Naval Air Station Corpus Christi

History

The official step leading to the construction of the Naval Air Station was initiated by the 75th Congress in 1938. A board found that a lack of training facilities capable of meeting an emergency demand for pilots constituted a grave situation. They recommended the establishment of a second air training station, and further, that it be located on Corpus Christi Bay. NAS Corpus Christi was commissioned by its first skipper, Captain Alva Berhard, on March 12, 1941. The first flight training started on May 5, 1941.

In 1941, 800 instructors provided training for more than 300 cadets a month. The training rate nearly doubled after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. By the end of World War II, more than 35,000 aviators had earned their wings here. Corpus Christi was the only primary, basic and advanced training facility in existence in the United States. At one time it was the largest pilot training facility in the world. Former President George H.W. Bush was in the third graduating class, June 1943, and the youngest cadet ever to graduate.

Today, the training program is much longer, approximately 18 months, due to the increased complexity of today's aircraft. Currently, Training Air Wing FOUR produces approximately 400 newly qualified aviators each year.

As of 2005, NAS Corpus Christi is commanded by Captain Paula H. Hinger.

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