Naval Air Station Lee Field - Naval Air Station Green Cove Springs - Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Florida | |
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Green Cove Springs, Florida | |
Type | Naval Air Station Lee Field (1940 1943 Naval Air Station Green Cove Springs (1943-1962) Reserve Fleet (1946-1962) |
Site information | |
Owner | United States of America |
Controlled by | United States Navy |
Site history | |
In use | 1940-1965 |
Naval Air Station Lee Field was a United States Navy air base that opened on September 11, 1940, in Green Cove Springs, Florida to support the World War II efforts. The Air Station was on the St. Johns River in Clay County, Florida. The Air Station and Navy base was on 1,560 acres. The US Navy and United States Marine Corps used the site to train pilots on four 5,000-foot (1,500 m) asphalt runways. The Grumman F6F Hellcat fighter plane was the most common plane use at the Navy Air Station. The Vought F4U Corsair 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. The Naval Auxiliary Air Station closed in June 1962.[1][2][3][4]