Richmond Naval Air Station was established on this site on 15 September 1942 as a Lighter-Than-Air facility. Blimps from the station conducted submarine patrols over the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, and nearby Atlantic Ocean, while other work included training helium operators and night torpedo bomber crews. To house the blimps, the Navy built three hangars 16.5 stories high and more than 1,000 feet long, among the largest wooden structures in the world. On 15 September 1945, exactly three years after the station was established, a severe hurricane and fire destroyed the hangars along with 368 military and civilian aircraft and 25 blimps inside. Winds of 170 mph with gusts to 196 were recorded at nearby Homestead Air Force Base, and deactivation of Richmond Naval Air Station began soon afterward.