Historic Photo Gallery

From the early days of American aviation, Glynn County, Georgia has been an active participant in the development of both military and civilian applications of flight. Brunswick Golden Isles Airport, the municipal airport for Glynn County, is located on the former site of Naval Air Station Glynco, built in 1942 as a base of airship operations. The base was the only facility in the world that employed all known forms of flight at the time: airships, or blimps as they were more commonly known, propeller aircraft, jets and helicopters. Over the next 33 years, NAS Glynco served as a training base and Naval Air Station until its closure in 1975. After that time, the property was divided between the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center and the county airport.

When the passenger terminal was replaced in 2005, the Glynn County Airport Commission embarked on a research effort to commemorate the history and heritage of the Navy base and its civilian successors. A wealth of historic photographs and documents were preserved as a result. Please enjoy this glimpse back into aviation history, thanks to the generous contributors to the history project, and the community.

About our collections

The photographs and documents in this archive are the result of years of research and documentation of aviation history for the Glynn County Airport Commission. Each collection is identified by the names of the generous individuals and organizations that have shared their priceless images. The purpose of the collection is to preserve historic contributions to aviation made by members of the military and civilians in Glynn County, Georgia. Any sale of these images is prohibited. We ask that any publication of these images accompanied by the following citation: Courtesy of {original donor’s name}, Glynn County Airport Commission archives.

Brunswick Golden Isles Airport: 1941-1945

NAS Glynco: 1941-1945

Prior to the beginning of World War II, the only airfield on the mainland in Glynn County, Georgia was a grass landing strip named Sawtell Field. Almost immediately after the war started, the U.S. Navy selected Brunswick as the site of one of five Lighter-Than-Air (LTA) stations on the Eastern Seaboard. The primary responsibility of Navy airships, or blimps, was the protection of merchant marine ship convoys from marauding U-boats. Merchant marine vessels delivered urgently needed men and materiel to both domestic and overseas ports, aiding directly in the war effort.

Glynn and the surrounding Coastal Georgia counties stepped up to meet the challenge of a demanding schedule for building the very specific runway, mooring and hangar configurations required for airship flight and maintenance. Once a sleepy small seaport, Brunswick suddenly stepped into the spotlight with an urgent national defense aviation program. For more on the role of Brunswick and Glynn County, Georgia in defending our nation, please read Project Glynco.

Pre-War

1941 - Contributed by Bryan Thompson

Brunswick Mayor Bryan Thompson shared his first day cover commemorating the pre-War inaugural flight of the first scheduled carrier, Eastern Airlines, from Sawtell Field in Brunswick.