Naval Air Station Chase Field is a former naval air station located in

Beeville, Texas Beeville is a city in Bee County, Texas, United States, with a population of 12,863 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Bee County and home to the main campus of Coastal Bend College. The area around the city contains three prisons oper ...

. It was named for Lieutenant Commander Nathan Brown Chase, Naval Aviator #37, who died in 1925 while developing carrier landing techniques for the

U.S. 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 o ...

. Seven buildings of the station are individually listed on the U.S.

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 ...

NAS Chase Field-Building 1001 The NAS Chase Field-Building 1001, also known as Administration Building, in Beeville, Texas was built in 1943. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994. Building 1001 was one of the first buildings completed on the field ...

NAS Chase Field-Building 1009 Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

NAS Chase Field-Building 1015 Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

NAS Chase Field-Building 1040 Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

NAS Chase Field-Building 1042 Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

NAS Chase Field-Quarters R Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

, and

NAS Chase Field-Quarters S Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

History

Originally under construction as Beeville Municipal Airport, it was leased in 1943 by the U.S. Navy to satisfy the increasing demand for trained pilots necessitated by

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Not initially intended to be a permanent base, it closed in July 1946. In August 1952, it was then purchased by the Navy to again relieve congestion at

Naval Air Station Corpus Christi Naval Air Station Corpus Christi is a United States Navy naval air base located six miles (10 km) southeast of the central business district (CBD) of Corpus Christi, in Nueces County, Texas. History A naval air station for Corpus Christi ...

in preparation for the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. Jet training began there in 1954. It operated as Chase Field until 1968, when it was redesignated as a full Naval Air Station to meet the demand for pilot training during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. It was tasked with preparing U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps Student

Naval Aviator Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...

s to be strike pilots in sea-based jet fighter and attack aircraft. Training for selected

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

and Allied student jet aviators was also conducted at NAS Chase Field. In the early 1990s the

Base Realignment and Closure Commission Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) is a process by a United States federal government commission to increase United States Department of Defense efficiency by coordinating the realignment and closure of military installations following the end o ...

(BRAC) decided that NAS Chase Field would be shuttered. At the time of its closure in 1993, it was home to

Training Air Wing Three Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. It ...

( tail code "C"), part of

Naval Air Training Command The Naval Air Training Command (NATRACOM) is a one star command that conducts flight training of student Naval Aviators, and Naval Flight Officers. Though it does not conduct Naval Aircrew training which is conducted by Naval Education and Trai ...

, with training squadrons VT-24 Bobcats, VT-25 Cougars, and VT-26 Tigers flying the T-2C Buckeye and TA-4J Skyhawk II jet trainers. The wing was disestablished on 31 Aug 1992,Naval Aviation News Nov–Dec 1992 p. 7 prior to the closure of the base. After its closure, the installation was redeveloped into

Chase Field Industrial Complex Chase Field Industrial Complex , formerly Naval Air Station Chase Field, is a former naval air station located in unincorporated Bee County, Texas, near Beeville, Texas. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice operates a group of facilities collec ...

References

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 ...

: Chase Field * Chase Field, Naval Air Station Military installations in Texas Buildings and structures in Bee County, Texas Military installations closed in 1993 {{Texas-airport-stub Closed installations of the United States Navy