NAS Lee Field

NAS Lee Field in Green Cove Springs, Florida was primarily used to train pilots for aircraft carrier landing operations during World War II. In August 1943, the facility was renamed Naval Air Station Green Cove Springs. At the end of the war, the naval base was downgraded in status to a Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) and transferred to NAS Jacksonville for limited training purposes. Its proximity to the St. Johns River made the facility an excellent location to securely store the U.S. Naval Atlantic Reserve or “Mothball Fleet” of WWII U.S. Navy ships.

Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson decommissioned the NAS Green Cove Springs in March 1961 as part of a military reorganization plan. He relocated the “Mothball Fleet” to his home state of Texas. The city of Green Cove Springs annexed the abandoned naval base and sold it to Reynolds Metal Company for redevelopment. Reynolds Industrial Park was established in 1965, which included 1,700 acres served by rail, highway, water and private airport.

The private airfield portion of Reynolds Industrial Park was known as Reynolds Airpark.  Today, the single 5,000-foot runway is in very poor condition but is listed as currently operational with the FAA. The original air traffic control tower is still attached to the former Navy aircraft hangar.

By 2000, a majority of Reynolds Industrial Park had fallen into decline. Military relics still litter the landscape. World War II infrastructure and buildings remain in a dilapidated state. Over the next few years, several of the Navy hangars and the former power plant were sold to private companies.

The 154-foot long, 75,000-pound external fuel tank from NASA’s Space Shuttle Program was one of the original test articles. Loaded by barge and moved down the inland waterways, the tank was headed to its new home at Wings of Dreams Aviation Museum in Starke, Florida. Unfortunately, after it was unloaded in Green Cove Springs the fuel tank proved to be impossible to haul the 55-mile route by truck due to low hanging power lines. Today the fuel tank remains in the exact spot it was unloaded.

One of the tenants of Reynolds Airpark was Atlas Hovercrafts who envisioned a river transport system by hovercraft. After two years of building a hovercraft prototype, the company closed in May 2008 due to a lack of funding. The hovercraft shell sits in a state of decay on the tarmac after the owner decided to abandon the project. In 2012, a redevelopment plan was adopted that focused on transforming Reynolds Industrial Park into a multi-use activity center. A portion of the unused runways at Reynolds Airpark were leased to a car dealership as temporary storage. The area where the hovercraft sits is now fenced in and surrounded by cars.

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