Naval Air Station Wildwood | |
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NAS Wildwood in the 1940s
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Summary | |
Airport type | Military |
Owner | United States Navy |
Location | Lower Township, New Jersey |
Elevation AMSL | 23 ft / 7 m |
Coordinates | 39°00′31″N 074°54′30″W / 39.00861°N 74.90833°W |
Naval Air Station Wildwood was a United States Navy airport located in Lower Township, New Jersey, United States, about four miles (6 km) northwest of the central business district of Wildwood, a city in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States. Former Hangar #1 now contains the Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum, whose collection focuses on World War II, and is located at Cape May County Airport, which replaced the Naval Air Station.
The airport started in 1941 as NAS Rio Grande, named for its location near Rio Grande, New Jersey. Due to confusion with Rio Grande, Texas, the name was changed to NAS Wildwood in 1943. Following the end of World War II, Naval Air Station Wildwood was deemed excess to U.S. Navy requirements. It was subsequently deeded to the local government for transition to a civilian airport which is still in operation today as Cape May County Airport. The surviving portions of the historic airfield, including its runways and taxiways, were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.