Atlantic Reserve Fleet Florida in 1947 Naval Air Station Lee Field was a

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 base that opened on September 11, 1940, in

Green Cove Springs, Florida Green Cove Springs is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,378 at the 2000 census. As of 2010, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 6,908. The city is named after the portio ...

to support the

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 ...

efforts. The Air Station was on the

St. Johns River The St. Johns River ( es, Río San Juan) is the longest river in the U.S. state of Florida and its most significant one for commercial and recreational use. At long, it flows north and winds through or borders twelve counties. The drop in eleva ...

Clay County, Florida Clay County is located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2020, the population was 218,245. Its county seat is Green Cove Springs. It is included in the Jacksonville metropolitan statistical area. It is named in honor o ...

. The Air Station and Navy base was on 1,560 acres. The US Navy and

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

used the site to train pilots on four asphalt runways. The

Grumman F6F Hellcat The Grumman F6F Hellcat is an American Carrier-based aircraft, carrier-based fighter aircraft of World War II. Designed to replace the earlier Grumman F4F Wildcat, F4F Wildcat and to counter the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero, it was the United St ...

fighter plane was the most common plane use at the Navy Air Station. The

Vought F4U Corsair The Vought F4U Corsair is an American fighter aircraft which saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Designed and initially manufactured by Chance Vought, the Corsair was soon in great demand; additional production contracts ...

was a common plane for the Marine Corps training. The base was named after Ensign Bejamin Lee, who was killed during World War I in a plane crash at Killinghome, England. Naval Air Station Lee Field was renamed Naval Air Station Green Cove Springs in August 1943. After the war, Naval Air Station Green Cove Springs was reorganized into a Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) of

Naval Air Station Jacksonville Naval Air Station Jacksonville (NAS Jacksonville) is a large naval air station located approximately eight miles (13 km) south of the central business district of Jacksonville, Florida, United States., effective 2007-10-25 Location NAS Jack ...

. The Naval Auxiliary Air Station closed in June 1962.

Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Florida

In 1946 the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Florida, also called the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Green Cove Springs opened next to the Naval Air Station Green Cove Springs in the St. Johns River. The Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Florida was part of the

United States Navy reserve fleets The United States Navy maintains a number of its ships as part of a reserve fleet, often called the "Mothball Fleet". While the details of the maintenance activity have changed several times, the basics are constant: keep the ships afloat and s ...

, also called ''mothball fleet'', was used to store the now many surplus ships after

. The freshwater was good for long-term storage for ships. At its peak the reserve fleet had 600 ships. In the fleet were

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

destroyer escorts Destroyer escort (DE) was the United States Navy mid-20th-century classification for a warship designed with the endurance necessary to escort mid-ocean convoys of merchant marine ships. Development of the destroyer escort was promoted by th ...

troop ship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable land troops directly on shore, typicall ...

s and

US Navy auxiliary ships This is a list of auxiliaries of the United States Navy. It covers the various types of ships that support the frontline combat vessels of the United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the Unite ...

. Some ships in the fleet were reactivated 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 ...

and

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 ...

. The

reserve fleet A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed; they are partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; a ...

and Air Station were closed in June 1962. The land was deeded to the City of Green Cove Springs. In 1965, the site was sold to J. Louis Reynolds. The site today is the Clay County Port and Reynolds Industrial Park. One runway remains as the Reynolds Airpark Airport (FL60). Some of the former airfield land was used as a test track for

anti-lock brakes An anti-lock braking system (ABS) is a safety anti-skid braking system used on aircraft and on land vehicles, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, and buses. ABS operates by preventing the wheels from locking up during braking, thereby maintainin ...

by Kelsey-Hayes/

TRW Automotive TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. was an American global supplier of automotive systems, modules, and components to automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and related aftermarkets. Tracing its roots from TRW Inc. it was originally h ...

. At the site is the original Naval Air Station Lee Field air traffic control tower and aircraft hangars.

Military Museum of North Florida

Military Museum of North Florida The Military Museum of North Florida is a museum of military artifacts in Green Cove Springs, Clay County, Florida. The museum includes ship models, military vehicles, uniforms, weapons, equipment, and flags. Established in 2007, the museum is loca ...

is located at the Reynolds Industrial Park opened in 2007. Located at 1 Bunker Avenue, Green Cove Springs, Florida, off State Road 16 East (Leonard C. Taylor Parkway) at . The Museum have indoor and outdoor displays of plane and vehicles.

References

{{Authority control 1940 establishments in Florida Closed installations of the United States Navy

Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Florida

Military Museum of North Florida

See also

References