Naval Air Station Quonset Point
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Naval Air Station Quonset Point | |
|---|---|
 Aerial view of NAS Quonset Point, 1960s |
|
| Active | 1941 - June 28, 1974 |
| Country | United States |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Branch | United States Navy |
| Type | Naval Air Station |
Naval Air Station Quonset Point was a United States Naval Base in Quonset Point, Rhode Island. President Richard M. Nixon went through basic officer training at Quonet Point in 1942.[1]
Opened in 1941 encompassing what once Camp Dyer, NAS Quonset Point was a major naval facility throughout World War II and well into the Cold War. Prior to its closure, it had been home to numerous aviation squadrons, primarily those land-based patrol squadrons operating the P-2 Neptune and carrier-based antisubmarine and airborne early warning squadrons operating the S-2 Tracker, the E-1 Tracer and various modified versions of the A-1 Skyraider. NAS Quonset Point was also the off-season home of the Antarctic Development Squadron Six (VXE-6) during the 1960s and 1970s, initially operating the P-2 Neptune and later the LC-130F Hercules. In addition to flying squadrons, the air station was also home to a major overhaul and repair facility, the predecessor of the present day Naval Aviation Depots (NADEPs). Boasting a deepwater port, NAS Quonset Point was also homeport to several ESSEX class aircraft carriers, to include the USS Essex (CV-9), USS Wasp (CV-18), USS Lake Champlain (CV-39) and USS Tarawa (CV-40), as well as their respective carrier airgroups (CAGs or CVSGs). It was also where the Quonset hut was first deployed.
The base was decommissioned on 28 June 1974 [2], but a small military presence remains in the form of Quonset Point Air National Guard Station, home to the 143rd Airlift Wing of the Rhode Island Air National Guard, operating the C-130J and C-130J-30 Hercules aircraft.[3] The Rhode Island Army National Guard also maintains an adjoining Army Aviation Support Facility for the 1st Battalion, 126th Aviation Regiment, operating the UH-60 Blackhawk and CH-47 Chinook aircraft.
Next to NAS Quonset Point was Camp Endicott at Davisville, home of the Naval Construction Battalions known as the Seabees. Quonset Point also gave its name to the Quonset hut, a standardized temporary structure used by the U.S. military starting in World War II.
Now known as Quonset State Airport (IATA: OQU, ICAO: KOQU), the former NAS Quonset Point is a public general aviation airport with tenant Air National Guard and Army National Guard flying activities, as well as an adjacent industrial park. There is no scheduled airline service available. The airport lies within Class D airspace and has an operating FAA control tower (closed on Mondays) with two active runways, Runway 5/23 and Runway 16/34. Quonset State Airport is one of six active airports operated by the Rhode Island Airport Corporation. The other five airports include T.F. Green State Airport, North Central State Airport, Westerly State Airport, Newport State Airport, and Block Island State Airport.
