French Naval Aviation
The airfield dates back to World War I, with the creation of an anti-submarine hydroplane base by the French Naval Aviation established a base on April 1, 1918. With the end of the war the base was integrated into the Portuguese Naval Aviation and in 1927 the Admiral Gago Coutinho Naval Aviation School () was installed at its facilities. A runway was then constructed in 1937 to allow the operation of conventional aircraft from the base.