Naval Air Station Olathe is a former

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

base located in Gardner, Kansas. On its grounds at one point was Olathe Air Force Station. After it was closed, it was redeveloped into New Century AirCenter.

History

Navy use

The base opened as Naval Air Station Olathe on 1 October 1942 and was referred locally as the Gardner, Kansas, Navy Base because it was to be used for the Naval Air Transport Service (NATS) and Naval Air Primary Training Command (NAPTC) which had been operating out of

Fairfax Airport Fairfax Municipal Airport (known as Fairfax Field during World War II) was a Kansas City, Kansas airfield from 1921 that was used during 1935–1949 by the military. Federal land adjacent to the airfield included a WWII B-25 Mitchell plant and ...

. Future astronaut

John Glenn John Herschel Glenn Jr. (July 18, 1921 – December 8, 2016) was an American Marine Corps aviator, engineer, astronaut, businessman, and politician. He was the third American in space, and the first American to orbit the Earth, circling ...

was in the first class to be trained at the base and he was to make his first solo flight in a military plane from the base. Glenn described the airport in its early days: :It was a sea of mud and we made our way from building to building on wooden 'duck boards'. After World War II, NAS Olathe was used for flight operations by units of the Naval Air Reserve and Marine Air Reserve, as well as a Naval Air Technical Training Center Olathe (NATTC Olathe), a training center for active duty USN and USMC enlisted personnel. During the Korean War, NAS Olathe-based Naval Reserve Fighter Squadron 774 (VF 774) was recalled to active duty for two years, including six months of action aboard the aircraft carrier . NAS Olathe's runways were lengthened in 1951 to accept the first tactical jets, North American

FJ-1 Fury The North American FJ-1 Fury was the first operational jet aircraft in United States Navy service, and was developed by North American Aviation as the NA-135.F4D Skyray fighters were later operated at NAS Olathe by Naval Air Reserve and Marine Air Reserve squadrons until 1966.Wings at the Ready, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD, c1991, p. 136, Marine Reserve Training and Naval Reserve Training continued from 1966 until at least 1971. World War II hero, then-

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, later Vice Admiral, James H. Flatley, Jr., commanded NAS Olathe for about a year. The base was renamed NAS Olathe (Flatley Field) for him in 1962. F-6A Skyray taking off from Olathe 1963

For over 20 years, Naval Air Reservists and Marine Air Reservists from across the Midwest honed their skills and maintained their readiness with squadrons and support units at NAS Olathe. However, budgetary pressures of the Vietnam War forced NAS Olathe to close. The base was decommissioned on 29 October 1969 and the air station was officially closed in July 1970 with the understanding that the Navy could retain thirteen buildings for non-flying Naval Reserve aviation programs as Naval Air Reserve Center Olathe. The airport was acquired by Johnson County in 1973 and renamed Johnson County Industrial Airport to reflect a new mission of being an industrial park (including the Fred Allenbrand Criminal Justice Complex for Johnson County). On 28 September 1994 the name was changed to New Century AirCenter so as not to minimize its aviation component. In 1995, the

Base Realignment and Closure Commission Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) is a process by a United States federal government commission to increase United States Department of Defense efficiency by coordinating the realignment and closure of military installations following the end o ...

(BRAC) voted to close NAVAIRESCEN Olathe and consolidate its units and functions at other Naval Air Reserve activities, with all Navy activities ceasing in 1996. The base was featured in a segment on the

A&E Network A&E is an American basic cable network, the flagship television property of A&E Networks. The network was originally founded in 1984 as the Arts & Entertainment Network, initially focusing on fine arts, documentaries, dramas, and educational ent ...

entitled "Haunted America" in which it is claimed the base is the site of

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...

activity after a pilot crashed into an aircraft hangar next to the airport control tower in the 1950s.Global Security.org profile of Olathe
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Air Force use

From 1950 to 1955, the

Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commi ...

442d Troop Carrier Wing 44 may refer to: * 44 (number) * one of the years 44 BC, AD 44, 1944, 2044 Military *44M Tas, a Hungarian medium/heavy tank design of World War II *44M Tas Rohamlöveg, a Hungarian tank destroyer design of World War II, derived from the 44M Tas t ...

was temporarily based at NAS Olathe prior to its relocation to Grandview Airport, Missouri, later renamed

Richards-Gebaur AFB Richards-Gebaur Memorial Airport is a former airport that operated alongside Richards-Gebaur Air Reserve Station (also Richards-Gebaur Air Force Station) until the base's closure in 1994, and until it was closed in 1999. Formerly, it was oper ...

. In 1951, the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...

Air Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command of the United States Air Force, responsible for continental air defense. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air Defense Command, was established in 1946, briefly inac ...

selected NAS Olathe as a site for one of twenty-eight radar stations built as part of the second segment of the permanent ADC general radar surveillance network for the United States. Prompted by the start of the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

, on 11 July 1950, the Secretary of the Air Force asked the Secretary of Defense for approval to expedite construction of the second segment of the permanent network. The NAS Olathe site was to provide air defense radar coverage of the Kansas City area. The site was to become Olathe Air Force Station. Receiving the Defense Secretary's approval on 21 July, the Air Force directed the Army Corps of Engineers to proceed with construction of a radar station on the western part of the ground station, about a mile from the runway and ramp/hangars being used by the Navy. Additional housing units were also constructed at NAS Olathe to accommodate the Air Force personnel.

References

{{Reflist United States Naval Air Stations Aerospace Defense Command military installations Military installations in Kansas Military installations closed in 1970 Buildings and structures in Johnson County, Kansas Airports in Kansas Closed installations of the United States Navy