TA3B and RA5C in Front of NAS Sanford Operations Tower

TA3B and RA5C in Front of NAS Sanford Operations Tower

NAS Sanford Operations Tower

Naval air stations

Sanford (Fla.)

RA-5C Vigilante (Bomber)

The operations tower at Naval Air Station Sanford was the primary tower used by flight controllers. An original structure from the original base, the main tower was refitted several times during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. The tower serviced both military and civilian air traffic and was finally replaced in 1994 by the current flight tower. This photograph also includes a period aircraft from the 1960's including the RA-5C Vigilante.

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, 1960: NAS Collection, Sanford Museum, Sanford, Florida.

1960

Digital reproduction of original black and white photograph by United States Navy Photo Lab Sanford on the Naval Air Station Sanford Memorial website, http://www.nassanfordmemorial.com/galleries.asp.

NAS Collection, Sanford Museum, Sanford, Florida.

Photo Gallery, Naval Air Station Sanford Memorial.

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

image/jpeg

49 KB

1 black and white photograph

eng

Still Image

Sanford, Florida

28.8117, -81.2669

1960-01-01/1960-12-31

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.6.13; SS.912.A.6.14; SS.912.A.6.15; SS.912.A.7.10; SS.912.A.7.17; SS.912.G.1.2; SS.912.G.1.4; SS.912.W.1.3

History Teacher

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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.

ELEV. 57 FT.

GJ GJ
RAC5C 225 207

1 black and white photograph