NAVY OUTLYING FIELD (NOLF) SAUFLEY FIELD

This historical 1940's photograph of Saufley Field differs little from the modern picture on the Saufley page, except for the large number of SNJ aircraft parked along the ramps.

In 1933, the Navy leased land 12 miles northwest of NAS Pensacola for an outlying field (OLF). At that time it was known as Felton’s Farm field. In 1940, after acquiring 867 acres there, the Navy renamed the site Saufley Field and hosted an instrument flight instructors school as well as a fighter training squadron there. The field was named in honor of Lt(j.g.) Richard C. Saufley, Naval Aviator #14, who lost his life in 1916 while attempting to set an endurance flight record.

Later that same year (1940), primary flight training began at Saufley Field, and in 1941 fighter training was moved from Saufley Field to NAS Pensacola. Then, in 1942, the instrument training program, with some 100 SNJs and 35 Link trainers, was transferred to NAS Atlanta, Georgia. The void left at Saufley Field soon was filled with a basic training squadron, but then again in 1943 primary training moved out after completing 141,000 flight hours without a single fatality. At that time, Saufley field was commissioned an Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS).

For the rest of World War II, Saufley Field was used for a variety of training in PBY5A, SBD, SNJ, and N2S aircraft. The field had a large, rectangular asphalt mat (still visible today) and four runways—the longest being 6,100 feet.

One human interest story about Saufley Field: the land bought by the Navy in 1940 included property owned by a couple in their 80’s. The Navy allowed the couple to remain on the base in their home and live out their years. The man died in 1943, his wife in 1948.

Saufley Field remained open after the war, largely due to the substantial building structures erected on the base. Carrier qualification training moved to Saufley Field from NAS Glenview, Illinois, and the Naval Air Transport Service (NATS) terminal eventually transferred there from Corry Field.

In the early 1950’s Saufley Field was the only all-weather field in the Pensacola area, and today it is the site of the Saufley VOR, the primary radionavigation aid in the Pensacola area. Also in the 1950’s, Saufley Field units taught tactical training (formation flying) for the Naval Air Basic Training Command. In 1956, that tactics course moved to NAS Whiting Field, and Whiting’s primary training function in turn shifted to Saufley Field.

Saufley Field closed in 1976, becoming an outlying field (OLF) for trainers from Whiting Field to practice landings. Today, the field is still used for training by T-34s based at Whiting Field . In addition, Saufley is home for the Naval Education and Training Program Management Support activity, which conducts all training examinations. Also on the base is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp—one of the so-called "Country Club prisons".

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

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