Sunday, November 1, 2015

1, November 1940


On the 75th anniversary of the commissioning NAS Alameda, we thought a brief history of the base and its prominent place in Naval history.  

In June 1, 1936, shortly before the Army discontinued operations, the City of Alameda ceded the existing airport to the United States government. Pan Am moved its Clipper terminal from Alameda to Treasure Island for the 1939 World’s Fair, or Golden Gate International Exposition, leaving the airfield and seaplane lagoons unused. In 1938, Congress passed appropriations for construction of a naval air station on that land. This new facility was to have two carrier wings, five seaplane squadrons and two utility stations. By 1940, appropriations were increased to include construction of two seaplane hangars and an aircraft carrier bething pier.
Alameda Naval Air Station | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Operations began 1 November. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Fleet Air Wing 8 began patrol and scouting missions. April. 1942, the USS Hornet (VC8) was loaded at Alameda to include the 16 B25s which would take part in the Doolittle Raid on Japan.

Alamedas intrinsic role in the Pacific continued to grow with the institution of several schools on the base. Alameda NAS provided training for the fleet radar operators, Link celestial navigation and aviation storekeepers. In addition, as the war continued, a series of auxiliary airfields developed, of which Alameda became the headquarters. Those fields included:


Alameda remained an important base through the Korean and Viet Nam Wars, closing in 1997.
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