The Naval Air Station (NAS) North Island is a historical landmark because it was the genesis of American naval aviation. The United States Navy can trace its historic and illustrious air power lineage back to Coronado Island, when a tiny posting was created in 1917.
North Island, originally known as Naval Air Station San Diego until 1955, was the training ground for the Navy’s first pilot, Lieutenant Ellyson, and many of his colleagues.
The facility presently spans approximately 2,000 acres on the northern end of the Coronado peninsula. Many pioneering flights in the history of the United States Navy occurred on its shores, and its involvement is inextricably linked to current carrier operations, pilot development, and air warfare tactics.
The airfield has undergone numerous improvements and modernizations throughout the years, despite the fact that it has housed various generations of navy aviators and aircraft.
Today, North Island is home to the Helicopter Sea Combat Wing Pacific and Fleet Logistics Support Squadrons. They fly Sikorsky MH-60S/R helicopters and have replaced the Grumman C-2 Greyhound with the Bell-Boeing CMV-22B Osprey.
Naval personnel saw the site’s potential from the start, as its climate and terrain were suitable for regular flight conditions.
Coastal waters allowed for seaplane and amphibious craft trials, and the proximity of a major deep port made it an ideal location for the surface fleet.
Many important test flights and squadron formations took place at the station, and many notable persons may trace their early flying days back to the North Island, establishing a precedent that continues to impact American aviation today.
History of excellence
The Navy chose North Island as the site for its grand experiment in flight. Aviation was only getting started, airplanes were in their infancy, and work to modify them for naval purposes had only barely begun.
Coronado’s shores would see momentous events throughout the early days of seaplanes, dirigibles, helicopters, and carrier aircraft.
Early aircraft carrier designs were developed with assistance from forces stationed on North Island. Pilots had the opportunity to master carrier landings and flight maneuvers at a base that provided year-round practice conditions.
Maintenance hangars, runways, and training facilities emerged as the number of navy aviators increased and programs extended to include new aircraft in ever greater numbers.
The city of San Diego also expanded, often in direct proportion to the expansion of the naval bases in its harbor. Over the span of two world wars, naval infrastructure expanded rapidly. Especially during WWII, when US Navy aircraft carriers proved to be the backbone of the Pacific campaign.
Land reclamation efforts increased usable space to meet the demand for more infrastructure to house aircraft and crew. As the station’s relevance in the national defense network grew, airfield architecture and runway construction were modified to accommodate new aircraft classes.
NAS North Island has never failed to meet the increasing need for new aviator training. Aircrews stationed on the peninsula trained how to fly coastal patrols in Catalina seaplanes and shoot down enemies in F6F Wildcat sorties, preparing for a battle far from the California coast.
Formation flying, carrier landings and takeoffs, night flying, and anti-ship/anti-submarine tactics were all taught by training squadrons.
Established in 1997, Naval Base Coronado (NBC) is a consolidated complex of eight military facilities extending from San Clemente Island (70 miles off the coast of San Diego) to La Posta Mountain Warfare Training Facility (60 miles inland).
- Naval Air Station North Island (NASNI)
- Naval Amphibious Base Coronado (NAB), Naval Outlying Landing Field Imperial Beach (NOLF), and Naval Auxiliary Landing Field San Clemente Island (NALF SCI)
- Silver Strand Training Complex (SSTC) – Coastal Campus Camp Michael Monsoor (CMM)
- Camp Morena (CM) Remote Training Site, Warner Springs (SERE).
Together, these stations cover over 57,000 acres and employ over 36,000 military and civilian personnel, making NBC the largest command in the Southwest Region, accounting for more than 30% of the entire workforce.
Aviation technology evolves, and North Island adapts with it. Modernization projects have included improvements to runways, air traffic control systems, hangars, training facilities, and barracks.
Air crews participate in drills that simulate real-world events, utilizing technologies geared to support whatever task the Navy may assign them to.
The committed men and women at NAS North Island perform intelligence, reconnaissance, special operations, search-and-rescue, and fleet logistics missions.
Modern operations blend old ideals with contemporary technologies, reflecting the station’s history and long-standing involvement in the naval aviation community.
The current squadron roster at NAS North Island is listed below.
VRC-30, Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 30 ‘Providers’
Helicopter Sea Combat has seven squadrons:
- HSC-3, ‘Merlins’
- HSC-4: ‘Black Knights’
- HSC-6 ‘Indians’
- HSC-8: ‘Eightballers’
- HSC-14 ‘Chargers’
- HSC-23 ‘Wildcards’
- HSC-85 ‘Firehawks’
Helicopter Maritime Strike has eight squadrons:
- HSM-35 ‘Magicians’, HSM-41 ‘Seahawks’
- HSM-49 ‘Scorpions’, HSM-71 ‘Raptors’.
- HSM-73 ‘BattleCats’
- HSM-75 ‘Wolfpack’
- HSM-78 ‘Blue Hawks’, HSM-79 ‘Griffins’.