Lakehurst Maxfield Field

Coordinates: 40°02′00″N 74°21′13″W / 40.03333°N 74.35361°W / 40.03333; -74.35361 (JB MDL Lakehurst)
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Lakehurst Maxfield Field
Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst
Lakehurst, Ocean County, New Jersey
Front gate at Lakehurst
Coordinates40°02′00″N 74°21′13″W / 40.03333°N 74.35361°W / 40.03333; -74.35361 (JB MDL Lakehurst)
TypeMilitary airfield
Site information
OwnerUnited States Air Force
Operator87th Air Base Wing
Controlled by United States Air Force
Site history
Built1916
In use1917 – present
Garrison information
Current
commander
  • Base Commander:
    COL
Frederick D. Thaden, USAF
  • Base Dep. Cmdr/CO, NSA Lakehurst:
    AMSL
  • Runways
    Direction Length and surface
    6/24 5,002 ft (1,525 m) asphalt
    15/33 5,002 ft (1,525 m) asphalt
    63/243 3,500 ft (1,100 m) concrete
    Source:
    R-38/USN ZR-2 airship crashed during flight on 24 August 1921 near Hull, England.[2]

    When it was consolidated with McGuire Air Force Base and Fort Dix in October 2009, it became the naval component of JB MDL – a United States Air Forcecontrolled installation – and was placed under the 87th Air Base Wing. However, as with all joint bases, the installation receives support services from the previous installation authorities. Thus, Lakehurst Field is also provided certain services from Naval Support Activity Lakehurst (NSA Lakehurst), whose commander also serves as one of two Base Deputy Commanders. Lakehurst field was the site of the Hindenburg disaster in 1937.

    Overview

    History

    Lakehurst Maxfield Field's history began as a test range for ammunition being manufactured for the Imperial Russian Army in 1916.[3] It was then acquired by the United States Army as Camp Kendrick during World War I. The United States Navy purchased the property in 1921 for use as an airship station and renamed it Naval Air Station Lakehurst (NAS Lakehurst).[4]

    The

    ZPG-3W (EZ-1C), which was deactivated in September 1962.[5] In 2006, after a 44-year hiatus, the U.S. Navy resumed airship operations at Lakehurst with the MZ-3
    .

    Hindenburg disaster marker

    The installation was the site of the LZ 129 Hindenburg disaster on 6 May 1937. Despite the notoriety and well-documented nature of this incident, today there is a simple memorial that denotes the location of the crash at then–NAS Lakehurst in the field behind the large airship hangars on base. A ground marker, painted black, and rimmed by a bright yellow painted chain, marks the spot where the gondola of the Hindenburg hit the ground.

    Aviation training

    Lakehurst conducts the unique mission of supporting and developing the Aircraft Launch and Recovery Equipment and Support Equipment for naval aviation. Since the 1950s, aviation boatswain's mates have been trained at Lakehurst to operate catapults and arresting systems on aircraft carriers using rail guided jet donkeys pushing dead loads at 200 knots tested carrier arresting gear cables and tailhooks.[6][7] The Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System and the Advanced Arresting Gear system that will replace the existing steam catapults and the Mk-7 arresting gear are being developed and tested at Lakehurst at full-scale shipboard representative test facilities here.[4]

    The former NAS Lakehurst also hosted the U.S. Navy's first helicopter squadrons, HU-1 (later HC-1) and HU-2 (later HC-2); the "A" and "C" enlisted training schools for the Aerographer's Mate (AG), Aviation Boatswain Mate (AB, ABE, ABF, ABH), and Parachute Rigger / Aircrew Survival Equipmentman (PR) ratings until their transfer to other Naval Air Technical Training Centers; and an Overhaul & Repair (O&R) facility for fixed-wing aircraft, the forerunner of the former Naval Air Rework Facilities and Naval Aviation Depots (NADEPs) now known as Fleet Readiness Centers (FRCs).

    Today the base is used for various Naval Aviation development programs. Lakehurst Maxfield's main airfield has two 5,002 ft (1,525 m) runways under its own control tower, while a separate 13,000 ft (4,000 m) test runway (12/30) – equipped with a separate control tower and pavement-mounted catapults and arresting gear for testing

    aircraft-carrier
    suitability of new naval aircraft and new flight-deck systems – is located approximately a mile to the northwest.

    Tenant organizations

    Lakehurst is home to

    C-130T Hercules
    .

    In addition, the field is host to several

    Naval Support Activity Lakehurst

    Naval Support Activity Lakehurst
    Command insignia of NSA Lakehurst
    Active2009–present
    Country United States
    Branch United States Navy
    TypeSupport command
    Part of
    HeadquarteredLakehurst Maxfield Field, Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst
    Commanders
    Current
    commander
    CAPT Frank Ingargiola [a]

    Naval Support Activity Lakehurst (NSA Lakehurst) is the United States Navy element representing USN and USMC entities for the Department of the Navy–specific asset and resources at Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst (JB MDL), and administrative control over Naval personnel who are assigned to units that are assigned to the base.

    Background

    When the

    exchange-services
    roles transitioned over to either Air Force or joint operation. However, both Lakehurst (and also Fort Dix, the third component of the installation) kept several service-specific support services for their personnel. With the disestablishment of NAES Lakehurst as a separate activity from JB MDL, NSA Lakehurst became the official sponsor for these activities.

    The person who is the Commanding Officer, NSA Lakehurst is also the primary Deputy Commander of JB MDL, and reports to Commander, Naval Region Mid-Atlantic (CNRMA) for all administrative and logistical concerns, and to the Joint Base Commander for operational concerns.[8]

    Education

    Dependent children living on-post are zoned to Lakehurst School District and Manchester Township High School (of Manchester Township School District).[9]

    See also

    References

    1. ^ Also serves as one of two JB MDL Deputy Commanders
    1. PDF
      . Federal Aviation Administration. Effective 22 August 2013.
    2. ^ [email protected]. "U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Historic Air Fields Post WW I". bluejacket.com. Archived from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
    3. from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
    4. ^ a b c "Lakehurst". www.jointbasemdl.af.mil. Archived from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
    5. ^ [1] Archived 17 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine - "After 44 Years, Lakehurst Back in Lighter-Than-Air Flight Research," More, Kirt. Asbury Park Press, 9 May 2006.
    6. ^ "Twin Jet Monorail Test Airplane Arresting Gear." Archived 19 March 2022 at the Wayback Machine Popular Science, June 1955, p. 97.
    7. ^ Dempewolff, Richard F. (June 1958). Jet "Donkeys" for the Jets. Popular Mechanics. pp. 72–75. Archived from the original on 19 March 2022. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
    8. ^ Naval Aviation News, Fall 2011, p. 36; published for the Chief of Naval Operations by the Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, MD (USPS 323-010; ISSN 0028-1417)
    9. ^ "Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Education". Military One Source. Archived from the original on 25 June 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2022. - This is a .mil site.

    External links