Misplaced Pages

#928071

109-597: NAS Key West is an air-to-air combat training facility for fighter aircraft of all military services, with favorable flying conditions year round and nearby aerial ranges. The station and its associated offshore air combat maneuvering ranges are equipped with the P5 Combat Training System/Tactical Combat Training System (P5CTS/TCTS) which tracks and records aerial maneuvers. On a broader scale, NAS Key West's national security mission supports operational and readiness requirements for

218-493: A flight deck on the fore-deck; in 1917 it was reconstructed with separate flight decks fore and aft of the superstructure; then finally, after the war, it was heavily reconstructed with a three-quarter length main flight deck, and a lower-level take-off only flight deck on the fore-deck. On 2 August 1917, Squadron Commander E.H. Dunning , Royal Navy, landed his Sopwith Pup aircraft on Furious in Scapa Flow , Orkney , becoming

327-519: A Naval Base was established to stop piracy in this area. The lower Keys were home to many wealthy shipping merchants whose fleets operated from these waters. This drew the interest of pirates who used the Florida Keys as a base from which to prey on shipping lanes. The base was expanded during the Mexican–American War , with the construction of Fort Zachary Taylor and other fortifications in

436-403: A country's seagoing forces with air cover over areas that may not be reachable by land-based aircraft, giving them a considerable advantage over navies composed primarily of surface combatants. Naval aviation also provides countries with the opportunity to deploy military aircraft over land and sea, without the need for air bases on land. Aircraft may be used to conduct naval mine clearance ,

545-480: A dirigible hangar, a hydrogenerator plant, and temporary barracks . On 22 September of that year, the base's log book recorded the first naval flight ever made from Key West – a Curtiss N-9 seaplane flown by U.S. Coast Guard Lieutenant Stanley Parker. About three months later, on 18 December, Naval Air Base Key West was commissioned and LT Parker became the first Commanding Officer. Naval Air Base Key West pilots flew in search of German submarines resting on

654-540: A dogfight can be executed in an infinite number of geometric planes. Pilots are encouraged to keep their manoeuvres out of the strictly vertical and horizontal planes, but to instead use the limitless number of oblique planes, which is much harder for an adversary to track. This infinite number of planes around a fixed point about which the aircraft turns is termed the "post and bubble". A fighter that can maintain position between an aircraft and its imaginary post cannot be attacked by that aircraft. The imaginary bubble, however,

763-399: A fast moving attacker to slow his closing speed. An attacker is confronted with three possible ways to pursue an enemy, all of which are vital during chase. "Lag pursuit" happens in a turn when the nose of the attacker's aircraft points behind an enemy's tail. Lag pursuit allows an attacker to increase or maintain range without overshooting . "Lead pursuit" in a turn occurs when the nose of

872-420: A higher altitude than the opponent. Most of these rules are still as valuable today as they were a century ago. Today's air combat is much more complicated than that of older times, as air-to-air missiles , radar , and automatic cannons capable of high rates of fire are used on nearly all modern fighter aircraft. New and additional types of manoeuvres have emerged, intending to break radar lock by minimizing

981-619: A manned reconnaissance device that would give the viewer the advantage of considerable height. In 1908 Prime Minister H. H. Asquith approved the formation of an "Aerial Sub-Committee of the Committee of Imperial Defence " to investigate the potential for naval aviation. In 1909 this body accepted the proposal of Captain Reginald Bacon made to the First Sea Lord Sir John Fisher that rigid airships should be constructed for

1090-828: A mix of NC-121K , ERA-3B / TA-3B / KA-3B Skywarrior , EA-6A Intruder , EA-4F Skyhawk II , EP-3 Orion and the sole example of the EF-4B/EF-4J Phantom II aircraft. Reporting as an element of the Fleet Electronic Warfare Support Group (FEWSG), the squadron provided "Orange Air" electronic adversary services for fleet training until its disestablishment the early 1990s. VAQ-33 was also the last A-3 Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) and Fleet Readiness Aviation Maintenance Personnel (FRAMP) school, providing training for A-3 Skywarrior pilots, navigators, electronic warfare officers, enlisted aircrewmen and maintenance personnel. VAQ-33 remained at NAS Key West until it

1199-403: A more mobile strike capacity led to the development of the aircraft carrier - the backbone of modern naval aviation. HMS  Ark Royal was the first purpose-built seaplane carrier and was also arguably the first modern aircraft carrier. She was originally laid down as a merchant ship, but was converted on the building stocks to be a hybrid airplane/seaplane carrier with a launch platform and

SECTION 10

#1732869370929

1308-726: A naval zeppelin detachment in Berlin-Johannisthal and an airplane squadron in Putzig (Puck, Poland). The Japanese established the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service , modelled on the RNAS , in 1913. On 24 January 1913 came the first wartime naval aviation interservice cooperation mission. Greek pilots on a seaplane observed and drew a diagram of the positions of the Turkish fleet against which they dropped four bombs. This event

1417-449: A pilot will often make trade offs between the fighter's potential energy (altitude) and kinetic energy (airspeed), to maintain the energy-to-weight ratio of the aircraft, or the "specific energy". A manoeuvre such as the " low yo-yo " trades altitude for airspeed to close on an enemy and to decrease turn radius. The opposite manoeuvre, a " high yo-yo ", trades speed for height, literally storing energy in "the altitude bank", which allows

1526-612: A platform extending from the side of the flight deck. In the United States, Admiral William Benson attempted to entirely dissolve the USN's Naval Aeronautics program in 1919. Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin Roosevelt and others succeeded in maintaining it, but the service continued to support battleship-based doctrines. To counter Billy Mitchell 's campaign to establish a separate Department of Aeronautics, Secretary of

1635-727: A seaplane carrier against a land target as well as a sea target took place in September 1914 when the Imperial Japanese Navy carrier Wakamiya conducted ship-launched air raids from Kiaochow Bay during the Battle of Tsingtao in China. The four Maurice Farman seaplanes bombarded German-held land targets (communication centers and command centers) and damaged a German minelayer in the Tsingtao peninsula from September until 6 November 1914, when

1744-585: A ship which was under way occurred. Hibernia steamed at 10.5 knots (19.4 km/h; 12.1 mph) at the Royal Fleet Review in Weymouth Bay , England . Hibernia then transferred her aviation equipment to battleship London . Based on these experiments, the Royal Navy concluded that aircraft were useful aboard ship for spotting and other purposes, but that interference with the firing of guns caused by

1853-459: A six-year period that coincided with the phased retirement of the RA-5C. Following decommissioning of the last RA-5C squadron, RVAH-7, Reconnaissance Attack Wing ONE subsequently stood down in early 1980. Due to its superb flying weather, NAS Key West has also hosted several permanent detachments of the fighter and strike fighter Fleet Replacement Squadrons (FRS) at NAS Oceana , Virginia. This includes

1962-459: A small number of aircraft. The solution to the problem were large numbers of mass-produced merchant hulls converted into escort aircraft carriers (also known as "jeep carriers"). These basic vessels, unsuited to fleet action by their capacity, speed and vulnerability, nevertheless provided air cover where it was needed. The Royal Navy had observed the impact of naval aviation and, obliged to prioritise their use of resources, abandoned battleships as

2071-489: A wide variety of military aircraft during this period, to include multiple U.S. Navy P-3C Orion aircraft, USAF E-3A Sentry AWACS aircraft and the Pennsylvania Air National Guard 's EC-130E Hercules "Commando Solo" aircraft that were engaged in the operations. On 5 October 2001, Naval Air Station Key West was temporarily downgraded and redesignated as Naval Air Facility Key West , but on 1 April 2003,

2180-461: A wide variety of other terms, usually coined by air crew. This type of combat became known as dogfighting . Oswald Boelcke , a German fighter ace during World War I, was the first to publish the basic rules for aerial combat manoeuvring in 1916, known as the Dicta Boelcke . He advised pilots to attack from the direction of the sun (toward which the defending pilot could not see), or to fly at

2289-776: A wise decision as the nation scrambled to re-arm in a state of emergency at the outbreak of the war. Naval Base Key West was reopened just prior to the United States' entry into World War II to support Navy destroyers , submarines, patrol craft and PBY flying boat and amphibious aircraft . Other satellite facilities were established to support other war efforts, including Meachum Field for lighter-than-air blimp operations on Key West, and runways for land-based and carrier-based aircraft on Boca Chica Key. By 1943, German Navy submarines were operating so near Key West that they were sinking allied ships within sight of land. Submarine raids peaked in May of that year, when 49 ships were torpedoed off

SECTION 20

#1732869370929

2398-555: Is a method of supplying naval vessels at sea, by helicopter . This means moving cargo and supplies from supply ships to the flight decks of other naval vessels using naval helicopters. During the Cold War , the navies of NATO faced a significant threat from Soviet submarine forces, specifically Soviet Navy SSN and SSGN assets. This resulted in the development and deployment of light aircraft carriers with major anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities by European NATO navies. One of

2507-416: Is also used as part of amphibious warfare . Aircraft based on naval ships provide support to marines and other forces performing amphibious landings. Ship-based aircraft may also be used to support amphibious forces as they move inland. Naval aircraft are used for various maritime patrol missions, such as reconnaissance, search and rescue, and maritime law enforcement. Vertical replenishment (VERTREP)

2616-1023: Is home to the Cudjoe Key Tethered Aerostat Radar System The following notable accidents and incidents have occurred at NAS Key West: Air combat manoeuvring Air combat manoeuvring ( ACM ) is the tactic of moving, turning, and situating one's fighter aircraft in order to attain a position from which an attack can be made on another aircraft. Commonly associated with dogfighting , air combat manoeuvres rely on offensive and defensive basic fighter manoeuvring (BFM) to gain an advantage over an aerial opponent. Military aviation originated in World War I when aircraft were initially used to spot enemy troop concentrations, field gun positions, and movements. Early aerial combat consisted of aviators shooting at one another with hand-held weapons. The first recorded aircraft to be shot down by another aircraft, which occurred on October 5, 1914,

2725-449: Is misshapen by gravity , causing turns to be much tighter and slower at the top, and wider and faster at the bottom, and is sometimes referred to as a "tactical egg". The manoeuvres employed by the attacker can also be used by the defender to evade, or gain a tactical advantage over his opponent. Other components may also be employed to manoeuvre the aircraft, such as yaw , drag , lift , and thrust vectors. A key factor in all battles

2834-419: Is that of "nose-tail separation". While getting close enough to fire a weapon, an attacker must keep his aircraft's nose far enough away from the tail of the defender to be able to get a good aim, and to prevent an overshoot . The defender, likewise, will use every manoeuvre available to encourage an overshoot, trying to change his own role to that of attacker. Naval Aviator Naval aviation / Aeronaval

2943-476: Is that the decisive factor does not lie in trick flying but solely in the personal ability and energy of the aviator. A flying man may be able to loop and do all the stunts imaginable and yet he may not succeed in shooting down a single enemy." Pilots soon learned to achieve a firing position (while avoiding the threat of enemy guns) by manoeuvring themselves behind an enemy aircraft; this is known as getting onto an aircraft's "six o'clock" or onto their "tail", plus

3052-414: Is the application of military air power by navies , whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. It often involves navalised aircraft , specifically designed for naval use. Seaborne aviation encompasses similar activities not restricted to navies, including marines and coast guards , such as in U.S. naval aviators . Naval aviation units are typically projected to a position nearer

3161-668: The Department of Defense , Department of Homeland Security (e.g., U.S. Coast Guard ), Air National Guard and Army National Guard units, other federal agencies, and allied military forces. The air station is also host to several tenant commands, including Fighter Squadron Composite 111 (VFC-111), Strike Fighter Squadron 106 (VFA-106) Detachment Key West, the U.S. Army Special Forces Underwater Operations School and Headquarters, Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATF South). The U.S. Navy's presence in Key West dates back to 1823 when

3270-560: The Doolittle Raid of 1942, 16 Army medium bombers were launched from the carrier Hornet on one-way missions to bomb Japan. All were lost to fuel exhaustion after bombing their targets and the experiment was not repeated. Smaller carriers were built in large numbers to escort slow cargo convoys or supplement fast carriers. Aircraft for observation or light raids were also carried by battleships and cruisers, while blimps were used to search for attack submarines. Experience showed that there

3379-516: The Fort Zachary Taylor property formerly on the base was turned over to the State of Florida as a Florida State Park and National Historic Site . Fleming Key is the site of the U.S. Army Special Forces Underwater Operations School. NAS Key West also provides a degree of support for Cudjoe Key Air Force Station , a U.S. Air Force installation located north of Key West on Cudjoe Key , that

Naval Air Station Key West - Misplaced Pages Continue

3488-483: The PBY Catalina helped finding submarines and surface fleets. In World War II the aircraft carrier replaced the battleship as the most powerful naval offensive weapons system as battles between fleets were increasingly fought out of gun range by aircraft. The Japanese Yamato , the heaviest battleship ever built, was first turned back by light escort carrier aircraft and later sunk lacking its own air cover. During

3597-640: The Royal Navy to be used for reconnaissance. This resulted in the construction of Mayfly in 1909, the first air component of the navy to become operational, and the genesis of modern naval aviation. The first pilots for the Royal Navy were transferred from the Royal Aero Club in June 1910 along with two aircraft with which to train new pilots, and an airfield at Eastchurch became the Naval Flying School,

3706-552: The SH-3 Sea King out of the former seaplane base at Trumbo Point. This continued until the late 1960s/early 1970s when these squadrons relocated to NAS Patuxent River , Maryland and NAS Jacksonville , Florida, respectively, with HS-1 having an intermediate base assignment to NAS Quonset Point , Rhode Island prior to its final relocation to NAS Jacksonville. In the 1970s, Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 33 ( VAQ-33 ) relocated to NAS Key West from NAS Norfolk , Virginia with

3815-786: The United States Navy to demonstrate that airplanes could take off from and land aboard ships at sea. One of his pilots, Eugene Ely , took off from the cruiser USS  Birmingham anchored off the Virginia coast in November 1910. Two months later Ely landed aboard another cruiser, USS  Pennsylvania , in San Francisco Bay , proving the concept of shipboard operations. However, the platforms erected on those vessels were temporary measures. The U.S. Navy and Glenn Curtiss experienced two firsts during January 1911. On 27 January, Curtiss flew

3924-576: The Wright brothers and Curtiss. A camp with a primitive landing field was established on the Severn River at Greenbury Point, near Annapolis, Maryland . The vision of the aerial fleet was for scouting. Each aircraft would have a pilot and observer. The observer would use the wireless radio technology to report on enemy ships. Some thoughts were given to deliver counterattacks on hostile aircraft using "explosives or other means". Using airplanes to bomb ships

4033-585: The blockade around Cuba . During the Missile Crisis, Key West cemented its claim to the title "Gibraltar of the Gulf", coined over a hundred years earlier by Commodore David Porter . By 1964, the USAF added an AN/FPS-6 A height-finder radar at NAS Key West, which was modified to an AN/FPS-90 set when a second radar was added. Routine general radar surveillance was performed by the USAF at NAS Key West until 1988, upgrading

4142-564: The ski-jump ramp as an alternative to contemporary catapult systems. As the Royal Navy retired or sold the last of its World War II-era carriers, they were replaced with smaller ships designed to operate helicopters and the V/STOVL Sea Harrier jet. The ski-jump gave the Harriers an enhanced STOVL capability, allowing them to take off with heavier payloads. In 2013, the US Navy completed

4251-407: The specific energy of the aircraft. Position of aircraft must quickly be assessed, including direction, angle off tail (the angle between flight paths), and closing speed. Also, the pilot must be aware of his wingman 's position and maintain good communication. A pilot in combat attempts to conserve his aircraft's energy through carefully timed and executed manoeuvres. By using such manoeuvres,

4360-472: The 65th Artillery (later to become the 65th Air Defense Artillery ) was to stay until 1979. 6-65 ADA became 1-65 ADA on 13 September 1972; the battalion stayed in the area until June 1979, when it was moved to Fort Bliss . NAS Key West was to become a focal point during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, which posed the first doorstep threat to the United States in more than a century. Reconnaissance and operational flights were begun 22 October 1962, in support of

4469-588: The 6th Missile Battalion, 65th Artillery , from Fort Meade , in the Homestead and Miami area. MIM-23 Hawk surface to air missiles were set up in and around Key West using the radar facilities. ARADCOM designated the site as AADCP site KW-18DC under the Homestead-Miami Defense Area . The Cudjoe Key AFS site was also added to the SAGE network at that time (Z-399), being operated by contractors. A battalion of

Naval Air Station Key West - Misplaced Pages Continue

4578-544: The Bachelor Officers Quarters (BOQ) and later the Combined Bachelor Quarters (CBQ). NGIS accommodates transient government personnel and dependents. Distinguished Visitors (DV) quarters are also available for senior commissioned officers ( O-6 through O-10 ). The CBQ is very visible from North Roosevelt Boulevard and Palm Avenue, with its " FLY NAVY" logo painted prominently on the south side of

4687-661: The Bonefish Air Traffic Control Assigned Airspace (ATCAA) define the Key West Complex airspace. The majority of the airspace is covered by a Tactical Aircrew Combat Training System (TACTS) range that continuously tracks aircraft positions and maneuvering parameters, recording everything for later playback during mission debrief. U.S. Navy P-3C , P-8A , E-2C and E-2D aircraft also routinely conduct detachment operations at NAS Key West, primarily conducting counternarcotics reconnaissance missions in

4796-480: The Doppler signature of one's own aircraft ("keeping the enemy at 3 or 9 o'clock"), or to exhaust the kinetic energy of an incoming missile (by changing the aircraft's course from side to side, the missile, not flying directly at target but trying to forestall it, will make sharper turns and will eventually have to fly a longer path). However, close-range fighting with infrared guided missiles and aircraft cannons still obeys

4905-565: The F-5N and F-5F. During the 1980s and into the mid-1990s, NAS Key West's Trumbo Point Annex and Truman Annex waterfront pier areas served as the home port for the Pegasus-class hydrofoils of Patrol Hydrofoil Missile Squadron TWO (PHMRON TWO). In the late summer of 1994, NAS Key West also served as a primary staging base for Operations Support Democracy and Uphold Democracy in Haiti. The station hosted

5014-620: The Germans surrendered. One Japanese plane was credited being shot down by the German aviator Gunther Plüschow in an Etrich Taube , using his pistol. On the Western front the first naval air raid occurred on 25 December 1914 when twelve seaplanes from HMS  Engadine , Riviera and Empress ( cross-channel steamers converted into seaplane carriers) attacked the Zeppelin base at Cuxhaven . The raid

5123-475: The Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Basin in support of both the U.S. Coast Guard and Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATF – SOUTH). In 2019, a 20-year-old Chinese student received a year in prison for photographing the facility. NAS Key West's Boca Chica Field has three paved runways : In addition to the main air station on Boca Chica Key, NAS Key West comprises several separate annexes in

5232-530: The Key West area commencing in 1845 and continuing through to its completion in 1866. The base also figured prominently during the Spanish–American War . In 1898, the battleship Maine sailed from Key West to Havana , Cuba , where it later exploded while at anchor and sank. The sinking of the Maine resulted in the United States declaring war on Spain, and the entire U.S. Atlantic Fleet moved to Key West for

5341-516: The Key West area. These additional properties include: NAS Key West also holds responsibility for several other properties and activities in the Florida Keys. Most military family housing, as well as the Navy Exchange , Commissary , Navy Lodge guest billeting, RV park and other Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) activities are located at Sigsbee Park , a man-made island on the north side of Key West created from dredging of seaplane runways for

5450-590: The NAS Key West seaplane base at Trumbo Point in the 1940s. Family housing is located at both Trumbo Point and the Truman Annex, while single enlisted service members are housed at the main installation at Boca Chica and on Truman Annex. Family housing is managed by Balfour Beatty Communities, a public-private venture (PPV) partner. Also at Trumbo Point is the Navy Gateway Inns and Suites (NGIS), formerly known as

5559-600: The NAS Key West sites, including the Harry S. Truman Annex (formerly Naval Station Key West ), Trumbo Point, Meacham Field ( Key West International Airport ), and Boca Chica, were now permanently etched in military history. In 1946, Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 1 (VX-1) was established at NAS Key West and for the next three decades conducted airborne antisubmarine warfare (ASW) systems evaluation out of Boca Chica, while Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron 1 (HS-1) conducted Atlantic Fleet helicopter fleet replacement training in

SECTION 50

#1732869370929

5668-590: The Navy Josephus Daniels ordered a rigged test against USS  Indiana in 1920 which reached the conclusion that "the entire experiment pointed to the improbability of a modern battleship being either destroyed or completely put out of action by aerial bombs." Investigation by the New-York Tribune that discovered the rigging led to Congressional resolutions compelling more honest studies . The sinking of SMS  Ostfriesland involved violating

5777-484: The Navy's rules of engagement but completely vindicated Mitchell to the public. Some men, such as Captain (soon Rear Admiral) William A. Moffett , saw the publicity stunt as a means to increase funding and support for the Navy's aircraft carrier projects. Moffett was sure that he had to move decisively in order to avoid having his fleet air arm fall into the hands of a proposed combined Land/Sea Air Force which took care of all

5886-588: The Strike Fighter Advanced Readiness Program (SFARP). During the 1980s and 1990s, Fighter Squadron 45 (VF-45) was also based at NAS Key West to provide air combat adversary services with A-4 Skyhawk II , F-5E/F Freedom Fighter and F-16N Fighting Falcon aircraft. Decommissioned in the late 1990s due to post-Cold War budget cuts, VF-45's former mission at NAS Key West is now performed by Fighter Composite Squadron 111 ( VFC-111 ), an active duty integrated Navy Reserve squadron flying

5995-642: The United States's airpower needs. (That very fate had befallen the two air services of the United Kingdom in 1918: the Royal Flying Corps had been combined with the Royal Naval Air Service to become the Royal Air Force , a condition which would remain until 1937.) Moffett supervised the development of naval air tactics throughout the '20s. The first aircraft carrier entered the U.S. fleet with

6104-500: The War. The first jet landing on a carrier was made by Lt Cdr Eric 'Winkle' Brown who landed on HMS  Ocean in the specially modified de Havilland Vampire ( registration LZ551/G) on 3 December 1945. Following the introduction of angled flight decks , jets were regularly operating from carriers by the mid-1950s. An important development of the early 1950s was the British invention of

6213-586: The Western Front. In 1914 the first aerial torpedo was dropped in trials performed in a Short "Folder" by Lieutenant (later Air Chief Marshal Sir) Arthur Longmore , and in August 1915, a Short Type 184 piloted by Flight Commander Charles Edmonds from HMS  Ben-my-Chree sank a Turkish supply ship in the Sea of Marmara with a 14-inch-diameter (360 mm), 810-pound (370 kg) torpedo. The first strike from

6322-414: The aftermath of natural disasters. Naval aircraft are vital in cases where traditional infrastructure to provide relief are destroyed or overtaxed in the wake of a disaster, such as when a region's airport is destroyed or overcrowded and the region cannot be effectively accessed by road or helicopter. The capability of ships to provide clean, fresh water which can be transported by helicopter to affected areas

6431-658: The air facility was upgraded and restored back to full air station status as Naval Air Station Key West . As in the past, NAS Key West continues to be frequently utilized for detachments by active and reserve U.S. Navy strike fighter squadrons and carrier airborne early warning squadrons, U.S. Marine Corps attack and fighter/attack squadrons, and USAF, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard fighter and rescue squadrons for exercises, and unit level training/continuation training. The Naval Air Training Command also uses NAS Key West for Naval Aviator and Naval Flight Officer training detachments, primarily student Naval Aviators in

6540-470: The aircraft tows a sled through the water but is itself at a significant distance from the water, hopefully putting itself out of harm's way. Aircraft include the MH-53E and AW101 . Aircraft operated by navies are also used in the anti-surface warfare (ASUW or ASuW) role, to attack enemy ships and other, surface combatants . This is generally conducted using air-launched anti-ship missiles . Naval aviation

6649-493: The aircraft. The Gnome -engined Short Improved S.27 "S.38", pusher seaplane piloted by Lieutenant Charles Samson become the first British aircraft to take-off from a ship while at anchor in the River Medway , on 10 January 1912. Africa then transferred her flight equipment to her sister ship Hibernia . In May 1912, with Commander Samson again flying the "S.38", the first ever instance of an aircraft to take off from

SECTION 60

#1732869370929

6758-477: The angled flight deck by Capt D.R.F. Campbell RN in conjunction with Lewis Boddington of the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough. The runway was canted at an angle of a few degrees from the longitudinal axis of the ship. If an aircraft missed the arrestor cables (referred to as a " bolter "), the pilot only needed to increase engine power to maximum to get airborne again, and would not hit

6867-484: The attacking aircraft points ahead of the enemy. Lead pursuit is used to decrease the distance between aircraft, and during gun attacks when the cannons must be aimed, not at where the defender is, but where he will be when the bullets get there. "Pure pursuit" happens when the nose of the attacker points directly at the defender. Pure pursuit is when most missiles will be fired, and is the hardest position to maintain. These are known as pursuit curves. The turning battle of

6976-496: The building (it is the tallest building on the island of Key West). It is approximately a mile, or a twenty-five-minute walk, from the NGIS to Duval Street downtown. Truman Annex is the remaining portion of the former Naval Station Key West that closed in 1974 that is still under military control. It has a beach and is the location of Headquarters, Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATF South). Upon closure of Naval Station Key West,

7085-454: The capacity to hold up to four wheeled aircraft. Launched on 5 September 1914, she served in the Dardanelles campaign and throughout World War I. During World War I the Royal Navy also used HMS Furious to experiment with the use of wheeled aircraft on ships. This ship was reconstructed three times between 1915 and 1925: first, while still under construction, it was modified to receive

7194-499: The coast of Florida. As the war continued, German submarines were progressively attrited by U.S. Navy and Allied antisubmarine warfare forces and German torpedo raids by U-boats decreased. In March 1945, the satellite airfields, some previously known as Naval Auxiliary Air Facility Boca Chica and Naval Auxiliary Air Station Boca Chica were disestablished and combined into a single aviation activity designated as U.S. Naval Air Station, Key West . After World War II ended, NAS Key West

7303-648: The conversion of the collier USS Jupiter and its recommissioning as USS  Langley in 1922. Many British naval vessels carried float planes, seaplanes or amphibians for reconnaissance and spotting: two to four on battleships or battlecruisers and one on cruisers. The aircraft, a Fairey Seafox or later a Supermarine Walrus , were catapult-launched , and landed on the sea alongside for recovery by crane. Several submarine aircraft carriers were built by Japan, each carrying one floatplane, which did not prove effective in war. The French Navy built one large submarine , Surcouf , which also carried one floatplane, and

7412-469: The course of the war, seaborne aircraft were used in fleet actions at sea ( Midway , Bismarck ), strikes against naval units in port ( Taranto , Pearl Harbor ), support of ground forces ( Okinawa , Allied invasion of Italy ) and anti-submarine warfare (the Battle of the Atlantic ). Carrier-based aircraft were specialised as dive bombers , torpedo bombers , and fighters . Surface-based aircraft such as

7521-583: The cruiser Hermes converted into a seaplane carrier . In 1914, naval aviation was split again, and became the Royal Naval Air Service . However, shipboard naval aviation had begun in the Royal Navy, and would become a major part of fleet operations by 1917. Other early operators of seaplanes were Germany , within its Marine-Fliegerabteilung naval aviation units within the Kaiserliche Marine , and Russia . In May 1913 Germany established

7630-538: The development of the optimum design for other aircraft carriers. Argus also evaluated various types of arresting gear , general procedures needed to operate a number of aircraft in concert, and fleet tactics. The Tondern raid , a British bombing raid against the Imperial German Navy 's airship base at Tønder , Denmark was the first attack in history made by aircraft flying from a carrier flight deck, with seven Sopwith Camels launched from HMS Furious . For

7739-471: The duration of the war. During World War I (1914–1918) the base was expanded again, and in 1917, a U.S. naval submarine base was established on the main island of Key West on what is now naval air station "annex" property. Its mission during World War I was to supply oil to the U.S. fleet and to block German ships from reaching Mexican oil supplies. The nation's southernmost Naval Base proved to be an ideal year-round training facility with rapid access to

7848-571: The expensive connotations of the term "aircraft carrier", the Invincible -class carriers were originally designated as "through deck cruisers" and were initially to operate as helicopter-only craft escort carriers. The arrival of the Sea Harrier VTOL / STOVL fast jet meant that the Invincible-class could carry fixed-wing aircraft, despite their short flight decks. The British also introduced

7957-460: The first seaplane from the water at San Diego Bay and the next day U.S. Navy Lt. Theodore G. Ellyson , a student at the nearby Curtiss School, took off in a Curtiss "grass cutter" plane to become the first naval aviator . $ 25,000 was appropriated for the Bureau of Navigation (United States Navy) to purchase three airplanes and in the spring of 1911 four additional officers were trained as pilots by

8066-531: The first catapult launching from a ship underway. The first permanent naval air station was established at Pensacola, Florida , in January 1914 with Mustin as its commanding officer. On April 24 of that year, and for a period of approximately 45 days afterward, five floatplanes and flying boats flown by ten aviators operated from Mississippi and the cruiser Birmingham off Veracruz and Tampico , Mexico, respectively, conducting reconnaissance for troops ashore in

8175-601: The first naval units solely destroyed by airplanes. During the war the German "Marineflieger" claimed the destruction of 270 enemy planes, 6 balloons, 2 airships, 1 Russian destroyer, 4 merchant ships, 3 submarines, 4 torpedo boats and 12 vehicles, for the loss of 170 German sea and land planes as well as 9 vehicles. Notable Marineflieger aces were Gotthard Sachsenberg (31 victories), Alexander Zenzes (18 victories), Friedrich Christiansen (13 victories, 1 airship and 1 submarine), Karl Meyer (8 victories), Karl Scharon (8 victories), and Hans Goerth (7 victories). The need for

8284-421: The first person to land a plane on a moving ship. He was killed five days later during another landing on Furious . HMS  Argus was converted from an ocean liner and became the first example of what is now the standard pattern of aircraft carrier, with a full-length flight deck that allowed wheeled aircraft to take off and land. After commissioning , the ship was heavily involved for several years in

8393-759: The first successful catapult launch and arrested landing of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) aboard an aircraft carrier. After a decade of research and planning, the US Navy has been testing the integration of UAVs with carrier-based forces since 2013, using the experimental Northrop Grumman X-47B , and is working to procure a fleet of carrier-based UAVs, referred to as the Unmanned Carrier Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) system. Naval aviation forces primarily perform naval roles at sea. However, they are also used for other tasks which vary between states. Common roles for such forces include: Carrier-based naval aviation provides

8502-518: The first such facility in the world. Two hundred applications were received, and four were accepted: Lieutenant C R Samson , Lieutenant A M Longmore , Lieutenant A Gregory and Captain E L Gerrard , RMLI . The French also established a naval aviation capability in 1910 with the establishment of the Service Aeronautique and the first flight training schools. U.S. naval aviation began with pioneer aviator Glenn Curtiss who contracted with

8611-876: The former Atlantic Fleet F-4 Phantom II FRS, Fighter Squadron 171 (VF-171), from the 1970s through the 1980s; and the former Atlantic Fleet F-4 and then F-14 Tomcat FRS, Fighter Squadron 101 ( VF-101 ), from the 1960s through 1970s in the F-4 and the 1970s through 2005 in the F-14. The focus of both of these detachments revolved around the Fleet Fighter Air Readiness Program (FFARP). The Atlantic Fleet F/A-18 Hornet and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Fleet Replacement Squadron, Strike Fighter Squadron 106 ( VFA-106 ), based at NAS Cecil Field , Florida until 1999 and since based at NAS Oceana, continues to maintain an NAS Key West detachment to this day in support of FFARP's successor,

8720-484: The hydraulic catapults which had been introduced in the 1940s. The first Optical Landing System , the Mirror Landing Aid was invented by Lieutenant Commander H. C. N. Goodhart RN. The first trials of a mirror landing sight were conducted on HMS Illustrious in 1952. The US Navy built the first aircraft carrier to be powered by nuclear reactors . USS  Enterprise was powered by eight nuclear reactors and

8829-411: The loss of one man, the British destroyed two German zeppelins , L.54 and L.60 and a captive balloon. Genuine aircraft carriers did not emerge beyond Britain until the early 1920s. The Japanese Hōshō (1921) was the world's first purpose-built aircraft carrier, although the initial plans and laying down for HMS  Hermes (1924) had begun earlier. Both Hōshō and Hermes initially boasted

8938-418: The mainstay of the fleet. HMS  Vanguard was therefore the last British battleship and her sisters were cancelled. The United States had already instigated a large construction programme (which was also cut short) but these large ships were mainly used as anti-aircraft batteries or for shore bombardment . Other actions involving naval aviation included: Jet aircraft were used on aircraft carriers after

9047-474: The most effective armament for a majority of World War I era fighter planes, but it was nearly impossible to fire them through the spinning propeller of one's own aircraft without destroying one's own plane. Roland Garros , working with Morane Saulnier Aéroplanes , was the first to solve this problem by attaching steel deflector wedges to the propeller. He achieved three kills but was shot down by ground fire and landed behind German lines. Anthony Fokker inspected

9156-566: The most effective weapons against submarines is the ASW helicopter, several of which could be based on these light ships. These carriers are typically around 20,000 tons displacement and carry a mix of ASW helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. Land-based maritime patrol aircraft are also useful in this role, since they can operate independently of aircraft carriers. Naval aircraft are used to airlift supplies, insert specialized personnel (e.g. medical staff, relief workers), and evacuate persons in distress in

9265-500: The most important. In Southeast Asia, over 85 percent of all kills are attributed to the attacker spotting and shooting the defender without ever being seen. Structural limitations of the attacking and defending fighters must be taken into account, such as thrust-to-weight ratio , wing loading , and the "corner speed" (the maximum or minimum speed at which the aircraft can attain the best turning performance). Variable limitations must also be considered, such as turn radius , turn rate and

9374-488: The open sea lanes and ideal flying conditions for Naval Aviation. The Navy's forces were expanded to include seaplanes , submarines and blimps . Ground was broken for construction of a small coastal air patrol station on 13 July 1917 at what is now Trumbo Point on land leased from the Florida East Coast Railway Company. The project involved dredging, erection of station buildings, three seaplane ramps,

9483-589: The parked aircraft because the angled deck pointed out over the sea. The angled flight deck was first tested on HMS  Triumph , by painting angled deck markings onto the centerline flight deck for touch and go landings. The modern steam-powered catapult , powered by steam from a ship's boilers or reactors, was invented by Commander C.C. Mitchell of the Royal Naval Reserve . It was widely adopted following trials on HMS  Perseus between 1950 and 1952 which showed it to be more powerful and reliable than

9592-619: The plane's wreckage and learned to improve the design by connecting the firing mechanism of the gun to the timing of the engine, thus allowing the gun to fire through the propeller without making contact with the propeller. As technology rapidly advanced, new and young aviators began defining the realm of air-to-air combat, such as Max Immelmann , Oswald Boelcke , and Lanoe Hawker . One of the greatest of these "ace pilots" of World War I, Manfred von Richthofen (the Red Baron), wrote in his book The Red Fighter Pilot , "The great thing in air fighting

9701-542: The radar to an AN/FPS-67 B in 1966. In 1979, the 671st Radar Squadron was replaced by the 20th Air Defense Squadron, Operating Location Alpha Juliet (OL-AJ). By 1988, the last of the two AN/FPS-90 sets was removed. Today, an ARSR-4 radar is part of the Joint Surveillance System (JSS), designated by NORAD as Southeast Air Defense Sector (SEADS) Ground Equipment Facility "J-07". Literally built up from sea bottom, reefs, tidal areas and mangrove swamps, all of

9810-648: The runway built over the foredeck and the danger and impracticality of recovering seaplanes that alighted in the water in anything but calm weather more than offset the desirability of having airplanes aboard. In 1912, the nascent naval air detachment in the United Kingdom was amalgamated to form the Royal Flying Corps and in 1913 a seaplane base on the Isle of Grain , an airship base at Kingsnorth and eight new airfields were approved for construction. The first aircraft participation in naval manoeuvres took place in 1913 with

9919-464: The same general rules laid down in the skies over Europe in the early 20th century. The master rule is still the same: get on the opponent's rear without allowing them to do the same. Close-range combat tactics vary considerably according to the type of aircraft being used and the number of aircraft involved. There are five things a pilot must remain aware of when contemplating aerial engagement; of these, seeing and keeping sight of one's opponent are

10028-544: The same missions as fixed-wing aircraft while operating from aircraft carriers, helicopter carriers , destroyers and frigates . Early experiments on the use of kites for naval reconnaissance took place in 1903 at Woolwich Common for the Admiralty . Samuel Franklin Cody demonstrated the capabilities of his 8-foot-long black kite and it was proposed for use as either a mechanism to hold up wires for wireless communications or as

10137-622: The station's reputation as a premier training site for Naval Aviators , a reputation which continues today. The base was primarily used for antisubmarine patrol operations and as an elemental flight training station, with more than 500 aviators trained at the station during World War I. After World War I, the base was decommissioned and its personnel were transferred or released. Most of the buildings were destroyed or dismantled and moved to other locations. The remaining facilities were used only occasionally during 1920–1930 for seaplane training. The station remained inactive until 1939. The seaplane base

10246-581: The strike aircraft pipeline during initial carrier qualifications. Units conducting detachment training at NAS Key West utilize the Key West Complex airspace, a system of overwater Warning Areas to the south between the Florida Keys and the island of Cuba, to the west beyond the Dry Tortugas , and to the northwest over the Gulf of Mexico . Warning Area 174 (W-174), Warning Area 465 (W-465), the Key West OPAREA, and

10355-431: The surface to recharge batteries. The aircraft was armed only with a single machine gun, but gunners were supplied with hand grenades . The slow Curtiss biplanes flew low over surfaced subs, and gunners dropped grenades into open conning towers. Naval aviation antisubmarine warfare was beginning to prove itself in combat. On 18 January 1918, the first class of student aviators arrived for seaplane training, which launched

10464-713: The target by way of an aircraft carrier . Carrier-based aircraft must be sturdy enough to withstand the demands of carrier operations. They must be able to launch in a short distance and be sturdy and flexible enough to come to a sudden stop on a pitching flight deck; they typically have robust folding mechanisms that allow higher numbers of them to be stored in below-decks hangars and small spaces on flight decks. These aircraft are designed for many purposes, including air-to-air combat , surface attack , submarine attack , search and rescue , matériel transport, weather observation , reconnaissance and wide area command and control duties. Naval helicopters can be used for many of

10573-425: The two most distinctive features of a modern aircraft carrier: a full-length flight deck and a starboard-side control tower island . Both continued to be adjusted in the light of further experimentation and experience, however: Hōshō even opted to remove its island entirely in favor of a less obstructed flight deck and improved pilot visibility. Instead, Japanese carriers opted to control their flight operations from

10682-455: The wake of the Tampico Affair . In January 1912, the British battleship HMS  Africa took part in aircraft experiments at Sheerness . She was fitted for flying off aircraft with a 100-foot (30 m) downward-sloping runway which was installed on her foredeck, running over her forward 12-inch (305 mm) gun turret from her forebridge to her bow and equipped with rails to guide

10791-494: Was a German Aviatik B.I . The pilot, Feldwebel Wilhelm Schlichting, was shot with a carbine wielded by observer Louis Quenault, who was riding in a French Voisin III piloted by Sergeant Joseph Frantz. The need to stop reconnaissance that was being conducted by enemy aircraft rapidly led to the development of fighter planes, a class of aircraft designed specifically to destroy other aircraft. Fixed, forward-firing guns were found to be

10900-469: Was a need for widespread use of aircraft which could not be met quickly enough by building new fleet aircraft carriers. This was particularly true in the North Atlantic , where convoys were highly vulnerable to U-boat attack. The British authorities used unorthodox, temporary, but effective means of giving air protection such as CAM ships and merchant aircraft carriers , merchant ships modified to carry

11009-556: Was also not effective in war. World War II saw the emergence of naval aviation as the decisive element in the war at sea. The principal users were Japan, United States (both with Pacific interests to protect) and Britain. Germany, the Soviet Union, France and Italy had a lesser involvement. Soviet Naval Aviation was mostly organised as land-based coastal defense force (apart from some scout floatplanes it consisted almost exclusively of land-based types also used by its air arms). During

11118-413: Was designated as a Naval Air Station Key West on 15 December 1940 and served as an operating and training base for fleet aircraft squadrons, to include seaplane, land-based aircraft, carrier-based aircraft and lighter-than-air blimp squadrons. This set the stage for America's entry into World War II. The government had retained the property during the interwar period of the 1920s and 1930s, which proved to be

11227-883: Was inactivated in 1993. In 1973, Reconnaissance Attack Wing 1 ( RECONATKWING ONE ) began relocation from the closing NAS Albany , Georgia with its RA-5C Vigilante , TA-3B Skywarrior and TA-4F/J Skyhawk II aircraft. An operational/deployable fleet unit, the wing relocated Reconnaissance Attack Squadron THREE (RVAH-3), the single site RA-5C Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS), to NAS Key West, as well as nine other deployable Vigilante squadrons ( RVAH-1 , RVAH-5 , RVAH-6 , RVAH-7 , RVAH-9 , RVAH-11 , RVAH-12 and RVAH-13 ( RVAH-14 disestablished at NAS Albany prior to relocation) that routinely embarked with Atlantic Fleet and Pacific Fleet carrier air wings aboard Forrestal , Kitty Hawk , Enterprise and Nimitz class aircraft carriers. All RVAH squadrons were in place at NAS Key West by late 1974 and all were eventually decommissioned over

11336-736: Was not a complete success, owing to sub-optimal weather conditions, including fog and low cloud, but the raid was able to conclusively demonstrate the feasibility of air-to-land strikes from a naval platform. Two German airships were destroyed at the Tøndern base on July 19, 1918, by seven Sopwith Camels launched from the carrier HMS  Furious . In August 1914 Germany operated 20 planes and one Zeppelin, another 15 planes were confiscated. They operated from bases in Germany and Flanders (Belgium). On 19 August 1918 several British torpedo boats were sunk by 10 German planes near Heligoland. These are considered as

11445-789: Was retained as a training facility. On 1 June 1962, the Navy AN/FPS-37 Radar site was added to the United States Air Force (USAF) Air Defense Command Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) network feeding data to DC-09 at Gunter AFB , Alabama. The USAF 671st Radar Squadron was activated and NAS Key West was designated as NORAD ID "Z-209". During the Cuban Missile Crisis , the United States Army moved in Nike Hercules anti-aircraft surface-to-air missiles , of

11554-471: Was seen as largely impractical at the time. CAPT Washington Irving Chambers felt it was much easier to defend against airplanes than mines or torpedoes. The wireless radio was cumbersome (greater than 50 pounds), but the technology was improving. Experiments were underway for the first ICS (pilot to observer comms) using headsets, as well as connecting the observer to the radio. The navy tested both telephones and voice tubes for ICS. As of August 1911, Italy

11663-541: Was the only other navy known to be adapting hydroplanes for naval use. The group expanded with the addition of six aviators in 1912 and five in 1913, from both the Navy and Marine Corps , and conducted maneuvers with the Fleet from the battleship USS  Mississippi , designated as the Navy's aviation ship. Meanwhile, Captain Henry C. Mustin successfully tested the concept of the catapult launch in August 1912, and in 1915 made

11772-495: Was the second surface warship (after USS  Long Beach ) to be powered in this way. The post-war years also saw the development of the helicopter , with a variety of useful roles and mission capability aboard aircraft carriers and other naval ships. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the United Kingdom and the United States converted some older carriers into Commando Carriers or Landing Platform Helicopters (LPH); seagoing helicopter airfields like HMS  Bulwark . To mitigate

11881-492: Was widely commented upon in the press, both Greek and international. At the outbreak of war the Royal Naval Air Service had 93 aircraft, six airships , two balloons and 727 personnel, making it larger than the Royal Flying Corps. The main roles of the RNAS were fleet reconnaissance, patrolling coasts for enemy ships and submarines, attacking enemy coastal territory and defending Britain from enemy air-raids, along with deployment along

#928071