| Naval Air Station Alameda | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nimitz Field | |||||||||
| Alameda,California in the United States | |||||||||
_(2).jpg) AnA-7 Corsair IIgate guardian at the former NAS Alameda in 2006 | |||||||||
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  Alameda Location in the United States | |||||||||
| Coordinates | 37°47′10″N122°19′07″W / 37.78611°N 122.31861°W /37.78611; -122.31861 | ||||||||
| Type | Naval air station | ||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||
| Owner | Department of Defense | ||||||||
| Operator | U.S. Navy | ||||||||
| Condition | Closed | ||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||
| Built | 1927 (as Alameda Airport) | ||||||||
| In use | 1940 (1940)–1997 (1997) | ||||||||
| Fate | Transferred toCity of Alameda for redevelopment (Alameda Point) | ||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||
| Identifiers | IATA: NGZ,ICAO: KNGZ,WMO: 745060 | ||||||||
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| Designated | 23 January 2013 | ||||||||
| Reference no. | 12001191 | ||||||||
| Period | 1900– | ||||||||
| Area of significance |
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| Official name | Site of the China Clipper flight departure | ||||||||
| Designated | 5 November 1985 | ||||||||
| Reference no. | 968 | ||||||||
Naval Air Station Alameda (NAS Alameda) was aUnited States NavyNaval Air Station inAlameda, California, onSan Francisco Bay.[1]
NAS Alameda had tworunways: 13–31 measuring 8,000 ft × 200 ft (2,438 m × 61 m) and 07-25 measuring 7,200 ft × 200 ft (2,195 m × 61 m). Twohelicopter pads and acontrol tower were also part of the facilities.
In 1927,wetlands at the west end of Alameda Island on the east shore ofSan Francisco Bay werefilled to form an airport (Alameda Airport) with an east–west runway, threehangars, an administration building, and a yacht harbor. The airport site included theAlameda Terminal of theFirst transcontinental railroad (California Historical Landmark #440). By 1930,United States Army Air Corps operations referred to the site asBenton Field.Pan American World Airways used the yacht harbor as the California terminal forChina Clipper trans-Pacific flights beginning in 1935. TheChina Clipper terminal is designated California Historical Landmark #968.
On 1 June 1936, the city ofAlameda, California ceded the airport to the United States government a few months before the Army discontinued operations from the field. Pan American World Airways shifted its terminal toTreasure Island in 1939 for theGolden Gate International Exposition. Congressional appropriations passed in 1938 for construction ofnaval air station facilities for twocarrier air wings, fiveseaplane squadrons and two utility squadrons. Appropriations were increased in 1940 for construction of two seaplane hangars and anaircraft carrier berthing pier. Naval operations began on 1 November 1940.[2] – 1997 Fleet Air Wing 8 began patrol and scouting missions following theattack on Pearl Harbor. In April 1942,USS Hornet loaded at Alameda the 16B-25 aircraft that would take part in theDoolittle Raid on Japan.[2] From August through December 1944, future US PresidentRichard Nixon was assigned to Fleet Air Wing 8 at Naval Air Station Alameda, California.[3]
Air support training unit No. 2 at Alameda included the fleetradar operator's school,Linkcelestial navigation trainer school, and aviationstorekeeper school.[4] AsWorld War II continued, Alameda became headquarters for a system of auxiliary airfields:[2]
Alameda remained an important naval base through theCold War. From 1949 to 1953, the Navy based theLockheed R6V Constitution—the largest airplane ever listed on the Navy inventory—at NAS Alameda. The two prototypes regularly flew between nearbyNAS Moffett Field andPearl Harbor, Hawaii.
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During theVietnam War portion of the Cold War and its later post-Vietnam era, the base was homeport to the aircraft carriersCoral Sea,Hancock,Oriskany,Enterprise,Ranger,Carl Vinson andAbraham Lincoln NAS Alameda also housed a major aircraft overhaul facility employing thousand of civilian employees that was known asNaval Air Rework Facility (NARF)Alameda and later renamedNaval Aviation Depot (NADEP)Alameda.[2]
The base was also the focus for northern CaliforniaNaval Air Reserve operations after 1961, hosting various Reserve Force Squadrons attached to Carrier Air Wing Reserve 30 (CVWR-30), also known as CAG-30, equipped with aircraft such as theKA-3 Skywarrior...later replaced by theA-6 Intruder, and theA-4 Skyhawk...later replaced byA-7 Corsair II. Other Naval Air Reserve Force Squadrons external to CVWR-30 flew theSikorsky H-34 Sea Horse...later replaced by theSH-3 Sea King, theCH-53 Sea Stallion, andMH-53E Sea Dragon. Another land-based squadron under Fleet Logistics Support Wing flew theC-9 Skytrain II. In the 1960s, a Naval Air Reserve unit also flew theP-2 Neptune before relocating to nearbyNAS Moffett Field, transitioning to theP-3 Orion, and being established as Reserve patrol squadron in 1970. Runways were lengthened for jet aircraft, and the airfield was renamedNimitz Field in 1967 following the death ofFleet AdmiralChester W. Nimitz.
The base was closed in 1997 pursuant toBase Realignment and Closure action. Its runways were also closed and the airfield was not reutilized as a civilian airport.[5]
After the base closed on 25 April 1997,USS Hornet was given to the former air station to be used as amuseum ship, theUSSHornet Museum.
The television seriesMythBusters often conducted vehicle-based experiments on the grounds of the station (referred to on-air as the "Alameda Runway"), due to the extensive safety zone that could be set up around the test site. For the same reason, this location has been used as a checkpoint for theBullrun rally race; the lengthy airstrip allowed for the staging of a challenge involving chasing asemi-trailer.
A two-mile freeway loop was constructed on the base for the filming of a lengthy car chase sequence for the movieThe Matrix Reloaded. The loop cost over $1.5 million to construct and was used solely for shooting the film's chase scenes (a seven-week-long process) before it was demolished.[6] The route is still visible on some aerial photography on the former Runway 07/25 and Runway 13/31.
Since 2000, the city of Alameda has been planning the redevelopment of the former Naval Air Station, now known asAlameda Point. Complicating the redevelopment are several constraints: land-use constraints consisting of Tidelands Trust; soil and groundwater contamination; wildlife refuge buffer requirements; geotechnical issues; 100-year flood plans; institutional and contractual constraints with Alameda Measure A, the Alameda Naval Air Station Historic District and existing residents and leases.
In August 2001, Alameda selected Alameda Point Community Partners (APCP) as the master developer for the property. APCP was a partnership of financier Morgan Stanley, Shea Homes of Livermore, Centex Homes of Dallas and the Industrial Realty Group. The development was estimated to cost $2 billion and take 15 years to complete. Alameda Point Community Partners was selected over Catellus and Harbor Bay/Lennar, and signed a two-year exclusive negotiating contract as the property's master developer.
By 2005, only Shea Homes and Centex Homes were working on redevelopment plans, and a Preliminary Development Concept called for building 1,700 homes on the site. In July 2006, the City of Alameda and the Navy agreed to a $108 million purchase deal. In September 2006, APCP decided that it would not move forward with the development plan identified in the Preliminary Development Concept and withdrew from the project.
In May 2007, the city selected SunCal Companies as the master developer from a field of five applicant firms that sought to develop 770 acres (310 ha). In July 2007, the city and SunCal entered into an exclusive negotiating agreement as SunCal began to gather community input and develop preliminary plans.
In August 2010, the Alameda City Council voted to terminate the exclusive negotiating agreement with SunCal and halt its proposal for the former Naval Air Station. Various reasons were cited in the staff report leading up to the vote, including the developer- and city-initiated ballot measure related to the project that was defeated in February 2010 by a margin of 85%.
NAS Alameda was listed as aSuperfund cleanup site on 22 July 1999. 25 locations on the base were identified as needingremediation. The largest of the individual locations is the West Beach Landfill which occupies approximately 110 acres (44.5 ha) in the southwestern corner of the base. Tests of the landfill indicatepolychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination.[7]
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