Naval Air Station Chase Field, Building 1015, Byrd Street, .82 mile South-southeast of intersection of Texas State Highway 202 & Independence Street, Beeville

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS TEX,13-BEEVI.V,1C-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Building (the Landplane Hangar), perhaps more than any other historic resource at the naval air station, represents the base's primary mission of training Navy pilots. It exhibits a distinctive building type used by the Navy at the onset of World War II, when hangar construction expanded at naval air stations throughout the country. This emphasized the growing importance of aviation within the Navy. This hangar displays a large barrel-vault roof supported by a system of interlocking wooden beams. Description: Situated on the level terrain of the southernmost comer of the base facilities, Building is surrounded by concrete pavement that extends to the nearby runways.

Building is the largest extant historic resource at Naval Air Station (NAS) Chase Field and has a rectangular building footprint. The primary structural component of the hangar is a large barrel vault that extends southwest to northeast. Galbestos siding covers the building's wood-frame construction. An expansive two- story opening within the barrel-vault section visually dominates the front (southwest) elevation. This 91-foot opening has massive two-story aluminum doors that allow aircraft to be easily moved into and out of the spacious interior. Windows on the southeast and northwest elevations include both fixed metal and double-hung, wood-sash windows. The double-hung windows have lights. The rear elevation also has an expansive opening that resembles the front passage.

The vast space of the interior has arched, laminated-wood beams that support the barrel-vault roof. Two-story wings flank each side of the central barrel-vault section. Partitioned office, storage and mechanical spaces are to each side of the vaulted area. The removal of a six-story control tower in and the construction of two shed-roof additions in and are the only major exterior alterations to the building. The service area is largely unaltered, although the office spaces have been enlarged to accommodate administrative offices. Most of these alterations were completed in and History: Built in Building serviced the aircraft of NAS Chase Field, while also providing offices and training classrooms for Navy personnel.

As with most of the other buildings erected during the initial phase of construction, Building was designed by Robert & Company. This architectural firm was based in Atlanta, NAVAL AIR STATION CHASE FIELD, BUILDING (LANDPLANE HANGAR) HABS No. (Page 2) Georgia, but opened a branch office in Corpus Christi during the rapid military build- up both immediately preceding and following the United States' entry into World War II. Brown Bellows & Columbia of Houston served as general contractor. The design of the hangar conformed to prevailing concepts regarding the form, configuration and plan of aviation hangars. With the introduction of more advanced aircraft, Building proved to be spatially inadequate, and the Navy erected other more expansive hangars on the base.

The central tower was removed in and the exterior has not changed since that time. In the interior balconies that overlooked the service area were widened and enclosed to house offices for the Training Air Wing (TRAWING) 3. Building remained a storage and office space until the base closure in

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS TEX,13-BEEVI.V,1C-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Moore, David; Myers, Terri; and Goebel, Matt. Historic Resources Survey & Assessments: NAS Chase Field, Beeville, Texas. Austin, Texas: Hardy Heck Moore, The building was determined eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and a nomination is being prepared for submission to the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. U.S. Department of the Navy, Bureau of Yards and Docks. Building the Navy's Bases in World War II: History of the Bureau of Yards and Docks and the Civil Engineer Corps, Volume 1. Washington, Government Printing Office, Historians: David Moore and Terri Myers, Hardy Heck Moore & Associates, June NAVAL AIR STATION CHASE FIELD, BUILDING (LANDPLANE HANGAR) HABS No. (Page 3) HABS No. Building > / / W&al Aircraft Anron ' i' - --- .

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