NAS Alameda Fleet Week celebration a success

US Navy Press Releases

. NAS Alameda Fleet Week celebration a success

NAS ALAMEDA, Calif. (NNS) -- The last Fleet Week celebration for Naval Air Station Alameda was a roaring success. The roar came from stunning shows by the Blue Angels, the Navy's precision flying team.

From the runway at NAS Alameda, the Blue Angels took off in formation before an appreciative crowd, ending a two-week self-imposed stand down. In addition to the Blue Angels, an Explosive Ordinance Disposal team made parachute jumps into the lagoon, located between the ship's piers and the air terminal building.

Not all of the attractions were in the air. Thousands of visitors lined up to tour the Hornet (CVS 12), the now retired aircraft carrier that survived World War II and recovered the Apollo 11 and 12 space crews in 1969. The nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) amazed the crowds by launching and recovering four jets from its flight deck while transiting through San Francisco Bay as the lead ship in the parade of ships.

Vintage warplanes lined up outside the air terminal building on NAS Alameda, which now houses an air museum. In displays and old films, the museum shows the history of the naval air station, which celebrated its 55th anniversary this year.

This will be the last Fleet Week show that NAS Alameda will help host, as it is slated to close in 1997.