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| Naval Auxiliary Air Facility Martha's Vineyard | |
|---|---|
| Name | Naval Auxiliary Air Facility Martha's Vineyard |
| Location | Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts |
| Country | United States |
| Type | Naval auxiliary air facility |
| Ownership | United States Navy |
| Operator | United States Navy |
| Controlledby | United States Navy |
| Used | 1942–1946 |
| Builder | United States Navy |
| Fate | Returned to civilian control |
Naval Auxiliary Air Facility Martha's Vineyard
Naval Auxiliary Air Facility Martha's Vineyard was a United States Navy aviation installation on Martha's Vineyard in Dukes County, Massachusetts established during World War II to support Atlantic Fleet antisubmarine and training operations. The facility augmented operations at nearby Naval Air Station Quonset Point, Naval Air Station Squantum, and Naval Air Station Norfolk, serving as a base for patrols linked to the Battle of the Atlantic, convoy escort missions, and pilot training for carrier aviation. Its wartime role connected it to strategic centers such as Boston Navy Yard, Newport, Rhode Island, and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
The site was commissioned in 1942 amid rapid expansion by the United States Navy responding to German U-boat activity during the Battle of the Atlantic, coordinated with commands including Commander, Air Force Atlantic Fleet, Eastern Sea Frontier, and United States Fleet. Initial construction was overseen by Bureau of Yards and Docks engineers and contracted firms from Massachusetts and Rhode Island, drawing labor from regional ports such as New Bedford, Massachusetts and Fall River, Massachusetts. The facility operated in tandem with shore establishments like Naval Station Newport and air stations at Norfolk Naval Base, forming a defensive ring that supported transatlantic convoys organized through Convoy HX and Convoy SC routes. Postwar demobilization directives from Chief of Naval Operations led to decommissioning in 1946 and transfer processes under the War Assets Administration.
Infrastructure planning referenced standards from the Bureau of Aeronautics and included runways, a control tower, hangars, fuel storage, and seaplane ramps modeled after installations at Naval Air Station Jacksonville and Naval Air Station Corpus Christi. Support buildings mirrored designs used at Naval Air Station Alameda and included personnel barracks, mess halls, power plants, and medical dispensaries akin to those at Naval Hospital Portsmouth. Communications and radar facilities integrated technology developed by MIT Radiation Laboratory and were linked to regional radio direction-finding stations like those maintained by United States Coast Guard units and Naval Communications Station Newport. Logistics utilized piers compatible with Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel and smaller tenders similar to those serving Patrol Craft flotillas.
Operations hosted a mix of patrol, training, and temporary transient squadrons rotated among Fleet Air Wing 9 and Fleet Air Wing 5 detachments, with oversight from commanders previously assigned to Carrier Air Groups and Patrol Wings Atlantic. Units included detachments from Patrol Squadron 24, elements of Escort Carrier air groups, and transient training units preparing pilots for assignment to USS Enterprise (CV-6), USS Yorktown (CV-5), and other Essex-class and Yorktown-class carriers. Coordination occurred with shore command centers at Naval Operating Base Norfolk and Naval Station Boston, and liaison with United States Army Air Forces training commands facilitated multi-service exercises.
Aircraft operating from the facility encompassed maritime patrol types such as the Consolidated PBY Catalina, Lockheed PV-1 Ventura, and Martin PBM Mariner, along with fighter and training aircraft like the Grumman F4F Wildcat, Grumman F6F Hellcat, Curtiss SBC Helldiver, and North American T-6 Texan. Air-sea rescue missions employed seaplane tenders and amphibious aircraft comparable to those assigned to VP squadrons and air-sea rescue units linked to Naval Air Transport Service. Ground equipment included radio direction-finding sets, ASV radar borrowed from British Royal Air Force development programs, and ordnance stores configured for depth charge and rocket delivery used in antisubmarine warfare tactics pioneered by Admiral Ernest J. King's staff.
The facility contributed to the Battle of the Atlantic by hosting antisubmarine patrols, convoy cover sorties, and coastal reconnaissance missions that reduced losses along North Atlantic convoy routes such as those supplying United Kingdom and Soviet Union Lend-Lease materials. Aircraft from the base participated in coordinated hunts with United States Coast Guard cutters, Royal Canadian Navy escorts, and Convoy escort groups, utilizing tactics developed at Anti-Submarine Development Detachment Atlantic and lessons from Battle of the St. Lawrence. Training squadrons prepared aviators for carrier operations crucial to engagements in the Atlantic Theater and for later transfer to the Pacific Theater, supporting operations associated with Operation Torch logistic lessons and carrier air doctrine refined after Battle of Midway.
Following Victory in Europe Day and demobilization orders issued by the Chief of Naval Operations, the facility saw a rapid drawdown as squadrons returned to continental bases such as NAS Pensacola and NAS Corpus Christi. The War Assets Administration processed surplus property for disposition, and local authorities in Martha's Vineyard and Dukes County repurposed runways and hangars for civilian aviation and municipal use, echoing transitions at former naval airfields like Squantum and Quonset Point. Closure formalities involved inventory reconciliation with Bureau of Ships and transfer documents comparable to those used at other decommissioned installations.
Remnants of the facility influenced postwar civil aviation development on Martha's Vineyard Airport and contributed to regional memory preserved by local historical societies, museums, and veterans organizations such as Veterans of Foreign Wars posts and American Legion chapters. Commemorations include exhibits in institutions like the Martha's Vineyard Museum and interpretive signage reflecting ties to national events including World War II and the Battle of the Atlantic. Scholarship on the site appears in regional histories alongside studies by historians affiliated with Naval Historical Center, Naval War College, and academic departments at Harvard University and Brown University that examine wartime mobilization in New England.
Category:United States Navy installations in Massachusetts Category:Military installations closed in 1946 Category:Martha's Vineyard