| Naval Air Station Albany | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Turner Field | |||||||
| Albany,Georgia in the United States | |||||||
 ARA-5C Vigilante ofReconnaissance Attack (Heavy) Squadron 14 over NAS Albany in 1969 | |||||||
 | |||||||
| Site information | |||||||
| Type | Naval air station | ||||||
| Owner | Department of Defense | ||||||
| Operator | US Navy | ||||||
| Condition | Closed | ||||||
| Location | |||||||
  Albany Location in the United States | |||||||
| Coordinates | 31°35′38″N84°06′00″W / 31.594°N 84.100°W /31.594; -84.100 | ||||||
| Site history | |||||||
| Built | 1941 (1941) | ||||||
| In use | 1941 – 1946 (US Army Air Forces) 1947 – 1966 (US Air Force) 1966 – 1974 (1974) (US Navy) | ||||||
| Fate | Redeveloped as abrewery in 1979 byMiller Brewing Company | ||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||
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Naval Air Station Albany (formerlyTurner Air Force Base andTurner Field) is a formerUnited States Air Force andUnited States Navy military airfield located inAlbany, Georgia.
In mid-1940 theU.S. Army Air Corps approached the city of Albany about the possibility of building a training base near Albany. The city raised the necessary money and purchased 4,900 acres of land which was then leased to the Army for $51 a year. Construction of the base and airfield, named Air Corps Advanced Flying School, Albany by theUnited States Army Corps of Engineers began on 25 March 1941.[1] On 21 July 1941, the field was named Turner Field in honor of Lt. Sullivan Turner, a Georgia native killed in a midair collision.[2]
Once operational, Turner Field was used for acclimatization training (for foreign trainees) and advanced flight training as part of the30th Flying Training Wing. Primary flight training in theBoeing-Stearman PT-17 Kaydet was done atDarr Aero Tech also in Albany.[3] Under theArnold Scheme some 5,000Royal Air Force trainees were trained at Turner Field and Darr Aero Tech between 1941 and 1943.[4] In 1944 Turner Field began trainingFree French Air Forces pilots to fly theNorth American B-25 Mitchell of which more than 100 were based at Turner Field.[5]
Turner Field was deactivated on 15 August 1946 and maintained in caretaker status.[2]
On 1 April 1947, the airfield was reactivated.[2] On 13 January 1948, it was renamed Turner Air Force Base.
On 20 November 1947 the31st Tactical Fighter Wing equipped withNorth American F-51 Mustangs moved there fromLangley Field and would remain there until 25 August 1948.[6]
In 1950 the base was transferred fromContinental Air Command (CAC) toStrategic Air Command (SAC).[7]
The40th Air Division was based at Turner from 14 March 1951 to 1 April 1957.[8]
The508th Fighter-Escort Wing (later renamed the 508th Strategic Fighter Wing) was based at Turner from July 1952 until 11 May 1956.[6]: 275
The4080th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing was established at Turner in May 1956 and based there until 1 April 1957.
The base was transferred from SAC toTactical Air Command (TAC) in 1957 when SAC gave up its escort mission, however, the base would be returned to SAC on 1 January 1959 when the822d Air Division was established there on 1 January 1959.[7]: 74–5 The 822nd Air Division would remain at Turner until it was inactivated on 2 September 1966.[9] One of the component units of the 822nd Air Division was the4138th Strategic Wing which was activated at Turner and received its first combat aircraft when the336th Bombardment Squadron, equipped with 15B-52 Stratofortresses moved to Turner fromBiggs AFB, Texas. In February 1963, the 4138th Strategic Wing and 336th Bombardment Squadron were inactivated and the484th Bombardment Wing was activated at Turner to assume the mission, aircraft, personnel and equipment of the 4138th wing.[6]: 270–1
In December 1965 it was announced that Turner Air Force Base would be closed.[7]: 111
The base was recommissioned as Naval Air Station Albany on 1 July 1967.[10]
With the impending closure ofNaval Air Station Sanford, Reconnaissance Attack Wing One moved to NAS Albany and it became the main operational base for the Navy'sNorth American RA-5C Vigilante until 1974 when operations were moved toNAS Key West, Florida.
In 1979 theMiller Brewing Company purchased part of the former base as a site for a new brewery.[11]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency