Marine Corps Outlying Field (MCOLF) Camp Davis is a military use airport northeast of the central business district of Holly Ridge, in

Onslow County Onslow County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 204,576. Its county seat is Jacksonville. The county was created in 1734 as Onslow Precinct and gained county status in 1739. Onslo ...

, North Carolina, United States. It is used as a training facility by the

United States Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through com ...

Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune () is a United States military training facility in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Its of beaches make the base a major area for amphibious assault training, and its location between two deep-water ports ( Wilming ...

and

Marine Corps Air Station New River Marine Corps Air Station New River is a United States Marine Corps helicopter and tilt-rotor base in Jacksonville, North Carolina, in the eastern part of the state. In 1972, the airfield was named McCutcheon Field for General Keith B. McCutcheon ...

History

In December 1940, Camp Davis was built by the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

as an

anti-aircraft artillery Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

training facility. Camp Davis was attached to the First Army,

Fourth Corps Area A Corps area was a geographically-based organizational structure (military district) of the United States Army used to accomplish administrative, training and tactical tasks from 1920 to 1942. Each corps area included divisions of the Regular Army ...

and held a complement of about 20,000 officers and soldiers. It was an expansive facility consisting of more than 3,000 buildings on with access provided by newly built railroad spurs leading into the camp. Between 1942 and 1943, two paved runways were built for Camp Davis Army Air Field (AAF). Part of the runway for the airfield was built through one of the old Civil War fort's walls. Camp Davis AAF's Runway 5/23 was wider and was intended for use by transports, while Runway 19/01 was narrower and intended for use by single-engine aircraft. Most of the aircraft operated from Camp Davis runways were single-engine aircraft used to tow targets for the anti-aircraft artillery units.

Women Airforce Service Pilots The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) (also Women's Army Service Pilots or Women's Auxiliary Service Pilots) was a civilian women pilots' organization, whose members were United States federal civil service employees. Members of WASP became t ...

(or "WASPs") towed targets at Camp Davis. At least two were killed in flying accidents there. During World War II the Camp Davis housed approximately 550 German prisoners."http://worldandmilitarynotes.com"> In 1944 the anti-aircraft training facility was transferred to

Fort Bliss Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in New Mexico and Texas, with its headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Named in honor of William Wallace Smith Bliss, LTC William Bliss (1815–1853), a mathematics professor who was the son-in-law of President ...

, and on 17 February 1946, Camp Davis was closed. In June 1946, a portion of the Camp Davis area formerly used by the Army as the Coastal Artillery Anti-Aircraft Firing Range (present-day

Surf City, North Carolina Surf City is a town in Pender and Onslow counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 1,853 at the 2010 census. It is located on Topsail Island. The Pender County portion of Surf City is part of the Wilmington Metropolitan ...

) was transferred to the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. The Navy temporarily used the site for the development and testing of early surface-to-air missiles under the name

Operation Bumblebee Operation Bumblebee was a US Navy effort to develop surface to air missiles (SAMs) to provide a mid-range layer of anti-aircraft defence, between anti-aircraft guns in the short range and fighter aircraft operating at long range. A major reason f ...

until 28 July 1948. Camp Davis was declared surplus and was dismantled for salvage and sale. At that time, the Navy apparently gave up the leases on the land, and it was returned to the original landowners. In 1954, the Marine Corps took out a new lease for approximately on the former Camp Davis airfields & surrounding land from

International Paper The International Paper Company is an American pulp and paper company, the largest such company in the world. It has approximately 56,000 employees, and is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. History The company was incorporated January 31 ...

Company. In recent years, the Marine Corps has used Camp Davis as a landing field for helicopter units based at nearby Marine Corps Air Station New River. MCOLF Camp Davis has two

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...

s which are designated 5/23 and 18/36. Both runways have concrete surfaces measuring 5,000 by 150 feet. The older runway 5/23 is not currently in use.

Notes

External links

Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields is an online database detailing information and first hand memories about airports in the United States which are no longer in operation, or are rarely used. The website was started by Paul Freeman in 1999 a ...

: Camp Davis AAF / MCOLF (14NC) *
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis Airports in North Carolina Buildings and structures in Onslow County, North Carolina Military installations in North Carolina OLF Camp Davis Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in North Carolina

History

See also

Notes

External links