Naval Air Station Corpus Christi | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Airport type | Naval Air Station | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Operator | United States Navy | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Location | Corpus Christi, Texas | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Built | March 12, 1941 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
In use | Active | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Commander | CAPT Steve Banta | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 19 ft / 6 m | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 27°41′33″N 97°17′28″W / 27.69250°N 97.29111°W | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Naval Air Station Corpus Christi (IATA: NGP, ICAO: KNGP, FAA LID: NGP), is a naval base located six miles (10 km) southeast of the central business district (CBD) of Corpus Christi, in Nueces County, Texas, USA.
A naval air station for Corpus Christi had been proposed since the mid-1930s, and the city's congressman, Richard M. Kleberg, supported it. But it remained a low priority construction project for the U.S. Navy as late as January 9, 1940. (The Kleberg family and Roy Miller both supported Vice President John Nance Garner's quest for the 1940 presidential nomination.) Rep. Lyndon B. Johnson made himself a key Texas ally of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's bid for a third term, and the White House told the Navy Department to consult Johnson, and heed his advice, on Navy contracts in Texas. By February 1940, the project was on the Navy's preferred list. Brown & Root, a Houston firm, shared the construction contract with another New Deal supporter, Henry Kaiser; the president personally signed the (first) cost plus fixed fee contract June 13, 1940. The Roosevelt campaign in Texas no longer had a shortage of cash.