The Link Trainer Building (also known as the Fort Lauderdale USNAS Building #8 and currently the Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Museum) is an historic structure in

Fort Lauderdale A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. On May 20, 1998, it was added to the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. The wood frame

vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...

building was part of the

Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale was an airfield of the United States Navy just outside Fort Lauderdale, Florida. In 1942, the U.S. Navy selected Merle Fogg Airport in Fort Lauderdale to expand into a naval air station for both pilot and enlist ...

(NAS Ft Lauderdale). It was used to train torpedo bomber pilots during World War II using Link Trainer

flight simulator A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and the environment in which it flies, for pilot training, design, or other purposes. It includes replicating the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they rea ...

s. the building serves as the Naval Station Fort Lauderdale Museum.

Building

It was built in 1942. It is a one-story, split-level, wood-frame vernacular building with wood walls and a tar and gravel roof that sat about above the ground on a foundation of concrete piers. The exterior is composition siding. The flat roof is built up on top of wood

tongue and groove Tongue and groove is a method of fitting similar objects together, edge to edge, used mainly with wood, in flooring, parquetry, panelling, and similar constructions. Tongue and groove joints allow two flat pieces to be joined strongly together t ...

decking supported by wood joists. It is covered with tar and gravel. The roof overhang has a large fascia and a metal drip edge. It is long and feet wide and is composed of two wings. The building has approximately of floor space. The entrance, between the two wings has a small equipment room above it. This "penthouse" rises above and separates the taller left wing from the right. The front and back have grouped 1/1

light Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 tera ...

sashes as does the side of the tall wing. The side of the shorter wing has a pair of fixed windows with a center pane and two three pane side lights. The main entrance has double doors with a diamond shaped light in each. The building has three entrances with wood steps. The wood floor is tongue and groove decking on wood joists. In 1998 the original surfaces and materials had been obscured by alterations and the building was disused.

Site

The building was located at 4050 Southwest 14th Avenue in the former NAS Ft Lauderdale where it had been designated, "Building #8. At the end of 1999, the building, which weighs , was cut from the old foundation and jacked up hydraulically to be moved out of the airport and to its current location at 4000 West Perimeter Road in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It remains on the grounds of the

Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport is a major public airport in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is one of three airports serving the Miami metropolitan area. The airport is off Interstate 595 in Florida, Interstate 5 ...

World War II

Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale was established on a civilian airport in 1942 to train torpedo bomber pilots for the

Pacific theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

in World War II. Training in the Link Trainer Building began on December 28, 1942. The air station made a significant contribution to the war effort with up to 3,600 personnel stationed there. The Link Trainers were early flight simulators used to teach "flying blind" or by instrument only. The student was in a dark compartment with instruments, gauges and controls. A linked map displayed the simulated results using a "bug". The building housed up to 6 Link Trainers which each student was trained on for four hours. Another four hours of video instruction was provided in Building #8. The aircraft they were training to fly was the Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bomber. Most airmen trained as NAS Fort Lauderdale were subsequently assigned to squadrons which flew the planes from aircraft carriers in the Pacific. Among them was the then 19 year–old Ensign

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

, future United States President. The air station remained active for some time after the war until in 1948 it was declared surplus by 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 ...

. In stages the air station reverted to civilian control and ownership and Building #8 the Link Trainer Building became the property of Broward County. From a peak of 110 naval buildings during the war the remaining structures dwindled through the years. In 1978 about ten remained, in 1989 there were five. By 1998 the

Naval Surface Weapons Center * A Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) is part of the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) operated by the United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the ...

building had been demolished leaving only the Link Trainer Building. The NAS Fort Lauderdale had become the

Modern times

Vacant from 1945 to 1955 from then until 1980 it was leased for private offices. From 1981 to 1987 it was used as office space by consults involved in planning the expansion of the Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport. The Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Historical Association was active in fostering interest in the historic building and having it nominated to be added to the National Register of Historic Places. Founded in 1979 by WW II sailor Allan McElhiney the association first obtained a grant from the City of Fort Lauderdale to restore the interior of the building. In 1995 the Broward County Avaiation Department applied for a federal grant to restore and move the building. The grant became contingent on the building being listed as on the National Register of Historic Places. Eventually a grant from the

United States Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the President of the United States and ...

funding moving and refurbishing the building. Since being moved to its current location it has been operated as the Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Museum. The museum now has one Link Trainer on display. It was obtained by the museum in 2007 and restored the following year. The museum's displays include "The George Bush Room" a recreated soldier's barracks, "Broward Goes to War" and a memorial to

Flight 19 Flight 19 was the designation of a group of five General Motors TBM Avenger torpedo bombers that disappeared over the Bermuda Triangle on December 5, 1945, after losing contact during a United States Navy overwater navigation training flight fro ...

a group Grumann Avengers flying out of NAS Fort Lauderdale whose disappearance is unexplained.

References

External links