Naval Auxiliary Air Station Charlestown

Former US President George Herbert Walker Bush trained here as a Naval Aviator before deploying to the Pacific in World War II.[citation needed] In 1974, the base was disestablished in conjunction with Naval Air Station Quonset Point, which closed at the same time.This idea was shot down by local residents, and it remained unused until it was incorporated into the nearby Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge.aerial photos show a track for bicycle racing and time trials at the northern portions of runways.According to a New York Times article, A parcel of 172 acres (0.70 km2) of the deactivated Charlestown Naval Auxiliary Air Station on the South County coast, complete with a freshwater pond, it was opened as a park by the town of Charlestown... and forms a gateway to the older wildlife refuge and the barrier beach beyond.
Looking down former Runway 4/22, which is part of an ongoing native grasslands restoration project
naval air stationUnited States NavyCharlestownCoordinatesRunwaysAsphaltRhode IslandQuonset Naval Air StationNinigret National Wildlife RefugeUS PresidentGeorge Herbert Walker BushWorld War IINaval Air Station Quonset Pointnuclear power plantNew York TimesU.S. Army Corps of EngineersAbandoned & Little-Known AirfieldsWade, BetsyProvidence JournalAirports in Rhode IslandPrimaryBlock IslandT. F. GreenWesterlyRelieverNorth CentralQuonsetGeneralNewportRichmondMilitaryQuonset Point ANGSNAS Quonset Point