TBM aircraft at Naval Air Station; the smokestack, in the distance, to the right, is the
only thing that currently remains of the NAS, it now stands on UNO's campus.
Stearman aircraft over New Orleans
Stearman aircraft over the Naval Air Station
Members of the Naval Air Station Staff:  Michael's father, Bob Cosgrove is 8th from left, in
the first standing row; next to him, 7th from left, is Winston Walker; #1 in the last row is
William Grieve; 1941.
~  ~  ~
The city donated 182 acres along the shore of Lake Pontchartrain and, in 1941, the New
Orleans Naval Air Reserve Base was commissioned.  The base was rededicated as a Naval
Air Station in 1943.  Eventually, as jets came on the scene, the short runways at the NAS
became a problem.  Also, due to heavy residential growth in the area, the city had begun
to close in around the station; and the University of New Orleans was building "next door"
to the base.  For those reasons, it was decommissioned in 1957 and New Orleans Air
Station Joint Reserve Base, Alvin Callender Field, located across the river in Belle
Chasse, was commissioned in 1958.  The UNO campus has taken in all of the area which
used to be occupied by the Naval Air Station.
Naval Air Station from above
Naval Air Station; Pontchartrain Beach and the Consolidated Aircraft factory on Franklin
Avenue can be seen in this photo.
Naval Air Station
Lakefront, New Orleans, 1940's
The photos on this page are thanks to Michael Cosgrove (a former classmate of
mine at Henry W. Allen Elementary School on Loyola Avenue).  Michael's Dad was
on the staff at the Naval Air Station.  These photos, taken in the 1940's, are all
excellent.  Not only New Orleanians, but I'm sure anyone with an interest in WWII
aviation will find them very interesting.
Personnel from the Naval Air Station enjoy an outing in CIty Park, 1944.
This photo is courtesy of Infrogmation at Wikimedia Commons.