Naval Station Norfolk

Naval Station Norfolk, is a United States Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia. It supports naval forces in the United States Fleet Forces Command, those operating in the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and the Indian Ocean. The installation occupies about 4mi of waterfront space and 11mi of pier and wharf space of the Hampton Roads peninsula known as Sewell's Point. It is the world's largest naval station, with the largest concentration of U.S. Navy forces through 75 ships alongside 14 piers and with 134 aircraft and 11 aircraft hangars at the adjacently operated Chambers Field and Port Services controls more than 3,100 ships' movements annually as they arrive and depart their berths.Air Operations conducts over 100,000 flight operations each year, an average of 275 flights per day or one every six minutes. Over 150,000 passengers and 264,000 tons of mail and cargo depart annually on Air Mobility Command (AMC) aircraft and other AMC-chartered flights from the airfield's AMC Terminal.HistoryThe area where the base is located was the site of the original 1907 Jamestown Exposition.In April 1917, not long after the United States entered World War I, a bill was passed for the purchase of the land, and money was set aside in the amount of $1.6 million for the development of the base. The Fifth Naval Headquarters was established, along with the Naval Operating Base (NOB) and other facilities. By 1918, there were 34,000 enlisted men at the base. However, by the war's end, the base was reduced in personnel and put into a "standby mode."