Hunter Army Airfield |
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2006 USGS airphoto
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Summary | |||||||||||
Airport type | Military | ||||||||||
Owner | United States Army | ||||||||||
Serves | Fort Stewart | ||||||||||
Location | Savannah, Georgia | ||||||||||
Built | 1929 | ||||||||||
In use | 1929 – present | ||||||||||
Commander | Lt. Col. Jose Aguilar | ||||||||||
Occupants |
3rd Infantry Division United States Coast Guard Landing Support Company Combat Logistics Regiment 45 USMC |
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Elevation AMSL | 42 ft / 12 m | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 32°00′36″N 081°08′44″W / 32.01000°N 81.14556°W | ||||||||||
Website | www.stewart.army.mil | ||||||||||
Map | |||||||||||
Location of Hunter Army Airfield | |||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||
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Source: Federal Aviation Administration
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Hunter Army Airfield (IATA: SVN, ICAO: KSVN, FAA LID: SVN), located in Savannah, Georgia, United States, is a military airfield and subordinate installation to Fort Stewart located in Hinesville, Georgia.
Hunter features a runway that is 11,375 feet (3,468 m) long and an aircraft parking area that is more than 350 acres (1.4 km²). The runway and apron, combined with the 72,000 sq ft (6,689 m²) Arrival/Departure Airfield Control Group (A/DACG) Facility and nearby railhead, allow the 3rd Infantry Division from nearby Fort Stewart to efficiently deploy soldiers and cargo worldwide. NASA identified Hunter as an alternate landing site for the Space Shuttle orbiters.
Currently, Hunter Army Airfield has approximately 5,000 soldiers, airmen and coast guardsmen on station. It is home of the aviation units of the 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized) headquartered at Fort Stewart. There are also a number of non-divisional units assigned to Hunter as well.
Coast Guard Air Station Savannah is also located on Hunter Army Airfield. Equipped with MH-65 Dolphin helicopters, Air Station Savannah provides the Savannah area, Coastal Georgia and South Carolina with round-the-clock search and rescue coverage of the area, to include both inland waters and off shore areas.
In 1929, the General Aviation Committee of the Savannah City Council recommended that the 730 acre (3 km²) Belmont Tract, belonging to J. C. Lewis, be accepted by the Council as the future site of the Savannah Municipal Airport. The cost of the land was $35,000. By September 1929, the runway and several buildings were ready and the city officially opened the new facility, known as Savannah Municipal Airport.