| Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cunningham Field | |||||||||||||
| Havelock,North Carolina in theUnited States | |||||||||||||
_252_and_his_family_share_a_final_moment_together_while_walking_toward_a_KC-130J_Hercules_aircraft_at_Marine_Corps_Air_Station_Cherry_Point_130717-M-OT671-061.jpg) KC-130J Hercules ofVMG-252 on the flight-line MCAS Cherry Point. | |||||||||||||
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| Site information | |||||||||||||
| Type | Marine Corps Air Station | ||||||||||||
| Owner | Department of Defense | ||||||||||||
| Operator | US Marine Corps | ||||||||||||
| Controlled by | Marine Corps Installations – East | ||||||||||||
| Condition | Operational | ||||||||||||
| Location | |||||||||||||
  MCAS Cherry Point Location in the United States | |||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 34°54′03″N076°52′51″W / 34.90083°N 76.88083°W /34.90083; -76.88083 | ||||||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||||||
| Built | 1942; 83 years ago (1942) | ||||||||||||
| In use | 1942 – present | ||||||||||||
| Garrison information | |||||||||||||
| Current commander | Colonel Brendan Burks | ||||||||||||
| Garrison | 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing | ||||||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||||||
| Identifiers | ICAO: KNKT,FAA LID: NKT,WMO: 723090 | ||||||||||||
| Elevation | 8.8 metres (29 ft)AMSL | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| Other airfield facilities | 5xV/STOL pads | ||||||||||||
| Source:Federal Aviation Administration[1] | |||||||||||||
Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point orMCAS Cherry Point (*34°54′03″N76°52′51″W / 34.9009°N 76.8807°W /34.9009; -76.8807) (ICAO:KNKT,FAALID:NKT) is aUnited States Marine Corps airfield located inHavelock, North Carolina, United States, in the eastern part of the state. It was built in 1941, and was commissioned in 1942 and is currently home to the2nd Marine Aircraft Wing.
Congress authorized Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point on 9 July 1941, with an initial appropriation of $14,990,000 for construction and clearing of an 8,000 acre (32 km2) tract ofswamps, farms and timberland.
Actual clearing of the site began on 6 August 1941, with extensive drainage and malaria control work. Construction began in November just 17 days before theattack on Pearl Harbor. Lieutenant ColonelThomas J. Cushman served as the Marine Corps representative supervising construction by the NavyCivil Engineer Corps and later served as the first commanding officer of the air station.[2]
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On 20 May 1942, the facility was commissionedCunningham Field, named in honor of the Marine Corps' first aviator, Lieutenant ColonelAlfred A. Cunningham. The completed facility was later renamed Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, after a local post office situated among cherry trees.
Cherry Point's primaryWorld War II mission was to train units and individual Marines for service to thePacific theater. The air station also served as a base foranti-submarine operations, with anArmy Air Forces (22nd Antisubmarine Squadron) and later aNavy squadron each being responsible for the sinking of aGermanU-boat just off the North Carolina coast during 1943.
Cherry Point's contribution to theKorean War effort was to provide a steady stream of trained aviators and air crewmen as well as maintenance and support personnel as replacements to forward deployed aviation units.
During theVietnam War, Cherry Point deployed threeA-6 Intruder squadrons to theFar East and again provided a constant source of replacements for aircrews and enlisted aviation personnel.
InOperation Desert Storm, Cherry Point was a major contributor to the victory inSouthwest Asia by supporting the deployment of threeAV-8B Harrier squadrons, two A-6E Intruder squadrons, oneKC-130 Hercules squadron, oneEA-6B Prowler squadron, and headquarters detachments fromMarine Aircraft Group 14,Marine Aircraft Group 32, and the2nd Marine Aircraft Wing.
Cherry Point Marines and Navy Corpsmen participated in strike missions and follow-on operations inAfghanistan and its surrounding region duringOperation Enduring Freedom, which was initiated on 7 October 2001.
On 8 September 2007, the headquarters building (198) was gutted by a fire.[3] The groundbreaking ceremony for the new Headquarters Building was on 29 July 2009, with completion planned for sometime in 2011.
The air station and its associated support locations occupy more than 29,000 acres (120 km2). Its runway system is large enough that the air station served as analternate emergency landing site for theSpace Shuttle launches out ofCape Canaveral,Florida.[4][5]
In 2013, Cherry Point hosted warfighters, technology teams and testers under the flags of 10 nations and each of the U.S. military services for the 11th Bold Quest coalition demonstration. TheJoint Staff, J6Joint Deployable Analysis Team (JDAT) led the test plan design, execution control, and emplaced the necessary infrastructure to connect the numerous geographic sites across seven states. Cherry Point was chosen for its ideal location for hosting East Coast military assets, supporting two U.S. Navy warships operating offshore, theArleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyerUSS Jason Dunham andTiconderoga-class guided missile cruiserUSS San Jacinto.[6]
In 2024,VMFA-251 received their firstJoint Strike Fighter aircraft, making it the first active dutyF-35C Lightning II squadron on the East Coast.[7]
On 1 July 1957 theUnited States Air Force (USAF)614th Airborne Control and Warning Squadron established anAir Defense Command Phase I Mobile Radar station (M-116) at Cherry Point. This station was part of the planned deployment of forty-four Mobile radar stations. The USAF activated anAN/FPS-6 and twoAN/FPS-8 radars located adjacent to Base Flight Operations. These radars were placed on top of 90-foot (27 m) towers without radomes, and initially the station functioned as aGround-Control Intercept (GCI) and warning station. As a GCI station, the squadron's role was to guide interceptor aircraft toward unidentified intruders picked up on the unit's radar scopes.
In addition to the radars on the air station, two unmannedAN/FPS-14 "Gap Filler" sites, one atEngelhard, NC (M-116B)35°29′49″N076°00′34″W / 35.49694°N 76.00944°W /35.49694; -76.00944 (M-116B) and one atHolly Ridge, NC (M-116C)34°30′50″N077°32′08″W / 34.51389°N 77.53556°W /34.51389; -77.53556 (M-116C/M-115C) were set up for additional coverage.
One of the AN/FPS-8s was damaged byHurricane Donna in 1960. The radars were turned over to the Navy on 30 April 1960, and the Marine Corps retained the other undamaged AN/FPS-8 radar for a number of years for base air traffic control.
During 1961 M-116 joined theSemi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system, initially feeding data to DC-04 atFort Lee AFS, Virginia. After joining, the squadron was re-designated as the614th Radar Squadron (SAGE) on 1 March 1963. The radar squadron provided information 24/7 the SAGE Direction Center where it was analyzed to determine range, direction altitude speed and whether or not aircraft were friendly or hostile.
USAF radar operations continued at MCAS Cherry Point until 1 August 1963 when budget reductions and a general draw-down of antiaircraft radar sites closed the facility.[8][9]
Flying units based at MCAS Cherry Point[10]
| Insignia | Squadron | Code | Callsign/Nickname | Assigned Aircraft | Operational Assignment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 251 | VMFA-251 | Thunderbolts | F-35C Lightning II | 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing |
 | Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 542 | VMFA-542 | Tigers | F-35B Lightning II | 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing |
 | Marine Attack Squadron 223 | VMA-223 | Bulldogs | AV-8B Harrier II | 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing |
 | Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Training Squadron 2 | VMUT-2 | Night Owls | RQ-21A Blackjack /MQ-9A Reaper | 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing |
 | Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 252 | VMGR-252 | Otis | KC-130J Hercules | 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing |
Flying and notable non-flying units based at MCAS Cherry Point.[11][12][13][14]
United States Marine Corps[edit]Marine Corps Installations – East
| United States Navy[edit]
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MCAS Cherry Point also maintains a number of satellite airfields:
Several former outlying landing fields have been converted to regional airports, such asMCOF Greenville,MCAA Kinston,MCASE near Edenton NC andMCOF New Bern.
This article incorporatespublic domain material from websites or documents of theUnited States Marine Corps.| International | |
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