Naval Station Mayport Admiral David L. McDonald Field |
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Summary | |||||||||||
Airport type | Military: Naval Station | ||||||||||
Operator | United States Navy | ||||||||||
Location | 7 miles east of Jacksonville, Florida, at the mouth of St. Johns River and adjacent to Atlantic Beach, Florida | ||||||||||
Built | December 1942 | ||||||||||
Commander | CAPT Wesley R. McCall | ||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 15 ft / 5 m | ||||||||||
Website | www.cnic.navy.mil/mayport | ||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||
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Source: FAA, official site
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Naval Station Mayport (IATA: NRB, ICAO: KNRB, FAA LID: NRB) is a major United States Navy base in Jacksonville, Florida. It contains a protected harbor that can accommodate aircraft carrier-size vessels, ship's intermediate maintenance activity (SIMA) and a military airfield (Admiral David L. McDonald Field) with one asphalt paved runway (5/23) measuring 8,001 × 200 ft. (2,439 × 61 m).
Since its commissioning in December 1942, NS Mayport has grown to become the third-largest naval surface fleet concentration area in the United States. Mayport's operational composition is unique, with a busy harbor capable of accommodating 34 ships and an 8,001-foot (2,439 m) runway capable of handling most aircraft in the Department of Defense inventory.
Naval Station Mayport is also home to the Navy's United States Fourth Fleet, reactivated in 2008 after being deactivated in 1950.
The base has historically served as the homeport to various conventionally powered aircraft carriers of the Atlantic Fleet, including Shangri-La (1960 - 1971), Franklin D. Roosevelt (1956 - 1977), Forrestal (1977 – 1993), Saratoga (1957 - 1994), and, most recently, John F. Kennedy (1995 - 2007). With the decommissioning of all conventionally powered aircraft carriers by the U.S. Navy, no carriers are presently assigned to Mayport. However, both houses of Congress have passed legislation authorizing about US$75 million for dredging and upgrades at NAVSTA Mayport to accommodate a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.