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The facility was commissioned on June 15, 1943 for advanced training operations of anti-submarine partols during World War II. It was then deactivated in 1946 and reactivated in 1956. On March 1, 1960, it was re-designated Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort. On September 19, 1975, the airfield was named Merritt Field in honor of Major General Louis G. Merritt , USMCR of Ridge Spring, South Carolina.

The air station encompasses 6,900 acres (28 km²). It is also associated with a large air-to-air combat area off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia as well as a 5,200 acre (21 km²) air-to-ground combat and bombing range in McIntosh County, Georgia. Also attached to the base is the housing complex of Laurel BayLaurel Bay is a census-designated place and military housing complex located in Beaufort County, South Carolina. As of the 2000 census, the CDP had a total population of 6,625. The base primarily houses military personnel with families that are stationed, just 3 miles (5 km) from the station, that provides family housing for area servicepeople.

As is the case with many air bases, MCAS Beaufort hosts an annual air show open to the public.

1 See also

• United States Marine CorpsThe United States Marine Corps USMC is the second-smallest of the five branches of the United States armed forces, with 170,000 active and 40,000 reserve Marines as of 2002. The United States Coast Guard is the smallest. The Marine Corps is nonetheless la
• MCRD Parris IslandMarine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island is a United States military installation near Beaufort, South Carolina, tasked with the training of new Marines. Parris Island trains all male recruits from east of the Mississippi River and all female recruits.
• MCAS Cherry Point

2 External links

• MCAS Beaufort website