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NAS Alameda
- Thread starter Fly Navy
- Start date
Back in my Moffett Field days (mid to late 1980s), it was a big training center. Lots of different schools from 1 day BS ones to A schools. There was also a NADEP (they did P-3s among others) and a bunch ships homeported there (including CVNs & CGNs...nuclear wessels....).
I'm not sure other than my Grand Mothers Brother flew some type of plane out of there. I have been there quite a few times as a kid (as its about 35 minutes from my first 18 years of existance). Its such an amazing piece of land as far as location and view. Its too bad they closed it and havent done anything with it since. I suppose it will go the way the (now local for me) El Toro MCAS went, into houses and a token park?
Before Lemoore, before Miramar (WOXOF, anyway) .... there was Alameda. 
Alameda used to have everything ... literally .... carriers, surface ships, air wings, props, jets, helos, seaplanes, Pam American Clippers, misc. Navy and Marine squadrons .... NARF, AIMD, you name it, Alameda had it. During my tenure on active duty, Alameda usually served as home port for the "older decks", such as Oriskany, Hancock, Midway, and Coral Sea. The newer decks homeported in San Diego. The multiengine stuff usually went to Moffett for basing, but all the Air Wings liked Alameda.
It operated from the middle '30's until @ 1993 when it closed as part of the BRAC massacre of the Bay area and a payback of sorts for Congressman "Red" Ron Dellums and his lefty constituents in East Bay and Oakland --- there were many, many good jobs lost amongst his voting constituency. Taken as a whole, with NAS, the shipyards, and NARF together Alameda constituted a big, big facility.
As takeoff was frequently to the NW, you always were more than a little concerned about that Oakland Bay Bridge a couple of miles ahead off your nose when you came off the runway. Whales and other assorted multiengined aircraft used to sweat loosing an engine on a heavy takeoff and staring at that bridge as they struggled for altitude and tried to make the left turn on a hot day .... or any day, for that matter.
Here (above) is a typical 60's-70's pix of NAS and the carrier piers. The view is looking NW toward the Oakland bridge and Treasure Island --- T.I. being another terminal for the Pan Am Clippers as well as a large Naval training center. Below is a good color rendition of the area looking to the west with SanFran in the background. Carrier pier is at the extreme lower left in this pix, for orientation. Sorry about the large size ... but it's better for detail in this instance.
Alameda used to have everything ... literally .... carriers, surface ships, air wings, props, jets, helos, seaplanes, Pam American Clippers, misc. Navy and Marine squadrons .... NARF, AIMD, you name it, Alameda had it. During my tenure on active duty, Alameda usually served as home port for the "older decks", such as Oriskany, Hancock, Midway, and Coral Sea. The newer decks homeported in San Diego. The multiengine stuff usually went to Moffett for basing, but all the Air Wings liked Alameda.
It operated from the middle '30's until @ 1993 when it closed as part of the BRAC massacre of the Bay area and a payback of sorts for Congressman "Red" Ron Dellums and his lefty constituents in East Bay and Oakland --- there were many, many good jobs lost amongst his voting constituency. Taken as a whole, with NAS, the shipyards, and NARF together Alameda constituted a big, big facility.
As takeoff was frequently to the NW, you always were more than a little concerned about that Oakland Bay Bridge a couple of miles ahead off your nose when you came off the runway. Whales and other assorted multiengined aircraft used to sweat loosing an engine on a heavy takeoff and staring at that bridge as they struggled for altitude and tried to make the left turn on a hot day .... or any day, for that matter.
Here (above) is a typical 60's-70's pix of NAS and the carrier piers. The view is looking NW toward the Oakland bridge and Treasure Island --- T.I. being another terminal for the Pan Am Clippers as well as a large Naval training center. Below is a good color rendition of the area looking to the west with SanFran in the background. Carrier pier is at the extreme lower left in this pix, for orientation. Sorry about the large size ... but it's better for detail in this instance.
JetJunkie said:
I assume you are being facetious. MCAS El Toro stinks ... literally.
The Bay area, in the Alameda time frame actually liked the Navy. And the Navy liked the Bay area ...
I used to live on base Alameda as a kid for 3 yrs. It was really cool seeing a carrier for the 1st time. My dad was on the Abe, which I believe was homeport there. I had a couple classmates whose dads were Tomcat drivers. One of them was actually a pilot used in Top Gun. Sorry, tangent. Anyways, I was visiting the Bay last summer. The base is still there, but not like I remembered. What's a nicer word for "the ghetto?" 
Alameda
I flew the last of the Prowler PMFC's out of the NADEP there in 93. They didn't have a qualed ECMO and I was on the staff at NAR Whidbey with limited front seat time available to me at 129 or 309. I'd go down for a week and get maybe two or three flights in then deliver the jet to either Cherry Point or NUW. These jets were the one's that had put into the "too hard" category for some time so many had not flown in years. You wouldn’t even put gear on for the pre-flights that could take two hours. You’d go out an every hinged panel would be open and you’d go over everything with the maint checklist in your hand. They’d fix the stuff you’d find and then come out and do it again, in fact sometimes you’d do it two or three times!
Departure was great, right at the Bay Bridge, but the earthquake in 91 had put some serious dips in the runway and as you approached rotation (about 145 IIRC) it was getting to be some serious “wave” effects. We’d head out offshore to the warning area and do the checks (just offshore of the Al Gore + Ice Tea Buddha temple) then come back on a VFR arrival that brought you home just over the Golden Gate bridge then 1000 feet over Alacatraz to a tight initial to avoid the commercial airport traffic for the carrier break. It was not unusual to come back and find a lot of serious paint peeling all over the jet. Apparently the environmental regulations in CA required a very different formula of paint than elsewhere and it just didn’t stick well.
I flew the last of the Prowler PMFC's out of the NADEP there in 93. They didn't have a qualed ECMO and I was on the staff at NAR Whidbey with limited front seat time available to me at 129 or 309. I'd go down for a week and get maybe two or three flights in then deliver the jet to either Cherry Point or NUW. These jets were the one's that had put into the "too hard" category for some time so many had not flown in years. You wouldn’t even put gear on for the pre-flights that could take two hours. You’d go out an every hinged panel would be open and you’d go over everything with the maint checklist in your hand. They’d fix the stuff you’d find and then come out and do it again, in fact sometimes you’d do it two or three times!
Departure was great, right at the Bay Bridge, but the earthquake in 91 had put some serious dips in the runway and as you approached rotation (about 145 IIRC) it was getting to be some serious “wave” effects. We’d head out offshore to the warning area and do the checks (just offshore of the Al Gore + Ice Tea Buddha temple) then come back on a VFR arrival that brought you home just over the Golden Gate bridge then 1000 feet over Alacatraz to a tight initial to avoid the commercial airport traffic for the carrier break. It was not unusual to come back and find a lot of serious paint peeling all over the jet. Apparently the environmental regulations in CA required a very different formula of paint than elsewhere and it just didn’t stick well.
MIDNAdmiral
Registered User
I was out there on a merchant ship last summer. The ship pulled in for containers at a pier in the channel on the right side of A4s picture. If you look you can see some merchant ships there in the picture. I was wondering what was there, or rather, what used to be there. Looks pretty desolate, and the area around there looked pretty rough as Fezz said.
Watch much TV?
They use Alameda a lot for stunts that require a lot of room. The steam cannon, crashed semis, etc. if you watch the show.
Also, if you look at the two lines on the right-hand side of the recent picture . . .those are highlighted on Google Earth and are the freeway from Matrix Reloaded. They built it from scratch in order to shoot the scene without shutting down traffic on a real one.
So apparently the entertainment industry has gotten some use out of it . . .
Edit: Was wondering if the saltier types could enlighten one too young to remember on just why Congressman Dellums and the bay are pi**ed off the BRAC commission enough to lose a bunch of bases . . .
NAF Alameda
Actually as I remember it, it was a NARF (Rework Facility) in the last years of operations. I remember going there once to pick up some spares for our cripled P-3 which was down at NAS Moffet Field.
Found something on the I-net;
The Naval Air Rework Facility (NARF) Alameda was a professional organization dedicated to the technology demands of maintaining the fleet in readiness. NARF Alameda was the largest industry in the East Bay area and was proud of it's reputation. At it's peak in 1945, there were over 9,500 civilian employees.
The number of fleet aircraft had increased a thousand fold since World War II. Additionally, Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) had moved more and more into the arena. From the bottom of the sea to the cold vacuum of outer space, the responsibiity for the defense of the West became a herculean effort. NARF Alameda kept our resources in ready condition.
In time, the NARF workload became even more focused on Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) operational readiness. The facility reduced the time that vital ASW aircraft engines and related systems were out of action for required rework. Eventually, ASW would comprise more than half of NARF Alameda's workload. The rest of the workload was broken down as follows:
One third - Repair and rework of A3 "Skywarrior", A6 "Intruder", S3 "Viking" and P3 "Orion aircraft.
One tenth - Repair and rework of J52, 501K, T56 and TF34 aircraft engines.
One third - Repair and rework of aircraft components, avionics systems and engine accessories.
One twentieth - Repair and rework of Sparrow, Phoenix and Shrike missiles.
NARF Alameda employed 237 separate trades which were capable of manufacturing any needed aircraft part. Specialized facilties, within the complex, were a foundry, pattern shop, plating shop, parachute loft, clean rooms and machine shops. Extensive paint stripping, paint shops, and weapons testing areas were also available.
These capabilities were deveoped early in World War II and strengthened over three suceeding decades and three generations of workers. NARF Alameda was noted for it's "can-do" spirit and it's production record was respected by the fleet which placed safety of flight above all else. NARF Alameda was proud of it's products.
The Naval Air Rework Facility (NARF) Alameda was closed in 1997 as directed by the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Act of 1990.
Actually as I remember it, it was a NARF (Rework Facility) in the last years of operations. I remember going there once to pick up some spares for our cripled P-3 which was down at NAS Moffet Field.
Found something on the I-net;
The Naval Air Rework Facility (NARF) Alameda was a professional organization dedicated to the technology demands of maintaining the fleet in readiness. NARF Alameda was the largest industry in the East Bay area and was proud of it's reputation. At it's peak in 1945, there were over 9,500 civilian employees.
The number of fleet aircraft had increased a thousand fold since World War II. Additionally, Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) had moved more and more into the arena. From the bottom of the sea to the cold vacuum of outer space, the responsibiity for the defense of the West became a herculean effort. NARF Alameda kept our resources in ready condition.
In time, the NARF workload became even more focused on Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) operational readiness. The facility reduced the time that vital ASW aircraft engines and related systems were out of action for required rework. Eventually, ASW would comprise more than half of NARF Alameda's workload. The rest of the workload was broken down as follows:
One third - Repair and rework of A3 "Skywarrior", A6 "Intruder", S3 "Viking" and P3 "Orion aircraft.
One tenth - Repair and rework of J52, 501K, T56 and TF34 aircraft engines.
One third - Repair and rework of aircraft components, avionics systems and engine accessories.
One twentieth - Repair and rework of Sparrow, Phoenix and Shrike missiles.
NARF Alameda employed 237 separate trades which were capable of manufacturing any needed aircraft part. Specialized facilties, within the complex, were a foundry, pattern shop, plating shop, parachute loft, clean rooms and machine shops. Extensive paint stripping, paint shops, and weapons testing areas were also available.
These capabilities were deveoped early in World War II and strengthened over three suceeding decades and three generations of workers. NARF Alameda was noted for it's "can-do" spirit and it's production record was respected by the fleet which placed safety of flight above all else. NARF Alameda was proud of it's products.
The Naval Air Rework Facility (NARF) Alameda was closed in 1997 as directed by the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Act of 1990.
Attachments
After a short stint in the USMC, where he evidently developed a hatred for all things U.S. and U.S. military in particular .... a short list follows:
.... Always a "player" in East Bay and Berkley politics for his entire life, the well left of center (far left?), never met a weapons system he liked, never liked much about the U.S. military in any case, loved and admired Maurice Bishop almost as much as Fidel (taken from his chief of staff's letter to Bishop -- which was captured by USMC in Grenada -- the letter) , 100% voter rating from the Sierra Club, the ANC, the AFL-CIO, and the Sandanistas ... you name it --- if it was left/pink/"red" .... "Red" Ron Dellums was there to kiss it, hold it, hug it, and call it his own ....
He was also the subject of a couple of ethics and drug investigations that were dropped for insufficient 'evidence'.
He quit (?) during his last House term as CA's 9th District Representative after he lost his mojo when the Republicans took over the House in 1994. "Red" Ron is now set to become Oakland's next mayor with the term-limit retirement of Jerry "Moonbeam" Brown after the votes for Ronald Reagan and Homer Simpson were factored out.Oakland .... Brown ... Dellums ..... some people just always seem to get what's comin' to them, don't they ???
And since Fidel can't run for office in Oakland .... why not "Red" Ron ???
