F6F Hellcat trainees, 1944, NAS Vero Beach
In 1942 the Navy took over the Vero Beach, Florida Municipal Airport and renamed it Naval Air Station (NAS) Vero Beach, using it to train first the unpopular Brewster SB2A Buccaneers and later the F6F Hellcat air and ground crews for the ongoing war. At its peak NAS Vero Beach was home to 1,400 U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps servicemen and 250 aircraft. After the war it was reduced to a skeletal staff and in 1947 the Navy closed it and returned it to the city where it now continues daily service as Vero Beach Regional Airport with four runways and is the home of Piper Aircraft.
