Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale and Flight 19 Memorial
Posted by: ePeterso2
N 26° 04.234 W 080° 09.336
17R E 584456 N 2883772
Quick Description: A memorial dedicated to the men and women that served at Naval Air Station (NAS) Fort Lauderdale during World War II. Also to the men of Flight 19 which disappeared on December 5, 1945, in the Bermuda Triangle.
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 12/14/2006 4:49:53 AM
Waymark Code: WM11EP
During 1942 the Merle Fogg Airport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida was selected by the United States Navy to be improved into a naval aviation facility for training naval aviators during World War II. The facility would also train supporting aircrew and ground maintenance personnel on the Grumman designed TBF-TBM Avenger single engine torpedo bomber-carrier based plane.
Training was very strenuous and difficult. Many instructors were assigned right from aviator training in Pensacola, Florida. Having just been awarded their pilot wings, they had little practical experience in the beginning.
In 1943, Ensign George H. W. Bush, USNR, came to NAS Fort Lauderdale to train as a pilot. Bush would later go on to become the 41st President of the United States.
During World War II, 1942 through 1946, ninety-four service members lost their lives while serving at the Naval Air Station. This number includes the fourteen lost on 5 December 1945 when a group of five TBM Avenger aircraft known as US Navy Flight 19 disappeared while on a navigation training mission over the Atlantic Ocean from NAS Fort Lauderdale. Their disappearance helped to fuel the legend of the Bermuda Triangle.
The Bermuda Triangle is a broad area of the Atlantic Ocean, with its three corners at Bermuda, Puerto Rico, and South Florida. Disappearances of ships and planes within the Triangle are the subject of legend and speculation, and Flight 19 is among the most famous of these incidents. When you visit this monument, imagine that you are standing at the westernmost corner of the this mysterious region.
Late in 1946 the Navy closed NAS Fort Lauderdale at which time Broward County, Florida assumed control of the property and started development of the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. As the airport expanded, the NAS buildings were gradually torn down to make way for general aviation facilities. Today, none of the original NAS buildings remain standing.
The memorial consists of a TBM Avenger propeller mounted on a triangular base. The shape of the base symbolizes both the intended course of the Flight 19 training mission as well as the Bermuda Triangle itself. The propeller and the memorial's plaque both face to the east, towards the last known location of Flight 19.
The memorial is located near the control tower of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Parking is available, and the monument is accessible 24 hours a day.