It wasn’t until 2006 that I learned about Camp Gordon and Naval Air Station Atlanta. Growing up in DeKalb County, I knew about DeKalb Peachtree Airport but never realized all the history of that location before the airport.
To read about the history of WWI encampment Camp Gordon of Chamblee, follow this link to find twelve (as of February 2022) blog posts on the subject. When I discovered my own grandfather was stationed there, I began a deep dive on Camp Gordon which I’m sure will continue.
After World War I ended, the temporary encampment of Camp Gordon was dismantled and the land sold at auction. DeKalb County bought 300 acres for a future airport. According to Naval Air Station Atlanta “Tattoo” magazine, DeKalb County graded runways in October of 1940. They also constructed the West and East County Hangars. Later that year, Naval personnel came from around the country including the Georgia Tech Naval Reserve Unit.
The Navy chose the Chamblee site for a Naval Aviation Reserve Base and issued contracts for three million dollars in construction. Fifty permanent buildings, two hangars and three runways were planned. The base was commissioned by Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox on March 22, 1941. The large buildings were designed by Robert & Co. and constructed by Mion Construction Co. over three and a half years.
The first class of Primary students began training five months after the base was commissioned.
Naval Air Station Atlanta at Christmas time, photo from Tattoo Magazine
An Atlanta Constitution article published in September of 1942 announced the first Link flight trainer school with women instructors at Naval Air Station Atlanta. The women would be teaching navy pilots blind flying using the Link trainer machine.
This Link trainer was photographed in Washington D. C., but is the same type used at Naval Air Station Atlanta.
Naval Aviation Reserve Base changed to U. S. Naval Air Station in January of 1943. This meant the addition of training in the areas of control tower, operators school, air navigation radio, operations officers training, and instrument flight instructors school.
In early 1943, 500 WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) were brought to Atlanta, first training downtown and staying at the Biltmore Hotel while barracks were built to house them at Naval Air Station Atlanta. Women Link Trainer instructors taught the WAVES, who in turn went across the country to train at other naval air bases.
Naval Air Station Atlanta continued to be utilized after World War II ended, as home to the Weekend Warriors. Their primary mission was to organize and train Naval and Marine Air Reservists for our nation’s defense.
Nick Nickodemus wrote me in 2006 to say that he was in a Naval Reserve Unit at Naval Air Station Atlanta in 1957. He and his friend James “Buck” Tucker were just finishing up college and attended weekly meetings at the station. He recalled that this was during the time it became apparent the runways were not quite long enough for the jets. One night he arrived to find a jet stuck in the kudzu at the end of the runway.
Following World War II, Naval Air Station Atlanta trained Naval Marine Air Reservists and continued through the Korean War and up until 1959. That year, as longer runways were needed, Naval Air Station Atlanta moved to Dobbins Air Force Base in Marietta, Cobb County. Prior to the move, some of the buildings of NASA were used by Southern Technical Institute as classrooms and dormitories.
Historical markers recall the prior history of the location and the administration building was part of Naval Air Station Atlanta. A small restaurant and viewing area allows visitors to watch the planes of today take off and land. There is also a children’s playground.