During the summer of 1943, a 19 year old Ensign in the U.S Navy Reserve George H. W. Bush (youngest aviator in the U.S Navy at the time), was one of the pilots who trained and lived in the Junior Officers Bachelor Quarters at Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale. Mr. Bush was assigned to Instructor LT Thomas "Tex" Ellison USN as part of Training Flight #44, learning to operate and fly the Avenger TBF/TBM torpedo bomber. LT Ellison had just returned from combat in the Pacific Theater when he was commissioned as a flight instructor at this base.

After completing his training, LTJG Bush eventually departed from NAS San Diego aboard the USS San Jacinto to serve in the Pacific as part of Air Group 51 (VT-51). While on this unit, Bush flew 58 combat missions. During a strike against the Japanese held island of ChiChi Jima, he and his crew were shot down by flak and had to bail out. LTJG Bush was the only one to survive from his three-man crew. He was eventually rescued by the submarine USS Finback.

On October 3, 1992, President George H. W. Bush visited the NASFL Museum, where he signed "On Final Approach," a large aviation mural painted by artist Bob Jenny, featuring the airplane flown by LTJG Bush and other squadron members, in airborne training.

Video by: Lani Day

January 21st, 1944
George Tanelian writes about life at NAS Fort Lauderdale, and training, and pairing up with a British pilot. He writes: "We're some combination, a British pilot, a Marine gunner, and a sailor radioman..."

• George writes about the way they were able to entertain while living at NASFL. He writes: "I saw the movie Ali Baba and the 40 thieves."
  
  
• George was of Armenian descent. While living at NAS Fort Lauderdale, he enjoyed reading:  40 days at Musa Dagh (an historical account of the Armenian massacre during the first world war). 
  
  
• He was very upset about the news of Japanese soldiers killing prisoners in Bataan. "I'm burned about that" "I'll never trust a Jap"  "If I get the upper hand, he's as good as dead" -- and finishes these heartbreaking thoughts with a flash-recognition of universal humanity:  "that is the talk of this base..."
  
  
• Writes about his gunnery and torpedo runs, and is very proud of his progress in the Navy.
  
  
• He is very caring, and worries about his family, and is interested in his sister Rose's welfare. Rose is learning how to drive. He writes: "Don't forget to be careful when your learning how to drive." And "I'm your brother and I always want you to be happy, and you only can be happy by a good education and always one step ahead of the rest."
  
  

UPDATE ON GEORGE TANELIAN 11/11/2014: HAPPY BIRTHDAY GEORGE!

George Tanelian was born today, on 11 November 1925. He enlisted in the US Navy and served from March 31, 1943 to February 3, 1944. He trained in Memphis, Tennessee; Great Lakes, Illinois; Hollywood, Florida; and at NAS Fort Lauderdale, as a gunner on the Avenger aircraft. He was killed while training. Below, are photographs and correspondence from the family of George Tanelian.

• The following letter to Mrs. Tanelian was written by the father of CPL. Irving F. Whipple, who died in the same training plane with George:

Volunteers Keep Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Alive
by Ron Pollworth, Broward County’s Public Communications Division

The Naval Air Station Museum Fort Lauderdale is on the National Register of Historic Places. Once a sprawling military base with more than 200 buildings near what today is the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, one building housing the Naval Air Station Museum Fort Lauderdale is all that is left. The completely volunteer run facility now proudly displays hundreds of historic artifacts the Museum volunteers collect, maintain and display.

Commissioned October 1, 1942, the Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale (NASFL), owned by Broward County, was a land-based facility used to train pilots and crewmen for torpedo-bomber airplanes. When World War II ended in 1945, the base that had served more than 2 million men and women was closed. However, through the course of the years, the barracks at the base housed junior high school students and later served as the first campus of what is now Broward College. Today, this is the only military museum in Broward County.

In 1979 local volunteers, namely Allan McElhiney, a former World War II sailor; Ben Langley MCB7; Army Col. Robert Rawls; Chief Stephen Sedillo, United States Coast Guard; and a handful of history enthusiasts and supporters established the Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Historical Association. Their first mission was to convince the County to save at least one of the buildings from demolition. From the large naval base, one building was preserved – Link Trainer Building No. 8 – which is now on the U.S National Register of Historic Places.

Thousands of World War II service men were trained using this Link Trainer for training as a combat pilot. Today, Link Trainer Building No. 8 is the Naval Air Station Museum and named for the Link Trainer, or flight simulator, produced in the early 1930s. The Link Trainer, one of which is on display, became famous during World War II when they were used by almost every nation to train pilots. More than 500,000 U.S. pilots received training on Link simulators, many of them at Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale.

Dr. John Bloom, museum volunteer, explains the mission of the Museum is to develop and maintain an internationally recognized Naval Aviation Museum that educates the young and old alike and to preserve the memory of the men and women who received training here during World War II. “We have had visitors from around the world, and I recall British veterans explaining how this building was set up when they were here,” Bloom said.

A significant display at the museum pays tribute to historic Flight 19, one of the greatest aviation mysteries of the world. Flight 19 flew out of NASFL on December 5, 1945, to vanish into what is known today as the Bermuda Triangle. The Museum also displays a replicated barrack room where 19-year-old future U.S. President George H.W. Bush lived while receiving training as a torpedo bomber pilot.

The reconstructed barracks room that housed George H.W. Bush in 1943 is made of oak wood that was salvaged from the original Junior Office Bachelor’s Quarters barracks.. “These volunteers are totally dedicated, passionate and knowledgeable about the Museum and the significance this base played in Broward County and for the U.S. government,” said Greg Meyer, public information officer for the Airport. “This is a significant piece of history right here.”

Volunteers are usually at the Museum on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call 954-359-4400 or 754-300-9259 to tour the Museum, located at 4000 W. Perimeter Road, Fort Lauderdale.

“Broward Goes To War”  Exhibit in the museum's gallery depicts the economic, social and demographic changes during the war years of 1941-1945, and shortly thereafter. The war put Broward County on the map. It forever changed it. This exhibit was possible, by the Broward County Historical Commission in Fort Lauderdale.

The gallery features display panels with graphics, diagrams, photographs and period uniforms, artifacts and memorabilia. Accompanying text provides details and background information. Panels describe the military training that occurred in the area. Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale, located where Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is now, was a training base for bomber pilots, and other naval schools also operated in Fort Lauderdale. Local beach areas were restricted to military personnel, and blackouts at night were often called so that the German submarines that commonly patrolled offshore in the early years of the war would have difficulty seeing land.

Also displayed will be ration books, "The Victory Cook Book,"  which describes how to substitute for rationed foods, and the small bulbs that could be used during blackouts, and Victory Gardens memorabilia. "It was a time of sacrifice," said Fort Lauderdale resident Allan McElhiney, who served aboard the USS Asheville during 1944-45 while it was at Port Everglades. "People all over the county were involved in the war. Some people were coming into downtown Fort Lauderdale on horse-drawn wagons because of the gas rationing. I hope that young people will go to see it and learn about their past history and the role that Fort Lauderdale and Broward County played in winning World War II," McElhiney said. Other panels discuss area industries prominent during the war, such as agriculture and marine businesses, and document how the local economy boomed after the war's conclusion. "The very first season after the war … ended up to be the biggest season that Broward County had had up until that time," said county historian Helen Landers. Hundreds of former service members who had been stationed here, like McElhiney, became county residents, and they were a key to later growth. McElhiney turned out to be the Founder and current President of the NASFL Museum.

This exhibit was possible, by the Broward County Historical Commission in Fort Lauderdale. They created the exhibit from their own collections, and the Boca Raton Historical Society, the Fort Lauderdale Historical Society, the Hollywood Historical Society, and the Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Museum also contributed materials or research. This exhibit will be at the NASFL Museum from March 16, to September 16, 2013.

IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO VISIT THIS EXHIBIT, OR THE MUSEUM AT ANY OTHER TIME: Volunteers are usually at the Museum on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, from 11:00am to 4:00pm, but PLEASE CALL BEFORE GOING to schedule your Free Tour: (754) 300-9259

Jim Nesta said:  "I was a student of the first class of Dania-Stirling Sr. High at the NASFL station in the fall of 1966. We voted on a name for the school mascot and chose the Spartans. During PE, when the teacher was out, we would roughhouse in those old WW2 era barracks and would sometimes punch holes in those old walls, to the consternation of the teacher! After the first semester, I later transferred to Stranahan Sr. High. In my electronics class at Stranahan we would get old electronic communications gear from the NAS, as our teacher was a retired major from the army signal corps and had some pull with the military. When I entered the Army in 1969, we trained in the same kind of barracks that were at NAS."

Hillar Brandt said:  "It is indeed exciting to see something like this after so many years. I attended Florida Military Academy as of summer of 1959 until 1962 when they moved to Plantation. I still remember airplanes taking off after warming up their engines at 5am. Of course at the time we could still climb and look around inside the abandoned Catalina's and naval fighter planes there. I spend most of the time in Miami and will make a point to visit in Feb/March when I get back to the US. If I am not mistaken, the barracks were those at the lower left side of the shown picture, Thanks for the pleasant memories."

Albert Harris said:  "You should know that from 1966-68 it was also a high school Dania-Sterling High School. I came from Attucks Jr.-Sr. High School in Dania FL and we were all black. My Sophomore year at that school was my first time to go to school with white kids and we were all Sophomores. The 68-69 school year we were the first class of the new school Hollywood Hills High School. It was ruff at first but it turned out to be the best two years of school in my life.  That old Naval Air Station had no air, no heat in those old barracks lol. You should know this do not forget us the class of 66-68 and the class of 67-68 the Jr. and So. class of Dania-Sterling High School and the Sr. and Jr. class of Hollywood Hills High School 1969 and 1970. Thank You Albert L. Harris U.S.Army and USAF Vet. class of 1969. Oh yea by the way, on my So. year my football teammate who was a running back named Bucky Dent never knew that he could play baseball for the New York Yankees."

Robert Walsh said:  "My father James Walsh signed up for the US Navy with George F. Devlin in Brooklyn NY. My father signed up as Edward J Walsh (alias) at age 15. They were childhood buddies. They both paid a Notary Public 50 cents to have their names and age changed. My father ended up serving on the USS Harry F. Bauer DE 26 with participated in the battle of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. My father always talked about George Devlin being in the crew of Flight 19 and their adventure of signing up for the Navy underage during WWII."

Bryan Ilyankoff said:  "Very nice article about the Photographer who took pride in his work! Photos that he took are great! Wish I could of met him and talked about his experience! I currently show a WWII Navy Photographer's Mate display at military shows and events here in the Seattle area. So, I gladly honor those who came before me in my rate. Thanks for sharing his time in the Navy!

Very Respectfully,
Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class,
Bryan Ilyankoff
U.S. Navy Reservist
(former Photographer's Mate)

In reply to What a find! Mitchel Johnson, Sr. is my grand..., Darrell Johnson said:  "That's my daddy & uncle. Mitchell (Sr.) is my granddaddy. I remember that Navy ship visit (referred to by Cheree in the above post.) It's good that legacies are remembered. Those who don't write their own stories are subjected to others, retelling of them."

Ralph Flaherty said:  "Just came across this site. I am now 84 and remember my days at NAS FT Lauderdale. I joined the Navy at age 17 in 1944 as an air-crewman. After aom school in Norman OK I went to gunnery school at the Emory Riddle bldg on 27th ave in Miami. It was there that I met Whitey Thompson (Flight 19), a marine who had just come back from the fleet. He and the rest of the marine group were there for a refresher course. Anyhow, we finished gunnery school in August 1945 just as the war ended, and ended up in the last class to go through operational training at Ft Lauderdale. On the day that whitey was lost I had just come back from a morning flight and Whitey was on the flight line waiting for his flight. I was probably the last one to talk to him before they left. The next morning I was on the first search flight out of Ft Lauderdale. I remember it well:  it was a very lousy day, real bumpy and the reason I was still at the plane when Whitey arrived is that I had thrown up right behind the pilot where I was standing during the flight. I remember a very angry pilot who ordered me to clean up the mess and make sure there was no smell when he got back. Obviously I got out of there, so I did not have to go on the next flight with him. So much for my story. I just want to end by saying we were all just kids and though Whitey was the only one of the marine group that I knew, he was really quite a guy. Although he did not talk about the war I heard from others that he was on the USS Franklin when she got hit and he was trapped for 4 hrs below deck while she was burning. I can't verify that fact but that's what I remember. My best to all and thanks for all that you do......R Flaherty"

Lori Nance Parrish, Broward County Property Appraiser and former County Commissioner became interested in the NASFL Historical Association's plight led by Allan McElhiney because her father W.A. Nance, Jr., served in the Navy during World War II and survived when the ship he served on was sunk.  Lori felt she could do something to honor his memory by preserving a part of Broward County's history.

On May 20, 1998, the NASFL Historical Association was able to add the Link Trainer Building (our current Museum), to the US National Register of Historic Places. All the buildings from the former WWII base Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale were demolished (except for this one), to make way for the construction of the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. In 1999 in support of the Association (which oversees this Museum), Lori was able to obtain a $200,000 grant from the U.S Transportation Department. With this grant the building was relocated to where it is today on Perimeter Road, next to the airport. Lori was an important participant in the long struggle to preserve the Link Trainer Building.  Ms. Parrish visited on January 17, 2013-- 14 years after her first visit to the site. She was impressed with our progress and along with founder Allan McElhiney, recalled the early struggles of this Museum.

We invited five WWII Veterans living in the area of Fort Lauderdale for a Round Table discussion at the Link Trainer Building #8 (our current Museum). These Veterans served at the NAS Fort Lauderdale base during the period of 1942–1946. George Lord was a Gunnery Instructor; Henry Torres Sr., had been in charge of the Machine Shop at the Beach Target Range, Allan McElhiney was stationed aboard the USS Asheville at Port Everglades. The Asheville tested experimental weapons for NASFL. David Epstein who got to train with George H.W. Bush, would drive a Jeep Willys loaded with parachutes from NAS Key West to NAS Fort Lauderdale. And David White a Senior Flight Instructor, was part of the search for Flight 19.

The Veterans were asked questions such as:

• Did they feel the Fort Lauderdale community was receptive?
• What do you remember about the base?
• What was the Syllabus course for pilots like?
• Where exactly were the locations for Target Practice at the Ft. Laud. beach?
• What was there to do for entertainment in Fort Lauderdale?
• How did they transport around?
• Did they witnessed any plane crashes at the base? (There were 95 fatalities).
• What was their range for bomb practice, how far did they go?
• Where did the women WAVES live? Did they do any jobs as mechanics?
• Where were you when the war ended?
  
  We received many interesting answers, and learned from their recollections. We're going to try to do more small sessions with veterans and civilians that served at this base. If you were part of the Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale, please feel free to contact the Museum, so we can record your history. Thank you!
  
  Click on thumbnails to enlarge
  

Brothers Larry and Mitchel Johnson visited the NASFL Museum, researching their father Mitchel Johnson Sr. He had worked as a civilian at the Naval Air Station Surface Warfare Center. This building was formerly known as the Junior Officers Bachelor Quarters or JOBQ Building #15. Former President George H.W. Bush lived in this building when he was a 19 year old Ensign, training as an Avenger pilot. Anyway, we found a list with Mr. Mitchel Johnson's name inside the drawer of an old desk that had been salvaged from the Warfare Center before the building was demolished.

Allan McElhiney, the Museum's founder, kept this desk at the Museum and he remembered seeing the list inside the drawer, with names from people that had worked at the naval base. It turned out that Mr. Mitchel Johnson Sr., was one of those names. The brothers Mitchel were very interested in the Museum's exhibits and had a great time reminiscing. It was a pleasure to meet them.

We salute your father for his service to the naval base!

Click to enlarge photos

Sunday, May 06, 2012
LeRoy Crouch USN (Ret)
(Post Navy career he was an architect for Broward County School system in Florida).

"My knowledge goes way back till the time the Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale was first built.  My Dad was one of 2 Public Services Directors that built this facility in 1942. Dad claimed this to be one of his outstanding building projects. He talked about the methods they used to construct those long-span wooden trusses for the hangars, as well as the building used to contain the "Link Trainers." He told of the times that they would have to carry a pilot trainee out on a gurney-- after he had crashed in the simulator.

He claimed that he was the only one able to view the entire set of construction plans for the building. Everyone else could only see the portions they were currently working on. Dad proudly displayed a plaque he was awarded by the Base Commander, for the efforts he had made during the construction and maintaining of that facility.  I have the picture of him receiving this award. He cherished that till his dying day. His claim to fame, I guess. He used to point to every building on that site-- and say "I built that one, and this one, and that one...."  and on and on: the hangars, the hospital, the mess hall, the barracks, the officers club...."

James Edward Westfall, 88, died Monday, April 2, 2012, in Melbourne, Fla.
He was born Sept. 1, 1923, near Spencer, Ind., to John Christopher and Nina Atlanta (Smith) Westfall.
He graduated in 1942 from Greencastle High School, Greencastle, Ind.
He married June Alexander in 1942. He later married Gayle E. Ellsworth in 1947. She preceded him in death in 1998. He then married Jessie H. McCarty in 2003.

With the onset of World War II, he entered the U.S. Navy V-5 air cadet program. He completed pre-flight school courses at the University of Georgia (Athens) and went on to finish flight training at Pensacola Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Fla. With his naval aviator wings and commission as an ensign, he was shipped to the South Pacific in 1944. In that theater of the war, he saw action primarily at the controls of the Douglas SBD Dauntless. After his return from combat in 1945, he was based at Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale in Florida. While there as a flight instructor in the Grumman TBM Avenger, he played a role in the search for Flight 19 — the mysterious disappearance of five Avengers off the coast of Florida on Dec. 5, 1945, arguably the most famous aviation incident associated with the Bermuda Triangle.

Briefly on inactive status following World War II, he worked for Aero Sales in Jacksonville, Fla., and operated a private flying school. Recalled to active duty, he was a flight instructor at Pensacola Naval Air Station before being assigned to the USS Boxer (CV-21) and USS Kearsarge (CV-33) during the Korean War. From the decks of these aircraft carriers, he flew his favorite airplane, the Vought F4U Corsair. For part of this period, he served as navigator aboard the oiler USS Chickaskia (AO-54). In the 1950s, he piloted the Lockheed R7V Super Constellation for MATS (Military Air Transport Service). His transport flights from Hickam Air Force Base, Honolulu, Hawaii, took him all over the world and into Southeast Asia at the beginning of the Vietnam War.

He marked most of the 1960s with service in naval air reserve training commands at Jacksonville, Glenview, Ill., and Omaha, Neb. From 1967 to 1969, he was at the Pentagon, where he was responsible for base programs on the staff of Vice Admiral Thomas F. Connolly, USN, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Air) and namesake of the Grumman F-14 Tomcat. He retired from the U.S. Navy as a captain in 1971. He then moved to Longwood, Fla., where he worked in real estate for many years at Sweetwater Oaks and other developments. He relocated to Melbourne in 1990, settling at Indian River Colony Club. He was an outdoorsman who enjoyed fishing and hunting, and he was an avid golfer.

Burial will be Aug. 2 with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va.

As the founder of the Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Historical Association (NASFLHA), Allan McElhiney's efforts caught the attention of US Rep. Clay Shaw, R-Fort Lauderdale, who in Oct. 18, 2005 sponsored a bill in Congress (H. Resolution 500) honoring the 60th anniversary of Flight 19. Rep. Clay Shaw, member of the Ways and Means Committee was the author of the resolution.

NAS Fort Lauderdale and the Fort Lauderdale Community in 1942:

Two years after the Naval Air Station was commissioned, millions of dollars flowed from the military establishment into channels of local trade and commerce. Initial cost of constructing for the base was at $6,000,000 (six million in 1942 had the same buying power as $87,356,903.23 in 2012. Annual inflation over this period was 3.90%), much of which found its way to Fort Lauderdale. Approximately $350,000 annually went to local real estate interests in rentals from officers and men who lived "ashore." About $250,000, was spent each year in Fort Lauderdale by the station Administration for supplies and services. In addition, the total annual civilian payroll at the station, reached almost $1,000,000, most of it going to Ft. Lauderdale citizens. Although precise figures are not available, the military payroll at NASFL ran into millions yearly during the war years. Much of this money was spent in Lauderdale.

After the war, returning veterans created a population explosion in the area that dwarfed the 1920's land boom. The Naval Air Station provided an important catalyst for the growth and economic expansion of South Florida. Today, Fort Lauderdale is a major yacht and cruise ship center, one of the nation's biggest tourist destinations, and the heart of a metropolitan division of 1.8 million people.

Copyright © NAS Fort Lauderdale Museum

We were asked a great question from a reader in California, who is planning an expedition to the NE coast of Florida, in the hopes of finding Flight 19. His question was:

"What were the Navigational Problems that an Avenger flier had to solve/complete in order to graduate at the Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale?" He mentioned that he knew of Navigational Problem #1, from the excerpts at the U.S Naval Inquiry on Flight 19, but didn't know the rest of the Navigational Problems a pilot had to tackle through the aviation course at NASFL.

Here are our findings: each Ensign (cadet) became a TBM/TBF Avenger torpedo bomber pilot, when he completed the following:

1. Bombing flights.
2. Navigation flights over the water.
3. Formation flying.
4. Gunnery runs on a towed sleeve.
5. Night flying.

Flight 19 was composed of a Flight Instructor, four Naval Aviators undergoing VTB-type advanced training and nine enlisted aircrewmen who, with the exception of one, were all undergoing advanced combat aircrew training in VTB-type aircraft at NAS Fort Lauderdale.

The Overwater Navigation Problems on 5 December 1945 were the following:

NAVIGATION PROBLEM # I
091 degrees...........123 Nautical Miles (NM)
346........................73 NM
241......................120 NM

NAVIGATION PROBLEM # II
132 degrees...........123 Nautical Miles (NM)
025........................ 76 NM
281........................ 67 NM
271........................ 56 NM

NAVIGATION PROBLEM # III
074 degrees...........129 NM
140........................ 59 NM
275........................161 NM

NAVIGATION PROBLEM # IV
091 degrees........... 56 NM
063........................ 77 NM
221........................108 NM
312......................... 73 NM

Above course degrees reference to true north; above distances are in nautical miles.

Flight 19 - "Navigation Problem #1": That the organized over water navigation training flight exercise assigned to Flight 19 on 5 December 1945 was Naval Air Station, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, navigation problem No. 1 is as follows; (1) depart 26 degrees 03 minutes north and 80 degrees 07 minutes west and fly 091 degrees (T) distance 56 miles to Hen and Chickens Shoals to conduct low level bombing, after bombing continue on course 091 degrees (T) for 67 miles, (2) fly course 346 degrees (T) distance 73 miles and (3) fly course 241 degrees (T) distance 120 miles, then returning to U.S. Naval Air Station, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Click to enlarge and read descriptions.

Avenger torpedo bombers were used very effectively during World War II. They could carry either one standard torpedo or a one-ton bomb. They could operate from an airfield or from an aircraft carrier and were used effectively against enemy warships. They carried a three-man crew consisting of a pilot, a gunner, and a radioman.

Originally conceived as an adjunct to NAS Miami, The Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale (NASFL or NAS Fort Lauderdale) soon became an independent base for operations training specializing in TBM/TBF Avenger torpedo bombers, as part of the Naval Air Operational Training Command.

TBM/TBF Avenger pilot training was taught among other degrees (Radiomen, Machinist's Mates and Ordnancemen), along with radar and fire control operator training. Also the Naval Air Station Boat Facility, the Fort Lauderdale Navy Section Base, and the Fort Lauderdale Coast Guard Station located at Port Everglades were established and/or worked in conjunction with this base. These units were instrumental in providing practical target bombing practice as well as air and sea rescue operations and retrieving of torpedoes. For example, the USS Absicon was a decoy ship that served in training and the USS Asheville (both operating from Port Everglades) tested experimental weapons for the NASFL.

Training of Avenger Pilots:
An Ensign was eligible to train at this Operational Training school, until he had completed Primary, then Intermediate courses at other schools. Pilots were paired up with gunner and radioman at NAS Fort Lauderdale, and went through a 8 to 12 week training period, then they went to "action" as a team. Each week a new training squadron began, therefore there were 9 to 10 squadrons in training at a time. NAS Fort Lauderdale was their last stop before being sent to war, either to the Pacific or Atlantic campaigns.

The base also had Beechcraft SNB-1 twin engine bomber trainers, and Boeing-Stearman N2S-5 biplane trainers. The teachings and indoctrination for Avenger pilots included the following:

• Familiarizing Ensign cadets with the specialized Avenger aircraft, its technical aspect and special techniques.
  
• Ground School included instruction in navigation. Such as exercises with the Link Trainer Flight Simulator.
• Flight experience with landings and take-offs.
• After a few landings and take-offs, to fly solo.
  
  

The would be Pilot had to complete the following navigational problems, in order to graduate:

1. Bombing flights.
2. Navigation flights over the water.
3. Formation flying.
4. Gunnery runs on a towed sleeve.
5. Night flying.
   
   

Click to enlarge and read descriptions

Copyright © NAS Fort Lauderdale Museum

The Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale was still under construction when the first 16 student pilots and 17 TBM Avengers arrived at the base, in 1942. During this time, the Bachelor Officers Quarters (BOQ) had not been built yet. The Junior Officers were boarded in local hotels, mostly small family-run establishments in downtown Fort Lauderdale.

Communications Officer William J. Hopwood remembers: "At the time I arrived in October of 1942, the BOQ were not ready and they put us up in a small Hotel on Andrews Avenue, which was owned by a man and wife who were Free French refugees. We used to sit around the lobby at night, listening to the Free French short-wave broadcasts from Radio Brazzavile in French Equatorial Africa."

When the base was completed, it included an Administration Building, a Senior BOQ, Junior BOQ, a Ship's Service Building, Theater, Kitchens, Cafeteria, Service Store, Writing Room, and Recreation Hall, Barber Shop, the Sick Bay or medical Building, Radio Transmitter Building, Control Tower, Brig, Link Trainer Building, Hangar Buildings, Sewage Disposal Plant and Barracks for enlisted personnel. A vast complex of more than 200 buildings of which the majority were built of wood. Local Causeway Lumber Co. supplied most or all of the lumber. Wood floors were cut from the Florida Easter White Pine/Dade County Pine (which is extinct now in South Florida).

Upon graduation, many would stay at this base or move onto other military sites. From 1942 to 1944 the base would have trained 1,686 American and British pilots and thousands more of air-crewmen. At peak utilization in April 1945, less than six months before the war was over, there were over 200 aircraft stationed. At the end of war, the base was decommissioned October 1, 1946, exactly four years after its commissioning. The NASFL Museum is the only building remaining from that complex.

Copyright © NAS Fort Lauderdale Museum

A Navy Park in Memory of Flight 19:

In 1989, Walter Houghton, Assistant Fort Lauderdale Airport Director, noticed the efforts of Allan McElhiney and the NASFL Historical Association, and received permission to build a Navy Park on the east side of the FAA tower at the Fort Lauderdale - Hollywood International Airport. Walter found a plaque dedicated to Flight 19 designed by the Woman's Council Navy League that had been stored in a warehouse, and he had a special monument built to display it. A torpedo bomber (TBM) propeller was mounted at the top, against the background of the tower. The park was completed in the beginning of 1990. Every year on 5 December, a Memorial Ceremony is performed. It is open to the public. City Officials, Navy personnel, Veterans of wars, press and the general public attend the ceremony.

The wife and daughter of Captain Edward Powers USMC who was part of the Flight 19, arrived for the opening. After the ceremony was over, they told Walter that it was the nicest thing that had happened since the lost flight of December 5, 1945. Edward's daughter mentioned that "since my dad was lost at sea, by having this monument here, I now find true peace for the first time since he died."

Copyright © NAS Fort Lauderdale Museum

A Specialty School for the TBM/TBF Avenger Aircraft at NASFL:

The Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale was established as a specialty school to train Pilots and Aircrewmen for the Avenger torpedo-bomber airplanes. The crewmen, in addition to being gunners, were Radiomen, Machinist's Mates and Ordnancemen. A pilot and two gunners in a naval torpedo plane were the usual crew.



The station's main job was to train for aerial combat, but no airplanes would fly, torpedoes and bombs be dropped or machine guns fired if medical, supply, instructional, clerical, cleaning, maintenance, or transportation services were to break down. Efficiency would have suffered without proper food, adequate welfare and recreational facilities. Thus every member of the station's personnel, no matter what the job, was on the same team. By the end of the war, NASFL was a complex of more than 200 buildings.

Since then, the vast complex of buildings that housed the air base have been all demolished. All except for one: the Link Trainer Building #8 - our current Museum.

With the help of many volunteers, this Museum has been instrumental in preserving the memory of Flight 19 - The Lost Patrol, one of the great aviation mysteries. Flight 19 flew out of NASFL on December 5th, 1945 to vanish into the Bermuda Triangle. In addition, a 19 year old future US President George H.W. Bush lived at NASFL as a young Ensign to train as a torpedo/bomber pilot.

In 1942, the City's Chamber of Commerce recognized the need to entertain the servicemen and early efforts to enlist the aid of the USO were unsuccessful. This led to the creation of the Fort Lauderdale Service Men's Center on Las Olas Boulevard on SE 1st Avenue (building no longer exists). The large unfinished building was donated by Robert H. Gore, owner of the Fort Lauderdale News. Local businesses and citizens donated all materials and labor to complete what has been described as "the busiest and happiest place in South Florida" and "the most beautiful Service Center in the United States." More than two million servicemen and women were served here.

The embrace of the community had much to do with Broward County's growth into a major metropolitan area since many of the servicemen married local girls or returned to settle here with their new families.

Memories of Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale and Flight #44
By Lou Grab

The final weeks of training at NAS Corpus Christi were filled with great expectations. Graduation day and winning those wings of gold was just around the corner. Officer uniforms (Greens, Whites, Blues, and Khakis) had to be ordered. Orders to transfer to our next base were being prepared, and we wondered about getting the duty location each of us had requested. All of our final check flights and ground school had to be successful. Then on June 9, 1943, I became an Ensign, and received orders to operational training at Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale.

Fort Lauderdale and Flight #44 with Instructor Tex Ellison, lasted about two months. The transformation from cadet life to officer for a young 20-year old was probably like going from the minor leagues to the majors. Eating meals in a B.O.Q. (Bachelor Officer Quarters), returning salutes, learning to fly a new operational torpedo bomber, being responsible for crew men, and knowing how lucky it was being a Naval Aviator was a real high.

Tex Ellison was great. He took us from flying SNJs at Corpus Christi to flying TBFs. After being checked out in the cockpit-- Ensign in the seat and Ellison standing on the wing and having had relevant ground school information, the Ensign flew his first TBF flight solo.

​After a few landings and take-offs, the flight experiences expanded to include bombing flights over Lake Okeechobee, navigation flights over the water, formation flying, gunnery runs on a towed sleeve, and night flying. All orchestrated by Tex Ellison.

A tragedy occurred, which shocked all of us in Flight 44. We had all gone through the ground school pressure chamber to experience high altitude air and the necessary use of oxygen. Flights to 20,000 feet were a required follow-up to learn much about the different ways the Avenger flew at higher altitudes. We lost a crewman from lack of oxygen...

Ground school included instruction in navigation. This was extensive and paid off in the Pacific. Survival skill training was also emphasized. All of the things we worked on at Corpus were repeated and were related to the TBF Avenger. Navigation in a TBF-- survival as it related to the TBF, focused on carrier based operations.

The beach at Fort Lauderdale was great swimming. Water six feet deep was long ways from shore. Two months in Flight 44 went by real fast. We had to leave NASFL. From Ft. Lauderdale we had an all night train trip to Chicago and the Great Lakes Naval Air Station. First, we had field carrier landing practice. Then, we flew out to the USS Sable to make five landings in daylight. The final experience was two night landings on the Sable. After my first landing, deck crew rolled the TBF back to the stern. Then I got signals to hold brakes and go to full throttle for a take off. I attempted to take off, but found myself stopped at the bow at full throttle. The tailhook had fallen out and latched onto an arresting cable. I was lucky again. I redid the take off, made landing number two, and flew back to the NAS at Glenview.

After Glenview, one great experience after another took place. I got a leave of about two weeks, which allowed time to go home to Sacramento prior to reporting in to NAS Norfolk. At Norfolk, Air Group 51 was formed, and we learned we would be on the USS San Jacinto. The Torpedo Squadron 51 training location became NAS Chincotegue. While at Chincotegue, the squadron made trips to the Commissioning of the USS San Jacinto, and to Hyannis to drop torpedoes. Eventually, we went aboard the ship at Norfolk and sailed to Trinidad and back to Norfolk on a shake down cruise.

From Norfolk, it was a ready ship and air group which sailed through the Canal, up to San Diego, and on out to Pearl Harbor and the Pacific Theatre. So many people invested themselves in the war effort, in hundreds of meaningful ways. I was lucky to do it my way.

Lou Grab
VT-51

Jack Cawley, AMC 2nd class
NASFL Wing Shop Aviation Metalsmith