ELLYSON INDUSTRIAL PARK

(Formerly NAVAL AUXILIARY AIR STATION ELLYSON FIELD)

This photograph shows Ellyson Field as a Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) in the 1940's. It is now the site of the Ellyson Industrial Park, with many of the buildings still intact.

Ellyson Field, north of Pensacola, began to develop in 1940 with a land purchase to provide an outlying field (OLF) to support flight training in the Pensacola area. Operations began in February, 194l, with one hangar and a repair unit. That year the field was named Ellyson Field in honor of CDR. Theodore G. Ellyson, the first Naval Aviator.

The outbreak of World War II brought rapid expansion, and on January l, 1943, Ellyson was commissioned a Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS). It was used primarily for intermediate basic flight training, consisting of familiarization, formation, and night flying.

Initial training was with a land-based version of the Vought OS2U Kingfisher. Soon, Ellyson became the almost exclusive domain for the Vultee SNV Valient,a fixed landing gear aircraft similar in size and weight to the SNJ. The SNV derisively was dubbed the Vultee "Vibrator" because of its under-power and slow maneuverability. The "Vibrator" nickname came from the two-stage pitch propeller that made an irritating vibration at high pitch. The SNV was restricted from aerobatics or other violent maneuvers. By 1945, the SNV was declared obsolete, and all were gone from Ellyson by the end of the war. During 1945, an intermediate instructors school moved to Ellyson from NAS Pensacola.

Ellyson had a two-field layout – East and West fields, both with six asphalt runways, the largest only 3,750 feet. Following the war, NAS Pensacola used Ellyson for storage and training aircraft until the station was deactivated in1947.

Portions of the base were released by the Navy for civilian use that included a training camp for the Brooklyn Dodgers. In December, 1950, Ellyson re-opened to helicopter training for Navy, Marine and Coast Guard pilots. In 1979, the helicopters moved to Whiting Field, and Ellyson closed shortly thereafter.

Today, Ellyson serves as a thriving industrial park. Hangars, built to pre-war standards, are still in good condition and in use. The former tower and operations building are headquarters for the 417^th Signal Battalion of the Florida National Guard.

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

Click below to Return to the Enter Page.