Naval Air Station DeLand facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Naval Air Station DeLand
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| Summary | |
| Airport type | Military: Naval Air Station |
| Operator | United States Navy |
| Location | DeLand, Florida |
| Built | 1942 |
| In use | 1942–1946 |
| Occupants | United States Navy |
| Elevation AMSL | 70 ft / 21 m |
| Coordinates | 29°03′59″N 81°17′02″W / 29.06639°N 81.28389°W |
| Map | |
 Naval Air Station DeLand
Location in Florida
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Naval Air Station DeLand was a special airport in DeLand, Florida. It was used by the United States Navy during World War II. This important base operated from 1942 to 1946. After the war ended, the airfield became the DeLand Municipal Airport, which is still in use today.
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The city of DeLand started building a civilian airport in the 1920s. Its first paved runway was finished around 1936.
In 1942, the city gave the airport to the United States Navy. It was officially renamed Naval Air Station DeLand on November 17, 1942. After buying more land and building many military structures, the base was ready. Captain Tom Turner was the first leader of the air station. The DeLand High School band played music for the opening ceremony.
Training Pilots for War
NAS DeLand's main job was to train Navy flight crews. They learned to fly powerful planes like the Lockheed Hudson, Lockheed Ventura, and Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer. These were large patrol bombers used to search for enemy ships. Pilots also trained on Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers, which attacked targets by flying straight down.
The first planes to arrive were the Hudsons. These planes had already helped sink a German U-boat (submarine) during the war. They were used to train pilots for the Ventura planes. Later, in 1943, training for the Privateer bombers began. Many Navy squadrons that fly modern patrol planes today, like the Lockheed P-3 Orion and Boeing P-8 Poseidon, can trace their history back to the training at NAS DeLand.
When the Dauntless dive bombers arrived, training for the Ventura planes was reduced.
Learning to Dive Bomb
Samuel Hynes, who later became a famous professor and author, was a Marine pilot during World War II. He learned to fly Dauntless dive bombers at DeLand. He remembered that the planes were old, and the instructors were combat veterans. These instructors had fought in the Pacific and knew how to drop bombs on enemy targets.
Hynes described learning to dive an airplane straight down. He said it was a very unnatural thing to do. Sadly, in 1944, one dive-bomber pilot died every day during training in Florida.
In 1944, the base also started training pilots on the Grumman F6F Hellcat. This was a fast fighter plane used on aircraft carriers. An advanced navigation school for new pilots also opened.
Many people from DeLand worked at the base. They helped with office work and other tasks. The wages they earned were much better than what they had received during the Great Depression.
Military Training Areas
NAS DeLand controlled a practice bombing site at Nine Mile Point on Lake George. A Navy Consolidated PBY Catalina seaplane was kept nearby in case of accidents. This area is still used today as part of the Navy's Pinecastle Electronic Warfare and Bombing Range. This range is in the Ocala National Forest.
The base also had two sailors watching Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge. They were there to help if any Navy planes crashed nearby.
NAS DeLand was also in charge of other training areas. These included an airfield near New Smyrna Beach and bombing targets near Paisley, Hawkinsville, and the Indian River Lagoon. Planes from Naval Air Station Daytona Beach and Naval Air Station Sanford also used these sites.
The New Smyrna Beach airfield helped refuel and rearm planes. These planes practiced landings and target practice over the Atlantic Ocean. Sometimes, they carried 500-pound bombs. They would drop these bombs if they spotted any German U-boats.
Closing the Base
After World War II ended, Naval Air Station DeLand closed on March 15, 1946. The control tower stopped operating. The city of DeLand got the airport back. It then became the DeLand Municipal Airport, which it remains today.
Stetson University College of Law
From 1946 to 1953, the former base was also home to Stetson University College of Law. The law school later moved to Gulfport, Florida, in 1954.
The DeLand Naval Air Station Museum opened in 1995. It is located in the old Chief Master at Arms House in DeLand, Florida. The museum teaches visitors about the history of Naval Air Station DeLand. It also covers the history of U.S. Naval Aviation and the United States Navy.
The museum has many interesting exhibits. These include an F-14B Tomcat fighter jet on loan from the National Naval Aviation Museum. There is also a USN Nasty class torpedo boat (PTF-3) being restored. Another restoration project is a Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bomber. Visitors can also see a Korean War era H-13 Sioux MASH helicopter and a 1954 U.S. Army M38A1 jeep. The museum displays military artifacts, old photographs, and other items from the past.
Images for kids
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A Grumman F-14 Tomcat on a platform with the Chief Master at Arms house in the background. The house is now the location of the DeLand Naval Air Station Museum.
