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History
About Our Site:
Rich In History
For six decades, the men and women stationed at Naval Air Station
(NAS), South Weymouth, played a key role in the defense of freedom.
Built by the Navy as a lighter than aircraft (LTA) base, the South
Weymouth NAS was home to a fleet of blimps assigned to patrol sea
lanes to Boston Harbor, follow convoys, and detect mines and enemy
submarines. Blimps based here were the first to complete trans-Atlantic
crossings in 1944 and flew anti-submarine patrols in the Mediterranean
Sea until the end of World War II. For many years after the war,
annual air shows at the base drew over 100,000 spectators. The base
was closed in 1997 under the government's Base Realignment and Closure
Act.
The first aircraft stationed at South Weymouth in 1942 was a Goodyear
ZNP-K blimp. The last were the C-130T Hercules and the P-3C Orion.
In all, more than 80 varieties of aircraft called this home, including
Sea King helicopters and A-4 Skyhawk fighters.
Today, a lone aircraft remains: an A-4 Skyhawk mounted on a giant
pedestal as the centerpiece of a memorial to military heroes of
the South Shore. It will forever remain an officially commissioned
Navy fighter.
Naval Air Station South Weymouth was established through the efforts
of Captain Charles E. Rosendahl, Chief of the Navy's LTA Program.
Rosendahl was looking for an LTA base from which to conduct submarine
surveillance operations over the North Atlantic.
Public Act No. 635 of the 76th Congress, passed in June 1940 and
referred to as President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "10,000 Plane Program,"
was the initial act that led to the construction of the Naval Air
Station South Weymouth.
Construction began in 1941, prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl
Harbor. The site was almost completely in undeveloped when the Navy
acquired the property. For $6 million, NAS South Weymouth was the
largest wartime construction project on Massachusetts' South Shore.
It was an area of rock, woods, and swamps. Development required
removal of 20 foot depth in some places; in others, rock removal
was necessary. Gravel was used to fill the marshes. Despite these
obstacles, construction proceeded rapidly.
On March 1, 1942, CDR Frederick S. Sachse took command as the
first commanding officer. NAS South Weymouth was one of only a handful
of bases nationwide to have fixed-wing propellor, fixed-wing jet,
helicopter and LTA blimp and balloon-type aircraft stationed at
the same location at the same time.
The Association
of Naval Aviation
The Association of Naval Aviation, Patriot Squadron is the custodian
of the Shea Field Memorial Grove at the Base. The Grove, dedicated
on Veteran's Day in 1997, was created to remember Commander Jack
Shea, the two Naval Air Stations dedicated to his memory; and dedicated
men who gave so much to their country and earned the Congressional
Medal of Honor.
The Grove, a living history classroom, consists of 32 trees dedicated
to Medal of Honor recipients from Norfolk and Plymouth counties.
In 1940 Commander John J. Shea was ordered to report to the aircraft
carrier USS Wasp as Assistant Air Operations Officer. The Wasp was
sunk on Sept. 15, 1942 off the Soloman Islands. Commander Shea was
reported missing in action. He was last seen "fighting the fire
on the flight deck, displaying great courage and devotion to duty,
disregarding the danger of exploding ammunition and debris filling
the air and rapidly spreading the fire."
The ANA welcomes donations of military memorabilia and artifacts, and is seeking individual and corporate donations. Anyone can join the Association for a $15 annual membership fee. For information, Call Walter O’Connell: 781-335-0553 or email to wocon24376@aol.com.
Photos
Click on the image to see an enlarged version.
Original entrance to the Air Station from White Street opened
in 1942. The Navy relocated the main gate to Route 18 in 1987. |
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The colossal structure of Hangar 1 was 956
feet wide, 191 feet high and covered more than eight acres of
land. Construction was completed in November 1942. The Hangar
was capable of holding up to six blimps and stood as one of
the world's largest hangars. |
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In the Summer of 1944, six blimps flew out
of South Weymouth and completed the first crossing of the Atlantic.
These airships became the first "Blimp Barrier" in the Mediterranean,
flying anti-submarine patrols around the Straits of Gibralter. |
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ASG radar allowed the blimps to search for
enemy submarines throughout the night and maintain position
in the night skies with the convoys that they were protecting.
The "Airship Patrol Squadron Eleven was established in 1942. |
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In 1961 the Navy celebrated 50 years of Naval
Aviation. In that Autumn, the last operating blimp squadron
was disestablished. Navy blimps over New England became a thing
of the past. The last vestige of the blimp era at NAS South
Weymouth disappeared in 1967 with the demolition of the huge
blimp hangar, a landmark at the station since WWII. . |
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