JAX CURIOSITY SHOP: SAILORS AT PLAY

(Source of picture: Florida State Archives)

This postcard gives a glimpse of the main gate at Naval Air Station Jacksonville (NAS Jax) on the Westside.  The card dates from the 1940s or early 1950s.  At that time, the other navy bases in Duval County (Jacksonville) were Cecil Field and the Mayport Naval Air Station. 

As the jet age dawned,  the Navy’s first jet carrier air groups and squadrons arrived in Duval County in 1948.  By April 1949, the county served as the plane capital of the East Coast.  More aircraft were stationed here than at any other bases from Nova Scotia to the Caribbean.  Duval County hosted 60 percent of the fleet air striking force in the Atlantic area, ranging from pole to pole.

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NAVY MEN AT PLAY -- There's a lot for navy students to learn at military training centers.  And during the early 1950s, this held true at the Naval Air Technical Training Center at NAS Jax.  This facility was reactivated during the Korean War and included nine different schools.  

Monday through Friday, the day began at 5:30 a.m. and was crammed with classes, marches, & physical conditioning exercises.  There was a light side, though, to the week's activities.  Evenings were left free for personal business until lights out at 10:00.  Each week, moreover, an Honors Company was selected on the basis of performance.  As a reward, this company received one weeknight of off-station liberty until 11:00 p.m.  In any case, everybody got weekends off, from 4:00 p.m. Friday to 11:00 p.m. Sunday.  The students were permitted to leave the station and "go ashore" in Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Daytona Beach, & other nearby towns.  

The personnel sometimes stayed "aboard the station," and the Navy provided a number of amenities at Jacksonville's bases.  These benefits included movies, dining & dancing facilities, two golf courses, 30 tennis courts, 11 bowling alleys, six handball courts, seven swimming pools, and one archery range.  To top this off, seaplane ramps provided favorite spots for shrimping on the St. Johns River.  It certainly wasn't all work and no play at First Coast military posts!

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