| Naval Air Station Patuxent River | |||||||||||
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Trapnell Field | |||||||||||
| St. Mary’s County,Maryland in theUnited States | |||||||||||
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| Site information | |||||||||||
| Type | Naval Air Station | ||||||||||
| Owner | Department of Defense | ||||||||||
| Operator | US Navy | ||||||||||
| Controlled by | Naval District Washington | ||||||||||
| Condition | Operational | ||||||||||
| Website | Official website | ||||||||||
| Location | |||||||||||
  NAS Patuxent River Location in Maryland Show map of Maryland NAS Patuxent River NAS Patuxent River (the United States) Show map of the United States | |||||||||||
| Coordinates | 38°17′10″N76°24′42″W / 38.28611°N 76.41167°W /38.28611; -76.41167 | ||||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||||
| Built | 1942 – 1943 | ||||||||||
| In use | 1943 (1943) – present | ||||||||||
| Garrison information | |||||||||||
| Current commander | Captain John Brabazon | ||||||||||
| Garrison | Naval Test Wing Atlantic | ||||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||||
| Identifiers | IATA: NHK,ICAO: KNHK,FAA LID: NHK,WMO: 72404[citation needed] | ||||||||||
| Elevation | 11.8 metres (39 ft)AMSL | ||||||||||
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| Source:Federal Aviation Administration[1] | |||||||||||
Naval Air Station Patuxent River (IATA:NHK,ICAO:KNHK,FAALID:NHK), also known asNAS Pax River, is aUnited Statesnaval air station inSt. Mary’s County,Maryland on theChesapeake Bay near the mouth of thePatuxent River.
It is home to Headquarters,Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), theU.S. Naval Test Pilot School, theAtlantic Test Range,Patuxent River Naval Air Museum, and serves as a center for test and evaluation and systems acquisition relating tonaval aviation. The station also operates a smalloutlying field,NOLF Webster.
Commissioned on April 1, 1943, on land largely acquired througheminent domain, the air station grew rapidly in response toWorld War II and continued to evolve through theCold War to the present.
The 6,400 acres (26 km2) Naval Air Station Patuxent River site is located inLexington Park, Maryland, at the confluence of thePatuxent River and theChesapeake Bay on a peninsula known as Cedar Point.[2]
Naval Air Station Patuxent River (PAX) operated several landfills and other historical disposal areas. The landfills received solid andhazardous wastes. This included spent oil absorbents, solvents, paints, antifreeze, thinners, pesticides and photo lab wastes, sewage treatment plant sludge, cesspool wastes. In the late 1950s,DDT was sprayed and from 1962–1989 various pesticides, including fungicides and insecticides and herbicides, were used, contaminating the ground surface water and groundwater. Base residential housing was within a quarter mile.[3]
In May 1994, PAX was added to theSuperfund program'sNational Priorities List.[2]
As of 2022, several areas were considered "cleaned up" after removing contaminated soil, but there are ongoing maintenance activities such as monitoring and treatment oflandfill gas, groundwater, and using land use controls and institutional controls, eg. restricting fish consumption. At the remaining areas, investigations and remedy selection activities continue.[2]
For example, in April 2021 the Navy disclosed at a NAS Patuxent RiverRestoration Advisory Board meeting that 84,757 ppt ofPFOS were detected in the groundwater at Webster Field.[4]: 24
Prior to 1937 the area wasprime farmland, consisting of several large plantations,Mattapony, Susquehanna, and Cedar Point, as well as numeroustenant andsharecropper properties and a few clusters of vacation homes. The Cedar Point community included several churches, a post office, and a gas station. Some of the old homes now serve as quarters for Navy personnel stationed there.[5]
In 1937, the Navy'sBureau of Aeronautics sought to consolidate aviation test programs, previously being conducted at several stations, includingDahlgren andNorfolk, theWashington Navy Yard,Naval Air Station Anacostia inWashington, D.C., and theNaval Aircraft Factory inPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania. Cedar Point was selected due to its remote location on the coastline, well removed from air traffic congestion, with ample space for weapons testing.[5]
The onset of American involvement inWorld War II spurred establishment of the new air station. Rear AdmiralJohn Henry Towers, Chief of Bureau of Aeronautics, requested approval and authorization to begin construction on December 22, 1941. Secretary of the Navy,Frank Knox, gave approval on 7 January 1942. Construction began on 4 April 1942.
The original civilian residents had about a month, until 1 March 1942, to relocate, as the federal government purchased all the land at a cost of $712,287 for 6,412 acres (26 km2),[5] which in 2013 dollars would be the equivalent of being paid $1,261 per acre. Many residents were forced to sell land that had been in their families for generations. Some families had roots in the area going back 300 years. These included traditional farming, crabbing and fishing families and there were protests. National wartime urgency was felt in Washington at the time to take precedence, and the process of eminent domain went through.
A lack of transportation inSaint Mary's County led the Navy to acquire and revitalize a branchline called theWashington, Brandywine and Point Lookout Railroad, aka "The Farmers' Railroad", fromBrandywine toMechanicsville,Maryland, in June 1942 and build an extension south from Mechanicsville to the air station. Known as the U.S. Government Railroad, the rail line was steam-powered and operated south of Brandywine for exclusive official use until 1954, when thePennsylvania Railroad assumed operation of the line. Rail service ended in 1965, and the line was scrapped, although the right-of-way is still very visible.
A highway extension to the new air station was required by the project—250,000 tons of material were transported by either truck or water routes during a year of construction.[5]
Employing some 7,000 at its peak of construction, the area had a Gold Rush "boom town" feel as local residents were joined by workers from all over the country, eager to get on the high-paying jobs on station.[5]
On 20 October 1942, U.S. Marines first arrived and took over security. Today, the station utilizes Navy Masters-At-Arms (MA) and Navy Civilian PoliceDepartment of Defense Police for standard local law enforcement and theNaval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) for high-profile criminal investigations.
During construction, housing needs far outstripped supply, and barracks were built for workers on the station. Later, several housing areas were erected off station for workers and their families inLexington Park, formerlyJarboesville, named in honor of theUSSLexington, the Navy's second aircraft carrier, lost during theBattle of the Coral Sea on 8 May 1942.[5] The town's expansion had begun.
The station was commissioned"U.S. Naval Air Station, Patuxent River, Maryland" on 1 April 1943. In a ceremony presided over by RADMJohn S. McCain, Sr., then chief of theBureau of Aeronautics, Patuxent River was referred to as "the most needed station in the Navy."[6] The unofficial name had beenCedar Point or theNaval Air Station at Cedar Point, but officials were concerned about possible confusion with theMarine Corps Air Station Cherry Point,North Carolina, so the new facility was named for the adjacent river.
In 1945 theTest Pilot School was established with the Navy's Flight Test Group transferred fromNaval Air Station Anacostia,Washington, DC to NAS Patuxent River.[5]
On June 16, 1945, the Naval Air Test Center was established as a separate entity, incorporating flight test and other test groups, at the Naval Air Station.[7]
The base became a center for testing as several facilities were constructed throughout the 1950s and 1960s, including the facilities forUnited States Naval Test Pilot School (1958), the Weapons Systems Test Division (1960), and the Propulsion System Evaluation Facility. The base also served as the testing facility for theV-22 Osprey.
In addition to its role in testing naval aircraft, during the 1950s to 1970sPatuxent River served as an operational base for a Transport Squadron - VR-1, aTACAMO squadron - VQ-4, Airborne Training Unit Atlantic - AEWTULANT, and VW-11, VW-13 AN VW-15 and a number of Patrol Squadrons includingVP-8, VP-44, VP-49, VP-24, VP-30 and VP-68.
By 1965, reconnaissance Squadron VQ-4, based at NAS Patuxent River, began usingLockheed C-130s equipped with special communications equipment to perform their around-the-clock Take Charge and Move Out (TACAMO) mission. VQ-4 provided long-range, very-low-frequency communications relay between the National Command Center and the ballistic missile submarine fleet. TwoLTV A-7 Corsair II aircraft made the transatlantic crossing from NAS Patuxent River to Évreux, France, in 1967, racking up 3,327 nautical miles in just over seven hours, an unofficial long-distance, non-refueled flight by light attack jet aircraft.
Cooperation with the British led to transatlantic visits to Pax River by RAF squadrons.
Research and development at NAS Patuxent River forged ahead in the 1970s. TheGrumman F-14 Tomcat, theMcDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II jump jet, and theLockheed P-3 Orion were just a few of the major aircraft programs undergoing the rigorous test and evaluation process at NAS Patuxent River. Helicopter programs also achieved major milestones during the 1970s. The Naval Air Test Center (NATC) at NAS Patuxent River took part in helicopter development and testing for new roles, such as minesweeping. The final flight of the service acceptance trials for theBell AH-1 SuperCobra gunship was made at NATC Patuxent River.
On 1 April 1976, Patuxent River's airfield was named after pioneering aviator VADMFrederick M. Trapnell, a former commander of the Naval Air Test Center at the station. Keynote address speaker, ADMFrederick H. Michaelis, Chief ofNaval Material, noted: "All who fly in Navy blue remain indebted to Vice Admiral Trapnell. This field will serve as a living reminder of that debt."[8]
Since the end of theCold War, thePentagon'sBase Realignment and Closure measures have migrated research and testing facilities for both rotary and fixed-wing aircraft to NAS Patuxent River from decommissioned bases. The complex now hosts over 17,000 people, including active-duty service members, civil-service employees, defense contractor employees, andmilitary dependents.[citation needed]
The base was used as a filming location for theHarrison Ford filmRandom Hearts (1999). Ford and directorSydney Pollack both visited Naval Air Station Patuxent River. Ford, a certified pilot, flew the aircraft himself.[citation needed]
In January 1992, the Pax River Station acquired the Aircraft Division of theNaval Air Warfare Center (NAWCAD). The Naval Test Wing Atlantic (NTWL) was already located there, which was a branch of the Naval Air Warfare Center, created in 1991, and located in Washington, DC. Its mission was the development and improvement of weapons. The partnership of these two units led to a "flourishing" of aircraft research and development at Patuxent.
A number of new laboratory facilities on the forefront of research were created:[9] a manned flight simulator, the Aircraft Anechoic Test Facility, the Air Combat Environment Test and Evaluation Facility, the Aircraft Test and Evaluation Facility, and the Captain Steven A. Hazelrigg Flight Test Facility. The physical plant was expanded by new construction: theU.S. Naval Test Pilot School academic building, an Aviation Survival Training Center pool facility and a newair-traffic-control tower.[citation needed]
The base's social infrastructure has grown as well. In 2013, a new, large-size child development center was completed.[citation needed]
In September 2014, Captain Heidi Fleming became the first female commanding officer of NAS Patuxent River, where she served until 2016.[10][11]
For the future, the researchers are looking in the direction of unmanned flight.[citation needed]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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