Naval Air Station Sanford Runway Construction

Naval Air Station Sanford Runway Construction

NAS Sanford Runway Construction

Naval air stations

World War II

Second World War

Sanford (Fla.)

Runways (Aeronautics)--United States--Design and construction

The Naval Air Station Sanford constructed four runways starting in 1942. These 6,000 foot runways were built by local contractors and used to support the nearly 300 aircraft housed at Naval Air Station Sanford by the end of the Second World War.

The Naval Air Station (NAS) Sanford was commissioned on November 3, 1942 as a naval aviation training facility during World War II. The Navy continued to train pilots at NAS Sanford throughout the Korean and Vietnam Wars. NAS Sanford was temporarily decommissioned after World War II in 1946 and then recommissioned as the Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) Sanford in 1950 due to the outbreak of the Korean War and the ongoing Cold War. Soon afterward, the station was renamed NAS Sanford and redesignated as a full naval air station. On February 6, 1959, NAS Sanford was dedicated as Ramey Field in honor of Lieutenant Commander Robert W. Ramey. In 1968, due to lack of funding caused by the Vietnam War, Congress directed the closure of NAS Sanford. The City of Sanford assumed authority over the former NAS Sanford facility the year after it closed and renamed it the Sanford Airport, which was managed by Commander J. S. "Red" Cleveland. The airport underwent various name changes over the next several decades: Sanford Regional Airport, Central Florida Regional Airport, Orlando-Sanford Regional Airport, and its current name, Orlando-Sanford International Airport. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, several Naval buildings were demolished and new buildings were constructed.

Swiggum, George T.

Original 5 x 7 inch black and white photograph by George T. Swiggum, May 1942: Sanford Museum, Sanford, Florida.

1942-05

Digital reproduction of original black and white photograph by George T. Swiggum.

NAS Collection, Book 1, "The Beginning-NAS Sanford 1942," Sanford Museum, Sanford, Florida.

Naval Air Station Sanford Collection, Sanford Collection, Seminole County Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.

image/jpeg

1,195 KB

5 x 7 inch black and white photograph

eng

Still Image

Sanford, Florida

28.7746, -81.2475

1942-05-01/1942-05-31

Donation

SS.K.A.1.2; SS.1.A.1.1; SS.2.A.1.1; SS.3.A.1.1; SS.3.G.2.6; SS.4.A.1.1; SS.4.A.7.3; SS.5.A.1.1; SS.6.W.1.3; SS.7.C.4.1; SS.8.A.1.2; SS.8.A.1.5; SS.912.A.1.1; SS.912.A.1.4; SS.912.A.6.1; SS.912.A.6.15; SS.912.C.4.2; SS.912.G.1.2; SS.912.W.1.3; SS.912.W.7.7; SS.912.W.7.11

History Teacher

Civics/Government Teacher

Geography Teacher

Originally created and owned by George T. Swiggum.

Copyright to this resource is held by the Sanford Museum and is provided here by RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.

Rock, Adam

Metzger, Lewis W. From Celery City to Navy Town: The Impact of Naval Air Station Sanford during World War II. MA thesis, University of Central Florida, 2010.

Naval Air Station Sanford Memorial. http://www.nassanfordmemorial.com/home.htm.

Shettle, Jr., M.L. United States Naval Air Stations of World War II. Bowersville, Georgia: Schaertel Publishing Company, 1995.

1 black and white photograph

5 x 7 inch