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Naval Air Station Sigonella, the "Hub of the Med", is a U.S. Navy installation at an Italian Air Force base in Sicily, Italy.
The base is comprised of two sections (NAS I and II) about 16 km (10 mi.) west of the city of Catania and about 24 km (15 mi.) south of Mount Etna. Because of its location near the center of the Mediterranean Sea, NASSIG is well-placed to support operations by the U.S. 6th Fleet, other U.S. military units, and U.S. allies and coalition partners.
Among the aircraft that fly from this island base are U.S. Air Force airlifters, tankers and U-2 spy planes; and U.S. Navy P-3 Orions and CH-53E Super Stallions. It is one of the most frequently used stops for U.S. airlifters bound from the continental United States to Southwest Asia and the Indian Ocean.
NAS Sigonella has the best claim to be hub of U.S. naval air operations in the Med. The base command is landlord to more than 40 other U.S. units. Among the largest are Helicopter Combat Support Squadron Four (HC-4), a heavy-unit that flies the CH-53; a rotating P-3 patrol squadron; the Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station; the U.S. Naval Hospital; and a Naval Mobile Construction Battalion Detachment. It is home to more than 7,000 troops, civilian personnel, and family members.
History
The United States Naval Air Facility (NAF), Sigonella, was established June 15, 1959; its first commanding officer was Capt. Walter J. Frazier. The facility was conceived in the early 1950s, when plans to base U.S. Navy P-2 Neptunes at Hal Far , Malta, began to outgrow the facility.
When there was no room for expansion at Malta, the Navy got NATO backing to use Sicily. Italy made land available under a temporary agreement signed June 25, 1957. Six days later, landing ship tank (LSTs) began to deliver equipment from the Malta base.
Ground was broke in September, and construction on the administrative area at NAF I was started in 1958. The first Americans arrived for work at Sigonella in March 1959 -- six months before any buildings were ready -- and so worked for six months in Catania at a large warehouse complex called Magazine Generale, which is opposite the cemetery on the right side of the street as one enters Catania from the base.
By the end of August 1959, the NAF II airfield was available for daylight VFR flights; 24 flights were logged by Aug. 31.
One of Sigonella's first buildings was what is now the American Forces Network (AFN) building. In 1958, that building was Sigonella's vector (pest) control center, where rat poison was stored. The Army Corps of Engineers next used the building for their offices, later sharing it with Special Services, or what is now called Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR). Around 1966, AFN came to Sigonella and joined Special Services, which soon moved out, leaving the building to the broadcasters.
Sigonella's first flood occurred mid-September 1959. The Dittaino Bridge between NAF I and NAF II was under six feet of water Sept. 20. All traffic had to go through Catania. Power outages accompanied the floods.
In the 1980s, Sigonella was designated a Naval Air Station.
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Last updated: 08-05-2005 10:33:09
Last updated: 08-17-2005 08:27:19
