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Naval Air Station Key West

Coordinates:24°34′33″N081°41′20″W/ 24.57583°N 81.68889°W/24.57583; -81.68889
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused withKey West International Airport.
Naval Air Station Key West
Boca Chica Field
NearKey West,Floridain theUnited States
A US NavyF-5N Tiger IIofVFC-111takes off from its home at NAS Key West during November 2020
NAS Key West is located in the United States
NAS Key West
NAS Key West
Location in the United States
Coordinates24°34′33″N081°41′20″W/ 24.57583°N 81.68889°W/24.57583; -81.68889
TypeNaval Air Station
Site information
OwnerDepartment of Defense
OperatorUS Navy
Controlled byNavy Region Southeast
ConditionOperational
WebsiteOfficial website
Site history
Built1917(1917)
In use1917 – present
Garrison information
Current
commander		CaptainElizabeth Regoli
Airfield information
IdentifiersIATA:NQX,ICAO:KNQX,FAA LID:NQX,WMO:722015
Elevation1.7 metres (5 ft 7 in)AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
08/26 3,048.3 metres (10,001 ft)Porous European Mix(PEM)
04/22 2,134.21 metres (7,002 ft) PEM
14/32 2,133.9 metres (7,001 ft) PEM
Source:Federal Aviation Administration[1]
Marker for the Truman Annex, Key West Naval Station

Naval Air Station Key West(IATA:NQX[2],ICAO:KNQX,FAALID:NQX), is anaval air stationandmilitary airportlocated onBoca Chica Key,four miles (6 km) east of thecentral business districtofKey West, Florida,United States.[3]

NAS Key West is anair-to-air combattraining facility for fighter aircraft of all military services, with favorable flying conditions year round and nearby aerial ranges. The station and its associated offshoreair combat maneuvering rangesare equipped with the P5 Combat Training System/Tactical Combat Training System (P5CTS/TCTS)[4]which tracks and records aerial maneuvers.

On a broader scale, NAS Key West's national security mission supports operational and readiness requirements for theDepartment of Defense,Department of Homeland Security(e.g.,U.S. Coast Guard),Air National GuardandArmy National Guardunits, other federal agencies, and allied military forces.[5]

The air station is also host to several tenant commands, includingFighter Squadron Composite 111(VFC-111),Strike Fighter Squadron 106(VFA-106) Detachment Key West, theU.S. ArmySpecial Forces Underwater OperationsSchool and Headquarters,Joint Interagency Task Force South(JIATF South).

History[edit]

1823–1914[edit]

The U.S. Navy's presence in Key West dates back to 1823 when a Naval Base was established to stoppiracyin this area. The lowerKeyswere home to many wealthy shipping merchants whose fleets operated from these waters. This drew the interest of pirates who used the Florida Keys as a base from which to prey on shipping lanes. The base was expanded during theMexican–American War,with the construction ofFort Zachary Taylorand other fortifications in the Key West area commencing in 1845 and continuing through to its completion in 1866. The base also figured prominently during theSpanish–American War.In 1898, thebattleshipMainesailed from Key West toHavana,Cuba,where it later exploded while at anchor and sank. The sinking of theMaineresulted in the United States declaring war on Spain, and the entireU.S. Atlantic Fleetmoved to Key West for the duration of the war.

World War I[edit]

DuringWorld War I(1914–1918) the base was expanded again, and in 1917, a U.S. navalsubmarine basewas established on the main island of Key West on what is now naval air station "annex" property. Its mission during World War I was to supply oil to the U.S. fleet and to blockGerman shipsfrom reaching Mexican oil supplies.

The nation's southernmost Naval Base proved to be an ideal year-round training facility with rapid access to the open sea lanes and ideal flying conditions for Naval Aviation. The Navy's forces were expanded to includeseaplanes,submarines andblimps.Ground was broken for construction of a small coastal air patrol station on 13 July 1917 at what is nowTrumbo Pointon land leased from theFlorida East Coast RailwayCompany. The project involved dredging, erection of station buildings, three seaplane ramps, a dirigible hangar, a hydrogenerator plant, and temporarybarracks.

On 22 September of that year, the base's log book recorded the first naval flight ever made from Key West – aCurtiss N-9seaplane flown byU.S. Coast GuardLieutenant Stanley Parker. About three months later, on 18 December, Naval Air Base Key West was commissioned and LT Parker became the first Commanding Officer.

Naval Air Base Key West pilots flew in search ofGerman submarinesresting on the surface to recharge batteries. The aircraft was armed only with a single machine gun, but gunners were supplied withhand grenades.The slow Curtiss biplanes flew low over surfaced subs, and gunners dropped grenades into open conning towers. Naval aviationantisubmarine warfarewas beginning to prove itself in combat.

On 18 January 1918, the first class of student aviators arrived for seaplane training, which launched the station's reputation as a premier training site forNaval Aviators,a reputation which continues today. The base was primarily used for antisubmarine patrol operations and as an elemental flight training station, with more than 500 aviators trained at the station during World War I.

Interwar period[edit]

After World War I, the base was decommissioned and its personnel were transferred or released. Most of the buildings were destroyed or dismantled and moved to other locations. The remaining facilities were used only occasionally during 1920–1930 for seaplane training. The station remained inactive until 1939.

The seaplane base was designated as a Naval Air Station Key West on 15 December 1940 and served as an operating and training base for fleet aircraft squadrons, to include seaplane, land-based aircraft, carrier-based aircraft and lighter-than-air blimp squadrons. This set the stage for America's entry into World War II. The government had retained the property during the interwar period of the 1920s and 1930s, which proved to be a wise decision as the nation scrambled to re-arm in a state of emergency at the outbreak of the war.

World War II[edit]

Barracks, Dec. 1939

Naval Base Key West was reopened just prior to the United States' entry intoWorld War IIto support Navydestroyers,submarines, patrol craft andPBYflying boat andamphibious aircraft.Other satellite facilities were established to support other war efforts, includingMeachum Fieldfor lighter-than-air blimp operations on Key West, and runways for land-based and carrier-based aircraft on Boca Chica Key.

By 1943,German Navysubmarines were operating so near Key West that they were sinkingallied shipswithin sight of land. Submarine raids peaked in May of that year, when 49 ships weretorpedoedoff the coast of Florida. As the war continued, German submarines were progressively attrited by U.S. Navy and Allied antisubmarine warfare forces and German torpedo raids byU-boatsdecreased. In March 1945, the satellite airfields, some previously known asNaval Auxiliary Air Facility Boca ChicaandNaval Auxiliary Air Station Boca Chicawere disestablished and combined into a single aviation activity designated asU.S. Naval Air Station, Key West.

Aerial view of NAS Key West in the 1940s

Cold War[edit]

After World War II ended, NAS Key West was retained as a training facility. On 1 June 1962, the Navy AN/FPS-37 Radar site was added to theUnited States Air Force(USAF)Air Defense CommandSemi Automatic Ground Environment(SAGE) network feeding data to DC-09 atGunter AFB,Alabama. The USAF671st Radar Squadronwas activated and NAS Key West was designated asNORADID "Z-209". During theCuban Missile Crisis,theUnited States Armymoved inNike Herculesanti-aircraftsurface-to-air missiles,of the 6th Missile Battalion,65th Artillery,fromFort Meade,in the Homestead and Miami area.[6]MIM-23 Hawksurface to air missiles were set up in and around Key West using the radar facilities.[7]ARADCOM designated the site as AADCP site KW-18DC under theHomestead-Miami Defense Area.TheCudjoe Key AFSsite was also added to the SAGE network at that time (Z-399), being operated by contractors. A battalion of the 65th Artillery (later to become the65th Air Defense Artillery) was to stay until 1979. 6-65 ADA became 1-65 ADA on 13 September 1972; the battalion stayed in the area until June 1979, when it was moved toFort Bliss.[6]

NAS Key West was to become a focal point during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, which posed the first doorstep threat to the United States in more than a century.Reconnaissanceand operational flights were begun 22 October 1962, in support of theblockade around Cuba.During the Missile Crisis, Key West cemented its claim to the title "Gibraltar of the Gulf", coined over a hundred years earlier by CommodoreDavid Porter.

By 1964, the USAF added anAN/FPS-6A height-finder radar at NAS Key West, which was modified to anAN/FPS-90set when a second radar was added. Routine general radar surveillance was performed by the USAF at NAS Key West until 1988, upgrading the radar to anAN/FPS-67B in 1966. In 1979, the 671st Radar Squadron was replaced by the 20th Air Defense Squadron, Operating Location Alpha Juliet (OL-AJ). By 1988, the last of the two AN/FPS-90 sets was removed. Today, anARSR-4radar is part of theJoint Surveillance System(JSS), designated byNORADasSoutheast Air Defense Sector(SEADS) Ground Equipment Facility "J-07".[8]Literally built up from sea bottom, reefs, tidal areas and mangrove swamps, all of the NAS Key West sites, including theHarry S. TrumanAnnex (formerlyNaval Station Key West), Trumbo Point, Meacham Field (Key West International Airport), and Boca Chica, were now permanently etched in military history.

In 1946,Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 1(VX-1)was established at NAS Key West and for the next three decades conducted airborne antisubmarine warfare (ASW) systems evaluation out of Boca Chica, whileHelicopter Antisubmarine Squadron 1(HS-1) conducted Atlantic Fleet helicopter fleet replacement training in theSH-3 Sea Kingout of the former seaplane base at Trumbo Point. This continued until the late 1960s/early 1970s when these squadrons relocated toNAS Patuxent River,Maryland andNAS Jacksonville,Florida, respectively, with HS-1 having an intermediate base assignment toNAS Quonset Point,Rhode Island prior to its final relocation to NAS Jacksonville.

In the 1970s,Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 33(VAQ-33) relocated to NAS Key West fromNAS Norfolk,Virginia with a mix ofNC-121K,ERA-3B / TA-3B / KA-3B Skywarrior,EA-6A Intruder,EA-4F Skyhawk II,EP-3 Orionand the sole example of theEF-4B/EF-4J Phantom IIaircraft. Reporting as an element of theFleet Electronic Warfare Support Group(FEWSG), the squadron provided "Orange Air" electronic adversary services for fleet training until its disestablishment the early 1990s. VAQ-33 was also the last A-3 Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) and Fleet Readiness Aviation Maintenance Personnel (FRAMP) school, providing training for A-3 Skywarrior pilots, navigators, electronic warfare officers, enlisted aircrewmen and maintenance personnel. VAQ-33 remained at NAS Key West until it was inactivated in 1993.

RA-5C BuNo 156624 of RVAH-6. This aircraft is now preserved at theNational Naval Aviation MuseumatNAS Pensacola.

In 1973,Reconnaissance Attack Wing 1(RECONATKWING ONE) began relocation from the closingNAS Albany,Georgia with itsRA-5C Vigilante,TA-3B SkywarriorandTA-4F/J Skyhawk IIaircraft. An operational/deployable fleet unit, the wing relocated Reconnaissance Attack Squadron THREE (RVAH-3), the single site RA-5C Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS), to NAS Key West, as well as nine other deployable Vigilante squadrons (RVAH-1,RVAH-5,RVAH-6,RVAH-7,RVAH-9,RVAH-11,RVAH-12andRVAH-13(RVAH-14disestablished at NAS Albany prior to relocation) that routinely embarked with Atlantic Fleet and Pacific Fleet carrier air wings aboardForrestal,Kitty Hawk,EnterpriseandNimitzclass aircraft carriers. All RVAH squadrons were in place at NAS Key West by late 1974 and all were eventually decommissioned over a six-year period that coincided with the phased retirement of the RA-5C. Following decommissioning of the last RA-5C squadron, RVAH-7, Reconnaissance Attack Wing ONE subsequently stood down in early 1980.

F-14B BuNo 163222 of VF-101

Due to its superb flying weather, NAS Key West has also hosted several permanent detachments of the fighter and strike fighter Fleet Replacement Squadrons (FRS) atNAS Oceana,Virginia. This includes the former Atlantic FleetF-4 Phantom IIFRS,Fighter Squadron 171(VF-171), from the 1970s through the 1980s; and the former Atlantic Fleet F-4 and thenF-14 TomcatFRS,Fighter Squadron 101(VF-101), from the 1960s through 1970s in the F-4 and the 1970s through 2005 in the F-14. The focus of both of these detachments revolved around the Fleet Fighter Air Readiness Program (FFARP).

The Atlantic FleetF/A-18 HornetandF/A-18E/F Super HornetFleet Replacement Squadron,Strike Fighter Squadron 106(VFA-106), based atNAS Cecil Field,Florida until 1999 and since based at NAS Oceana, continues to maintain an NAS Key West detachment to this day in support of FFARP's successor, the Strike Fighter Advanced Readiness Program (SFARP).

VFA-106 F/A-18Cs and VFC-111 F-5Ns at NAS Key West, 2007

During the 1980s and 1990s,Fighter Squadron 45 (VF-45)was also based at NAS Key West to provide air combat adversary services withA-4 Skyhawk II,F-5E/F Freedom FighterandF-16N Fighting Falconaircraft. Decommissioned in the late 1990s due to post-Cold War budget cuts, VF-45's former mission at NAS Key West is now performed byFighter Composite Squadron 111(VFC-111), anactive dutyintegratedNavy Reservesquadron flying the F-5N and F-5F.

Late Cold War / Post-Cold War / Present day[edit]

During the 1980s and into the mid-1990s, NAS Key West's Trumbo Point Annex and Truman Annex waterfront pier areas served as the home port for thePegasus-class hydrofoilsof Patrol Hydrofoil Missile Squadron TWO (PHMRON TWO).

In the late summer of 1994, NAS Key West also served as a primary staging base for Operations Support Democracy andUphold Democracyin Haiti. The station hosted a wide variety of military aircraft during this period, to include multiple U.S. NavyP-3C Orionaircraft, USAFE-3A SentryAWACSaircraft and thePennsylvania Air National Guard'sEC-130E Hercules"Commando Solo" aircraft that were engaged in the operations.

On 5 October 2001, Naval Air Station Key West was temporarily downgraded and redesignated asNaval Air Facility Key West,but on 1 April 2003, the air facility was upgraded and restored back to full air station status asNaval Air Station Key West.[9]

USAF9th Reconnaissance WingU-2Slanding at NAS Key West in 2008 with a VFC-111 F-5N in foreground.

As in the past, NAS Key West continues to be frequently utilized for detachments by active and reserve U.S. Navy strike fighter squadrons and carrier airborne early warning squadrons,U.S. Marine Corpsattack and fighter/attack squadrons, and USAF,Air Force ReserveandAir National Guardfighter and rescue squadrons for exercises, and unit level training/continuation training. TheNaval Air Training Commandalso uses NAS Key West forNaval AviatorandNaval Flight Officertraining detachments, primarily student Naval Aviators in the strike aircraft pipeline during initial carrier qualifications.

Units conducting detachment training at NAS Key West utilize the Key West Complex airspace, a system of overwater Warning Areas to the south between the Florida Keys and the island of Cuba, to the west beyond theDry Tortugas,and to the northwest over theGulf of Mexico.Warning Area 174 (W-174), Warning Area 465 (W-465), the Key West OPAREA, and the Bonefish Air Traffic Control Assigned Airspace (ATCAA) define the Key West Complex airspace. The majority of the airspace is covered by a Tactical Aircrew Combat Training System (TACTS) range that continuously tracks aircraft positions and maneuvering parameters, recording everything for later playback during mission debrief.[10]

U.S. NavyP-3C,P-8A,E-2CandE-2Daircraft also routinely conduct detachment operations at NAS Key West, primarily conducting counternarcotics reconnaissance missions in the Gulf of Mexico and theCaribbean Basinin support of both theU.S. Coast Guardand Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATF – SOUTH).

In 2019, a 20-year-old Chinese student received a year in prison for photographing the facility.[11]

Tenant commands[edit]

Facilities[edit]

Several structures of the main base of NAS Key West can be seen onBoca Chica Key

NAS Key West's Boca Chica Field has three pavedrunways:

  • Runway 08/26: 10,001 x 200 ft. (3,048 x 61 m), Surface: PEM
  • Runway 04/22: 7,002 x 150 ft. (2,134 x 46 m), Surface: PEM
  • Runway 14/32: 7,001 x 150 ft. (2,134 x 46 m), Surface: PEM

[12]

Auxiliary annexes[edit]

In addition to the main air station on Boca Chica Key, NAS Key West comprises several separate annexes in the Key West area. These additional properties include:

  • Truman Annex(the formerNaval Station Key Westsurface ship and submarine base until 1974)
  • Trumbo Point Annex (the former NAS Key West seaplane base)
  • Sigsbee Park Annex
  • Naval Branch Health Clinic Key West (site of the formerNaval Hospital Key West)

NAS Key West also holds responsibility for several other properties and activities in the Florida Keys. Most military family housing, as well as theNavy Exchange,Commissary,Navy Lodge guest billeting,RV parkand otherMorale, Welfare and Recreation(MWR) activities are located atSigsbee Park,a man-made island on the north side of Key West created from dredging of seaplane runways for the NAS Key West seaplane base at Trumbo Point in the 1940s. Family housing is located at both Trumbo Point and the Truman Annex, while single enlisted service members are housed at the main installation at Boca Chica and on Truman Annex. Family housing is managed by Balfour Beatty Communities, a public-private venture (PPV) partner.

Also at Trumbo Point is the Navy Gateway Inns and Suites (NGIS), formerly known as the Bachelor Officers Quarters (BOQ) and later the Combined Bachelor Quarters (CBQ). NGIS accommodates transient government personnel and dependents. Distinguished Visitors (DV) quarters are also available for senior commissioned officers (O-6throughO-10). The CBQ is very visible from North Roosevelt Boulevard and Palm Avenue, with its"FLYNAVY "logo painted prominently on the south side of the building (it is the tallest building on the island of Key West). It is approximately a mile, or a twenty-five-minute walk, from the NGIS to Duval Street downtown.

Truman Annex is the remaining portion of the formerNaval Station Key Westthat closed in 1974 that is still under military control. It has a beach and is the location of Headquarters,Joint Interagency Task Force South(JIATF South). Upon closure of Naval Station Key West, theFort Zachary Taylorproperty formerly on the base was turned over to the State of Florida as aFlorida State ParkandNational Historic Site.

Fleming Key is the site of theU.S. Army Special ForcesUnderwater Operations School. NAS Key West also provides a degree of support forCudjoe Key Air Force Station,aU.S. Air Forceinstallation located north of Key West onCudjoe Key,that is home to the Cudjoe Key Tethered Aerostat Radar System[13]

Accidents and incidents[edit]

The following notable accidents and incidents have occurred at NAS Key West:

  • April 25, 1951:Cubana de Aviación Flight 493,aDouglas DC-4bound from Miami to Havana, registrationCU-T188,collided with a U.S. NavyBeechcraft SNB-1,bureau number39939,on a practiceinstrumentapproach to NAS Key West. Both aircraft plunged into the sea; Navy personnel at the base witnessed the accident and immediately launched rescue and recovery efforts, but all 34 passengers and five crew aboard the DC-4 were killed, along with the pilot-instructor, two student pilots, and radio operator aboard the SNB. The accident occurred at midday, weather was clear with unlimited visibility, and both flights had been cleared to fly undervisual flight rules,being expected to "see and avoid" other aircraft; the student flying the SNB was wearing view-limiting goggles, but the other SNB crew were not, and were expected to keep watch. Ground witnesses said that neither aircraft took evasive action prior to the collision, and theCivil Aeronautics Boardattributed the accident to the failure of both flight crews to see and avoid conflicting air traffic.[14]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^FAA Airport Form 5010 for NQXPDF
  2. ^Ranter, Harro."Key West NAS, FL profile - Aviation Safety Network".aviation-safety.net.
  3. ^FAA Airport Form 5010 for NQXPDF,effective 2007-10-25
  4. ^"Cubic's Next Generation Air Combat Training System Now Operational at NAS Key West, Luke AFB > Cubic Corporation".cubic.Archived fromthe originalon 2011-05-19.
  5. ^"Naval Air Station Key West".cnic.navy.mil.
  6. ^ab"65th Artillery History".Archived fromthe originalon 2019-05-16.Retrieved2019-05-16.
  7. ^Key West Hawk Missile Site Map.Keyshistory.org. Retrieved on 2013-09-18.
  8. ^Winkler, David F. (1997), Searching the skies: the legacy of the United States Cold War defense radar program. Prepared for United States Air Force Headquarters Air Combat Command.
  9. ^"NAS Key West: Command History".Naval Air Station Key West (official site).Archived fromthe originalon 2006-12-09.Retrieved2006-12-10.
  10. ^Pike, John."Key West Complex".globalsecurity.org.
  11. ^"Chinese student sentenced for photos of US Navy base - CNN Video".CNN.
  12. ^"Key West Naval Air Station (Boca Chica Field)".Retrieved2016-01-20.
  13. ^"Naval Air Station Key West".GlobalSecurity.org.Retrieved2006-12-10.
  14. ^Investigation of Aircraft Accident: COMPANIA CUBANA DE AVIACION AND U.S. NAVY: KEY WEST, FLORIDA: 1951-04-25(Report). Civil Aeronautics Board. October 22, 1951. F-104-51.RetrievedJanuary 18,2022.

External links[edit]

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