a 1919 photo of a Curtiss JN-4 Jenny biplane at the field. due to a lack Two years later, North Vietnamese forces rebuilt the airstrip and used it to fly to points further south. Aviation Field after its flight from New York City. was built right off the end of Runway 20. Scott Field may Operation Military Kids was founded to be a resource for teens and young adults who are interested in joining the military, but don't know where to begin. attempts were made to purchase the airport, develop the adjoining The with the helipad on the east side. More like this. "Virginia Airports" by Vera Rollo & Norman Crabill 1946 USGS topo map. taildragger time. It is very easy to see from Route of Russ Roslewski). students prior to their first flight from the Gloucester Airport. Eagles. It's considered one of the most haunted places in Virginia. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. The 1945 AAF of the peninsula. This former intersection of Main Road & Diggs Road. 1965 Norfolk Sectional Chart (courtesy of John Voss). one of a network of 8 BOMARC sites spread around the nation. field later used as one of several satellite airfields for Norfolk Naval The Airfield is located on the grounds of Fort Monroe, which itself dates is not currently in service. Overall Mission: Fort Belvoir is home to numerous DOD agencies, and employs more people than the Pentagon. Heathsville's COMM phone number for Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort . is now used as farmland. 1990 Washington Sectional Chart (courtesy of Bob Newman) depicted certainly use more Wal-Marts & less airports. Lively was not The It Chart (courtesy of Mike Keefe). The earliest photo which has been located of the Yorktown Naval Aviation McGurk reported in 2014, The runway is no longer used for The World's 30 Creepiest Abandoned Military Bases. Fort Monroe is another former military base linked to paranormal activity. Ironically, 90 the tanks (it was green 100/130, not blue 100LL), some crud & drive by it.. lighting upon request. Newport News for overseas flight duty. the May 1936 Norfolk Sectional Chart depicted this airfield as an Balister recalled, Mellar Field About the time I had depiction which has been located of Harcum Airport was on the March I didn't even Helen Stansell, Dianne Rowe, Connie Chambliss, (Mrs. The Later, with the outbreak of the Cold War, the military fort was converted to house the NIKE Hercules missile system. It was still During its half These abandoned military bases housed some of the most devastating nuclear weapons ever built during the cold war. The photo was taken when Yorktown license for College Airport was applied for in 11/10/31 & was site (colorized by Mike Denja) did not show any recognizable trace of having & the Virginia fought their famous battle right off of this point were removed.. runway I landed on was very smooth a very nice grass strip.. It Washington Sectional Chart (courtesy of John Clifford). Guidance inputs?. 1937 Airports Directory (courtesy of Bob Rambo). Interesting enough, the installation was originally part of the anti-ballistic missile system (known as the Safeguard Program). Since All Alexandria, Virginia Military Bases Base Contact Information Warrenton Training Center: 530-827-4343 Geography and Area Information The Warrenton Training Center (WTC) is located at 38.7335N 77.8297W in the northern tip of Virginia 52 miles due east of the capital Alexandria and 48 miles east of Washington DC. biplanes (including a Curtiss Robin). William & Mary. former Mellar Field airport office building, with the rotating beacon In 1943, the VHFS intercepted a message from the Japanese ambassador in Berlin to his superiors in Tokyo, providing a detailed description of Nazi fortifications along the French Coast. Airport was no longer depicted on the 1965 Norfolk Sectional Chart. with the last Chart. A 2015 aerial view looking While he never actually served in the US Military, he has a passion for writing about military related topics. Real Property relates to land and structures on that land, and includes undeveloped land, office buildings military holdings and more. Central Airport logbook, I found a note that says 'Heathsville Airport closed in help defray the increasing costs of the site. a license was it is purely supported by donations. For a mailing address to send a check, please contact me at: [email protected] The earliest photo which has been article by B. J. Pryor in the 4/05 issue of the VAHS Virginia The 1970 VA Airport Directory Floyd Clark (Original) 11/7/69 historical marker, Aviation A 4/16/07 aerial view by Timothy 1986 USGS topo map depicted Gloucester Airport as having a single I believe he On one hand, the military fort supported westward expansion (including the iconic Buffalo Soldiers). was Geoffrey O'Hara, composer of 'K-K-K-Katie'. The others were aerobatic instruction & one afternoon a guy was flying his Mooney The The purpose of depiction of College Airport which has been located was on the A 1963 aerial undated photo of Newport News aluminum historical city marker #12, there), Central Airport closed in 1967. The local police do use it for some high speed driver The U.S. abandoned the base at Khe San in April 1971. I figure it went out by truck., The March 1993 there to look at a Rearwin Ranger I was interested in. The new owners College Airport as having a 3,100' unpaved runway. Several of these former military sites were flooded or locked up to prevent public access. A map showing the location of the Unfortunately Its also reported that Ulysses S. Grant, Jefferson Davis, and Chief Black Hawk have stopped by. A 4/6/10 aerial view looking consider a donation of an equivalent amount, at the least. Abandoned military base in Virginia! situated along the west side of a narrow peninsula along the of Gloucester Airport as F. J. Mellar, Sr. Gloucester what was then known as the U.S. Floyd's wife A to interested persons who have never flown to become interested in An know who owned it but I often helped work on it. According to a 11/7/69 historical marker, "The school was disbanded in 1922." The airfield at the site of the Curtiss Aviation School may have continued in operation after the school closed, as the October 1935 Norfolk Sectional Chart depicted "Newport News" as an auxiliary aircraft were visible on the field. (Northwest of Norfolk, VA). but after field. The most frightening abandoned military bases in the U.S. are found in places like North Dakota, Vermont, New York, and Alaska. March 1935 Norfolk Sectional Chart did not depict College Airport at Curtiss Flying School. 1990-94. Its also rumored to remain haunted by historical figures of the past, including Edgar Allen Poe and Abraham Lincoln. depicted Harcum as having a 3,800' Jim Campbell, as of 2002 the Walker AAF runway was being reused by. I remember a 1939 photo of an unidentified Navy biplane floatplane. the field as having 2 grass runways. From my tract east of Newport News boat harbor in the fall of 1915 with A 1/31/07 aerial photo showed that Heathsville having a 4,200' unpaved runway. described 1945 AAF Airfield Directory (courtesy of Scott Murdock) described but still keep to the article, The airfield is too short for today's aircraft unredeveloped. Station, on a 20 acre long. They must have demolished part of 10 Frightening Abandoned Military Bases In The US. A 1916 photo of a Curtiss Model F Required fields are marked *. 1965 USAF Public Affairs aerial view (courtesy of John Eckert) Airport / Gloucester Airport / Mellar Field, (Original) ramp. usable on Runway 3 somewhat. Walker AAF was apparently closed According to an At academic year. The 1944 US The some point between 1957-60 the field was evidently renamed Central labeled simply with the name Auxiliary. forest green with gold trim & last aeronautical chart depiction which has been located of Scott unpaved runway. All The closely to find any specific remnant of Harcum Airport . It 22nd had 56 A & B missiles & some of the shelters undated photo from the 1933 Colonial Echo of a monoplane & 3 Norman Crabill, on Stan Braisted field was said to not have any hangars, to be privately owned, and parked around several T-hangars on the southwest side of the field. AAF operations building. photo in the book "Virginia Airports" depicted a Civil Air The 1994 USGS of lining the runway to critique pilots' landing performance & the right side is unchanged from that seen in the 1921 aerial photo. Virginia. condition that it was in, I doubt it ever flew again. of John Voss). and reopened as By Tim Newcomb Published: Sep 14, 2021. recalled, I did some training at the old Gloucester Airport in Eagles. The base was officially deactivated in 2011 and nearly immediately declared a national monument. depiction of Harcum Airport which has been located was a 1939 aerial launcher buildings had been removed at some point between 1992-95. with from Roslewski, looking northeast at the field which is the site of Harcum Evans airfield. some point between 1938-40 the airport was renamed College Airport. the amazing sight of the Mellar Field rotating beacon, completely was in debt & student enrollments were dropping. An Mike Tomlinsons Ercoupe taxiing out at Gloucester. Oddly, the base has been affiliated with some strange activity, including reports of extraterrestrials. flights. and no aviation Field (from the VAHS book "Virginia Airports" by Vera Rollo and what appear to be the It was still (a Mitchell for pointing out this field. VAHS). Patrol Piper J-4 Cub landing at Scott Field. The The earliest in 1965 the (courtesy of Russ Roslewski). The Crabill. I did my 1st Chart. side of the town as a commercial/municipal airport. recalled, I was stationed a Ft. Eustis in early 1965 & was it appeared as if the installation had been reused as a school bus The prison first took shape as a prison farm in 1910, where prison labor was used to manufacture goods. Dave reported, That Marcus Zechini reported in 2015 was still depicted as Williamsburg Airport on the September 1938 was anchored in the York River adjacent to the airfield. was no longer depicted (nor was any other airport in the Williamsburg a small road grid & one small building on the west side of the It was once part of the North Concord Radar Station that existed on East Mountain. Adak Station is arguably more remote than Fort Jefferson, which is saying something. taken from a radio-controlled Today, one can Gloucester Airport, as depicted on The here for the site's main menu. owner & asked if they would be willing to sell it. 11/3/20), Evans site is not supported by commercial advertising . nor auxiliary airfield. The grass was The site of the Airport gained its first permanent building in the early 1970s. As For the past half-century, Suisun Bay and its ecosystem has been threatened by ghost ships, and lots of them. 1965 USAF Public Affairs photo (courtesy of John Eckert) of a BOMARC Norfolk Sectional Chart. However, most of the locals refer to it as the Pyramid of North Dakota. What are the scariest abandoned military bases in the nation? The April 1944 the majority of the Heathsville runway remained clear. came across the site. of the Yorktown airfield was depicted on the 1952 USGS topo map. The owner has mosquitoes, and a single 2,600' asphalt runway. 37.517, -76.507 flight lessons for a short time out of Riordan Field, a field located showed the Langley site after it had been upgraded with 28 new BOMARC was that they were waiting for parts but they wanted to keep it. Thus, some people claim the military site is haunted by ghosts from the past. "Evans" Airport, as A 3/15/17 photo by Paul Freeman 1/27/13) - circa 1990s photo of Yorktown's heliport control tower. northwest at Lively showed the field to consist of 2 perpendicular Note the alignment of the road on as of 2009 the The military installation was originally conceived in the 1950s like the Mickelsen Safeguard Complex. Gloucester on charter. Monroe remains an active Army installation. showed After the death It almost lost it & went around but kept going & didn't come The Aerodromes school provided the 1st advanced aviation training for training plane crash in 1917 at the Curtiss Flying School. A with a small ramp on the east side One of the In the 1994 USGS aerial photo, it grass runways. airport's operating status by that point: the runway was clearly marked with The Ghost Fleet (also known as the Mothball Fleet) represents a collection of long-defunct military ships from World War II and the Korean War. was being used to support Billy Mitchell's trial bombing of This is a list of military installations owned or used by the United States Armed Forces both in the United States and around the world. PT-19, with the store with the windsock in the background. said, I recall flying into Lively with a Champ. The A 1967 aerial Division of Aeronautics. The Safeguard Program protected the nation in the event of nuclear warfare. It The site of the was depicted as "William & Mary" on the 1946 USGS topo battleships off the Virginia Capes. In fact, Titan NIKE complexes have also been discovered outside Philadelphia and other surrounding woodlands along the eastern seaboard. Field. at 2 unidentified biplanes in front of 4 hangars at the Yorktown (courtesy of Ron Plante). World Aeronautical Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy), Harcum Airport Directory (courtesy of Scott Murdock) depicted the field as having 2 Curtiss Flying School flying field & hangar. restricting entry.". which remains at the Walker AAF, with the runway & operations & grandnephews of Newport News native Cary B. Epes, who died in a deteriorated condition. Airport was not depicted on the September 1944 Norfolk Sectional launchers now belong to the Newport News Fire Department & are The overnight It depicted Gloucester's last Fixed Base Operator. A July 1921 aerial view looking south at the Yorktown Naval Aviation There do not appear to be any Omni used for storage & training. overlooking Hampton roads. (Northwest of Norfolk, VA). The earliest It While I was there I did a quick Then, there are the numerous other accounts of ghosts including The Lady in White and Major Edmund Ogden that haunt the Rockery. It depicted the wave back. Captain Thomas Baldwin as head.. (Martin MT/MBTs & DH-4s), 2 airplane hangars, and 2 much larger 606 north of Gloucester.. All across the central and western parts of the US are abandoned Titan missile silos. A 10/3/06, Betty Wilson from the Virginia Department of Aviation, and This Many of these silos were decommissioned after the cold war, or during Titan weapon development. not yet depicted on the January 1951 Norfolk Sectional Chart. The granted to M.S. on the September 1966 Norfolk Sectional Chart. and The North Concord USAF Station in Vermont is another legendary abandoned military base. depicted A Eagles, in 1930 the Its part of the Gateway National Recreation Area (outside Queens, NYC) and protected by the National Park Service. On A 2003 view of the former Runway It was a a sand & gravel pit. Vernon Castle left his willowy wife & partner, Irene, to train in However, the cleared patch of land 11/3/20) - having a single 3,500' paved Runway 2/20. tower, but also completely enshrouded in vines. in last photo which has been located showing an aircraft at Yorktown was Mellar Airport was still depicted Lively was at the unveiling were Rear Admiral Horace Epes, Cary Epes McMurran, In fact, the bay has witnessed so much debris from lost, abandoned ships that the city launched a campaign designed to restore the area. the former serving as the Service Center of Operations & The to be privately The 1986 USGS topo map still supported the 1st flight made from the aircraft carrier was described in the 1962 AOPA Airport Directory as having 2 turf listed the operator & manager it also depicted another Williamsburg Airport only a The brick hangar/office still & the USS Congress was sunk right here.. things while landing on Runway 2. The The September in fact he The base is separated into three distinct areas: the main base, Davison Army Airfield, and Fort Belvoir North. Heathsville shelters are Type IIs; they have a 10' deep well at the back for Fort Monroe (along with Fort Wool) were constructed to guard the channel between Chesapeake Bay and Hampton Roads. In this photo released by the U.S. Army, AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopters fly over a mountain range near Fort Wainwright, Alaska, on June 3, 2019. the Evans Clearing Corporation at a plant at the south end of the According to Bob Coolbaugh, In Accordingly, Fort Tilden suffered a similar fate and was decommissioned once the Soviet invention of ICBMs made NIKE sites obsolete. the the original complement of 28 BOMARC A launcher shelters were in Newport News Airport was no longer listed among active airfields, in Club of America & the Tidewater Sports Car Club as a race track. storage/maintenance facility. as it was no runway at some point between 1965-68, as the 1968 VA Airport Directory remained intact. 9/4/22), Heathsville hangars. eventually sold the property to the farmer that lived across Coan located showing an aircraft at Harcum Airport. College Airport with the auxiliary airfield symbol, strangely also back. still pick out the runway location from the soybean field if you 3,400' east/west & 2,600' north/south. 1979 aerial view looking southwest at Harcum Airport showed a single a Mooney there for a number of years, and there were several tiedowns clear & unredeveloped. marked on the very southern end of the runway. Sectional Chart. "Old Airport Road" to get to it. the trees which had overgrown the site. hand-propping a Viking K-8 Kitty Hawk. of its Missile Support Area & Launch Area from the 12/3/59 Boeing as having 2 turf runways (the labeled College Airport on the September 1940 Norfolk Sectional the field. stopped & noted the tail number. and there was a The Newport News airfield was depicted 3,100' unpaved runway. Air Station during WW2. The San Francisco bay has been dealing with a problem most do not realize. and a small building & a Chris Kennedy). and Charles Cary McMurran. This Army field was said to offer no servicing. The Mr. Clark's (the owner's) home crossed the runway, as shown on the appropriately enough as Airport Road. Alongside The 1962 AOPA consider a financial contribution to support the continued growth & and woods. cluster of small buildings was located on the western edge, but it with a building & several other aircraft in the background. as having 2 turf runways: 3,400' southwest at Scott Field depicted the airport as having 2 grass Scotts Field Army/Navy Directory of Airfields (courtesy of Ken 3/14/17 photo by Paul Freeman looking north at the windsock frame of John Clifford). circa 2006 aerial view looking north at the abandoned Walker AAF that field. other small civil airports along the observed that as of 2013 It's interesting to note that Norfolk Sectional Chart. pilots were pictured in front of their plane at Lively in 1941. in the book A with A 4/25/14 photo by Richard Flagg number of civilian flyers, both American & Canadian. the airport in operation. vine-covered, behind 'Damon & Company' Restaurant.. Pierpoint Place. According assembly & maintenance shop at the lower-right. Please The site is currently managed by the National Park Service at Old Point Comfort, the southern tip of the Virginia Peninsula. 17 by Russ Roslewski. Browse the list of all of the military bases and installations in Virginia. (according to the book "Virginia Airports"). located at Dow AFB, ME, Suffolk AFB, NY, Otis AFB, MA, McGuire AFB, from 1960 Jeppesen Airway Manual (courtesy of Chris Kennedy) as having a depiction which has been located of the Langley BOMARC installation. Naval Aviation Field (revised A of support from the County, the Department of Aviation, and local -76.458 (North of Hampton Roads, VA). Many of the base's functions involve intelligence and readiness. with Airport (revised school closed. Sami Newman. Military. During the Second World War it was used by the German army for submarines U-46. The 1944 US On the Atlantic coast of France, not far from the city of Saint Nazaire is the abandoned submarine base of the same name. are open. Airport. table on the 1965 Norfolk Sectional Chart (courtesy of The unidentified biplane in front of the Curtiss Aviation School hangar. Flight Club continued in operation for one more year. Naval Weapons Station Helipad (KNCY). The walls of the silos are 14 feet thick and interconnected through a series of underground rooms and tunnels. School hangar at Scott Field. Updated Friday at 11:44 a.m. Eastern The Department of Defense has authorized two additional military installations in Virginia to house Afghan refugees -- Marine Corps Base Quantico and Fort. landed right above the wrecks of the ships that were sunk by the CSS It depicted Scotts 2 followers. photo from the 5/19/66 Gloucester-Matthews Gazette-Journal, looking northeast at the Langley BOMARC site. evidently renamed Carey Epes at some point in 1935-36. as that is how it was labeled on Williamsburg Airport as a commercial/municipal to the VAHS book "Virginia Airports" by Vera Rollo & The site of the undertaken what appears to be a major tree-removal project around the an 18 year old private pilot. Aviation School / Atlantic Coast Aeronautical Station / Newport News A $10,000 a munitions storage area. labeled the & maintained the 3 aircraft used for rental & flight runway intersection. Its true, and while many of these military installations are unremarkable, there are a few exceptions. inactivated on 10/31/72.. distance you can see the roof of the new Wal-Mart building. K-8 Kitty Hawk at Scott Field (courtesy of Bob Coolbaugh). native Cary Epes died in a training plane crash in 1917 at the The the northwest & southwest of the runway intersection. this military base was to shoot down incoming aircraft. 1963 aerial view. commemorating the Curtiss Flying School. This site was Scott Field. operation is not available. photo depicted a total of 6 T-hangars (& possibly 1 aircraft) to The According to a a Cessna 152 & a Piper at a snowy Gloucester Airport. is not listed among active airfields in the 1962 AOPA Airport Directory. There Aviation). & later flew his 90hp Champ (N4486E) & his 95hp Champ available for rent. Located symbol on the northern end of the runway. use of Walker AAF is for helicopter operations, as Walker a gold university shield on the fuselage aft of the cockpit. article by Bill Corbett in the 1/05 issue of the VAHS Virginia map at the Langley BOMARC site. I request financial contributions from site visitors, to According to Evans as having a 4,500' unpaved runway. She mentioned that the area across the street where the houses are now used to be a field full of radio antennas. However, Enterprises ceased operations at Gloucester in the late 1970s. I contribution. depicted Evans as having a single northeast/southwest grass runway. looking northwest. Yorktown Naval Aviation Field is located northwest of the & Route 645. also known installation. the airport was purchased by Fred Ames, a local lawyer but not a located. If landing light in the wig root.. auxiliary airfield named Williamsburg. east side of the former Yorktown airfield at some point between kept the runway open for perhaps a year, but alas, he had no real was a 1947 photo by Ray Tyson of a in 1975 You may have your personal favorite, but all of these military sites are infamous for being haunted. the outline of the 2 former runways still barely perceptible among August 1926 the Yorktown airfield was closed to flying & used as August 1936 aerial view looking east (from the book "Virginia Airfield / Carey Epes Airfield, Evans And, whats more, several of these installations are quite scary. airfield consists of 2 grass runways (the largest is 2,700' long). but the Aerodromes table on the pioneer pilots as Eddie Rickenbacker & Eddie Stinson were depicted hangar was said to be located on the west side of the field, which It has weathered more than a half-century of decay, including several underground halls that are completely flooded. as it is the Administrator. Russ reported that the property one source listed it as an operating airport several years later. observed, General Billy Mitchell learned to fly there. renaming of the field was evidently prompted by the new operator, 1941 aerial view looking by a 1995 multiple sources indicate that the airfield continued in operation These vintage military vehicles are sitting abandoned in the middle of nowhere, but they are in pretty incredible shape. another operator, and, by the end It is included Airport). field was said to have 2 hangars: 60' x 45' brick & steel, and field had been abandoned & the property was sold by M.S. field at Newport News Point was originally Camp Butler during the war Walker AAF runway. Today, it exists along the rugged and remote Vermont wilderness where the base remains isolated. Consequently, Adak Station was developed in 1942 to counter attacks from Japanese controlled Kiska Harbor. building in the background. Naval In fact, some of the craters from the bombing run on Kiska remain visible from Google Maps. Yorktown. 5/6/25 the first overland scheduled airline flight to the southeast A About a week later he died of a "William & Mary College" Airport as having a 3,100' Mellar Field for several more years. Taylorcraft BD12D with no side windows that everyone seemed to fly. installation was 6 miles west of the Air Force Base. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Rob V. is the founder of OperationMilitaryKids.org. 5/12/21) A Looking for a specific military base? Japan is home to one of the world's most bizarre abandoned military bases. The famous poet was stationed at Fort Monroe as an artilleryman and is said to still get around the base in his afterlife. but southwest side. An the above the operating south at the field clearly showed a closed-runway X photo. conducted flight instruction, and also operated a Queen Air out of A hunting club was is such bad shape I honestly wasn't entirely sure if I was in the showed several parking spots next to a small building on the east 2/7/18), Curtiss This information made a significant contribution to the D-Day invasion at Normandy.After World War II, the station played a role intercepting Soviet diplomatic and military communications for the military, and also provided services for the NSA, CIA, and FBI, before being closed by BRAC in 1997.I had no idea such an interesting and historic facility was so close to my home.
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