The Patuxent River Naval Air Museum is proud to present the story of NAS Patuxent River, the lead site for developing, testing, acquiring, and supporting all US Naval Aviation systems and equipment!
In this website, we review Pax River's long and fascinating past, right up to the present-day. This is the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum's place to consolidate and share with you what we're finding as we explore the historical resources that address Pax River's flying operations, specifically the base's test and operational units, aircraft, and activities.
Since Pax River's story is still being written, and since our research activities are continuous and ongoing, this site will always be a work-in-progress. Keep checking in!
NAVIGATING THE SITE: Click on any link below to begin exploring. To get back to this menu, just click your browser's return button, or the 'Home' bullet that you'll see on the upper right of your screen.
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The material in this website, excluding visual media found herein, is copyright the researcher / author (Robert Tourville) and the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum, 22156 Three Notch Rd, Lexington Park, MD 20653, a registered IRC Section 501(c)(3) organization that is not affiliated with the United States Navy. All rights reserved. With the exception of quoting brief passages for the purpose of review, no part of this website may be reproduced without the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum's prior written permission.
Still image and video copyrights are as noted, and these visual media are included here pursuant to the 'fair use' provisions of 17 U.S.C § 107. On this website, various company names, names of aircraft models and designations, and so on may be the property of a trademark holder and are used here for identification purposes only.
The content found on this website was developed over approximately six years of research. Every page identifies the data sources that were used, both primary (e.g., Navy ‘Allowances & Location of Navy Aircraft’ reports, Navy 'Aircraft History Cards', etc.) and secondary (e.g., credible books, magazines, websites, etc.). This website is far from complete and undoubtedly contains inaccuracies. That said, we'll continue striving to meet our objective of accurately distilling on this website everything that can be learned and publicly disclosed regarding the history of flying operations at Pax River.
This website is neither affiliated with nor endorsed by the United States Navy.
Latest website update: 10 May 2024.
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Introduction
- NAS Patuxent River's origins - An overview of how Pax River came to be.
- Webster Outlying Field - A brief history of Pax River's auxiliary facility.
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Developmental Testing, 1943 - Present
In the two years between Pax River's 1943 commissioning and the 1945 creation of the Naval Air Test Center (NATC), the base became Naval Aviation's principle site for the kind of testing now referred to as Developmental Test and Evaluation, or 'DT&E' (external link). Pax River continued in this role throughout the NATC era (1945 to 1991) and into the present day, although DT&E responsibilities for naval aviation weapons were split off from Pax River and assigned to the Navy's West Coast test sites. Today, Pax River's Naval Test Wing Atlantic (NTWL), an element of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD), manages DT&E for naval aircraft and for the various systems used on, in, and in support of such aircraft.
Fully outlining Pax River's historical and present DT&E responsibilities is impossible due to the enormous scope of those functions. Therefore, the links below are limited to just the aircraft that are known to have been subjected to DT&E at (and around) Pax River. Please note:
- With a few exceptions, the pages linked below don't cover aircraft that were exclusively tested by NATC / NTWL crews at locations other than Pax River itself; e.g., Edwards AFB, contractor facilities, etc.
- Also not outlined here are aircraft tested by exclusively at Pax River's ground test facilities, unless the aircraft was, at some point, also subjected to flight testing at Pax River.
- Aircraft used by the US Naval Test Pilot School or its predecessor organizations are not included here.
- Beginning in 1973, most rotary wing, maritime patrol, and command and control aircraft types that underwent DT at Pax River were generally also subject to Operational Test and Evaluation (OT&E) by Pax River squadron VX-1 (outlined here)
- Information to help decipher the sometimes confusing designations applied to US Naval aircraft can be found here: https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/research/histories/naval-aviation/pdf/app05.pdf
Fighter and Strike Airplane Testing
Rotary-Wing Aircraft Testing
Patrol and ASW Airplane Testing
Intelligence-Gathering and Reconnaissance Airplane Testing
Transport and Aerial Refueling Airplane Testing
Command & Control Aircraft Testing
Seaplane and Watercraft Testing
Pilotless Aircraft Testing
Miscellaneous Aircraft Testing
Aircraft That You Might Think Were Flight Tested at Pax River...
For helping us fill various research holes in the 'Developmental Testing, 1943 - Present' section of this website, the wonderful folks at the National Naval Aviation Museum's Emil Buehler Library have our lasting appreciation and sincere gratitude.
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Operational Testing, 1973 - Present
At Pax River, the functions of Operational Test and Evaluation, 'OT&E' (external link), have been the purview of Air Test and Evaluation Squadron One - VX-1 since 1973.
This portion of the website is presently the least well-developed, and is to be the subject of future expansion. Stay tuned!
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Operations Other Than T&E, 1943 - Present
Pax River was and is much more than a test base!
- Land-Based Transport Aircraft Operations - Navy & Civil (1943 to mid-1970s)
- Seaplane Operations - VR-8 (1943 to 1945)
- Technology Research & Development - Scientific Development Squadron One - VXS-1 (Late 1943 to Present)
- Fleet Support Operations - VR-9, FASRON-52, FASRON-103 (1944 to 1945)
- Airship Operations - ZJ-1 / ZP-24 (1944 / 45)
- Earth Science Research Operations -
- Hurricane Hunting - VP-HL-3 / VP-23 Detachment, VX-4 (1948)
- Aerial Surveying - VPP-2 / VP-62 (1948 to 1950)
- Polar Research - NATC, VX-6, OASU / VX-8 / VXN-8 (1952 to 1993)
- Atmospheric Jet Stream Research - NATC (1950s)
- Magnetic Field Research - OASU / VX-8 / VXN-8, VXS-1 (1965 to 1994)
- Oceanographic Research - OASU / VX-8 / VXN-8, VXS-1 (1965 to Present)
- Maritime Patrol Operations - Multiple VP Squadrons (1948 to 1954, 1961 to 1985)
- Electronic Intelligence Operations - VP-26, VW-2 Det A (1948 to 1955)
- Strike Aircraft Operations - VC-6, VC-7, VC-8 (1950 to1955)
- Strategic Communications - VR-1 Det T & VQ-4 (1964 to present)
- Aerial Broadcast Operations - OASU / VX-8 / VXN-8 (1965 to 1970)
- Training Operations:
- Training USMC Fighter Pilots (VMFT-20) 1957 /1958
- Training Early Warning Aircraft Crews - AEWTULANT (1958 to 1965)
- Training Patrol Aircraft Crews - VP-30 (1962 to 1975)
- UAV Operations - VC-6 (1986 to 2008)
- Base Support Operations (1943 to present) - Search and rescue, utility, pilot proficiency, and other support functions provided to Pax River and its tenant units
As a convenient reference, we developed this page to provide a chronological list of all the non-NATC / NTWL flying units that were/are based at Pax River and WOLF. It includes a summary of all the aircraft types known to have been operated by each of these units while in at Pax River / Webster Outlying Field and surrounding areas.
The best source for information on the confusing world of US Naval aircraft designations is: https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/research/histories/naval-aviation/pdf/app05.pdf
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This section outlines the unique paint schemes, markings, and tail codes found on Pax River aircraft from the base's inception to the present day.
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Selected Facilities and Sites
The links below outline a few of the many interesting test and engineering facilities -- historical & present day -- that are located at Pax River and its ancillary locations.
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This section provides a brief overview of the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), including its major elements: the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) and the Commander, Fleet Readiness Centers (COMFRC), all of which are headquartered at Pax River.