Naval air station

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
NAS North Island
, California, circa 2011

A naval air station is a

military air base, and consists of a permanent land-based operations locations for the military aviation division of the relevant branch of a navy (Naval aviation). These bases are typically populated by squadrons
, groups or wings, their various support commands, and other tenant commands.

The term "Naval Air Station" is used by many countries' navies, such as the United States Navy, the Royal Australian Navy, the Royal Navy, and the Indian Navy.

In the case of the U.S. Navy, similar facilities in the

U.S. Coast Guard
are known as Coast Guard Air Stations.

Argentinean Navy

The

Ushuaia
.

The Argentine Naval Prefecture, serving as the Coast Guard, also operates air stations at Posadas, Buenos Aires, Mar del Plata, and Comodoro Rivadavia. Aircraft operating out of these bases are heavily involved in air/sea rescues.[1][2]

Royal Australian Navy

In

Nirimba Fields, Sydney
.

French Navy

In 2017, the French Naval Aviation has four naval air stations (BAN), all located in metropolitan territory.

Bases d'aéronautique navale

  • BAN Lann-Bihoué (mainly dedicated to maritime patrol)
  • BAN Lanvéoc-Poulmic (mainly dedicated to helicopters)
  • BAN Landivisiau (mainly dedicated to carrier fighters)
  • BAN Hyères Le Palyvestre, (mainly dedicated to carrier fighters)

Location

Active naval air stations of the French naval air arm (status 2012). Two others were deactivated in 2011.

In 2011, the BAN Tontouta was reassigned the French Air Force ; the BAN Nîmes-Garons is now assigned primarily to the civil aviation (air transport) and on a secondary basis to the Ministry of Interior for Civil Security.

Royal Navy

Further information:
Fleet air arm

The

Royal Naval Air Stations (RNAS), RNAS Yeovilton (HMS Heron) and RNAS Culdrose (HMS Seahawk)
.

Until 2006, the former served as the main operating base for the Royal Navy's Sea Harriers, which were based upon the three

BAe Sea Harrier in that year, no strike aircraft have operated from there. It is believed that all of their successors will be based at RAF Lossiemouth. The site also contains the Fleet Air Arm Museum, that showcases a variety of aircraft from the Royal Naval Air Service (1914–1918) until the present day. RNAS Yeovilton also has RNAS Merryfield
as its training and satellite station.

RNAS Predannack
.

See also:
Mobile Naval Air Bases
for WWII support bases

Italian Navy

The

Marina Militare NAS: MARISTAELI Catania, MARISTAELI La Spezia Luni and MARISTAER Grottaglie
.

See also:
Italian Navy Aviation

United States Navy

In the United States, a "Naval Air Station" (NAS) is an air base of the United States Navy. When located in foreign countries, they are more specifically named US Naval Air Stations (USNAS), to avoid confusion with naval air stations used by the navies of the host countries.

A slightly lower level of air base in the U.S. Navy is the Naval Air Facility.[

Kadena AB, Japan; NAF Adak, Alaska; and NAF Midway
northwest of Hawaii.

Flight line at NAS Key West, 2007

There are also a number of former Naval Air Stations that have been realigned as part of larger Naval Stations (NAVSTA) or redesignated to other functions in the Navy.[

NAS Memphis, Tennessee (redesignated as Naval Support Activity Mid-South), the airfield and flight line was turned over to local civilian authorities, while the Navy retained the remainder of the installation.[citation needed
]

There are also larger facilities that are similar to Naval Air Stations and possess large airfield facilities, but were actually constructed as part of much larger facilities or were dedicated to research and development activities. This includes NAVSTA Rota, Spain; the recently closed NAVSTA Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico; the still active Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) China Lake, California; and the recently closed Naval Air Warfare Center Warminster, Pennsylvania.

The Navy also operates a number of austere unstaffed or minimally staffed airfields known as Naval Auxiliary Landing Fields (NALF),

Naval Outlying Landing Fields (NOLF), or more simply Outlying Fields (OLF).[citation needed
]

See also: List of United States Navy airfields and Naval outlying landing field

United States Marine Corps

In the United States, a "Marine Corps Air Station" is an air base of the United States Marine Corps. When located in foreign countries, they are often identified as US Marine Corps Air Stations (USMCAS), following their US Navy counterparts (the Marine Corps falling as a service under the Department of the Navy) as that term is used by the navies of other countries.

As part of Naval Aviation,

Air Force Bases and Air National Guard
Bases as well.

Like the Navy, the Marine Corps also operates a number of austere unstaffed or minimally staffed airfields known as Marine Corps Auxiliary Landing Fields (MCALF), Marine Corps Outlying Landing Fields (MCOLF), or more simply Outlying Fields (OLF). Since the Marines' flight training is combined with the Navy and the Coast Guard, those fields dedicated to training of student aviators in the southeastern United States remain under Navy control. As a result, the Marine Corps' auxiliary fields support operational Fleet Marine Force (FMF) units for readiness purposes, such as field carrier landing practice (FCLP) for fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft embarking on aircraft carriers or amphibious assault ships.

United States Coast Guard

The United States Coast Guard is also part of U.S. Naval Aviation and operates its own Coast Guard Air Stations and Coast Guard Air Facilities, either as stand alone installations on joint civil-military airports or Coast Guard-controlled facilities, or collocated at Naval Air Stations, Air Force Bases, Air National Guard Bases and Army Air Fields. Since the Coast Guard has no aviation facilities located in foreign countries, the service tends not use the term "U.S. Coast Guard Air Station" (USCGAS), but will use the term Coast Guard Air Station (CGAS) or more simply, "AIRSTA." The Coast Guard also operates a number of smaller Coast Guard Air Facilities, most of which are limited to rotary-wing operations only and support a limited number of aircraft and personnel.

See also

References

  1. ^ Un helicóptero de la Prefectura rescató a una mujer en el Río de la Plata
  2. ^ Rescate en el mar
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