Moten Field

Moten Field is a former United States naval airfield located in Brunswick County, Virginia, established during World War II as an United States Navy training and support installation. The site supported Atlantic Fleet operations, carrier pilot training, and antisubmarine patrols, connecting to regional nodes such as Naval Air Station Norfolk, Naval Station Newport News, and wartime logistics hubs like Camp Peary and Fort Monroe. Postwar transitions involved interactions with federal programs including the Defense Plant Corporation and agencies tied to base realignment and disposal.

History

Moten Field was commissioned amid the rapid expansion of United States Navy aviation infrastructure during World War II. The field’s construction drew on labor and materials allocated under the War Production Board and coordination with the Civil Aeronautics Administration. Its operational tempo intersected with campaigns like the Battle of the Atlantic and training pipelines that traced to Naval Air Station Pensacola, Naval Air Station Jacksonville, and Naval Air Station Norfolk. Notable episodes included detachments rotating from carrier groups associated with the United States Atlantic Fleet and interactions with aircraft types contemporary to Grumman F4F Wildcat, Grumman F6F Hellcat, and Vought F4U Corsair squadrons. During the early Cold War period, the site was implicated in reorganizations following the establishment of the United States Air Force and the passage of the National Security Act of 1947.

Facilities and Operations

Facilities originally comprised runways, hangars, control tower, barracks, and fuel storage patterned after Naval Air Station Oceana and other wartime fields. Operational control conformed to Commander, Naval Air Forces Atlantic directives and coordinated with training commands modeled on Naval Air Training Command. Maintenance practices referenced manuals from Bureau of Aeronautics and standards shared with depots such as Naval Air Station Cecil Field and Naval Air Depot Norfolk. The airfield supported flight operations, navigational aids, and radio communications interoperable with stations like Nantucket Air Traffic Control and maritime search-and-rescue units including United States Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City.

Military and Civilian Use

Although established for naval purposes, the site hosted mixed activities: naval aviation training, transient carrier squadron staging, and cooperative exercises with units from United States Marine Corps aviation and reserve squadrons. After active naval use declined, federal surplus disposition under procedures used in other closures such as Naval Auxiliary Air Station Atlantic City enabled civilian entities, municipal authorities, and private aviation interests to propose reuse. Proposals referenced models from repurposed installations like Charleston Air Force Base and Harrisburg International Airport transformations; local stakeholders included Brunswick County authorities and regional transportation planners with ties to Virginia Department of Transportation initiatives.

Accidents and Incidents

Operational history recorded several mishaps typical of wartime training fields, involving carrier-qualification sorties, touch-and-go training, and maintenance-induced failures. Reports paralleled incidents documented at fields such as Naval Air Station Pensacola and Naval Air Station Brunswick, with investigations administered under protocols akin to those of the Naval Safety Center and Board of Inquiry processes used by the United States Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps. Notable categories included landing accidents involving Grumman TBF Avenger variants, engine failures in Pratt & Whitney R-2800 powerplants, and ground handling collisions with auxiliary vehicles procured through Defense Plant Corporation contracts.

Present Status and Redevelopment

Following decommissioning trends of the postwar and Cold War drawdowns overseen by agencies like the General Services Administration and guided by precedence from closures such as Brookley Air Force Base and Loring Air Force Base, the property entered stages of surplus transfer, environmental assessment, and redevelopment planning. Contemporary outcomes mirrored redevelopment cases involving former military airfields repurposed into industrial parks, municipal airports, or conservation lands, with stakeholders including Economic Development Administration, regional planning commissions, and nongovernmental organizations focused on historic preservation such as the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Land use discussions referenced state-level frameworks involving Virginia Department of Historic Resources and federal environmental review processes similar to National Environmental Policy Act compliance, while local economic strategies invoked comparisons to adaptive reuse projects at Willow Grove Naval Air Station and Moffett Federal Airfield.

Category:Airfields in Virginia Category:Defunct United States Navy installations Category:World War II airfields in the United States