Naval Air Station Whidbey Island
Within ten days, the commanding officer of Naval Air Station Seattle recommended the site of Saratoga Passage on the shores of Crescent Harbor and Forbes Point as a base suitable for seaplane takeoffs and landings under instrument conditions.Dredging, filling, and running water and power lines to the city were underway at the end of November when the word came to find a land plane site.[citation needed] On December 8, three workers started a topographic survey of what would become Ault Field, about 4 miles (6.4 km) to the north.The first plane landed there on 5 August, when Lieutenant Newton Wakefield, a former civil engineer and airline pilot, who later became the air station's Operations Officer, brought his SNJ single-engine trainer in with little fanfare.On 21 September 1942, the air station's first commanding officer, Captain Cyril Thomas Simard, read the orders placing the field in use as a Navy facility.Following the recommendation of the Interdepartmental Air Traffic Control Board, an area 2.5 miles (4.0 km) southeast of Coupeville was approved as an auxiliary field to serve NAS Seattle.In 1944, Douglas SBD Dauntless dive-bombers became the predominant aircraft at Ault Field, while at the Seaplane Base, several Consolidated PBY Catalina and Martin PBM Mariner seaplanes were aboard in the summer of 1944, augmented by a few land-based Martin B-26 Marauders that arrived earlier that year to be used for towing targets.Whidbey was now the West Coast training and operations center for these all-weather, medium attack bomber squadrons.[4] Over 50 tenant commands are at NAS Whidbey Island to provide training, medical and dental, and other support services, including a United States Air Force (USAF) squadron (390th ECS) which is an administrative unit supporting USAF officers assigned to some U.S. Navy EA-18G Growler squadrons.The base also continues its longstanding role as a center of activity for Naval Air Reserve operations and training in the region.
Oak HarborWashingtonUnited StatesDepartment of DefenseUS NavyNavy Region NorthwestCaptainConcreteFederal Aviation Administrationnaval air stationUnited States NavyWhidbey IslandIsland CountySeaplane basePBY CatalinaNavy Exchangesatellite airfieldNaval Outlying Landing Field (NOLF) CoupevilleField Carrier Landing PracticeEA-18G GrowlerMH-60S SeahawkP-8 PoseidonEP-3E ARIESC-40 ClipperWorld War IIChief of Naval Operations13th Naval DistrictPuget SoundNaval Air Station SeattleSaratoga PassageWilliam B. AultBattle of the Coral SeaGrumman F4F WildcatsGrumman F6F HellcatsLockheed PV-1 VenturasDouglas SBD DauntlessConsolidated PBY CatalinaMartin PBM MarinerMartin B-26 MaraudersLockheed P2V NeptuneKorean WarNaval Air ReserveHeavy Attack Squadron TwoNAS North IslandSan DiegoDouglas A-3D SkywarriorHeavy Attack Squadron Six (VAH-6)NAS Moffett FieldUSS RangerUSS ForrestalNaval Air Station Sanfordsearch and rescueH-19 ChickasawsNAS Barbers PointLockheed P-3 OrionGrumman A-6 IntruderVAQ-129Northrop Grumman EA-6B ProwlerUnited States Marine CorpsNAF AtsugiVAQ-209Andrews AFBNAF WashingtonU.S. Pacific FleetNaval Air Station AganaFleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron ONE (VQ-1)Lockheed EP-3E Aries IIVA-196Boeing EA-18G Growleractive dutySikorsky MH-60S NighthawkPacific NorthwestUnited States Air Force390th ECSElectronic Attack Squadron 129Fleet Replacement SquadronElectronic Attack Squadron 130Carrier Air Wing ThreeElectronic Attack Squadron 131Electronic Attack Squadron 132Electronic Attack Squadron 133Carrier Air Wing NineElectronic Attack Squadron 134Electronic Attack Squadron 135Electronic Attack Squadron 136Carrier Air Wing TwoElectronic Attack Squadron 137Carrier Air Wing ElevenElectronic Attack Squadron 138Electronic Attack Squadron 139Carrier Air Wing SeventeenElectronic Attack Squadron 140Carrier Air Wing SevenElectronic Attack Squadron 142Carrier Air Wing EightElectronic Attack Squadron 144Carrier Air Wing OneElectronic Attack Squadron 209Commander, Tactical Support Wing390th Electronic Combat Squadron366th Operations Group366th Fighter WingPatrol Squadron 1P-8A PoseidonPatrol Squadron 4Patrol Squadron 9MQ-4C TritonPatrol Squadron 40Patrol Squadron 46Patrol Squadron 47Patrol Squadron 69Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 1EP-3E Aries IIFleet Logistics Support Squadron 61C-40A ClipperCommander, Fleet Logistics Support WingMH-60S "Knighthawk"Fleet Readiness Center Northwestcensus-designated place2010 censusUnited States Census BureauList of United States Navy airfieldsmilitary installationsFort LewisGray Army AirfieldVagabond Army Heliport