| Naval Air Station Whiting Field | |
|---|---|
| NearMilton,Florida in theUnited States | |
%2c_on_29_March_2021_(210329-N-QF733-0002).JPG) NAS Whiting Field in 2021 | |
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| Site information | |
| Type | Naval Air Station |
| Owner | Department of Defense |
| Operator | US Navy |
| Controlled by | Navy Region Southeast |
| Condition | Operational |
| Website | Official website |
| Location | |
  NAS Whiting Field Location in the United States | |
| Coordinates | 30°42′45″N87°01′06″W / 30.71250°N 87.01833°W /30.71250; -87.01833 |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1943 (1943) |
| In use | 1943 – present |
| Garrison information | |
| Garrison | Training Air Wing Five |
| Airfield information | |
| Identifiers | WMO: 722226 |
| For airfield information seeNAS Whiting Field – North andNAS Whiting Field – South | |
Naval Air Station Whiting Field is aUnited States Navy base located nearMilton, Florida, with some outlying fields nearNavarre, Florida, in south and centralSanta Rosa County, and is one of the Navy's two primary pilot training bases (the other beingNAS Corpus Christi, Texas). NAS Whiting Field provides training forU.S. Navy,U.S. Marine Corps,Coast Guard, andAir Force student pilots, as well as those of several allied nations. NAS Whiting Field is home toTraining Air Wing Five (TRAWING 5).
NAS Whiting Field is actually two airfields sharing a common support base.Primary Flight Training student aviators fly theBeechcraft T-6 Texan II fromNorth Whiting Field (KNSE) whileAdvanced Helicopter Training takes place utilizing theTH-73A Thrasher atSouth Whiting Field (KNDZ).
Whiting Field is named forKenneth Whiting, who was commissioned from theUnited States Naval Academy on 25 February 1908. Whiting qualified in submarines, commandingUSS Porpoise (SS-7),USS Shark (SS-8),USS Tarpon (SS-175), andUSS Seal (SS-183). In 1914 he learned to fly underOrville Wright and was designatedNaval Aviator number 16. He assumed command of the 1st Naval Air Unit in France following America's entry intoWorld War I and was subsequently assigned to command Naval Air Stations 14 and 15 atRNAS Killingholme,England. He was awarded theNavy Cross "for exceptionally meritorious service in a duty of great responsibility." After the war he was partially responsible for the conversion of collierJupiter into the Navy's first aircraft carrierUSS Langley (CV-1). He subsequently commandedLangley andUSS Saratoga (CV-3), and various air squadrons prior to his retirement as captain in June 1940.
North Field is used solely forT-6 Texan II fixed-wing, primary flight training operations. Students from the United States Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and Air Force (as well as exchange students from various allied nations) go through the T-6BJoint Primary Aircraft Training System syllabus.
South Field is utilized for United States Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Coast Guard, and select NATO/Allied students in the Advanced Helicopter pipeline, flying theTH-73A Thrasher. Upon completion of this syllabus U.S. students will become designated asNaval Aviators and assigned to their respectiveFleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) or the Coast Guard Aviation Training Center in Mobile, Alabama for follow-on-training.
| T-6B Texan II | TH-73A Thrasher |
|---|---|
|
| Name | State | Coordinates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| NOLF Barin | AL[1] | 30°23′21″N87°38′07″W / 30.38917°N 87.63528°W /30.38917; -87.63528 | Primary Student Solo Field: Area 1 |
| NOLF Brewton | AL[1] | 31°03′03″N87°03′57″W / 31.05083°N 87.06583°W /31.05083; -87.06583 | Secondary Student Solo Field: Area 2 |
| NOLF Choctaw | FL[1] | 30°30′33″N86°57′28″W / 30.50917°N 86.95778°W /30.50917; -86.95778 | |
| NOLF Evergreen | AL[1] | 31°24′53″N87°02′40″W / 31.41472°N 87.04444°W /31.41472; -87.04444 | Primary Student Solo Field: Area 2 |
| NOLF Holley | FL[1] | 30°25′32″N86°53′42″W / 30.42556°N 86.89500°W /30.42556; -86.89500 | Closed |
| AL[1] | 30°33′47″N87°48′35″W / 30.56306°N 87.80972°W /30.56306; -87.80972 | Area 1, Closed[a] | |
| NOLF Summerdale | AL[1] | 30°30′28″N87°38′44″W / 30.50778°N 87.64556°W /30.50778; -87.64556 | Area 1 |
| AL[1] | 30°20′37″N87°32′29″W / 30.34361°N 87.54139°W /30.34361; -87.54139 | Closed[a] |
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Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) Whiting Field was commissioned on July 16, 1943, by Rear AdmiralGeorge D. Murray, Commandant of the Naval Air Training Center, and the widow of Naval CaptainKenneth Whiting, after whom the station was named. During construction, aprisoner of war camp was located at the station, providing additional labor.[7]
Jet trainers first arrived at Whiting Field in early August 1949 when eightTO-1 Shooting Stars transferred fromNAS Corpus Christi, Texas as part of a new transitional jet training squadron to commence operations in September 1949, commanded by Lt. Cmdr. V. P. O'Neil, USN.[8] TheBlue Angels demonstration team moved its headquarters to Whiting Field fromNAS Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1955.[9]
In 1982, Lieutenant CommanderBarbara Allen Rainey, the first US female naval aviator, was killed along with a trainee at Naval Outlying Landing Field Evergreen.[10] The subsequent product liability lawsuit led to a U.S. Supreme Court case,Beech Aircraft Corp. v. Rainey.[11]
On Friday August 6, 2021 Training Air Wing 5 received the first one of its new training helicopter. This is theLeonardo TH-73A Thrasher of Italian origin.[12]
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