Navy airfield. It was then deactivated as a naval installation in and placed in caretaker status until it was transferred to the Air Force in late Total employment is 10, There are 13, military, dependents, civilian employees, and contractors on base. The base is a census-designated place CDP and had a resident population of 1, as of the census , up from 1, at the census. The base also administers the Malabar Annex in Palm Bay. The Navy bought 1, acres ha of scrub land south of Cocoa Beach.
Landing strips were constructed in , allowing shore-based aircraft to operate concurrently. Other activities included a blimp squadron detachment, an Aviation Navigation Training School, and an experimental training unit termed Project Baker, a confidential program that developed and tested instrument landing equipment.
At its peak, the base complement included aircraft, civilian employees, and over officers and enlisted personnel. When the flight failed to return to home station, multiple air and naval units undertook a search and rescue operation. At Eastern Time, the tanker SS Gaines Mills reported seeing a mid-air explosion, then flames leaping feet 30 m high and burning on the sea for 10 minutes. Several witnesses from both NAS Banana River and other PBM Mariner operating locations were questioned concerning occurrences of aviation gasoline AvGas fumes collecting in the bilges of PBM series aircraft and associated no-smoking regulations, which were reportedly well-posted and rigidly enforced aboard all PBMs.
Although the board's report is not a verbatim record and no accusations were made, there seems to be enough inference present to cause one to suspect that the board was aware of the PBM's nickname as "the flying gas tank. The Navy buried its solid waste southeast of the base, on private land, from to The dump was estimated at up to 52 acres 21 ha , of which 25 acres 10 ha may be eligible for a federal government funding cleanup.
Discarded material probably included munitions and practice bombs. Contractors bought the land, naming it " South Patrick Shores ". They constructed housing on it from to Homeowners had no mandatory solid waste removal until Residents reported health complaints starting in the s and again in Responding to these complaints, the U.
