About Glynco

The airport a few miles north of Brunswick, Georgia, is now Brunswick Golden Isles Airport, a regional airport, and since 1975 home to the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center.

NAS Glynco once housed Fleet Airship Wing One, Squadron ZP-15 with eight airships in its two gigantic hangers, each 1,000 feet long, 300 feet wide and 200 feet tall (able to hold six football fields). They were demolished in 1971 but you can still see their outlines in aerial photos.

NATTC Glynco's primary mission was Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) training.

Here's an overall view of the base today.




39 comments:

Jim Ward said...

Is there any group blog or whatever of Navy or Marines that were stationed there? I was there from '72 - '75.

Bob Johnson said...

I posted a Glynco group on NavyVets web page but there have not been any members joining so far. I was at Glynco for A school Oct 68-April 60', then back again for GCA May-Sept 70'

O said...

I was at Glynco for ATC A school from Feb-July 1970
Oscar

O said...

From Glynco I was stationed at Alameda NAS from 1970-1973. Any AC's stationed there at that time?
O

fultonhpmlls said...

I was stationed at Glynco from 1963 to 1965 and was assined to the aircraft crass crew. I Liked Glynco and Brunswick very much.

Gunny said...

I was a USMC Sgt. stationed there from 01-71 until 06-71. My family & I lived on St. Simons Island while I attended the MATCU Maint. course. I left there as a 5953 GCA Maint. Tech., and was transferred to MCAS(H) New River, NC.

I enjoyed my tour there.

Lee Hall

Anonymous said...

I was stationed there from 1961 / 1964 i worked on the constallations had a great time while stationed there.
D C Rhoads

Bill said...

I was stationed at NAS Glynco from early 1967 to August,1969; an AME working in the Egress shop for most of my tour. Lived in the barracks most of my tour but lived on St. Simons for awhile. Rode a Triumph Bonnevile, was a member of the Aero Club and just really enjoyed that area to the fullest.

Unknown said...

NAS Glynco - I was stationed there from Dec 1958 to Mar 1961. I spent the first year in the crash crew and the rest of the time as an air traffic controler in the tower. Someone online had pictures taken in the 70's and it had not changed a bit. Even inside the barracks looked the same.
Paul Lapense

Tom Clawson said...

I attended AC and GCA schools in the early 60's at Glynco. I took some flying lessons from a LTCDR in a Piper J3 and found out he was drunk every time we went up. Also I had my first experience with racism on Jekyll Island. That was an eye opener for a Northeastern white boy. Stationed Point Mugu, Atsugi and USS Ranger. Out to FAA in 1968

jentra said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

I was stationed at Glynco Dec. 69 - Oct. 72 as a Marine. I was an instructor at ATC A and GCA C schools. I lived on Jekyll Island, a trailer park on Hwy 17, and the Marine barracks. I really loved that duty and miss it.

Ken Hayes said...

I was stationed at Glynco from 1958 thru 1960. I was attached to NATTC and flew as an AT on 143221 (WV-2).
We were the ops and maint crews for
the school on the WV-2s. Got in over 900 hours in 221, mostly over the Atlantic. I really enjoyed Brunswick and my job. I was there while the Blimp squadrons were still active and in 1959 they were decommissioned and flown to Lake Hurst N.J. They were a beautiful sight to see both landing and taking off. Many fond memories.

jentra said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

I went to ACA School at NAS Glynco in 66. Here's a FB Group - "Marine Air Traffic Controllers Association" (MATCA)

http://www.facebook.com/#!/?sk=nf


Pat Vaughan, USMC 6711 1965-69

T. Kelley said...

I was a PN2-PN1 2612 in the Admin bldg. I had to reclassify the ACA dropouts. There from 71-74. Even married one of the
local "crackers".

zeke said...

I was stationed there as a trainee (ATW-A School) in the early part of 1963.We were housed in some of the old WW2 barracks close to the blimp hangars. It was a "loooong" way to the NATTC. Loved the chow hall and the "laid back" atmosphere for a training base.

Unknown said...

Was home ported there on Ranger, 69-71

Unknown said...

AC A school 5/69-8/69. USS Ranger until 6\71. GCA 6/71-8/71. Quonset Point till 73 then Pax River until 4/76. Barton ATC at Martin airport, Baltimore. FAA, MLB until strike.

Tracy Winn said...

Went to AC-A school summer of 1964. Rented a trailer just outside the gate. Was a member of the Glynco Navy flying club. Worked part time at the local airport gassing airplanes and mowing grass. I departed Glynco the day hurricane Dora came ashore. Transferred to NAS Whiting Field. Discharged 1966 then went to work for LSI as an Air Traffic Controller in Vietnam. Now a retired FAA controller. WOW that was a fast 50 years!!

November 16, 2011 at 2:04 PM

Anonymous said...

I was stationed at CIC school at Glynco in 1959

Unknown said...

Stationed at Glynco from 72 until base closed in the ADR shop. Hippy or any old ADRs still out there? J.D. Smith

Unknown said...

Jet line from Sep 71 till Apr 74. Moved VT-86 to NAS PENSACOLA
Honorable Discharge Mar 1975 ADJ3
"Professional" Plane Captain
Airdale for life!

Unknown said...

JT, we were there at the same time. It was true that Jet and Recip didn't mix at work too much. But we all lived in 68 or 67 at least till they built the two new barracks. The Hippy you mention, would that be Hippy Boyd? I ran with Haywood Truxillo "Trucker" and "Denny" Dennis Metzger. We are still together as a singing trio and band of brothers today. 45 plus years now!

Anonymous said...

I was sent to Glynco in 1972 after decommissioning the USS Hartley DE-1029. I attended CPN-4 school and became an instructor after I graduated. I was part of the group that moved the NATTC schools to Millington in 1974. I got out of the Navy in 1976. I enjoyed this duty station a lot. Met and married my wife while at Glynco. We have been married 42 years this coming Feb.

J.D. Smith said...

Christopher, Hippy was a nickname for my best friend while stationed there. I don't think he was Hippy Boyd, but I cannot remember Hippy's real name. He was from Minnesota. It's great that you are still with some old friends. I am in need of some info on a Stoof that crashed there around 1972-73. Would you or anyone out there have any info, such as date, names, pictures, etc. anything would be appreciated. My email is medmud@windstream.net.
Thanks J.D. smith

Bob Sheridan said...

I went to Airborne CIC School in The late (hot) summer until October 1957. I went from there as an AC(W) to the AEW (Willy Victor 2's) Barrier out of Argentia<, Newfoundland and then Keflavik, Iceland other guys went Midway to Kodiak. Memories - The Brunswick girls saying "we are going to carry you up to Savannah" - As students we wore khaki tropical shorts and T-shirts which would torque the NAS personnel - We had to grab ropes a couple of times for the blimps - We had 2 Marine corporals in school to fly AD 1's who had PT for us. Even though we were friends they would duck walk us out to the blimp hangar, then double time us back to the barracks. SADISTS - When the E-6 instructors were hungover we would watch "Victory at Sea Movies" - Liberty on St Simons . The school which was surrounded by a fence topped with barb wire was way out on a 2 lane road in the boondocks. Many more great memories

Unknown said...

Sorry this took so long J.D. Hope life finds you well.
I oddly remember every detail, but the pilots names. If You remember, the Blue Angels had just had their Glynco show the week before the Thanksgiving week of 72, the Friday and Saturday before. I and Dennis worked Night Check on the Jetline, and my memory says it was the Tuesday,(or possibly Monday) following the show. Other then seeing it happen, the reason the time is remembered is Dennis and I took the long holiday to go to Virginia Beach to see Haywood and his wife for thanksgiving dinner. We were afraid as witnesses the Navy wouldn't let us take the holiday. But they did. I remember that it was a yearly Natops check ride for the younger pilot(Lt.). The Elder Check Pilot was a Lt.CMDR with the "million hours" in stoofs reputation, both men Outstanding in their craft. We relieved Days at 4:00 and being creatures of habit never started work till we had coffee and all the day guys were gone. My habit was drinking the coffee looking out of the line shack windows at the line to see where my birds to daily were on the line. The Stoof only came into my world as he was doing his "One engine out, landing procedure", checkout as a touch and go. Looking out to the back A-4 line I saw,(and heard) the S2 rise up from the runway and above the A4's in a HARD left bank and turning toward the shack. My Thought at first was disbelief of what I was seeing and I thought "On a night launch? This is a Hell of a time to play Blue Angel"....(millisecond) What came out of my mouth was, "shiIITT, HE'S OUT OF IT!!!" This bank was immediately obvious now as a greater than 45 deg. starboard wing high stall and as he was fighting the stall now, both engines full tilt boogie. The whole airframe was shaking and shuddering toward the line shack. It didn't hit the shack veering away to the direction of the hanger. There ensued a mass panic in our shack and the SAR copter guys next door. And that little bungalow trailer classroom I thought was gone. I registered in my ears a soft "whump" outside the hanger-side of the shack and expected a huge explosion, and all personnel ran out and away through the Helo shack and out to the line away from the boom,(which never happened). At about 40 yard onto the line something made myself and a couple others slow to look back over our shoulder, to see the largest fire I've seen to this day. Easy 150 feet high. What happened then, still is an amazement to me now.. One person somewhere hollered, Grab Firebottles!!!!, and then, must have been close to a hundred men, were running into the fire with CO2 hand bottles.. I can still hear my mind shouting, "this aint right, this aint right...", never the less we all ran into the wreckage in the grass field between the shacks and the road.

Unknown said...

Stoof cont.
( I didn't see this next part, but learned from the compiling of a hundred stories written in hand immediately after.) The pilots still fighting the stall managed to not hit the shacks or classroom and somehow that path should have ended in the hanger or at least on the radar patch. They got it turned away and back toward the Tower and the grass. To this day it is my belief they thought it would just be a bad belly flop in the field. But the port wing, still down, hit the Ceiling Light/Mirror machine in back of the classroom removing it and the foundation block out of the ground and in reaction, cartwheeled the plane onto its nose ripping that short bubble cockpit and the engines off back to the leading edge of the wings and dumping what must have been a full bag of Avgas from the wings. Hence the fire and no boom. The co2 had zilch effect on a fuel and magnesium fire, as we ran as close to the heat as bodies allowed. everyone emptied their bottle and then sort of either backed up from the heat or stumbled around in shock. In seconds the Crash truck rolled in from the hangar side Foam already shooting from the cannon nozzle as it rolled in toward the crash. And just as fast as the foam hit, everything it hit just snuffed and went out! The area was still super hot...but no flames... Disbelief of the past 2 minutes, it had all happened in seconds. Over the next 30 minutes we were all mustered and given pads and pencils and ordered to write and don't TALK to anyone! till we finished writing all we could individually remember "Seeing"! On the next day I asked the Chief investigator if we had to stay for the holiday to be talked to, and he said "No, all that means anything is what you wrote. We had the Four day holiday and no duty till Monday after. Do you remember, that on that Monday morning an A-4 flopped on takeoff? Pilot was able to skid to a stop and run away from the burning plane. We heard about it when we got to work monday evening. In that same 2 week period, at a show or practice somewhere, 2 Blue Angels collided killing both and grounding the F-4's they flew, forever as impractical for that purpose. When we moved VT-86 and the T-39s to Pensacola April of 74 the Angels were just starting back the airshows, now using modified A-4's. No drop tanks and no afterburners, just highly maneuverable small planes. They flew those till the day of the Hornets.
This was indeed long, but once I started reliving the memory it just went in sequence till I was done..I hope you find this part of what you were looking for, and sorry to myself I've lost the pilots names through the years.

Anonymous said...

Christopher, Thanks for the info on the stoop. That was more than I had hoped for. I shot a couple of photos of the plane a couple of days after the crash, but SP confiscated my film. Thanks again!
JD Smith

JD Smith said...

Christopher, Thanks for the info on the stoof. That was more than I had hoped for. I shot a couple of photos of the plane a couple of days after the crash, but SP confiscated my film. Thanks again!
JD Smith

Unknown said...

Small thing to do for a Glynco Alumnus. Live long and happy Brother!
Chris

Buffalo Bob said...

Rereading the comments brings back a lot of memories! Noticed a post from Jerry Lundsford about Staffing the personnel office. If any of you know or have contact with Lydia Sylva from Puerto Rico who was stationed there as a Yoeman in the personnel office from 67- 70 time frame I would love to reconnect with her.
Any of you Grunts remember a Sgt. Jett? He was there in 68'-69' for ACA school. First drove a Super Bee that he wrecked on a leave home to Texas then came back with a new 68' Shelby Mustang. NOT an easy guy to wake up!

Sparky said...

My husband and I live about 50 miles from Brunswick. Never knew that about FLETC. Thank you for the enlightenment!
BTW, I think you're a motorcyclist? We are also. Hubby has a Honda CB1100 and I ride a Suzuki V-Strom DL650. We're also members of a motorcycle 'group' called FAITH Riders. It's such fun!
Hope your evening is blessed. ~:)
(Popped over from Lulu's blog)

Bill Wright said...

I spent 6 months at Cecil Field driving fork lifts whilst awaiting AC-A school. Was there in 1966. Then to Pt. Mugu for 2 years and then TACRON 12 at the Naval Amphibious Base (for 10 days) before heading off to Vietnam. Recall not fondly at all standing watches in the middle of the night in the hanger listening to the Wharf Rats running around. They were the size of small foxes!

Buffalo Bob said...

Thank you for sharing the memory Bill!. NO, I did not like standing night watch in the hanger at night either. I stayed when school was out December of 68 and there were few folks around to pull duty. Not only the Rats but small chunks of roofing falling down blown loose by December winds coming off the coast. Heavy as it is, the Pea coat was NOT that warm! I spent a year in South Texas at Chase field then back to 'C' school radar , GCA, then was to head for California and SPN 42 before duty on the Kitty. Before the end of 70 and some medical issues resulting from a gunny instructor putting me in sick bay for a week after slamming the back of my head with a clipboard and knocking me out they decided my services were not needed on the kitty. If i remember correctly, The kitty Hawk went to Bremerton in mid 69 and was still there at the end of 70. Various reasons given for her needed repairs.

Unknown said...

I WAS AT GLYNCO 53 AND 54 WITH ZTU.ZP3 WAS ALSO THERE.A DRAFT OF MEN FROM ZTU WAS MOVED FROM LAKEHURST TO GLYNCO.A GREAT STATION.

Unknown said...

I was there with the first draft of men from Lakehurst with ZTU.Great duty station.

Unknown said...

Went to A school in the hanger, March or April of 65. Great school, El Toro, Futema and Pendleton towers. Later, FAA for 14 years. Jim Theros (jim8344@aol.com)