Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point or MCAS Cherry Point(*34.9009°N 76.8807°W) is a United States Marine Corps airfield located in Havelock, North Carolina, USA, in the eastern part of the state. It was built in 1941, and was commissioned in 1942 and is currently home to the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing.
CHERRY POINT MCAS / CUNNINGHAM FIELD HISTORY
Congress authorized Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point on July 9, 1941, with an initial appropriation of $14,990,000 for construction and clearing of an 8,000 acre (32 km²) tract of swamps, farms and timberland.
Actual clearing of the site began on August 6, 1941, with extensive drainage and malaria control work. Construction began in November just 17 days before the attack on Pearl Harbor.
On May 20, 1942, the facility was commissioned Cunningham Field, named in honor of the Marine Corps’ first aviator, Lieutenant Colonel Alfred A. Cunningham. The completed facility was later renamed Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, after a local post office situated among cherry trees.
Cherry Point’s primary World War II mission was to train units and individual Marines for service to the Pacific theater. The air station also served as a base for anti-submarine operations, with an Army Air Corps (22d Antisubmarine Squadron) and later a Navy squadron each being responsible for the sinking of a German U-boat just off the North Carolina coast during 1943.
Cherry Point’s contribution to the Korean War effort was to provide a steady stream of trained aviators and air crewmen as well as maintenance and support personnel as replacements to forward deployed aviation units.
During the Vietnam War, Cherry Point deployed three A-6 Intruder squadrons to the Far East and again provided a constant source of replacements for aircrews and enlisted aviation personnel.
CHERRY POINT MCAS / CUNNINGHAM FIELD LOCATION
CHERRY POINT MCAS / CUNNINGHAM FIELD FACTS
ICAO: KNKT
Lat: 34°54′03″N
Long: 076°52′51″W
Elevation: 29 ft.
Runway length available: 05R/23L 8188×196 ft. :: 05L/23R 7553×200 ft. :: 14R/32L 8399×200 ft. :: 14L/32R 8984×200 ft.
