naval A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It inclu ...

Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst (JB MDL) is a United States military facility located southeast of Trenton, New Jersey. The base is the only tri-service base in the United States Department of Defense and includes units from all six armed ...

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...

Ocean County, New Jersey Ocean County is a county located along the Jersey Shore in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It borders the Atlantic Ocean on the east. Its county seat is Toms River.Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division Lakehurst, although the airfield supports several other flying and non-flying units as well. Its name is an amalgamation of its location and the last name of Commander Louis H. Maxfield, who lost his life when the R-38/USN ZR-2 airship crashed during flight on 24 August 1921 near

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

, England. When it was consolidated with

McGuire Air Force Base McGuire AFB/McGuire, the common name of the McGuire unit of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, is a United States Air Force base in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States, approximately south-southeast of Trenton. McGuire is under the j ...

and

Fort Dix Fort Dix, the common name for the Army Support Activity (ASA) located at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, is a United States Army post. It is located south-southeast of Trenton, New Jersey. Fort Dix is under the jurisdiction of the Air Force ...

in October 2009, it became the naval component of JB MDL – a

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...

– controlled installation – and was placed under the

87th Air Base Wing The 87th Air Base Wing is the host wing at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (JB MDL), New Jersey and its headquarters are on the McGuire Air Force Base portion of the Joint Base. The wing provides installation support to commands at McGuire Air F ...

. However, as with all joint bases, the installation receives support services from the previous installation authorities. Thus, Lakehurst Field is also provided certain services from Naval Support Activity Lakehurst (NSA Lakehurst), whose commander also serves as one of two Base Deputy Commanders. The field was the site of the ''Hindenburg'' disaster.

Overview

History

Lakehurst Maxfield Field's history began as a test range for ammunition being manufactured for the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

in 1916. It was then acquired 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, ...

as Camp Kendrick during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. 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 ...

purchased the property in 1921 for use as an airship station and renamed it Naval Air Station Lakehurst (NAS Lakehurst). 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 ...

's lighter-than-air program was conducted at Lakehurst from its inception through the 1930s. NAS Lakehurst was the center of

airship An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...

development in the United States and housed three of the U.S. Navy's four

rigid airship A rigid airship is a type of airship (or dirigible) in which the envelope is supported by an internal framework rather than by being kept in shape by the pressure of the lifting gas within the envelope, as in blimps (also called pressure air ...

s, (ZR-1) ''Shenandoah'', (ZR-3) ''Los Angeles'', and (ZRS-4) ''Akron''. A number of the

airship hangar Airship hangars (also known as airship sheds) are large specialized buildings that are used for sheltering airships during construction, maintenance and storage. Rigid airships always needed to be based in airship hangars because weathering was a ...

s built to berth these ships still survive. Hangar One, in which the ''Shenandoah'' was built, held the record for the largest "single room" in the world. According to an article in the January, 1925 issue of ''

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widel ...

'', the

airship hangar Airship hangars (also known as airship sheds) are large specialized buildings that are used for sheltering airships during construction, maintenance and storage. Rigid airships always needed to be based in airship hangars because weathering was a ...

"could house three

Woolworth Building The Woolworth Building is an early American skyscraper designed by architect Cass Gilbert located at 233 Broadway in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was the tallest building in the world from 1913 to 1930, with a ...

s lying side by side." The base also housed many Navy non-rigid airships, otherwise knowns as "blimps," in several squadrons before, during, and after

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. This included the U.S. Navy's

ZPG-3W The N-Class, or as popularly known, the "Nan ship", was a line of non-rigid airships built by the Goodyear Aircraft Company of Akron, Ohio for the US Navy. This line of airships was developed through many versions and assigned various designa ...

(EZ-1C), which was deactivated in September 1962. In 2006, after a 44-year hiatus, the U.S. Navy resumed airship operations at Lakehurst with the MZ-3. Hindenburg memorial

The installation was the site of the LZ 129 ''Hindenburg'' disaster on 6 May 1937. Despite the notoriety and well-documented nature of this incident, today there is a simple memorial that denotes the location of the crash at then–NAS Lakehurst in the field behind the large airship hangars on base. A ground marker, painted black, and rimmed by a bright yellow painted chain, marks the spot where the gondola of the German zeppelin '' Hindenburg'' hit the ground.

Aviation training

Lakehurst conducts the unique mission of supporting and developing the Aircraft Launch and Recovery Equipment and Support Equipment for naval aviation. Since the 1950s, aviation boatswain's mates have been trained at Lakehurst to operate catapults and arresting systems on aircraft carriers using rail guided jet donkeys pushing dead loads at 200 knots tested carrier

arresting gear An arresting gear, or arrestor gear, is a mechanical system used to rapidly decelerate an aircraft as it lands. Arresting gear on aircraft carriers is an essential component of naval aviation, and it is most commonly used on CATOBAR and STOBA ...

cables and

tailhook A tailhook, arresting hook, or arrester hook is a device attached to the empennage (rear) of some military fixed-wing aircraft. The hook is used to achieve rapid deceleration during routine landings aboard aircraft carrier flight decks at sea, ...

s. The Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System and the

Advanced Arresting Gear The Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) is a type of arresting gear developed by General Atomics for the U.S. Navy's newest ''Gerald R. Ford''-class aircraft carriers. It was deployed in 2017 on the lead ship of the class, the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN- ...

system that will replace the existing steam catapults and the Mk-7 arresting gear are being developed and tested at Lakehurst at full-scale shipboard representative test facilities here. The former NAS Lakehurst also hosted the U.S. Navy's first helicopter squadrons, HU-1 (later HC-1) and HU-2 (later HC-2); the "A" and "C" enlisted training schools for the Aerographer's Mate (AG), Aviation Boatswain Mate (AB, ABE, ABF, ABH), and Parachute Rigger / Aircrew Survival Equipmentman (PR) ratings until their transfer to other Naval Air Technical Training Centers; and an Overhaul & Repair (O&R) facility for fixed-wing aircraft, the forerunner of the former Naval Air Rework Facilities and Naval Aviation Depots (NADEPs) now known as Fleet Readiness Centers (FRCs). Today the base is used for various Naval Aviation development programs. Lakehurst Maxfield's main airfield has two runways under its own control tower, while a separate test runway (12/30) – equipped with a separate control tower and pavement-mounted catapults and arresting gear for testing aircraft-carrier suitability of new naval aircraft and new flight-deck systems – is located approximately a mile to the northwest.

Tenant organizations

Lakehurst is home to Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC) Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, which is the largest command on the field, followed by

Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 64 Fleet may refer to: Vehicles *Fishing fleet *Naval fleet *Fleet vehicles, a pool of motor vehicles *Fleet Aircraft, the aircraft manufacturing company Places Canada * Fleet, Alberta, Canada, a hamlet England * The Fleet Lagoon, at Chesil Beach ...

, operating the Navy Reserve Force's C-130T Hercules. In addition, the field is host to several CNATTU schools, the

New Jersey Army National Guard The New Jersey Army National Guard consists of more than 6,000 Citizen-Soldiers. The New Jersey Army National Guard is currently engaged in multiple worldwide and homeland missions. Units have deployed to Iraq, Guantanamo Bay, Afghanistan, Germ ...

's aviation unit, as well as other tenant organisations from

Ocean County Ocean County is a county located along the Jersey Shore in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It borders the Atlantic Ocean on the east. Its county seat is Toms River.United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...

, New Jersey Air National Guard,

United States Public Health Service The United States Public Health Service (USPHS or PHS) is a collection of agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services concerned with public health, containing nine out of the department's twelve operating divisions. The Assistant ...

and the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...

.

Naval Support Activity Lakehurst

Naval Support Activity Lakehurst (NSA Lakehurst) is 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 ...

element representing USN and USMC entities for the Department of the Navy–specific asset and resources at

Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst (JB MDL) is a United States military facility located southeast of Trenton, New Jersey. The base is the only tri-service base in the United States Department of Defense and includes units from all six armed ...

(JB MDL), and administrative control over Naval personnel who are assigned to units that are assigned to the base.

Background

When the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national sec ...

announced that Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst (NAES Lakehurst) would be affected by a

Base Realignment and Closure 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 ...

(BRAC) action, merging it with two neighboring military bases,

McGuire Air Force Base McGuire AFB/McGuire, the common name of the McGuire unit of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, is a United States Air Force base in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States, approximately south-southeast of Trenton. McGuire is under the j ...

and

Fort Dix Fort Dix, the common name for the Army Support Activity (ASA) located at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, is a United States Army post. It is located south-southeast of Trenton, New Jersey. Fort Dix is under the jurisdiction of the Air Force ...

, it established

Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw- ...

, New Jersey, the nation's only tri-service installation. Each installation's major support services such as MWR,

Legal Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. ...

, medical/dental-clinic, and exchange-services roles transitioned over to either Air Force or joint operation. However, both Lakehurst (and also Fort Dix, the third component of the installation) kept several service-specific support services for their personnel. With the disestablishment of NAES Lakehurst as a separate activity from JB MDL, NSA Lakehurst became the official sponsor for these activities. The person who is the Commanding Officer, NSA Lakehurst is also the primary Deputy Commander of JB MDL, and reports to Commander, Naval Region Mid-Atlantic (CNRMA) for all administrative and logistical concerns, and to the Joint Base Commander for operational concerns.

Education

Dependent children living on-post are zoned to

Lakehurst School District The Lakehurst School District is a community public school district serving students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade from Lakehurst, in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprised ...

and

Manchester Township High School Manchester Township High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades in Manchester Township in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States, as the lone secondary school of the Manches ...

(of

Manchester Township School District The Manchester Township School District is a comprehensive community school district serving students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade in Manchester Township, in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. The Manchester Township School ...

). - This is a

.mil The domain name mil is the sponsored top-level domain (sTLD) in the Domain Name System of the Internet for the United States Department of Defense and its subsidiary or affiliated organizations. The name is derived from ''military''. It was on ...

site.

References

External links

* * *
Navy Lakehurst Historical Society
* ** {{US Navy navbox Airports in New Jersey Manchester Township, New Jersey Military installations in New Jersey Transportation buildings and structures in Ocean County, New Jersey Airships Lakehurst Lakehurst LZ 129 Hindenburg 1916 establishments in New Jersey

Overview

History

Aviation training

Tenant organizations

Naval Support Activity Lakehurst

Background

Education

See also

References

External links