Naval Air Station Tongue Point 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 which was located within the former U.S. Naval Station Tongue Point,

Astoria, Oregon Astoria is a port city and the seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1811, Astoria is the oldest city in the state and was the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. The county is the northwest corne ...

. In 1919, the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

approved the construction of a

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

and

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 ...

base on

Tongue Point Tongue Point is an area of the Salt Creek Recreation Area, in Washington, United States. The point is a rock out cropping that extends into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. This outcropping is visible during low tide. At low tide it is accessible on f ...

, a

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

jutting into the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...

east of Astoria, Oregon. Construction was not started until 1921 and was completed in 1924. However, with the military downsizing following

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the base was never used. Prior to

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 ...

, Tongue Point was designated as the site of a Naval Air Station (NAS). Ground breaking took place in 1939 but there were numerous delays until construction was finally completed in 1943.

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 ...

s, an ordnance depot and fuel depot were constructed.

PBY Catalina The Consolidated PBY Catalina is a flying boat and amphibious aircraft that was produced in the 1930s and 1940s. In Canadian service it was known as the Canso. It was one of the most widely used seaplanes of World War II. Catalinas served wit ...

seaplanes then arrived and began coastal patrols. Tongue Point was also the location of the U.S. Naval Ship Yard Tongue Point for pre-commissioning and commissioning

escort aircraft carrier The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier (U.S. hull classification symbol CVE), also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy (USN) or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slow type of aircraft ...

s built in shipyards in the Portland-Vancouver area. A naval communications intercept station was operational there during World War II. Liberty Ships 1

After World War II the air station was deactivated and the base was expanded to include a naval mothball site for the

National Defense Reserve Fleet The National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) consists of ships of the United States of America, mostly merchant vessels, that have been "mothballed" but can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping during national military emergencies ...

(NRDF), Pacific Reserve Fleet, Astoria (Columbia River Group) which was operated by the predecessors of the

United States Maritime Administration The United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) is an agency of the United States Department of Transportation. MARAD administers financial programs to develop, promote, and operate the U.S. Maritime Service and the U.S. Merchant Marine. Det ...

(MARAD) In 1962, the Navy transferred the base to the

General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) is an independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. GSA supplies products and communications for U.S. gover ...

(GSA). One of the first

Job Corps Job Corps is a program administered by the United States Department of Labor that offers free education and vocational training to young men and women ages 16 to 24. Mission and purpose Job Corps' mission is to help young people ages 16 throug ...

centers in the nation was opened at the site in 1965.

Clatsop Community College Clatsop Community College (CCC) is a public community college with facilities in Astoria and Seaside, Oregon. The college's service area includes Clatsop County, portions of Columbia and Tillamook counties and Pacific and Wahkiakum counties i ...

operates the Marine and Environmental Research and Training Station (MERTS) at Tongue Point.

U.S. Coast Guard operations

In 1876 the Tongue Point Light became operational. In 1939 Tongue Point

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

Station became a

buoy tender A buoy tender is a type of vessel used to maintain and replace navigational buoys. This term can also apply to an actual person who does this work. The United States Coast Guard uses buoy tenders to accomplish one of its primary missions of main ...

port. On 14 August 1964

Coast Guard Air Station A Coast Guard Air Station (abbreviated as CGAS or AirSta) provides aviation support for the United States Coast Guard. The Coast Guard operates approximately 210 aircraft from 24 Coast Guard Air Stations in the United States. Fixed-wing aircraf ...

Astoria was established at Tongue Point Naval Air Station, with a crew of 10 officers and 22 enlisted men. Two

Sikorsky HH-52A Seaguard The Sikorsky HH-52 Seaguard (company designation S-62) was an early amphibious helicopter designed and produced by the American helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft. It was the first of the company's amphibious rotorcraft to fly. The S-62 ...

helicopters were assigned to the station. The helicopters operated from that location, staging from the Port of Astoria Airport until the air station was moved to its present location at the

Astoria Regional Airport Astoria Regional Airport is a joint civil-military public airport in Warrenton, three miles southwest of Astoria, in Clatsop County, Oregon. The airport is owned by the Port of Astoria and is the home of Coast Guard Air Station Astoria. The a ...

Warrenton, Oregon Warrenton is a small, coastal city in Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Named for D.K. (Daniel Knight) Warren, an early settler, the town is primarily a fishing and logging community. The population was 6,277 according to the 2020 US Cens ...

on 25 February 1966. The Coast Guard also operated a radio aids to navigation facility at Tongue Point. The U.S. Coast Guard continues to operate an

Aids to Navigation Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

(ATON) support and maintenance facility at Tongue Point. In 2022, the Coast Guard awarded a contract to install a fixed pier and two floating docks to accommodate fast response cutters at the base. The first new cutter is expected to arrive in March 2024.

External links

*http://www.airfields-freeman.com/OR/Airfields_OR_NW.htm#tonguepoint *https://web.archive.org/web/20120113195821/http://tonguepoint.jobcorps.gov/home.aspx *http://columbiariverimages.com/Regions/Places/tongue_point.html *Google: Images for U.S. Naval Station Tongue Point Astoria, Oregon

Retrieved: 15 January 2015. *U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). 181.8 Records of Naval Stations 1867–75, 1898–1971. 181.8.16 Records of the Tongue Point Naval Station (Astoria, OR), Textual Records (in Seattle): General correspondence, 1945–55, and General files, 1952–57, of the Commander. General correspondence of the Industrial Manager, 1943–45. Administrative files of Ship Repair Unit No. 1, 1952–54. https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/181.html

References

{{Authority control United States Naval Air Stations Military installations in Oregon Defunct airports in Oregon Buildings and structures in Astoria, Oregon 1924 establishments in Oregon 1962 disestablishments in Oregon Military installations closed in the 1940s Closed installations of the United States Navy