Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove

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NAS JRB Willow Grove
NAS Willow Grove in the 1940s
IATA: NXX – ICAO: KNXX – FAA: NXX
Summary
Airport type		Military: Naval Air Station
Owner		United States Navy
Location		Willow Grove / Horsham, Pennsylvania
Built		1928
Commander		Capt. Michael S. Remington
Elevation AMSL		358 ft / 109 m
Coordinates		40°11′59″N 075°08′53″W / 40.19972, -75.14806
Website		www.cnrma.navy.mil/NASJRBWG/
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	ft	m	Surface
15/33	8,002	2,439	PEM
Sources: official web site^[1] and FAA^[2]

Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove or NASJRB Willow Grove (IATA: NXX, ICAO: KNXX, FAA LID: NXX) is a Naval Air Station owned by the U.S. Navy and located four miles (6 km) northwest of the central business district of Willow Grove, in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States.^[2]

It began in 1926 when Harold Frederick Pitcairn constructed a hangar and a grass airstrip in Horsham, Pennsylvania. It is known as "Willow Grove" because that was the closest town at the time the base was constructed. At the time, Horsham was merely a rural township with little significance rather than the large, sprawling suburban township it has now become. From 1926 to 1942 he used the airfield for design, development, construction and testing of a number of aircraft, including the Mailwing which was put into use by the United States Postal Service.

After the start of World War II, the United States purchased the grounds, and launched a classified anti-submarine warfare program at the base. Following the war it became a reserve training station, a duty it continues to this day. As part of its joint recruitment efforts, the base is an annual host to one of the largest airshows on the East Coast.

Today Willow Grove is home to the 111th Fighter Wing, 270th EIS, Marine Aircraft Group 49, and Navy Fleet Logistic Squadrons 52 and 64. Willow Grove is also home to The Liberty Bell Squadron a squadron in The United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps.

[edit] Base Realignment and Closure

On May 28, 2006, the Base Realignment and Closure commission recommended that this base be closed. This may be subject to change by the President of the United States and the United States Congress.

On Feb. 29, 2008, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania released a report detailing a plan for a joint interagency installation. The installation's mission will be national defense, homeland security and emergency preparedness. Gov. Ed Rendell is expected to make a decision on the amount of the existing Navy base the state will seek for the installation in the spring of 2008.

NAS JRB Willow Grove will continue supporting its mission through 2010 and final closure will occur by the end of September 2011.^[3]