NAS Alameda Naval Air Station Massive Abandoned Hanger Urbex Offlimits

Exploring a massive Naval Air Station Hanger. Closed in 1997. We found parts of an old navy plane, a giant drill press and even a big two room apollo film camera and other items scattered around. for more history read below. Thanks for watching, Subscribe for more!

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1927, wetlands at the west end of Alameda Island on the east shore of San Francisco Bay were filled to form an airport (Alameda Airport) with an east–west runway, three hangars, an administration building, and a yacht harbor. The airport site included the Alameda Terminal of the First Transcontinental Railroad (California Historical Landmark # 440). By 1930, United States Army Air Corps operations referred to the site as Benton Field. Pan American World Airways used the yacht harbor as the California terminal for China Clipper trans-Pacific flights beginning in 1935. The China Clipper terminal is designated California Historical Landmark # 968.

On 1 June 1936, the city of Alameda, California ceded the airport to the United States government a few months before the Army discontinued operations from the field. Pan American World Airways shifted its terminal to Treasure Island in 1939 for the Golden Gate International Exposition. Congressional appropriations passed in 1938 for construction of naval air station facilities for two carrier air wings, five seaplane squadrons and two utility squadrons. Appropriations were increased in 1940 for construction of two seaplane hangars and an aircraft carrier berthing pier. Naval operations began on 1 November 1940. – 1997 Fleet Air Wing 8 began patrol and scouting missions following the attack on Pearl Harbor. In April 1942, USS Hornet loaded at Alameda the 16 B-25 aircraft that would take part in the Doolittle Raid on Japan. From August through December 1944, US President Richard Nixon was assigned to Fleet Air Wing 8 at Naval Air Station Alameda, California.

Air support training unit No. 2 at Alameda included the fleet radar operator's school, Link celestial navigation trainer school, and aviation storekeeper school. As World War II continued, Alameda became headquarters for a system of auxiliary airfields.

Alameda remained an important naval base through the Cold War. From 1949 to 1953, the Navy based the Lockheed R6V Constitution—the largest airplane ever listed on the Navy inventory—at NAS Alameda. The two prototypes regularly flew between nearby NAS Moffett Field and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.During the Vietnam War portion of the Cold War and its later post-Vietnam era, the base was homeport to the aircraft carriers Coral Sea, Hancock, Oriskany, Enterprise, Ranger, and Carl Vinson. NAS Alameda also housed a major aircraft overhaul facility employing thousand of civilian employees that was known as Naval Air Rework Facility (NARF) Alameda and later renamed Naval Aviation Depot (NADEP) Alameda.

The base was also the focus for northern California Naval Air Reserve operations after 1961, hosting various Reserve Force Squadrons attached to Carrier Air Wing Reserve 30 (CVWR-30), also known as CAG-30, equipped with aircraft such as the KA-3 Skywarrior...later replaced by the A-6 Intruder, and the A-4 Skyhawk...later replaced by A-7 Corsair II. Other Naval Air Reserve Force Squadrons external to CVWR-30 flew the Sikorsky H-34 Sea Horse...later replaced by the SH-3 Sea King, the CH-53 Sea Stallion, and MH-53E Sea Dragon. Another land-based squadron under Fleet Logistics Support Wing flew the C-9 Skytrain II. In the 1960s, a Naval Air Reserve unit also flew the P-2 Neptune before relocating to nearby NAS Moffett Field, transitioning to the P-3 Orion, and being established as Reserve patrol squadron in 1970. Runways were lengthened for jet aircraft, and the airfield was renamed Nimitz Field in 1967 following the death of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz.

The base was closed in 1997 pursuant to Base Realignment and Closure action. Its runways were also closed and the airfield was not reutilized as a civilian airport.

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[JohnShinn]

"Badass effin binder full of these little slides" 😆 4:38
Another good one Offlimits!
👍👍👍
Couldn't find the "El Toro" vid.
Maybe you can provide a link?
Scratch Bandit on the head for me! 😺

[joachimgoethe]

Was stationed at NAS Alameda in the early 80's lots of memories.
Sad to see it abandoned and delapitated. When an aircraft carrier returned from a 9 month deployment the first night back was wild in all the bars on Webster ave.
That was 40 years ago. I was 21.
Memories. . .

[mechshanewman]

U should have seen this place back in the day before the Navy was removed from the entire west coast completely, it was so amazing and crazy with EVERYTHING up and running on daily basis. It was a complete city literally inside of a city. The commissary, grocery store, the enlisted men's club and officers club, etc. It was truely a great special place, many memories created there for sure.

[markellegood]

NARF, Naval Air Rework Facility employed thousands of civilians that overhauled or reworked the planes. This is called Depot level maintenance. I worked down the street from 80-82 as an aircraft electrician, AE at the intermediate maintenance, AIMD which was made up of a mixture of navy and civilians but more so navy. I knew a few that got jobs there after their enlistment was up. Thanks for sharing.

[jakem]

I explored the hell out of Alameda and Mare Island right after they were closed in the late 90s. Amazing place! USS Hornet had a lot more open to see back then, most of it is behind plexiglass now.

[geemanone]

That section of aircraft with bureau number 142200 comes up as the same A4 Skyhawk that is the gate guard for NAS Alameda. It was knocked off the pylon and damaged by high winds in 2008. It was incorrectly painted VMF-133 with the wrong colors and bureau number. It was again damaged this time by the crane when attempting to mount back on the pylon. Finally repaired and painted in VA-113 colors and mounted back in place.

[MrFatcat]

That is an old Navy A-4 Skyhawk tail section and the VA-113 is for Strike Fighter Squadron VA-113 "The Stingers" that hanger if I'm not mistaken is the former jet engine repair hanger.

[jimjensen]

I was stationed at NAS Alameda 1973-1976. I worked in building 8, it was a supply building but we had a small section in the building where we had a communications center. Last time I was there, several years ago, I went to building 8 but it was all locked up and I couldn't find a way in. Would have liked to see inside. Don't remember much more, too many years and too many beers....

[rmdunsmore]

I used to rework bomb racks and machine gun parts back in the early 70s as a summer job. Many memories.

[steambros]

I’ve been in that building so much it’s good to see someone making videos of it before they tear it down

[henryjohnson]

The part of the airframe is now covered in graffiti unfortunate…

[joenop]

Love seeing these types of the history that was there and all the people that worked there are no longer there or possibly alive. Its cool!

[lanikajohnson]

I remember being there as a child. Very interesting place to say the least. My step dad was in the navy and my grandfather use to shine shoes in front of the exchange… a lot went on there. I still go there from time to time… so crazy to see something that was once filled with people to be basically deserted … me and my cousin use to ride our bikes all throughout there and seen a lot as children. Probably some things we shouldn’t have….

[pollito]

When me and my friends were there sec came inside and we hadn’t run out😭😭, hella security there

[jakem]

The "drill press" was a fixture to load test aircraft jacks.

[gtc]

Those plane parts are, I think, from and A-7 Corsair. I think the camera was actually an X-ray machine to look for microscopic cracks in aircraft parts.

[billjames]

You need to find the ENGINE TEST CELL. Piston and turbine testing of rebuilt aircraft engines. Us ship board guys would watch thru a window on the street side and watch the techs try and break them before flight. Also go find the the plaque for the start of the transcontinental rail road. I thinks its on pier #3 more than half way down .

[sherwoodski]

I have visited NAS many times since it's been deserted. Just drove around and checked things out. In the early 70's on big family vacation my dad got us on the base with his Anchorage International Airport maintenance ID card. We wanted to see all the aircraft carriers that were in the port. It was pretty funny when the base security checked his ID, they said "government issued official business ID looks good go ahead on baser. I was 11 and nothing on that whole trip was more fun or funnier than that day. We checked out the carriers and then got the hell out of there. Later when my dad went to get the film developed of the pictures he took the pictures never made it back. Either the CIA, NSA, or commies must of got the film. Mysteries.

[thecaptain]

That was all shut down in 1992, that area was used to test GE TF34 engines during the gulf war.

[ProjectSAFD]

That VA 113 navy plane is so cool at 1:20
And that huge drill at 2:00 😲