BLUE ANGEL RECREATIONAL PARK

(Formerly NAVAL AUXILIARY AIR STATION BRONSON FIELD)

NAAS Bronson Field, in the 1940's, was comprised of a paved airfield, shown in the upper middle of the above photograph, and a seaplane ramp located on the shore of  Perdido Bay. The site now houses the Navy's Blue Angel Recreation Park, and all the buildings are gone. The old seaplane ramp is now a parking/storage area for campers. The wooded area to the west (left) of the old seaplane hangars is now the camping area. The airfield  itself is still there, and is used for automobile races.

The overhead photograph below shows Bronson Field in the 1950's, when carrier and gunnery training were centered there.

In 1939, the Navy purchased 640 acres 12 miles west of Pensacola near Perdido Bay for an outlying field (OLF). The facility was used by primary trainers from Corry Field. In March, 1942, construction of a temporary wartime base began at the site. The Navy also purchased another 263 adjoining acres on Perdido Bay for a seaplane facility. And, on November 18, 1942, NAAS Bronson Field was commissioned, named in honor of Lt.(j.g.) Clarence Bronson, Naval aviator No. 15, who lost his life in a premature bomb explosion at Indian Head, Md.

Bronson Field was used primarily for dive bomber and fighter training, the latter moving to Barin Field in late 1942. The training program ran the whole gamut from instruments to formation and night flying, plus combat and navigation. N2S Stearman aircraft were used for checkouts in inverted spins.

In January, 1943, PBYs showed up for seaplane training, supplementing training at NAS Pensacola mainside. Many multi-engine landbased pilots from Corry field also checked out in the seaplanes.

Bronson Field consisted of a large, circular mat, crisscrossed by four 4,000-foot runways. Across the bay in Alabama, several grass airstrips were used for landing/takeoff practice. Baseball great Ted Williams trained at Bronson field.

The field officially closed as a NAAS in 1946, and was used as an outlying field. The Navy tore down most of the temporary wartime buildings in the 1950’s, but continued to use the hangars for parts storage for the next 10 years. The remainder of the base, including the seaplane water ramp area by the bay, is now the Navy's Blue Angel Recreation Park. The old runways are used for weekend automobile races.

(Excerpted from U.S. Naval Air Stations of World War II, by M. L. Shettle, Jr.).

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