Naval Air Station Seattle
Naval Station Puget Sound is a former United States Naval station located on Sand Point in Seattle, Washington. Today, the land is occupied by Magnuson Park.
After World War I, a movement was begun to build Naval Air Station (NAS) Seattle at Sand Point, and King County began acquiring surrounding parcels. In 1922 the U.S. Navy began construction on the site, which it was leasing from the county, and in 1926 the Navy was deeded the 413-acre (1.67 km2) field outright. The name Carkeek Park was subsequently given to a new park on the west side of the city, north of Ballard on Puget Sound. This deed amounted to a public gift of $500,000 from the county to the Navy, in 1926 dollars; this would be $5,283,000 in 2005 dollars, not including significant real estate appreciation. The Seattle Chamber of Commerce—a commercial entity—had done the same thing for the Army 28 years before with Fort Lawton, much of which is now Discovery Park.
Sand Point Airfield was the endpoint of the first aerial circumnavigation of the world in 1924. The historic flight helped convince Congress to develop Sand Point as a Naval Air Station.
The former grass runways were paved in 1940–41, just prior to the U.S. entering World War II. The primary runway was aligned 14/32 and was just under a mile in length at 5050 feet (1539 m).
During its years of operation, Naval Station Puget Sound was used as a facility to train naval aviators. Several trainer aircraft were forced to ditch in lake Washington over the years due to pilot error or aircraft malfunction. The wrecks of these aircraft still remain submerged near present-day Magnuson Park, where they are often visited by local divers:
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