Martin P5M-1 Marlin flying boats of Patrol Squadron (VP) 56 “Dragons.” Seaplane operations from the air station’s Breezy Point facility
U.S. Navy photo
ceased in the early 1960s.
Personnel growth at NAS Norfolk skyrocketed, from just over 2,000 officers and enlisted in December 1940 to nearly 17,000 active duty in December 1943. Over the first six months of 1943, the flight operations department reported an average of 21,073 flights per month and an average of 700 flights per day – equivalent to a takeoff or landing every two minutes, 24 hours a day. Training was supported by a growing network of outlying fields in southern/eastern Virginia including Chincoteague, Whitehurst, Reservoir, Oceana, Pungo, Fentress, Monogram, and Creeds. Facilities in neighboring North Carolina included Elizabeth City, Edenton, Manteo, and Harvey Point. Work also exploded at the air station’s assembly and repair (A&R) facilities. Shortly after Bellinger took over in 1938, A&R employed 213 enlisted men and 573 civilians overhauling aircraft in four World War I-era hangars and a collection of small workshops. In support of production targets specified by the naval aircraft program in 1940, A&R activities went around the clock in two 10-hour shifts seven days a week. By the war’s end, A&R was a “Class A” industrial plant, with an integrated apprentice school providing training in nine trades. Peak employment reached 3,561 civilians and 4,852 military workers. The April 1, 1945, issue of Naval Aviation News featured this quip about growth of the NOB and NAS Norfolk: The tallest of all tales is circulating around this station. It seems the CO was conducting an inspection when he was attracted by an unusual insignia on the chest of one sailor. Dangling from one of the boy’s three campaign ribbons was a Norfolk streetcar token. “What’s that?” the CO asked. “A campaign medal sir,” was the reply. “It’s given to a sailor by other sailors for the battles of Norfolk, sir. When a sailor has boarded a streetcar downtown and gained a seat three times in succession, he is entitled to wear this medal.” New command structures, including Commander Naval Air Force Atlantic Fleet (AIRLANT), were put into effect at NAS Norfolk. After leaving the air station in 1940 to command Patrol Wing Two at Pearl Harbor, followed by duty as Commander Patrol Wings, Pacific Fleet, now-Rear Adm. Bellinger was designated COMNAVAIRLANT in March 1943. Fleet Air Wing 5 (FAW-5) units flew operationally from NAS Norfolk under command of the 5th Naval District. Wing 5 units included scouting and patrol squadrons flying Vought OS2U Kingfishers and Consolidated PBY-5A Catalinas. By 1942, NAS Norfolk was home to 24 fleet units.
In 1943, FAW-5 aligned its activities with those of AIRLANT, providing the training that furnished combat-ready carrier air groups, patrol squadrons and battleship and cruiser aviation units to both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets. Training for aviation maintenance and repair work was also part of the AIRLANT/ FAW-5 mission, carried out by the air station’s huge aviation service school. This was complemented by the training and maintenance activities of NAS Norfolk’s Carrier Air Service Unit. From 1943 to the end of the war, a total of 326 U.S. units were commissioned and trained at NAS Norfolk under the control of AIRLANT. Nearly all of the naval air units that fought in World War II received advanced training at the air station. NAS NORFOLK DURING THE COLD WAR “The air station was very active but nowhere near as busy as it had been during the war,” Wayne Rogers recalls. Rogers served two tours at Norfolk (1948-1953 and 19601965) as an enlisted personnelman, both at periods of heightened tensions during the Cold War. Like most military facilities, NAS Norfolk experienced a significant decrease in operational tempo following World War II. But the air station – co-located with the NOB, Atlantic Fleet Command, and AIRLANT – stayed busier than most. Advanced training for air wing and patrol squadrons deploying for service during the Korean War continued. More significant change came with the transformation of NAS Oceana from a small, outlying field that had served as an adjunct
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