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South Weymouth Naval Air Station (SOWEY NAS)

The South Weymouth Naval Air Station (SOWEY NAS), approximately 1,442 acres in size, is primarily located in Weymouth but extends into two other towns (Abington and Rockland). The facility was closed on September 30, 1997 under the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 (BRAC), Public Law 101-510; as part of the BRAC Commissions 1995 Base Closure List (BRAC IV).

As a result of the closure of NAS South Weymouth, Massachusetts, (directed under the 1995 BRAC round, although tactical air operations there had ceased earlier) the Navy, like the Army and Air Force, now retains only a minor aviation footprint in the Northeast. This reflects both the effects of airspace congestion and encroachment, and the difficulty and safety implications in conducting "blue water" flight operations over the North Atlantic, particularly during winter.

The land surrounding the site is suburban, with a mixture of residential, industrial, and commercial uses. After acquiring the site in 1941, the U.S. Navy used it as a Lighter than Air facility for dirigible aircraft used to patrol the North Atlantic during World War II. The facility was closed at the end of the war, then reopened in 1953 as a Naval Air Station for aviation training. SOWEY NAS has been in use continuously until September 30, 1997.

The mission of SOWEY NAS was to train all assigned units for their mobilization assignment; to provide administrative coordination and logistic support to the Marine Air Reserve Training Detachment South Weymouth and to perform such other functions as directed by the Chief of Naval Operations and to administer the Naval Reserve Program as directed by the Chief of Naval Reserve. Activities performed at the site included aircraft maintenance, refueling, personnel training and housing, and administrative support services. In addition, the U.S. Coast Guard operates a buoy maintenance depot on the property through an agreement with the Navy.

Nomans Land Island is a former bombing range associated with Naval Air Station South Weymouth, Mass. The 628-acre island, located 2.7 miles from Martha's Vineyard, has been transferred from the Navy to the Department of the Interior for use as a Fish and Wildlife Service game preserve. Naval Facilities Engineering Command managed ordnance debris removal and environmental remidiation on the ecologically sensitive island. The $2.9 million cleanup was highlighted by inter-agency cooperation by the Navy, the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.