Naval Auxiliary Air Station Martha's Vineyard was a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

facility located in

Edgartown Edgartown is a town on the island of Martha's Vineyard in Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States, for which it is the county seat. The town's population was 5,168 at the 2020 census. It was once a major whaling port, with historic houses ...

and

West Tisbury, Massachusetts West Tisbury is a New England town, town located on Martha's Vineyard in Dukes County, Massachusetts, Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,555 at the 2020 census. Along with Chilmark, Massachusetts, Chilmark and Aquin ...

operational from 1943 to 1946. It existed as an auxiliary air facility of

Naval Air Station Quonset Point A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations ...

History

The facility was commissioned within the borders of Manuel F. Correllus State Forest on 26 March, 1943 on land donated to the

from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Three 3,700 foot runways were built on the land, and were paved with asphalt. A crash boat and crew were based in Vineyard Haven, and a rocket firing range was set up in Katama near Edgartown Airfield, which was closed during the war. Five targets for gunnery and bombing were also set up at the

Nomans Land Range The Noman’s Land Range was a former naval bomb range for aviators, located on Nomans Land, in Chilmark, Massachusetts. History An airfield was constructed by the U.S. Navy on the southern edge of the island between November 1942 and May 1944, ...

. Carrier Air Service Unit 22 was stationed at the airfield to operate, service aircraft, and train personnel as well as tow target aircraft. It was renamed Naval Auxiliary Air Station in 1945. 21 Navy and Marine Corps squadrons passed through the station during the war, before it was decommissioned on 27 May, 1946. The state was immediately placed in caretaker status and leased to the county for civil aviation, and was eventually disposed of in 1959. Today, the field operates as

Martha's Vineyard Airport Martha's Vineyard Airport is a public airport located in the middle of the island of Martha's Vineyard, south of the central business district of Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts, Vineyard Haven, in Dukes County, Massachusetts, Dukes County, Mas ...

References

{{Airports in the Cape and Islands Area Installations of the United States Navy in Massachusetts Military installations closed in 1946 Edgartown, Massachusetts West Tisbury, Massachusetts Defunct airports in Massachusetts

Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, lying just south of Cape Cod. It is known for being a popular, affluent summer colony, and includes the smaller peninsula Chappaquiddick Isla ...

Closed installations of the United States Navy

History

See also

References