Salvage Sailor Posted February 17, 2020 Share #1 Posted February 17, 2020 Aloha Everyone, During the early days of WWII, Mc Kinnon field in Georgia on St. Simons Island was a base for the CAP searching for German U-Boats along the Atlantic coastline. Caption: Sam Baker, third from right, and the Coastal Patrol Unit 6 of the Civil Air Patrol finish their patrol for the day at McKinnon Field during World War II. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salvage Sailor Posted February 17, 2020 Author Share #2 Posted February 17, 2020 Obtained by the U.S. Navy in July 1942, the airport was renamed NAS St. Simons and housed the Navy Radar Training School for members of the Navy, Army and Marines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salvage Sailor Posted February 17, 2020 Author Share #3 Posted February 17, 2020 The Radar School at the Naval Air Station was housed in the King and Prince Hotel at St. Simons, now as it was then, a popular resort in Georgia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salvage Sailor Posted February 17, 2020 Author Share #4 Posted February 17, 2020 At the end of the war, records showed that 440 officers, 595 enlisted personnel, 535 students and 131 civilian employees were assigned to the base. A contingent of German prisoners of war ran the commissary, preparing meals for base personnel. Being along the shoreline, NAS St Simons maintained a chase boat (shown below) to achieve a quick rescue if a pilot crashed into the ocean. The powerful Packard engine made the boat an extremely fast mode of reaching downed pilots. (Photo from RALPH BUFKIN 1943-45) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salvage Sailor Posted February 17, 2020 Author Share #5 Posted February 17, 2020 The photos and information I've posted above came from sources on websites, museums, and the net. And here's the photograph I've saved from obscurity which has been unidentified in my collection for many years. The Crash Boat Crew - April 30th, 1944 - taken on the King & Prince Hotel pier, Naval Air Station St. Simons, GA, standing beside their boat (note the navy jack in the lower right corner) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salvage Sailor Posted February 17, 2020 Author Share #6 Posted February 17, 2020 Rescue Boat Crew, Naval Air Station St. Simons GA 1944 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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