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Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove or NASJRB Willow Grove was a Naval Air Station owned by 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 ...
and located in Horsham Township, Montgomery County,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
,
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 territori ...
four miles (6 km) northwest of the central business district of Willow Grove, which is north of
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
. The installation was transferred to the
Pennsylvania Air National Guard The Pennsylvania Air National Guard (PA ANG) is the aerial militia of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States of America. It is, along with the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, an element of the Pennsylvania National Guard. As commonw ...
and the name changed to the
Horsham Air Guard Station Biddle Air National Guard Base (formerly Horsham Air Guard Station, 2011–2021) is owned by the Pennsylvania Air National Guard and located in Horsham Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The Air National Guard plays host t ...
after the U.S. Navy departed in 2011.


History

Flight activity began in 1926 when
Harold Frederick Pitcairn Harold Frederick Pitcairn (June 20, 1897 – April 23, 1960) was an American aviation inventor and pioneer. He played a key role in the development of the autogyro and founded the Autogiro Company of America. He patented a number of innovations ...
constructed a
hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...
and a grass airstrip in Horsham, Pennsylvania. The airfield was named after the nearest town
Willow Grove, Pennsylvania Willow Grove is a census-designated place (CDP) in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. A community in Philadelphia's northern suburbs, the population was 15,726 at the 2010 census. It is located in Upper Dublin Township, Abington To ...
. At the time, Horsham was a rural
township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...
with little significance. From 1926 to 1942 Pitcairn used the airfield for design, construction and testing of a number of aircraft, including the
Mailwing The Pitcairn Mailwing family was a series of American mail carrier and three-seat sport utility biplane aircraft produced from 1927 to 1931. Design and development The Pitcairn Mailwings were developed to carry air mail for the United States P ...
which was used by the
United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...
.Jeremy Roebuck
Willow Grove sees final departures
Philly.com, March 31, 2011
After the start of
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 opposing ...
, the
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 territori ...
purchased the property, under threat of eminent domain and launched a classified
anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...
program at the base. Following WWII and into the Cold War, it became an operational and training base for aviation activities of the
Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces The reserve components of the United States Armed Forces are military organizations whose members generally perform a minimum of 39 days of military duty per year and who augment the active duty (or full-time) military when necessary. The reserv ...
such as
United States Navy Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Se ...
,
Marine Corps Reserve The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. It is the largest command, by assigned p ...
, Air Force Reserve, Air National Guard,
United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. Since July 2020 ...
and
Pennsylvania National Guard The Pennsylvania National Guard is one of the oldest and largest National Guards in the United States Department of Defense. It traces its roots to 1747 when Benjamin Franklin established the Associators in Philadelphia. With more than 18,000 pe ...
. As part of its joint recruitment efforts, the base was an annual host to one of the largest air shows on the East Coast until 2006.


Units

Horsham Air Guard Station was home to the following: * 111th Fighter Wing (111 FW), Pennsylvania Air National Guard, which operated the
A-10 Thunderbolt II The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is a single-seat, twin-turbofan, straight-wing, subsonic attack aircraft developed by Fairchild Republic for the United States Air Force (USAF). In service since 1976, it is named for the Republic ...
. It lost its aircraft to other ANG Squadrons and active duty components under BRAC. As of 2013, the Wing, now renamed the 111th Attack Wing, was slated to acquire ground control stations to remotely fly the MQ-9 Reaper and became operational in 2016. * 201st RED HORSE Squadron, Detachment 1 (201 RHS), Pennsylvania Air National Guard * 270th Engineering Installation Squadron (270 EIS), Pennsylvania Air National Guard *Group 3 Headquarters of Pennsylvania Wing Civil Air Patrol. *902nd Search and Rescue Squadron of Pennsylvania Wing Civil Air Patrol. * The Liberty Bell Squadron of the
United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps The United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps (USNSCC or NSCC) is a congressionally chartered, U.S. Navy-sponsored organization that serves to teach individuals about the sea-going military services, U.S. naval operations and training, community ser ...
The base was home to the following military aviation units: * U.S. Army Reserve Units - A/4/158th Aviation Regiment flying UH-1H (GhostRiders), A & HHC/2/228th Avn flying UH-1H, OH-58, & C-12R (Winged Warriors). *
Marine Aircraft Group 49 Marine Aircraft Group 49 is a United States Marine Corps Reserve aviation unit based at Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst, New Jersey that is currently composed of squadrons that fly the MV-22B, CH-53E, AH-1Z, UH-1Y, UC-35D and UC-12F/W aircr ...
headquarters and HMH-772 of the Marine Air Reserve's
4th Marine Aircraft Wing The 4th Marine Aircraft Wing is the reserve airwing of the United States Marine Corps. It is headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana but its subordinate units are scattered throughout the United States. Mission Conduct air operations in support ...
, the latter operating the
CH-53E Super Stallion The Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion is a heavy-lift helicopter operated by the United States military. As the Sikorsky S-80, it was developed from the CH-53 Sea Stallion, mainly by adding a third engine, adding a seventh blade to the main rotor, ...
. Both MAG-49 and HMH-772 relocated to
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- ...
in 2011. Also Reserve Marine Attack Squadron VMA-131 flying McDonnell Douglas A4 aircraft from 1972 until their deactivation in 1998. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VMA-131 * Patrol Squadrons 64 (VP-64) and 66 (VP-66) of the United States Naval Reserve operating the P-3 Orion. VP-64 was later re-designated Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 64 (VR-64) and traded in its P-3 Orions for the C-130T Hercules *Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 11 ( VQ-11 "Bandits", established at Willow Grove, moved to NAS Brunswick, Maine in the middle of 1997 were establishment ceremony was held at). VQ-11 "Bandits" was formed from VP-66 Liberty Bell's Detachment.66 (called VQ-66 "Bandits") which received the Lockheed EP-3J Electronic Orion aircraft (BuNo 152745 & BuNo 152719) from VAQ-33 Firebirds on March of 1993. VQ-11 was the US Naval Air Reserve's only Reconnaissance Squadron, but preformed Electronic Aggressor roles during fleet exercises. * Fleet Logistic Support Squadrons 52 (VR-52) and 64 (VR-64) of the Naval Air Reserve, operating the C-9 Skytrain II and C-130T Hercules, respectively. Both VR-52 and VR-64 relocated to
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- ...
in March 2011. * 913th Airlift Wing (913 AW) of the Air Force Reserve Command. The 913 AW was inactivated by BRAC action on 30 September 2007.


Base Realignment and Closure

On May 28, 2005, the
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 ...
commission recommended that the base be closed as part of the 2005 BRAC round, that the tenant Air Force Reserve Command airlift wing be inactivated and that Navy Reserve and Marine Corps Reserve flying units relocate to McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey as tenant units. On September 30, 2007, the Air Force Reserve Command disestablished the 913th Airlift Wing at the collocated Willow Grove ARS, and redistributed its C-130 Hercules aircraft to other active duty Air Force and Air Force Reserve units. On February 29, 2008, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania released a report detailing a plan for a joint interagency installation (JII), with a mission of national defense, homeland security and emergency preparedness. On November 13, 2009, Pennsylvania dropped the plan for the JII based on the gradual removal of the 111th Fighter Wing. Since then it is planned that a portion of the base will be used for the National Guard and other Reserve Component military personnel. The airfield shut down on March 31, 2011; VP-64, VR-52, and a C-12 detachment were transferred to McGuire Air Force Base. On September 15, 2011, the base was closed. The
Pennsylvania Air National Guard The Pennsylvania Air National Guard (PA ANG) is the aerial militia of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States of America. It is, along with the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, an element of the Pennsylvania National Guard. As commonw ...
took custody, and the facility was to be designated Willow Grove Air National Guard Base, or Horsham Air Guard Station per source. A handful of National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers remained, and the Air Force maintained administrative offices on the property. The surplus land with the runways was turned over to Horsham Township for redevelopment. Horsham and other adjoining townships in Montgomery and Bucks Counties were debating the nature of this redevelopment. In September 2015, the Horsham Land Redevelopment Authority worked on an "economic development conveyance" (EDC) application to acquire the base. An EDC transfer is one way for the Navy to dispose of federal surplus property.


References

(9) Harold F. Pitcairn By Carl F. Gunther, Legacy of Wings ( The Harold F. Pitcairn Story) by Frank Kingston Smith


External links


Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove


* ttp://hlra.org/ Horsham Township Land Reuse Authority* {{PAMilitary Willow Grove Military facilities in Pennsylvania Military Superfund sites Installations of the United States Air National Guard 1928 establishments in Pennsylvania Buildings and structures in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania 2011 disestablishments in Pennsylvania Superfund sites in Pennsylvania Closed installations of the United States Navy Military installations closed in 2011