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{{Use American English|date=March 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox military installation
| nativename =
| FAA = NEL
| coordinates = {{Coord|40|02|00|N|74|21|13|W|name=JB MDL Lakehurst|display=inline,title}}
| name = Lakehurst Maxfield Field
| IATA = NEL
| ICAO = KNEL
| elevation = {{cvt|100.6|ft|m}}
| r1-number = 6/24
| r1-length = {{cvt|5002|ft|m}}
| r1-surface = [[Asphalt concrete|asphalt]]
| r2-number = 15/33
| r2-length = {{cvt|5002|ft|m}}
| r2-surface = asphalt
| r3-number = 63/243
| r3-length= {{cvt|3500|ft|m}}
| r3-surface = [[concrete]]
| footnotes = Source: [[Federal Aviation Administration]]<ref name="FAA">{{FAA-airport|ID=NEL|use=PR|own=MN|site=13887.*A}}. Federal Aviation Administration. Effective 22 August 2013.</ref>
| ensign=Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst - Emblem.png
| partof=[[Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst]]
| ___location= [[Lakehurst, New Jersey|Lakehurst]], [[Ocean County, New Jersey|Ocean County]], [[New Jersey]]
| image= 2012-08-24 Main entrance of the Lakehurst unit of Joint Base McGuire Dix Lakehurst in New Jersey.jpg
| image_size = 300px
| caption= Front gate at Lakehurst
| pushpin_map= <!---- USA New Jersey Ocean County ---->
| pushpin_label=JB MDL Lakehurst
| pushpin_mapsize=230
| pushpin_map_caption=Location of JB MDL Lakehurst
| type=Military airfield
| code=
| ownership= [[United States Air Force]]
| controlledby= {{flag|United States Air Force}}
| condition=
| built=1916
| builder=
| used=1917 – present
| materials=
| demolished=
| battles=
| events=
| past_commanders=
| garrison= [[87th Air Base Wing]] with support from [[Naval Support Activity Lakehurst]]
| occupants={{Unbulleted list
|[[Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division]]
|[[Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training, Lakehurst]]
|[[VR-64|Fleet Logistics Squadron 64]]
|[[New Jersey Air National Guard]]
|[[NOSC Fort Dix]]
}}
|operator=[[87th Air Base Wing]]|current_commander={{Unbulleted list
|'''Base Commander''':<br /> [[Colonel|COL]] Frederick D. Thaden, USAF
|'''Base Dep. Cmdr/CO, NSA Lakehurst:'''<br />
[[Captain (United States O-6)|CAPT]] William "Bill" Sherrod, USN
}}}}'''Lakehurst Maxfield Field''', formerly known as '''Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst''' ('''NAES Lakehurst'''), is the [[United States Navy|naval]] component of [[Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst]] (JB MDL), a [[United States Air Force]]-managed [[joint base]]. The airfield is approximately 25 mi (40 km) east-southeast of [[Trenton, New Jersey|Trenton]] in [[Manchester Township, New Jersey|Manchester Township]] and [[Jackson Township, New Jersey|Jackson Township]] in [[Ocean County, New Jersey]], United States. It is primarily the home to [[Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division|Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division Lakehurst]], although the airfield supports several other flying and non-flying units as well. Its name is an [[Amalgamation (names)|amalgamation]] of its ___location and the last name of Commander Louis H. Maxfield, who lost his life when the [[R38-class airship|R-38/USN ZR-2]] airship crashed during flight on 24 August 1921 near [[Kingston upon Hull|Hull]], England.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://bluejacket.com/usn-usmc_avi_post-ww1_air_fields.html |title=U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Historic Air Fields Post WW I |last=webmaster@bluejacket.com |website=bluejacket.com |access-date=2017-02-13 |archive-date=14 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214004558/https://bluejacket.com/usn-usmc_avi_post-ww1_air_fields.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
When it was consolidated with [[McGuire Air Force Base]] and [[Fort Dix]] in October 2009, it became the naval component of JB MDL — a [[United States Air Force]]–[[Joint base#List of joint bases|controlled installation]] — and was placed under the [[87th Air Base Wing]]. However, as with all joint bases, the installation receives support services from the previous installation authorities. Thus, Lakehurst Field is also provided certain services from '''Naval Support Activity Lakehurst''' ('''NSA Lakehurst'''), whose commander also serves as one of two Base Deputy Commanders. Lakehurst field was the site of the [[Hindenburg disaster|''Hindenburg'' disaster]] in 1937.
==Overview==
=== History ===
Lakehurst Maxfield Field's history began as a test range for ammunition being manufactured for the [[Imperial Russian Army]] in 1916.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Robinson |first1=Douglas Hill |last2=Keller |first2=Charles L. |title=Up Ship!: A History of the U.S. Navy's Rigid Airships 1919-1935 |date=1982 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |page=13 |isbn=9780870217388 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aB9UAAAAMAAJ |access-date=21 November 2019 |archive-date=6 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806181758/https://books.google.com/books?id=aB9UAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> It was then acquired by the [[United States Army]] as '''Camp Kendrick''' during [[World War I]]. The [[United States Navy]] purchased the property in 1921 for use as an airship station and renamed it '''Naval Air Station Lakehurst''' ('''NAS Lakehurst''').<ref name="Lakehurst">{{Cite web |url=https://www.jbmdl.jb.mil/ |title=Lakehurst |website=www.jointbasemdl.af.mil |language=en-US |access-date=2017-02-13 |archive-date=14 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214004248/http://www.jointbasemdl.af.mil/Mission-Partners/Lakehurst |url-status=live }}</ref>
The [[United States Navy]]'s lighter-than-air program was conducted at Lakehurst from its inception through the 1930s. NAS Lakehurst was the center of [[airship]] development in the United States and housed three of the U.S. Navy's four [[rigid airship]]s, [[USS Shenandoah (ZR-1)|(ZR-1) ''Shenandoah'']], [[USS Los Angeles (ZR-3)|(ZR-3) ''Los Angeles'']], and [[USS Akron (ZRS-4)|(ZRS-4) ''Akron'']]. A number of the [[airship hangar]]s built to berth these ships still survive. [[Hangar No. 1, Lakehurst Naval Air Station|Hangar One]], in which the ''Shenandoah'' was built, held the record for the largest "single room" in the world. According to an article in the January, 1925 issue of ''[[National Geographic]]'', the [[airship hangar]] "could house three [[Woolworth Building]]s lying side by side." The base also housed many Navy non-rigid airships, otherwise knowns as [[Non-rigid airship|"blimps,"]] in several squadrons before, during, and after [[World War II]]. This included the U.S. Navy's [[N class blimp|ZPG-3W]] (EZ-1C), which was deactivated in September 1962.<ref>[http://www.ilcdover.com/home/news/newsDetail.cfm?id=4861240] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101217141648/http://ilcdover.com/home/news/newsDetail.cfm?id=4861240 |date=17 December 2010 }} - "After 44 Years, Lakehurst Back in Lighter-Than-Air Flight Research," More, Kirt. Asbury Park Press, 9 May 2006.</ref> In 2006, after a 44-year hiatus, the U.S. Navy resumed airship operations at Lakehurst with the [[American Blimp MZ-3|MZ-3]].
[[File:Hindenburg memorial.jpg|thumb|[[Hindenburg disaster|''Hindenburg'' disaster]] marker]]
The installation was the site of the [[LZ 129 Hindenburg|LZ 129]] [[Hindenburg disaster|''Hindenburg'' disaster]] on 6 May 1937. Despite the notoriety and well-documented nature of this incident, today there is a simple memorial that denotes the ___location of the crash at then–NAS Lakehurst in the field behind the large airship hangars on base. A ground marker, painted black, and rimmed by a bright yellow painted chain, marks the spot where the gondola of the ''Hindenburg'' hit the ground.
=== Aviation training ===
Lakehurst conducts the unique mission of supporting and developing the Aircraft Launch and Recovery Equipment and Support Equipment for naval aviation. Since the 1950s, aviation boatswain's mates have been trained at Lakehurst to operate catapults and arresting systems on aircraft carriers using rail guided jet donkeys pushing dead loads at 200 knots tested carrier [[arresting gear]] cables and [[tailhook]]s.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=biYDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA97 "Twin Jet Monorail Test Airplane Arresting Gear."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319081059/https://books.google.com/books?id=biYDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA97 |date=19 March 2022 }} ''Popular Science'', June 1955, p. 97.</ref><ref name="jetdon">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KN8DAAAAMBAJ&q=%22Jet+Donkey%22&pg=PA72 |title=Jet "Donkeys" for the Jets |last=Dempewolff |first=Richard F. |date=June 1958 |publisher=[[Popular Mechanics]] |pages=72–75 |access-date=14 November 2020 |archive-date=19 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319081100/https://books.google.com/books?id=KN8DAAAAMBAJ&q=%22Jet+Donkey%22&pg=PA72 |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System]] and the [[Advanced Arresting Gear]] system that will replace the existing steam catapults and the Mk-7 arresting gear are being developed and tested at Lakehurst at full-scale shipboard representative test facilities here.<ref name="Lakehurst" />
The former NAS Lakehurst also hosted the U.S. Navy's first helicopter squadrons, HU-1 (later HC-1) and HU-2 (later HC-2); the "A" and "C" enlisted training schools for the Aerographer's Mate (AG), Aviation Boatswain Mate (AB, ABE, ABF, ABH), and Parachute Rigger / Aircrew Survival Equipmentman (PR) ratings until their transfer to other Naval Air Technical Training Centers; and an Overhaul & Repair (O&R) facility for fixed-wing aircraft, the forerunner of the former Naval Air Rework Facilities and Naval Aviation Depots (NADEPs) now known as Fleet Readiness Centers (FRCs).
Today the base is used for various Naval Aviation development programs. Lakehurst Maxfield's main airfield has two {{cvt|5002|ft|m|adj=on}} runways under its own control tower, while a separate {{cvt|13000|ft|m|adj=on}} test runway (12/30) – equipped with a separate control tower and pavement-mounted catapults and arresting gear for testing [[aircraft-carrier]] suitability of new naval aircraft and new flight-deck systems – is located approximately a mile to the northwest.
== Tenant organizations ==
Lakehurst is home to [[Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division|Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC) Aircraft Division, Lakehurst]], which is the largest command on the field, followed by [[VR-64|Fleet Logistics Squadron 64]], operating the [[United States Navy Reserve|Navy Reserve Force's]] [[C-130T Hercules]].
In addition, the field is host to several [[CNATTU]] schools, the [[New Jersey Army National Guard]]'s aviation unit, as well as other tenant organisations from [[Ocean County]], the state of New Jersey, [[United States Air Force]], [[New Jersey Air National Guard]], [[United States Public Health Service]] and the [[United States Department of Justice]].<ref name="Lakehurst" />{{Clear right}}
== Naval Support Activity Lakehurst ==
{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name = Naval Support Activity Lakehurst
| image = NSA logo - small.jpg
| caption = Command insignia of NSA Lakehurst
| dates = 2009–present
| country = {{USA}}
| branch = {{flag|United States Navy}}
| type = Support command
| size =
| command_structure = {{unbulleted list
|[[Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst]] (operationally)
|[[Navy Region Mid-Atlantic]] (administratively)
}}
| garrison = Lakehurst Maxfield Field, [[Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst]]
| garrison_label = Headquartered
| nickname =
| decorations =
| notable_commanders =
| specialization =
| current_commander = [[Captain (United States O-6)|CAPT]] Frank Ingargiola {{efn|group=notes|Also serves as one of two JB MDL Deputy Commanders}}
}}
'''Naval Support Activity Lakehurst''' ('''NSA Lakehurst''') is the [[United States Navy]] element representing USN and USMC entities for the Department of the Navy–specific asset and resources at [[Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst]] (JB MDL), and administrative control over Naval personnel who are assigned to units that are assigned to the base.
=== Background ===
When the [[United States Department of Defense]] announced that Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst (NAES Lakehurst) would be affected by a [[Base Realignment and Closure]] (BRAC) action, merging it with two neighboring military bases, [[McGuire Air Force Base]] and [[Fort Dix]], it established [[Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst]], New Jersey, the nation's only tri-service installation. Each installation's major support services such as [[Morale, Welfare and Recreation|MWR]], [[Judge Advocate General's Corps|Legal]], [[Military medicine|medical/dental-clinic]], and [[Army and Air Force Exchange Service|exchange-services]] roles transitioned over to either Air Force or joint operation. However, both Lakehurst (and also Fort Dix, the third component of the installation) kept several service-specific support services for their personnel. With the disestablishment of NAES Lakehurst as a separate activity from JB MDL, NSA Lakehurst became the official sponsor for these activities.
The person who is the Commanding Officer, NSA Lakehurst is also the primary Deputy Commander of JB MDL, and reports to [[Navy Region Mid-Atlantic|Commander, Naval Region Mid-Atlantic]] (CNRMA) for all administrative and logistical concerns, and to the Joint Base Commander for operational concerns.<ref>Naval Aviation News, Fall 2011, p. 36; published for the Chief of Naval Operations by the Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, MD (USPS 323–010; ISSN 0028-1417)</ref>
==Education==
Dependent children living on-post are zoned to [[Lakehurst School District]] and [[Manchester Township High School]] (of [[Manchester Township School District]]).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://installations.militaryonesource.mil/military-installation/joint-base-mcguire-dix-lakehurst/education/education |title=Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Education |publisher=[[Military One Source]] |accessdate=2022-08-07 |archive-date=25 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625034912/https://installations.militaryonesource.mil/military-installation/joint-base-mcguire-dix-lakehurst/education/education |url-status=live }} - This is a [[.mil]] site.</ref>
== See also ==
*[[List of United States Navy airfields]]
*{{section link|List of United States Navy installations|New Jersey}}
*[[Navy Air Stations Blimps bases]]
==References==
{{notelist}}{{reflist}}
==External links==
{{Commons category|Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst}}
*{{Official website|https://www.jbmdl.jb.mil/Mission-Partners/Lakehurst/|name=Official website (Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst)}}
*{{Official website|https://www.navair.navy.mil/lakehurst/|name=Official website (Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) Lakehurst)}}
*{{Official website|https://www.cnic.navy.mil/Regions/cnrma/installations/nsa_lakehurst/|name=Official website (Naval Support Activity Lakehurst)}}
*[http://www.nlhs.com/ Navy Lakehurst Historical Society]
*{{FAA-airport|ID=NEL|use=PR|own=MN|site=13887.*A}}
{{US-airport-mil|NEL}}
**{{FAA-diagram|00223}}
{{US Navy navbox}}
[[Category:Airports in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Manchester Township, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Military installations in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Transportation buildings and structures in Ocean County, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Airship hangars]]
[[Category:Superfund sites in New Jersey|Lakehurst]]
[[Category:Military Superfund sites|Lakehurst]]
[[Category:LZ 129 Hindenburg]]
[[Category:1916 establishments in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Military airbases established in 1921]]
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