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June 13, 2025
Today in Texas History
On this day in 1940, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the $25 million appropriations bill for the Naval Air Station, Corpus Christi. Construction began on June 30, and the dedication was held on March 12, 1941.
The station, at Flour Bluff, eventually occupied 20,000 acres in three counties. It initially trained naval pilots, navigators, gunners and radio operators. By 1948, when the station became a permanent military installation, it was home to the Naval Air Advanced Training Command.
The precision flight team the Blue Angels was headquartered there from 1949 to 1955. In 1959, the Navy converted the major repair facility to the Army's Aeronautical Depot Maintenance Center, while the Navy continued to train flight crews for multiengine land and sea planes.
In 1986, the station's airfield was named Truax Field, in honor of Lt. Myron Milton Truax, United States Navy. In 2001, the base served as home to several Navy commands, including the Chief of Naval Air Training.
The station, at Flour Bluff, eventually occupied 20,000 acres in three counties. It initially trained naval pilots, navigators, gunners and radio operators. By 1948, when the station became a permanent military installation, it was home to the Naval Air Advanced Training Command.
The precision flight team the Blue Angels was headquartered there from 1949 to 1955. In 1959, the Navy converted the major repair facility to the Army's Aeronautical Depot Maintenance Center, while the Navy continued to train flight crews for multiengine land and sea planes.
In 1986, the station's airfield was named Truax Field, in honor of Lt. Myron Milton Truax, United States Navy. In 2001, the base served as home to several Navy commands, including the Chief of Naval Air Training.