U.S. NAVAL TRAINING CENTER BAINBRIDGE MD: Anti-Aircraft Gunnery Training -- Building 707

8/05/2010

Anti-Aircraft Gunnery Training -- Building 707

USNTC Bainbridge -- An unknown bldg on the base. Taken by Carol Weir while attending Radioman's School in November 1973.

Carol wrote: "The one building looks impressive-I don't actually remember it. A few of us went horseback riding in November before it got too cold. The stables were on the base". ▼

USNTC Bainbridge -- The unknown bldg. on the base is actually the Anti-Aircraft Gunnery Training Building 707 which served both the 1st and 2nd regiments.

Building 707 was situated next to the Ship's Service Headquarters across Bainbridge Ave from 4th Regiment Drill. 1943 Photograph is poor quality, but the black outline behind building 707 across Bainbridge Ave. is the 4th regiment drill hall bldg. 401.

There was another anti-aircraft building serving both the 3rd and 4th regiments located behind the 3rd Regiment Drill Hall and just below the water treatment plant and reservoir (lake). ▼

Attended Fire Control Technician (FT "A") School at Bainbridge from December 1960 to July 1961.

On at trip to a nearby location in 1998, I purposely drove to see what Bainbridge looked like.
USNTC Bainbridge looked absolutely awful, neglected and vandalized with many buildings already demolished.
That experience did something emotional to me, I couldn't get the place out of my mind.

On a subsequent trip I actually drove onto the base, demolition was in full swing, contractors with their tracked excavator backhoes were efficiently ripping down barracks along Bainbridge Avenue while water was being played onto the barracks to mitigate the asbestos dust from the exterior siding sheeting.

I returned once more in 2004 and walked all over the base. It was a truly sad experience, little remained but enough tell-tale items reminded one of the vibrancy this place once held, was now forever gone.

What happened here shouldn't have been so callously plowed under.
In eight months from 1942 to 1943, 508 building were constructed and a training base capable of training 20,000 at a time was in operation.
Such a Herculean achievement and the sacrifice of the hundreds of thousands trained at Bainbridge NTC should not be so summarily forgotton.

U.S. NAVAL TRAINING CENTER BAINBRIDGE MD

8/05/2010

Anti-Aircraft Gunnery Training -- Building 707

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