Former Henry C. Mustin Naval Air Facility (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

 historical layer / disappeared object, United States Navy

Built in 1917 to serve as a Navy-owned aircraft design, production and evaluation facility, the Naval Aircraft Factory began production of flying boats in 1918. In the years following WWI, the factory's role was altered from production-focused to evaluation of different aircraft designs, with its production being limited to mainly prototype and small production lots of aircraft.

By 1926 the advancement of aircraft from flying boats to land-based fighters saw the factory equipped with its own airfield and hangars, which was named in honor of the first Naval Aviator, Henry C. Mustin. Continuing its role of testing and evaluating new aircraft designs through the 1930’s, the facility became heavily involved in the build-up of US forces in advance of the Second World War, and before the United States entered the conflict the facility was tasked with finding ways to upgrade and improve the PBY Catalina long-range maritime patrol aircraft. Finding that regular production aircraft from the Consolidated Company were in too high demand worldwide, the US Navy instead ordered the Naval Air Facility to begin production of its own version of the aircraft, which became known as the PBN-1 Nomad. Eventually producing 156 of the type by war’s end, mainly for lend-lease to the Soviet Union, the Naval Air Facility also built well over 400 other aircraft of various types for use by US Forces by 1945. Even with such heavy production taking place, the Naval Air Facility maintained its busy schedule of aircraft evaluation on numerous different varieties of aircraft built for US Navy service, and even conducted extensive research into converting the famed P-51 Mustang into a carrier-capable aircraft.

With the end of the Second World War came major changes for the Naval Air Facility, which was stripped of its aircraft production facilities in response to pressure from civilian aircraft manufacturers. Remaining active in aircraft evaluation in the postwar years, the facility eventually became the Navy’s primary experiment and research station, and saw the addition of several catapult systems in 1957 to evaluate different aircraft designs abilities to handle duty aboard aircraft carriers. By the early 1960’s the increasing air traffic using Philadelphia Intl Airport began to severely hinder operations at the Naval Air Facility and by late 1962 the majority of commands and research groups which occupied the base had been relocated to Lakehurst, NJ. The US Navy officially closed the Henry C. Mustin Naval Air Facility in 1963 and signed the land over to the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, which constructed housing on a portion of the former airfield for yard workers but left much of the land unused. After the closing of the shipyard in 1995, all Naval activity at the site ceased and the land was given to the city of Philadelphia. Today, several of the Naval Air Facility’s buildings have been repurposed and much of the land is slated for redevelopment.

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