacola not first use enslaved labor, washington navy yard established 1799 , after @ gosport navy yard in virginia both employed enslaved labor. enslaved constituted majority of employees @ shipyard. performed every task required including ship construction , repair, carpentry, blacksmithing, bricklaying , general labor. civilian payrolls of pensacola reveal navy yard leased slaves prominent members of pensacola society. enslaved labor continued on @ pensacola navy yard until american civil war. on 13 august 1859 commandant james k. mcintosh wrote secretary of navy isaac toucey have honor report steam sloop of war uss pensacola launched... launching pensacola naval facility became true navy yard. followed sloop uss seminole same year.

in years, garrison of west indies squadron dealt suppression of african slave trade , piracy in gulf , caribbean. , great britain had outlawed international slave trade effective 1808, smuggling continued decades, cuba , south american nations continued slavery.

forts , batteries near navy yard on 27 may 1861

on 12 january 1861, prior commencement of civil war, warrington navy yard surrendered secessionists. when union forces captured new orleans in 1862, confederate troops, fearing attack west, retreated navy yard , reduced of facilities rubble. @ time, abandoned fort barrancas , fort mcree.

after war, ruins @ yard cleared away , work begun rebuild base. many of present structures on air station built during period, including stately two- , three-story houses on north avenue. in 1906, many of these newly rebuilt structures destroyed great hurricane , storm surge.

the pensacola , fort barrancas railroad constructed in 1870 during reconstruction era, bringing rail service aboard navy yard, , improving connections city of pensacola. company incorporated special act of state of florida on 12 february 1870 improve infrastructure, , granted easement congress run through federal navy yard reservation on 30 january 1871.

naval aeronautical station

nas pensacola in 1918

the navy department awakened possibilities of naval aviation through efforts of captain washington irving chambers; prevailed upon congress include in naval appropriation act enacted in 1911–12 provision aeronautical development. chambers ordered devote of time naval aviation. in october 1913, secretary of navy josephus daniels, appointed board, captain chambers chairman, make survey of aeronautical needs , establish policy guide future development. 1 of board s important recommendations establishment of aviation training station in pensacola.

on 20 january 1914, lcdr. henry c. mustin, naval aviator no. 11, , lt. john h. towers, naval aviator no. 3, arrived in pensacola on former battleship uss mississippi men , aircraft naval aviation camp @ annapolis, maryland. aviation unit consisted of 9 officers, 23 enlisted men, , 7 aircraft. first flight occurred on 2 february 1914, lt. towers , ens. godfrey dec. chevalier, naval aviator no. 7, @ controls.

upon entry of united states world war on 6 april 1917, pensacola, still naval air station, had 38 naval aviators, 163 enlisted men trained in aviation support, , 54 fixed-wing aircraft. 2 years later, signing of armistice in november 1918, air station, 438 officers , 5,538 enlisted men, had trained 1,000 naval aviators. @ war s end, seaplanes, dirigibles, , free kite balloons housed in steel , wooden hangars stretching mile down air station beach.

in years following world war i, aviation training slowed down. average of 100 pilots graduating annually 12-month flight course. before category of aviation cadets established; officers accepted flight training program after @ least 2 years of sea duty. majority annapolis graduates, although few reserve officers , enlisted men graduated. naval air station pensacola became known annapolis of air .

station field created on north side of navy yard in 1922. enlarged, renamed chevalier field in 1935 lt. cdr. godfrey decourcelles chevalier, graduate of u.s. naval academy in 1910, , naval air pilot, designated no. 7 on 7 november 1915. advent of jet aviation, 3,100-foot runway short new aircraft entering service. forrest sherman field opened in 1954 fixed-wing operations.

naval air station

with inauguration in 1935 of cadet training program, activity @ pensacola again expanded. when pensacola s training facilities no longer accommodate ever-increasing number of cadets accepted navy, 2 more naval air stations created—one in jacksonville, florida, , other in corpus christi, texas. (during period, southern democratic block exerted considerable influence in congress, south one-party region. democrats occupied key committee chairman positions seniority , directed many projects region.)

in august 1940, larger auxiliary base, saufley field, named lt r.c. saufley, naval aviator 14, added pensacola s activities. in october 1941, third field, ellyson field, named after cdr theodore g. “spuds” ellyson, navy’s first aviator, added.

aerial view of nas pensacola in mid-1940s. chevalier field @ upper right.

with start of world war ii, nas pensacola once again became hub of air training activities. nas pensacola expanded again, training 1,100 cadets month, 11 times number trained annually in 1920s. growth of nas pensacola 10 tents world s greatest naval aviation center emphasized then-senator owen brewster s statement: growth of naval aviation during world war ii 1 of wonders of modern world. naval aviators nas pensacola called upon train doolittle raiders @ eglin field in 1942 carrier take-offs in b-25 mitchell bombers. navy lt. henry miller supervised takeoff training , accompanied crews launch. efforts, lt. miller considered honorary member of raider group.

during korean war, military caught in midst of transition propellers jets. air station had revise courses , training techniques. nas pensacola produced 6,000 aviators 1950 1953.

forrest sherman field opened in 1954 on western side of nas pensacola. jet airfield named after late admiral forrest p. sherman, former chief of naval operations. shortly thereafter united states navy flight demonstration squadron, blue angels, relocated nas corpus christi, texas.

pilot training requirements shifted upward meet demands vietnam war, occupied of 1960s , 1970s. low of 1,413 in 1962, before entry of in substantive way, pilot training in 1968 produced 2,552 graduates.

naval aviation depot

from earliest days of naval aviation @ pensacola, aircraft maintenance facility operated @ air station. known construction , repair department, in 1923 redesignated assembly , repair department, , in 1948 overhaul , repair department. in 1967, status of facility @ nas pensacola , @ 5 other navy , 1 marine corps air stations changed of separate commands, each called naval air rework facility , directed report commander of naval air systems command instead of air station commanding officer. former seaplane hangars along south edge of air station, large structure @ chevalier field utilized aircraft overhauls, , pensacola designated a-4 skyhawk rework site.

in 1987 name naval aviation depot replaced name naval air rework facility more accurately reflect range of activities. 3 naval aviation depots closed under 1993 brac committee recommendations including @ nas pensacola, , of buildings on air station involved in these tasks razed.

naval photography school

monthly inspection of naval photography school @ nas pensacola, 29 july 1944. photograph joseph janney steinmetz

the naval photography school located @ base. howard zieff learned photography there , monthly inspection @ school photographed joseph janney steinmetz in 1944.

modern history

flyover troops in formation

in 1971, nas pensacola picked headquarters site cnet (chief of naval education , training), new command combined direction , control of navy education , training activities , organizations. naval air basic training command absorbed naval air training command, moved nas corpus christi, texas. in 2003, cnet replaced naval education , training command(netc).

also located on board nas pensacola naval aviation schools command (navavscolscom). command has following subordinate schools:

aviation enlisted aircrew training school (aeats)

aetas formerly known naval aircrewman candidate school (naccs)


aviation training school
crew resource management
u.s. navy , marine corps school of aviation safety

navavscolscom oversaw aviation officer candidate school (aocs) until program s disestablishment , merger officer candidate school (ocs) under officer training command @ netc newport, rhode island in 2007.

the pensacola naval complex in escambia , santa rosa counties employs more 16,000 military , 7,400 civilian personnel.

during 2005 round of base realignment , closure (brac), people in florida , navy feared nas pensacola might closed, despite naval hub status, due extensive damage hurricane ivan in late 2004. every building on installation had suffered heavy damage, near total destruction of air station s southeastern complex . main barracks, chevalier hall, did not reopen until late january 2005, 4 months after storm. when list released on 13 may 2005, nas pensacola , other military bases hit ivan in northwest florida not on brac list. facilities rebuilt.

archaeologists examine remains of 16th century shipwreck on beach @ nas pensacola

in may 2006, navy construction crews unearthed spanish ship during archeological excavation. may date mid-16th century. ship remains discovered during rebuilding of base s rescue swimmer school, destroyed hurricane ivan.

on march 3, 2010 commander of base, captain william reavey jr., relieved of command after navy investigation alleged improper conduct. reavey replaced captain christopher plummer.

united states air force @ nas pensacola

nas pensacola host 479th flying training group (479 ftg) of air education , training command (aetc). 479 ftg composed of 451st flying training squadron, 455th flying training squadron , 479th operations support squadron. 479 ftg part of 12th flying training wing @ randolph afb, texas, student information , files handled through tyndall afb, florida while train @ nas pensacola. divestment of specialized undergraduate navigator training (sunt) , retirement of t-43 bobcat 12th flying training wing main operation @ randolph afb, 479 ftg assumed responsibility renamed undergraduate combat systems officer training (ucsot) prospective usaf csos. 479 ftg operates usaf t-6 texan ii , t-1 jayhawk aircraft @ nas pensacola.

nas pensacola home aetc s detachment 1, 359th training squadron (359 trs). geographically separated unit of 359 trs @ eglin afb, florida, , falls under 82nd training wing (82 trw) @ sheppard afb, texas. school provides enlisted technical training usaf low obersavable aircraft structural maintenance, non-destructive inspections (ndi) , aircraft structural maintenance (asm) students. 359 trs, det 1, graduates approximately 1200 students annually.

the usaf s detachment 2, 66th training squadron (a geographically separated part of 336th training group s survival, evasion, resistance , escape (sere) school @ fairchild air force base) located here @ nas pensacola, dedicated aircrew parachute water survival training, relocated fairchild afb in august 2015.