Naval Air Station Quonset Point Naval Air Station Quonset Point was a United States Naval Base in Quonset Point , Rhode Island that was deactivated in 1974 . Next to NAS Quonset Point was Camp Endicott at Davisville , home of the Naval Construction Battalions known as the Seabee s . Quonset Point also gave its name to the Quonset hut , a standardized temporary structure used by the U . S . military starting in World War II . Former US President Richard M . Nixon went through basic naval officer training at Quonset Point in 1942 . Commissioned on 12 July 1941 , and encompassing what was once Camp Dyer , NAS Quonset Point was a major naval facility throughout World War II and well into the Cold War . Prior to its closure , it had been home to numerous aviation squadrons , primarily those land - based patrol squadrons operating the P - 2 Neptune and carrier - based antisubmarine and airborne early warning squadrons operating the S - 2 Tracker , the E - 1 Tracer and various modified versions of the A - 1 Skyraider . NAS Quonset Point was also the off - season home of Antarctic Development Squadron Six ( VXE - 6 ) during the 1950s , 1960s and 1970s , operating the LC - 47 Skytrain , LP - 2J Neptune , C - 54 Skymaster , C - 121 Constellation , and eventually the LC - 130F and LC - 130R Hercules , as well as a variety of helicopters . In addition to flying squadrons , the air station was also home to a major aircraft overhaul and repair ( O & R ) facility , later renamed Naval Air Rework Facility ( NARF ) Quonset Point . O & R Facilities , and their later incarnation as NARFs , are the predecessor of the present day Fleet Readiness Centers ( FRCs ) , previously known as Naval Aviation Depots ( NADEPs ) . Boasting a deepwater port , NAS Quonset Point was also homeport to several Essex class aircraft carrier s , including the USS " Essex " ( CV - 9 ) , USS " Intrepid " ( CV - 11 ) , USS " Wasp " ( CV - 18 ) , USS " Lake Champlain " ( CV - 39 ) and USS " Tarawa " ( CV - 40 ) , as well as their respective carrier air groups ( CAGs or CVSGs ) . In September 1945 , Air Wing Eighteen became Air Wing Seven here . NAS Quonset Point was decommissioned on 28 June 1974 as part of a series of defense cutbacks which resulted in a nation - wide reduction in bases following the end of the US engagement in Vietnam . Since the Navy ' s departure , a small military presence has remained in the form of Quonset Point Air National Guard Station , home to the 143d Airlift Wing ( 143 AW ) , an Air Mobility Command ( AMC ) - gained unit of the Rhode Island Air National Guard , operating the C - 130J and C - 130J - 30 Hercules aircraft . The Rhode Island Army National Guard also maintains an adjoining Army Aviation Support Facility for the 1st Battalion , 126th Aviation Regiment , operating the UH - 60 Black Hawk . Now known as Quonset State Airport ( IATA : OQU , ICAO : KOQU ) , the former NAS Quonset Point is a public general aviation airport with tenant Air National Guard and Army National Guard flying activities , as well as an adjacent industrial park . There is no scheduled airline service . The airport lies within Class D airspace and has an operating non - federal air traffic control tower ( closed on Mondays ) with two active runways , Runway 5 / 23 and Runway 16 / 34 . Quonset State Airport is one of six active airports operated by the Rhode Island Airport Corporation .