Naval Air Station Banana River Florida Patch

Long before rockets thundered into the Florida sky and the Space Coast became a symbol of exploration, Naval Air Station Banana River stood as one of America’s most important gateways to the Atlantic. Located where Cocoa Beach now borders the Banana River, the station was commissioned in 1940—just as the United States prepared for the storm of World War II. What began as a sleepy coastal base would soon become a hive of aviation, innovation, and quiet heroism in the fight against German submarines prowling the eastern seaboard.

During the war, NAS Banana River became a major center for patrol aviation, launching PBM Mariner seaplanes on long, grueling flights over the Atlantic. These crews searched for enemy U-boats, escorted convoys, and rescued downed aviators—missions flown at low altitude over unforgiving seas. Many flights lasted more than a dozen hours, and the men who flew them endured fatigue, storms, and the constant threat of combat with an enemy lurking beneath the waves. Their vigilance saved countless American and Allied lives by keeping the shipping lanes open at a time when German submarines sank vessels by the hundreds.

The base also became a hub of training and research. It was here that radar technicians, navigators, and seaplane pilots sharpened their skills using some of the Navy’s most advanced technology of the era. In 1945, the station entered legend when one of the war’s greatest mysteries unfolded from its docks: Flight 19, the “Lost Squadron” whose disappearance contributed to the mythology of the Bermuda Triangle, vanished after taking off under the command of nearby NAS Fort Lauderdale. When PBM rescue plane “Training 49” launched from Banana River to search for the missing aircraft, it too disappeared—its loss a solemn reminder of the dangers faced by aviators even in peacetime.

In the postwar years, NAS Banana River evolved into a key installation supporting missile testing, antisubmarine projects, and early space-age operations. By 1948, the station’s mission changed hands to the newly formed U.S. Air Force, becoming what would later grow into Patrick Air Force Base—and today, part of the U.S. Space Force’s pivotal launch complex on the Atlantic. Though the name “Banana River Naval Air Station” faded from maps, its legacy endures in every launch, every mission, and every wave touched by aircraft that once patrolled from its shores.

The Naval Air Station Banana River patch honors this vanished but vital chapter of naval aviation—a tribute to the seaplane crews, rescuers, researchers, and wartime aviators who served on Florida’s coast during a turning point in world history. To wear it is to carry the story of a base that quietly shaped the future of America’s military and aerospace might.