Chatham Naval Air Station Chatham Naval Air Station , was an operational United States Navy airfield from 1917 to 1922 . It was first established as a blimp base during World War I . It was located in Chatham , Massachusetts . The base was one of the first operational naval air stations in the country . It helped to patrol the northeast United States coast and even participated in a skirmish off of Orleans . In 1922 , the station was closed and the history of the base has largely been forgotten except for a lone marker near where the site used to be . History . Plans . As German U - Boat s began to get more emboldened by their successes , it became apparent to many that the United States would soon enter a war . As a result , the Department of the Navy planned six new Naval Air Stations on the East Coast . One just happened to be locate next to Pleasant Bay , near Chatham , Massachusetts . The planned station occupied on Nickerson Neck . Construction . Before the United States even entered World War I , construction of Chatham Naval Air Station was beginning . The original plans called for building living quarters for officers and enlisted men , hangars , a gas holder , boat house , hospital , pigeon loft , repair shops , garage and assorted storage and maintenance buildings . Pipes were laid in trenches and the nearest fresh water source was away . One of the workers died when his trench caved in on him . His name was Patrick Buckley and he left three sons . By October , the barracks and mess hall were ready for furniture and galley equipment . The resulting structures could handle about 100 men . That same month , the flag pole was placed and 3 , 000 people were in attendance for its first raising . In November , the United States entered the war . In December , the skeleton of the blimp hangar was finished and wooden slats were soon covering them . Concrete was then set to be poured for the hangar floors . This was complicated by the fact that it was one of the coldest winters that year . As a result , the concrete was poured and protected by tar paper and hot sand . The sliding doors were then installed at the end of that February . The base was commissioned on January 6 , 1918 . Patrols . By then , many buildings were ready for occupancy and by mid - March , four Curtiss R - 9 s were delivered to the Chatham Train Station . They were assembled and the first flight was made by Lt . McKitterick on March 25 . In July , four Curtiss HS - 1L flying boats were delivered to the depot and trucked to the base . These boats were so urgently needed that they were put into service almost immediately . The addition of these boats increased the time available to patrols from dawn to dusk . Two patrol areas , aptly named Areas A and B were then created . Area A was to the north while Area B was to the south . Planes always went in pairs with one plane carrying a radio transmitter . The plane with the transmitter was required to radio in a location every ten minutes . Both planes carried two homing pigeons for emergency communication with the base , and the birds had been trained for either the north patrol or the south patrol . Thus they could not be transferred from one area to another . Planes were equipped with emergency rations and water for three days , a flashlight , flare pistol with red and green cartridges , a sea anchor , life preservers , signal book and local charts . Patrols took place at with the purpose to protect the shipping in a defined area . Often the planes would circle around a ship for hours while looking for U - Boats after picking up the vessel in a predetermined location . While the two planes were out on patrol , two other planes and their fliers were on standby at the station , ready to assist should a plane radio in a distress call . If the planes and men could get airborne within seven minutes , they were considered to be within the acceptable range of response time . Eventually blimps were used to help in the patrol process . With their cruising speed of and a range of , they were a useful asset in the patrols . U - boat attack . One of the few known times when the station was utilized for the war was when a report came in of the shelling of nearby Nauset Beach . Nine Curtiss HS - 2L s were dispatched to bomb the submarine that had already sunk five ships and was proceeding to start shelling Orleans , Massachusetts . Either the resulting bombs were duds or they missed , and the U - boat got away . Closure . In 1922 , the base was closed , possibly because of the aftermath of the 1918 flu pandemic . It is unknown when the buildings were torn down and the area was eventually redeveloped into a housing complex . In 1979 , a stone memorial was placed at the end of Strong Island Road to commemorate the NC - 4 flight . In the 1980s , two PBYs retraced the famous flight that passed by the station .