Main Gate at Naval Auxiliary Air Station Sanford

Main Gate at Naval Auxiliary Air Station Sanford

NAAS Sanford Gate

Naval air stations

World War II

Second World War

Sanford (Fla.)

Original main gate at Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) Sanford. Two guard posts were constructed at the main gate. The last post was removed when the City of Sanford acquired the air station from the Navy in 1968. The main gate was located at what is now Airport Boulevard.

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.

United States Navy Photo Lab Sanford

Original black and white photograph by United States Navy Photo Lab Sanford, May 1942: NAS Collection, Sanford Museum, Sanford, Florida.

1942-05

Digital reproduction of original black and white photograph by United States Navy Photo Lab Sanford on the Naval Air Station Sanford Memorial website.

NAS Collection, Sanford Museum, Sanford, Florida.

Photo Galleries, Naval Air Station Sanford Memorial.

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

image/jpeg

47 KB

1 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.1.1; SS.3.G.2.6; SS.4.A.1.1; SS.4.A.7.3; SS.5.A.1.1; SS.5.G.1.4; SS.6.W.1.3; SS.8.A.1.2; SS.8.A.1.5; SS.912.A.1.1; SS.912.A.1.4; SS.912.A.6.15; SS.912.G.1.2; SS.912.G.1.4; SS.912.W.1.3

History Teacher

Geography Teacher

Originally created and owned by United States Navy Photo Lab Sanford.

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