Naval Auxiliary Air Facility Lewiston, located at

Lewiston, Maine Lewiston (; ; officially the City of Lewiston, Maine) is List of cities in Maine, the second largest city in Maine and the most central city in Androscoggin County, Maine, Androscoggin County. The city lies halfway between Augusta, Maine, August ...

, is a closed facility of 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 ...

, and was established as one of five air facilities to support

Naval Air Station Brunswick Naval Air Station Brunswick , also known as NAS Brunswick, was a military airport located southeast of Brunswick, Maine, with a number of Navy-operated maritime patrol aircraft. As of November 28, 2009, the last aircraft ( P-3 Orions) left. The ...

, Maine, during World War II.

History

A municipal airport opened in

Androscoggin County Androscoggin County (French: ''Comté d'Androscoggin'') is a county in the U.S. state of Maine. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 111,139. Its county seat is Auburn and its largest city is Lewiston. Androscoggin County compris ...

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

United States 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 primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, in 1935. It is located four nautical miles (7 km) southwest of the cities of

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

and Lewiston, both of which own and operate the airport, although it is located solely in the city of Auburn. From late 1942, during World War II, the airfield was under the control of the United States Navy for use as a base for anti-submarine patrols by Squadron

VS-31 Sea Control Squadron 31 (VS-31) ''Topcats'' was a United States Navy anti-submarine warfare squadron. During WWII there was a scouting squadron which carried the designation VS-31. It was established as Scouting Squadron 31 in 1942, based at Naval ...

. The U.S. Navy established

, Maine, on 15 April 1943, to train American,

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...

, and

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

torpedo bomber A torpedo bomber is a military aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes. Torpedo bombers came into existence just before the First World War almost as soon as aircraft were built that were capable of carrying the weight ...

pilots and radar operators until 1945. Five auxiliary landing fields were used in support of this facility, at

Bar Harbor Bar Harbor is a resort town on Mount Desert Island in Hancock County, Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population is 5,089. During the summer and fall seasons, it is a popular tourist destination and, until a catastrophic fire i ...

Casco Bay Casco Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Maine on the southern coast of Maine, New England, United States. Its easternmost approach is Cape Small and its westernmost approach is Two Lights in Cape Elizabeth. The city of Portland sits along its south ...

, Lewiston,

Rockland Rockland may refer to: People *Per Bergsland, nicknamed Peter Rockland, one of three successful escapees from Stalag Luft III (the "Great Escape") Places ;In Canada *Rockland, Greater Victoria *Rockland, Nova Scotia *Rockland, Ontario ;In the Uni ...

, and Sanford. The aerodrome at Lewiston was established as a Naval Auxiliary Air Facility in April 1943. It was redesignated a Naval Auxiliary Air Station in August 1945, and disestablished on 1 December 1945 during the first round of postwar base closings, with the site being declared surplus to the Navy's requirements in 1946, and handed back to the cities of Auburn and Lewiston in 1947/1948.

Units

Torpedo Squadron 153 ( VT-153) was established at NAAF Lewiston on 26 March 1945, transferring to

Naval Air Station Oceana Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana or NAS Oceana is a United States Navy Naval Air Station located in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Nowadays, the station is located on 23.9 km2. It has total of 250 aircraft deployed and buildings valued at $800 mil ...

, Virginia, on 1 June 1945.

Current day

The former naval facility operates as

Auburn/Lewiston Municipal Airport Auburn-Lewiston Airport is a public airport in Androscoggin County, Maine, opened in 1935. It is five miles southwest of the cities of Auburn and Lewiston, both of which own and operate the airport, though it is in the Auburn city limits. The ...

References

{{coord, 44.0485, -70.2842, type:airport_region:US-ME, display=title 1935 establishments in Maine 1945 disestablishments in Maine Airports in Maine Military installations closed in 1945 Military installations in Maine Lewiston Closed installations of the United States Navy