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→Helicopter training
==History==
===Establishment===
[[Image:Ellyson1940.jpg|thumb|left|Ellyson Field in 1940]]
The United States Navy purchased farmland in [[1940]] and developed it as an outlying landing field to support flight training operations based at [[NAS Pensacola]]. The field was initially designated '''Base Field 01913 (Site 3)'''. In [[1941]] the field was renamed Ellyson Field in honor of [[Wikipedia:Theodore Gordon Ellyson|Theodore "Spuds" Ellyson]], the Navy's first naval aviator.<ref name="Seigfried">[http://www.tailhook.org/Ellyson.htm Seigfried, CDR Doug. ''NAS Ellyson Field''. http://www.tailhook.org/Ellyson.htm]</ref>
===World War II use===
[[Image:Ellyson FL WW2.jpg|thumb|right|Ellyson Field during World War II]]
As World War II intensified, the airfield was quickly expanded. At a cost of $1.7 million, six taxiways and runways were constructed, along with three hangars, administrative and operations buildings, barracks, and a mess hall. Operations commenced on [[October 1]], [[1941]] when five divisions of aircraft transferred from NAS Pensacola. Dedication ceremonies were held that morning and training flights began that afternoon. Ellyson Field was designated as a Naval Auxiliary Air Station on [[January 1]], [[1943]].<ref>[http://www.pafw.com/ellyson.htm http://www.pafw.com/ellyson.htm]</ref> In [[1945]], NAS Pensacola's Intermediate Instructor School moved to Ellyson Field.<ref name="Seigfried" />
===First closure===
At the end of World War II, however, use of Ellyson Field quickly diminished. In November [[1945]], primary and basic training operations were moved to Corpus Christi, Texas, and Ellyson was used for storage until it was deactivated in [[1947]]. Over the next few years, portions of Ellyson Field were opened up for civilian use, including a school for handicapped children and a training center for the [[Wikipedia:Brooklyn Dodgers|Brooklyn Dodgers]] baseball club.<ref name="Seigfried" />
===Helicopter training===Ellyson Field was reactivated before long, though, as the [[Wikipedia:Korean War|Korean War]] necessitated an expansion of the Navy's helicopter training program. Helicopter Training Unit One was established at Ellyson in [[1950]]. Ellyson Field was designated as an auxiliary landing field until [[1967]], when it was reestablished as a Naval Auxiliary Air Station. It was elevated to full Navar Air Station status in [[1968]]. During the 1960s, Ellyson Field also hosted helicopter training for NASA astronauts. In the early 1970s, though, the Navy decided to close Ellyson due to conflicts with civilian air traffic from nearby [[Pensacola Regional Airport]]. Ellyson Field was closed on [[December 28]], [[1973]], and helicopter training was relocated to NAS [[Whiting Field]] in Santa Rosa County. The Naval Education & Training Program Development Center used Ellyson until it relocated to [[Saufley Field]] in [[1979]], at which time Ellyson Field was declared surplus.<ref name="Seigfried" />In [[1983]], the [[University of West Florida]] leased the former bachelor officers' quarters (BOQ) and converted the building to student housing.<ref>[http://143.88.66.88/Buildings.htm UWF Buildings]</ref> ==Reuse==Although Ellyson Field has been redeveloped as an industrial park, many of its original buildings, including three hangars and the control tower and operations building, remain and have been reused by various companies.
==References==
