Tongue Point Naval Air Station

Tongue Point Naval Air Station is a former United States Navy air station located in Astoria, Oregon

In 1919, the United States Congress approved the construction of a submarine and destroyer base on Tongue Point, a peninsula jutting into the Columbia River East of Astoria, Oregon. Construction was not started until 1921 and was completed in 1924. However, with the military downsizing following World War I, the base was never used. Prior to World War II Tongue Point was designated as the site of a Naval Air Station (NAS). Ground Breaking took place in 1939 but there were a numerous delays until construction was finally completed in 1943. PBY Catalina seaplanes then arrived and began coastal patrols. The facility was also used as a site for pre-commissioning and commissioning escort aircraft carriers built in shipyards in the Portland-Vancouver area. After World War II the NAS was closed and converted into a Ready Reserve site. In 1962, the Navy transferred the base to the General Services Administration. One of the first Job Corps centers in the Nation was opened at the site in 1964.