Naval Air Station Jacksonville
NAS Jacksonville is one of the oldest and the third largest naval
installation in the United States.
This installation serves as the host for the Patrol Wing Eleven,
the southern component of the Atlantic Fleet P-3C force, and VP-30, the Fleet Replacement Squadron for that aircraft. The
installation also hosts Sea Control Wing Atlantic and its five squadrons of S-3B aircraft, and Helicopter Antisubmarine Wing
Atlantic, and five squadrons of SH-60/HH-60 helicopters.
The oldest of three Navy installations in the area, NAS Jacksonville occupies 3,896 acres
along the scenic St. Johns River and employs more than 23,000 active duty and civilian personnel.
Jacksonville Naval Air Station is also the birthplace of the US Navy's
"Blue Angels Flying Demonstration team. It started At the end of
World War II, when Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Chester W. Nimitz, ordered the formation of a flight demonstration
team to showcase naval aviation.
The team performed its first flight demonstration
less than a year later, June 1946. Flight Leader, Lt. Cmdr. Roy "Butch" Voris led the team flying the Grumman F6F Hellcat
at Craig Field, Naval Air Station (NAS) Jacksonville, Florida. The Blue Angels currently reside at Pensacola Naval Air
Station.
