Meridon Naval Air Station Marin Bay
| Meridon Naval Air Station Marin Bay | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marin Bay, Mahine Territory | |||||||||
 MNAS Marin Bay as seen from above, July 2017. | |||||||||
| Type | Naval base | ||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||
| Owner |  Meridonian Navy | ||||||||
| Controlled by | Fleet Region South | ||||||||
| Condition | Operational | ||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||
| Built | 1920 | ||||||||
| Garrison information | |||||||||
| Current commander | CAPT Julia Versaile | ||||||||
| Occupants | 1 Carrier Air Group, 4 Carrier Air Group, 5 Carrier Air Group, 5 Patrol Group, 1 Naval Helicopter Group, 3 Naval Helicopter Group, 1 Mine Countermeasures Helicopter Group, 2 Fleet Transport Group, 1 Fleet Tactical Logistics Group | ||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||
| Identifiers | IATA: NMB, ICAO: RNMB, FAA LID: NMB, WMO: 818842 | ||||||||
| Elevation | 5 feet (2 m) AMSL | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Other airfield facilities | 20x helipads | ||||||||
Meridon Naval Air Station Marin Bay is a major installation of the Meridonian Navy located in the vicinity of Marin Bay, Mahine Territory. The Navy's largest airfield facility, it is home to over half of the Navy's carrier-based aircraft and is one of two master jet bases of the fleet, in addition to a number of additional commands including helicopter, airlift, and executive transport wings. It is headquarters to Fleet Region South, a major homeland command of the Navy. MNAS Marin Bay is also equipped with the facilities to support large warship formations, including that of the Sistine-class aircraft carrier, however it does not currently act as a home port to any major warships.
MNAS Marin Bay's commanding officer administers a number of surrounding facilities both adjacent to and outlying the base, including Naval Weapons Ground Ristpoint, a grouping of islands to the southwest of the island regularly used for naval weapons testing and exercises, Fleet Auxiliary Landing Field Mistere, and Fleet Logistics Facility Kiistone; among others. MNAS Marin Bay is host to over 60 additional tenant command units and employs thousands of civilians in the Marin Bay area.
History
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The site where MNAS Marin Bay would originally be occupied by the villa and property of the Mauchaunt family, an aristocratic family primarily known for their business ventures involving the manufacturing and distribution of textiles and other industrial goods produced within the city. The house came to be owned by Armand Mauchaunt in 1901, who was at the time an admiral in command of military activities in the territory. This was at a time when many of the Mauchaunt's businesses were failing or being bought by competitors. Mauchaunt was avidly interested in new technological developments and encouraged the officers under his command to innovate to that end. Mauchaunt was particularly engrossed in the new developments in flying and aviation that were being trialed by inventors and military officers alike in the area. Mauchaunt's property offered a relatively large and flat area where test flights could be performed, and he regularly offered the use of his facilities to both naval test pilots and civilian aviators, spending much of his family's remaining funds on enhancing facilities on his property. When he died in 1913 without family to survive him, his will bequeathed the entirety of his estate to 'the development of the future of the Navy's aviation endeavors'.' In 1917, the Navy commissioned its first dedicated aviation station on the site of the property, originally named Armand Mauchaunt Field, but later changed to Meridon Naval Station Marin Bay.
Marin Bay was the site of much of the Navy's early aviation activities. From the field was coordinated many significant advances in both naval and military aviation, including the first landing and launch of an aircraft from a ship, the first aerial refueling operation, the first tests of integrating weaponry aboard aircraft, and the first instrument approach. In 1920, it became home to the first permanent naval flying organization, 1 Naval Flying Squadron. In the mid-1920s, it was redesignated as Meridon Naval Air Station Marin Bay, the first such facility to be designated such in the Navy. In the 1930s and 40s it was increasingly expanded and developed as a large-scale aviation base, where it became host to the first aircraft carriers and their carrier aircraft. In the 1950s it became the first Meridonian military base to host jet aircraft squadrons
Services
Naval Base Columbia has amenities and services including a gym, a cardio hall, a library, chapel, visitor's quarters, theater, and bowling lanes. It has its own barracks for Officers, Enlisted, and Chief Petty Officers; a galley, an armory, dental clinic, and various HQ buildings and warehouses.
