Air Patrol Station Charleston, SC
Original Location:
Charleston Navy Yard
Current Location:
N/A
Date of Commission:
1937
Fate:
Discontinued
Historical Remarks:
An aviation training school for pilots and
mechanics was established on the banks of the Cooper River on the south end
of the Charleston Navy Yard during World War I. It became inactive after the
war but remained classified as a Navy Auxiliary Field. In 1934 it was
described as having a northwest/southeast sod strip 1680 feet in length and
a 1600 foot northeast/southwest sod strip. These were later paved during
World War II. Seaplane facilities were also present. The Coast Guard
established an air patrol detachment at this location in 1937 with an
initial assignment of a Viking OO-1 seaplane.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued the first Proclamation of Neutrality
on September 5, 1939 declaring in part that any use of United States
territorial waters for hostile operations would be regarded as unfriendly,
offensive, and in violation of United States neutrality. The Navy initiated
action immediately to establish patrol coverage and ordered classified
contact reports on foreign men-of-war approaching or leaving the United
States East Coast or the eastern boundary of the Caribbean. Ships sighted by
the patrols, both air and surface, were to be identified by name,
nationality, estimated tonnage, color and markings and were to be
photographed whenever possible. On September 6, Commander Atlantic Squadron
reported to CNO that the patrol was operating and by the 20th, Atlantic
Coastal waters from Nova Scotia Canada to the lesser Antilles were under
daily surveillance. Forces involved were primarily patrol planes from seven
patrol squadrons totaling 54 aircraft.
The Navy Neutrality Patrol effort was supplemented by Coast Guard surface
and aircraft coverage of coastal areas. The Coast Guard Air Patrol facility
at Charleston had been upgraded to Air Station status in 1939. VP 52 and
VP53 both based in Norfolk patrolled the mid-Atlantic coastal shipping
lanes. Experience during the first month of operation dictated changes in
the deployment of forces to improve coverage in the assigned areas. VP 52
was moved to the Coast Guard Air Station at Charleston as a tenant. The Air
Station supplied the seaplane ramp, aircraft parking area and aircraft
maintenance facilities. Renovations and modifications to existing facilities
were made.
VP-52 was composed of 12 P2Y aircraft. Coast Guard Air Station Charleston
had six aircraft; three JF-2s, a Coast Guard RD-4 and two J2Ks. VP-52
provided co-pilots for the RD and the J2Ks. The scope of Neutrality Patrol
operations gradually expanded. New Squadrons were added and obsolescent
aircraft were replaced. VP 52 exchanged its P2Ys for PBY-5s in December of
1940. VP 52 moved from Charleston at that time because the facilities could
not support PBY operations.
In January of 1941 the Coast Guard traded four JF-2s to the Navy for four
N3N training aircraft. These aircraft were needed to accelerate Coast Guard
pilot training in order to address the acute shortage of pilots. The
aircraft were assigned to the Charleston Air Station where initial training,
prior to assignment to Pensacola, took place. The former air station duties
were assumed by Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City which had been
commissioned in August of 1940. During 1941 there were 11 Commissioned
Officers and 11 Aviation Pilots that were designated Naval Aviators. Upon
completion of initial flight training operations during the summer of 1941,
Coast Guard Air Station Charleston was decommissioned. Two N3Ns were
assigned to Air Station St. Petersburg, one to Air Station Brooklyn, and one
to Air Station Elizabeth City.
Small PBY and PBM detachments continued to operate from the former air
station facilities and Lighter Than Air Squadron ZP-15 maintained a
continuous detachment of 2 blimps that flew daily ASW patrols. All aviation
activity was discontinued at the end of World War II.
Historic Photo Gallery
Unless otherwise indicated all photos are official U.S. Coast Guard photographs. Any original caption information is included in the text beneath each photo, along with a date, if known. Click on the thumbnail to access a 300 dpi image.
No
caption/date/photo number; photographer unknown.
Ramp area at the Coast
Guard Air Patrol Station Charleston,
circa 1940.
Historical Sources:
Air Station Files, U. S. Coast Guard Historian's Office
Arthur Pearcy. A History of U. S. Coast Guard Aviation. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1989.
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