With the onset of World War II, patriotic private landowners offered their property to Martin County to build an airport. Martin County's airport was originally known as MacArthur Field, however, it was later named Witham Field in honor of enlisted Naval Aviation Pilot First Class (AP1) Paul "Homer" Witham, who was the first Naval Aviator from the City of Stuart to die in World War II.
In October 1942, Martin County leased the 900-acre (3.6 km2) airport to the U.S. Government for use as a military training field. The U.S. Navy assumed operation of the airport in exchange for an $800,000 payment to the County. The Navy then committed $10 million to construct and operate a modern naval air station. During the war years, Naval Auxiliary Air Station Witham Field operated as an auxiliary field to Naval Air Station Vero Beach, providing an additional training and proficiency facility for Naval Aviators from the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps operating carrier-based and land-based fighter and light bomber aircraft.[2]
On July 1, 1947, NAAS Witham Field was decommissioned and the property returned to Martin County. During the 1950s and 1960s, Grumman Aircraft Corporation, now known as Northrop Grumman Space and Mission Systems Corporation, leased much of the airport property, naming it "Plant 77" and conducting flight-testing and manufacturing of parts and subassemblies for various aircraft such as the U.S. Army's OV-1 Mohawk and various U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Coast Guard aircraft. This is also where the Stuart Air Show performs every November.
In 1994, Northrop Grumman downsized their Witham Field operation and much of the property was again returned to Martin County, including responsibility for the airport's air traffic control tower. The county, in turn, hired an Airport Director to manage the property. Martin County now operates the 726-acre (2.94 km2) airport, and although there is no scheduled commercial airline service at the airport, the facility does continue to maintain an operational air traffic control tower and is home to two fixed-base operators (FBO) and more than 200 private and business aircraft.[3] The airport previously had scheduled passenger service operated by Air Florida which in 1984 was operating seven daily departures to West Palm Beach (PBI) with six of these flights then continuing on to Miami (MIA) on a direct one stop basis.[4]
Every November, the airport hosts the Stuart Air Show, although in 2019 the show was cancelled after a practice run resulted in a fatal crash and inclement weather moved into the area.[5]
References
^ abFAA Airport Form 5010 for SUA PDF, effective 2016-01-07
^. Florida Department of State. Archived from the original on February 6, 2004. Retrieved 2009-05-16.
^"About Witham field". Martin County Florida. Retrieved 2009-05-16.
^Stuart Air Show cancels Sunday events, citing weather concerns, Colleen Wixon, Treasure Coast Newspapers, 03 Nov 2019.
External links
Resources for this airport:
FAA airport information for SUA
AirNav airport information for SUA
FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
SkyVector aeronautical chart for SUA
KSUA, The History of Witham Field, Stuart FL, Part One
KSUA, The History of Witham Field, Stuart FL, Part Two
March 04, 2023
witham, field, coordinates, 1816944, 2210833, 1816944, 2210833, iata, icao, ksua, public, airport, located, mile, southeast, central, business, district, city, stuart, martin, county, florida, united, states, airport, publicly, owned, iata, suaicao, ksuafaa, s. Coordinates 27 10 54 10 N 080 13 15 90 W 27 1816944 N 80 2210833 W 27 1816944 80 2210833 Witham Field IATA SUA ICAO KSUA FAA LID SUA is a public use airport located 1 mile 1 6 km southeast of the central business district of the city of Stuart in Martin County Florida United States The airport is publicly owned 1 Witham FieldIATA SUAICAO KSUAFAA LID SUASummaryAirport typePublic useOwnerMartin County Board of CommissionersOperatorMichael C MoonServesStuart FloridaLocationMartin County FloridaElevation AMSL18 ft 6 mWebsitemartin fl us AirportMapSUALocation of airport in Florida United StatesShow map of FloridaSUASUA the United States Show map of the United StatesRunwaysDirection Length Surfaceft m7 25 4 652 1 418 Asphalt12 30 5 828 1 776 Asphalt16 34 4 998 1 523 AsphaltStatistics 2016 Aircraft operations120 556Based aircraft285Source Federal Aviation Administration 1 History EditWith the onset of World War II patriotic private landowners offered their property to Martin County to build an airport Martin County s airport was originally known as MacArthur Field however it was later named Witham Field in honor of enlisted Naval Aviation Pilot First Class AP1 Paul Homer Witham who was the first Naval Aviator from the City of Stuart to die in World War II In October 1942 Martin County leased the 900 acre 3 6 km2 airport to the U S Government for use as a military training field The U S Navy assumed operation of the airport in exchange for an 800 000 payment to the County The Navy then committed 10 million to construct and operate a modern naval air station During the war years Naval Auxiliary Air Station Witham Field operated as an auxiliary field to Naval Air Station Vero Beach providing an additional training and proficiency facility for Naval Aviators from the U S Navy and U S Marine Corps operating carrier based and land based fighter and light bomber aircraft 2 On July 1 1947 NAAS Witham Field was decommissioned and the property returned to Martin County During the 1950s and 1960s Grumman Aircraft Corporation now known as Northrop Grumman Space and Mission Systems Corporation leased much of the airport property naming it Plant 77 and conducting flight testing and manufacturing of parts and subassemblies for various aircraft such as the U S Army s OV 1 Mohawk and various U S Navy U S Marine Corps and U S Coast Guard aircraft This is also where the Stuart Air Show performs every November In 1994 Northrop Grumman downsized their Witham Field operation and much of the property was again returned to Martin County including responsibility for the airport s air traffic control tower The county in turn hired an Airport Director to manage the property Martin County now operates the 726 acre 2 94 km2 airport and although there is no scheduled commercial airline service at the airport the facility does continue to maintain an operational air traffic control tower and is home to two fixed base operators FBO and more than 200 private and business aircraft 3 The airport previously had scheduled passenger service operated by Air Florida which in 1984 was operating seven daily departures to West Palm Beach PBI with six of these flights then continuing on to Miami MIA on a direct one stop basis 4 Every November the airport hosts the Stuart Air Show although in 2019 the show was cancelled after a practice run resulted in a fatal crash and inclement weather moved into the area 5 References Edit a b FAA Airport Form 5010 for SUA PDF effective 2016 01 07 Floridas World War II Memorial NAAS Witham Florida Department of State Archived from the original on February 6 2004 Retrieved 2009 05 16 About Witham field Martin County Florida Retrieved 2009 05 16 QH011584p19 Stuart Air Show cancels Sunday events citing weather concerns Colleen Wixon Treasure Coast Newspapers 03 Nov 2019 External links EditResources for this airport FAA airport information for SUA AirNav airport information for SUA FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker SkyVector aeronautical chart for SUA KSUA The History of Witham Field Stuart FL Part One KSUA The History of Witham Field Stuart FL Part Two Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Witham Field amp oldid 1133816191, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
