Quonset Point Air National Guard Station
Quonset Point Air National Guard Station | |||||||||
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Near AMSL | |||||||||
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Airfield shared with Quonset State Airport Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1] |
Quonset Point Air National Guard Station is the home base of the
History
Commissioned on 12 July 1941, and encompassing what was once
NAS Quonset Point continued as a major naval facility well into the Cold War. Prior to its closure, it had been home to numerous aviation squadrons, primarily those land-based patrol squadrons operating the
NAS Quonset Point was also the off-season home of Antarctic Development Squadron Six (
In 1950, Coast Guard Air Detachment Quonset Point was established as a sub unit of CGAS Salem, Massachusetts.
In addition to flying squadrons, the air station was also home to a major aircraft overhaul and repair (O & R) facility, later renamed Naval Air Rework Facility (NARF) Quonset Point. O & R Facilities, and their later incarnation as NARFs, are the predecessor of the present day Fleet Readiness Centers (FRCs), previously known as Naval Aviation Depots (NADEPs).
Boasting a deepwater port, NAS Quonset Point was also homeport to several
NAS Quonset Point was decommissioned on 28 June 1974[5] as part of a series of defense cutbacks which resulted in a nationwide reduction in bases following the end of the US engagement in Vietnam.
Air National Guard use
Since the Navy's departure, a small military presence has remained in the form of Quonset Point Air National Guard Station, home to the
Now known as Quonset State Airport (IATA: OQU, ICAO: KOQU), the former NAS Quonset Point is a public general aviation airport with tenant Air National Guard and Army National Guard flying activities, as well as an adjacent industrial park. There is no scheduled airline service. The airport lies within Class D airspace and has an operating non-federal air traffic control tower (closed on Mondays) with two active runways, Runway 5/23 and Runway 16/34. Quonset State Airport is one of six active airports operated by the Rhode Island Airport Corporation.
Air National Guard use
Quonset Point Air National Guard Station is the home of the
By July 2001 the base had an additional lease for approximately 15 acres used for the development of their master plan and will allow for construction of facilities to support new C-130J transport aircraft. There are a total of 12 facilities on base: 4 industrial, 6 administrative and 2 services with no family housing. Current base population is approximately 360 personnel during non-drill duty days and increases to approximately 599 personnel on a drill duty weekend, otherwise known as a Unit Training Assembly (UTA), that occurs once per month.[2]
In its 2005 BRAC Recommendations, the DoD would realign Martin State Air National Guard Base (aka
See also
References
- ^ "Airport Diagram – Quonset State (OQU))" (PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
- ^ a b c d "Home of the 143rd Airlift WIng". www.143aw.ang.af.mil. Retrieved 2017-11-24.
- ^ Naval Air Station, Quonset Point, RI Archived June 13, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ VS-33. "War Diary December 1 to 31, 1943", dated January 1, 1944, page 1 (accessed from Fold3 website).
- ^ "BASE: Quonset Point Naval Air Station". quonsetpoint.artinruins.com. Retrieved 2017-11-24.
- ^ "Welcome to the US Petabox". Archived from the original on August 1, 2013. Retrieved November 12, 2007.
External links
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. RI-15, "Quonset Point Naval Air Station, Roger Williams Way, North Kingstown, Washington County, RI", 274 photos, 114 data pages, 19 photo caption pages