It's important to note that, "Chambers Field" only refers to the geographical area of the airport runway, taxiways, two heliports and six helipads.

The aircraft, all seaplanes, were flown across the James River and moored to stakes in the water until canvas hangars were constructed.

The new location offered sheltered water in an ice-free harbor, perfect for seaplane landings, good anchorage on the beach front, accessibility to supplies from Naval Station Norfolk and room for expansion.

In recognition of its importance, on August 27, 1918, the detachment became NAS Hampton Roads, a separate station under its own commanding officer, Lt. Cmdr.

As World War I came to an end, the former NAS Hampton Roads saw erratic growth, growing to nearly 167 officers, 1,227 enlisted men and 65 planes.

After the 1929 stock market crash and the onset of the Great Depression, President Herbert Hoover favored more naval limitation through international conferences, but the air operations in Norfolk continued.

The air station developed an arresting device to train pilots for deck landings aboard the fleet's first aircraft carrier, USS Langley.

In an effort similar to base closure struggles the military has today, civilian employees of the Assembly and Repair Department (forerunner of the former Naval Air Depot) joined the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce in successfully fighting the planned suspension of aircraft overhaul work.

Reverting to its experimental roots, development and testing of catapult and arresting gear systems took the highest priority at the Air Station.

The commissioning of the aircraft carriers Ranger, Yorktown, Wasp, and Hornet increased the tempo of routine training in navigation, gunnery and aerial bombing as new air wings formed prior to World War II.

During World War II, the Naval Air Station had a direct combat support role in the area of anti-submarine patrols.

[3] After war was formally declared following Pearl Harbor, Germany began a U-boat offensive, "Operation Drumbeat", against shipping along the Atlantic coast.

However, NAS Norfolk's biggest contribution to the winning of World War II was in the training it provided to a wide variety of allied naval air units.

This changed on January 1, 1943 with the creation of Commander, Air Force Atlantic Fleet appointment, in which Rear Admiral Alva D. Bernhard was the first incumbent.

[4] The former NAS commanding officer was tasked with providing administrative, material and logistic support for Atlantic Fleet aviation units.

AIRLANT also furnished combat-ready carrier air groups, patrol squadrons and battleship and cruiser aviation units for both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets.

The aerial free gunnery training unit was originally located at Breezy Point, but moved to Dam Neck in 1943 to be able to carry out range work without restricting airspace.

The Hepburn Board had made recommendations to Congress earlier in the year that would also double the size and workload of the station.

Since Chambers and West Fields were encroaching on the activities of the former Naval Operating Base, it was decided to expand to the east.

On June 29 of that year, a contract was signed with the Virginia Engineering Company of Newport News for the expansion of the station.

Bellinger insisted that as many structures as possible be permanent ones, as the air station was still largely composed of temporary hangars and workshops left over from World War I.

Women, who had been employed only as seamstress for wing and fuselage fabric, began working in A&R machine shops as labor shortages became acute.

By war's end, assembly and repair had developed into a Class "A" industrial plant with peak employment of 3,561 civilians and 4,852 military workers.

This influx of people was an instance of history repeating itself, as the station also welcomed evacuees during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.