| Quonset Point Air National Guard Station | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NearNorth Kingstown,Rhode Island in theUnited States | |||||||||
.jpg) An aerial view of Quonset Point ANGS during 2016 | |||||||||
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| Site information | |||||||||
| Type | Air National Guard station | ||||||||
| Owner | Department of Defense | ||||||||
| Operator | US Air Force (USAF) | ||||||||
| Controlled by | Rhode Island Air National Guard | ||||||||
| Condition | Operational | ||||||||
| Location | |||||||||
  Quonset Point ANGS  Quonset Point ANGS | |||||||||
| Coordinates | 41°35′50″N071°24′44″W / 41.59722°N 71.41222°W /41.59722; -71.41222 (Quonset Point ANGS) | ||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||
| Built | 1941 (1941) (as NAS Quonset Point) | ||||||||
| In use | 1941 – present | ||||||||
| Garrison information | |||||||||
| Current commander | Colonel Michael A. Comstock | ||||||||
| Garrison | 143rd Airlift Wing | ||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||
| Identifiers | ICAO: KOQU,FAA LID: OQU,WMO: 725074 | ||||||||
| Elevation | 5.4 metres (18 ft)AMSL | ||||||||
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| Airfield shared withQuonset State Airport Source:Federal Aviation Administration[1] | |||||||||
Quonset Point Air National Guard Station is the home base of theRhode Island Air National Guard143rd Airlift Wing.[2]Naval Air Station (NAS)Quonset Point was aUnited States Naval Base inQuonset Point,Rhode Island, that was deactivated in 1974. Next to NAS Quonset Point wasCamp Endicott at Davisville, home of the Naval Construction Battalions known as theSeabees. Quonset Point also gave its name to theQuonset hut, a standardizedprefabricated building used by the U.S. military starting inWorld War II. Former US PresidentRichard M. Nixon went through basic naval officer training at Quonset Point in 1942.[3]
Commissioned on 12 July 1941, and encompassing what was onceCamp Dyer, NAS Quonset Point was a major naval facility throughout World War II. Beginning in 1943, pilots of theRoyal Navy'sFleet Air Arm were trained at Quonset Point to fly theVought F4U Corsair, which was then brought into service on British aircraft carriers. Squadrons such asVS-33 flewanti-submarine patrols from NAS Quonset Point.[4]
NAS Quonset Point continued as a major naval facility well into the Cold War. Prior to its closure, it had been home to numerous aviation squadrons, primarily those land-based patrol squadrons operating theP-2 Neptune and carrier-based antisubmarine and airborne early warning squadrons operating theS-2 Tracker, theE-1 Tracer,SH3D Sea King helicopters and various modified versions of theA-1 Skyraider.
NAS Quonset Point was also the off-season home of Antarctic Development Squadron Six (VX-6, laterVXE-6) during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, operating theLC-47 Skytrain,LP-2J Neptune,C-54 Skymaster,C-121 Constellation, and eventually theLC-130F and LC-130R Hercules, as well as a variety of helicopters.
In 1950, Coast Guard Air Detachment Quonset Point was established as a sub unit ofCGAS Salem, Massachusetts.
In addition to flying squadrons, the air station was also home to a major aircraft overhaul and repair (O & R) facility, later renamedNaval Air Rework Facility (NARF)Quonset Point. O & R Facilities, and their later incarnation as NARFs, are the predecessor of the present day Fleet Readiness Centers (FRCs), previously known as Naval Aviation Depots (NADEPs).
Boasting a deepwater port, NAS Quonset Point was also homeport to severalEssex class aircraft carriers, including theUSSEssex (CV-9),USSIntrepid (CV-11),USSWasp (CV-18),USSLeyte (CV-32),USSAntietam (CV-36),USSLake Champlain (CV-39), andUSSTarawa (CV-40), as well as their respective carrier air groups (CAGs or CVSGs). In September 1945, Air Wing Eighteen becameAir Wing Seven here.
NAS Quonset Point was decommissioned on 28 June 1974[5] as part of a series of defense cutbacks which resulted in a nationwide reduction in bases following the end of the US engagement in Vietnam.
Since the Navy's departure, a smaller military presence has remained in the form of Quonset Point Air National Guard Station, home to the143rd Airlift Wing (143 AW), anAir Mobility Command (AMC)-gained unit of theRhode Island Air National Guard, operating theC-130J and C-130J-30 Hercules aircraft.[6] The Rhode Island Army National Guard also maintains an adjoining Army Aviation Support Facility for the 1st Battalion, 126th Aviation Regiment, operating theUH-60 Black Hawk.
Now known asQuonset State Airport (IATA: OQU, ICAO: KOQU), the former NAS Quonset Point is a public general aviation airport with tenantAir National Guard andArmy National Guard flying activities, as well as an adjacent industrial park. There is no scheduled airline service. The airport lies within Class D airspace and has an operating non-federal air traffic 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 theRhode Island Airport Corporation.
Quonset Point Air National Guard Station is the home of the143rd Airlift Wing (143 AW), aRhode Island Air National Guard unit operationally gained by theAir Mobility Command (AMC) of theU.S. Air Force. The mission of the 143 AW is to provide air logistics support pursuant to both its state and federal missions. Originally located atTheodore Francis Green Airport inWarwick, Rhode Island, the 143 AW relocated to the formerNaval Air Station Quonset Point in the mid-1980s, with the base initially consisting of 79 acres of leased land.[2]
By July 2001 the base had an additional lease for approximately 15 acres used for the development of their master plan and will allow for construction of facilities to support new C-130J transport aircraft. There are a total of 12 facilities on base: 4 industrial, 6 administrative and 2 services with no family housing. Current base population is approximately 360 personnel during non-drill duty days and increases to approximately 599 personnel on a drill duty weekend, otherwise known as a Unit Training Assembly (UTA), that occurs once per month.[2]
In its 2005 BRAC Recommendations, the DoD would realign Martin State Air National Guard Base (akaWarfield Air National Guard Base), Maryland. The DoD recommended to distribute the eight C-130J aircraft of the 175th Wing (ANG) to the 146th Airlift Wing (ANG), Channel Islands Air National Guard Station, California (four aircraft), and the 143d Airlift Wing (ANG), Quonset State Airport Air National Guard Station, Rhode Island (four aircraft). This recommendation would move C-130Js to Channel Islands ANGS (96), and Quonset State ANGS (125), both of which ranked higher in military value and already operate the J-model C-130, avoiding conversion training costs.[2]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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