Naval Air Station Norman is a former

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 ...

air station. It was also called a Naval Flight Training Center. The air station opened in 1942 as the navy sought to expand its training capacity during

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 ...

. It was co-located at

University of Oklahoma Westheimer Airport University of Oklahoma Westheimer Airport (Max Westheimer Airport) is a public use airport in Norman, in Cleveland County, Oklahoma. It is owned by the University of Oklahoma. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2021–2025 cate ...

. After the War, the base was inactivated as the military downsized. The base was reactivated in 1952 and remained open until 1959. The base was turned over to the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

. In 1944, the station fielded a football team called the

Zoomers Generation Z (or more commonly Gen Z for short), colloquially known as zoomers, is the Western demographic cohort succeeding Millennials and preceding Generation Alpha. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1990s as starting birth ...

Naval Air Technical Training Center

The Naval Air Technical Training Center was a different base located on the south section of Norman.

References

United States Naval Air Stations Military installations in Oklahoma Buildings and structures in Norman, Oklahoma {{Oklahoma-struct-stub Closed installations of the United States Navy