Description

NWEF OV-10 Model

Fly with the NWEF in this handcrafted OV-10 Model. Each piece is carved from wood and handpainted to provide a piece you’ll love.

Naval Weapons Evaluation Facility

• L – 14″ WS – 16″
• Made from Mahogany
• US Veteran-Owned Business

The United States Army Air Corps began using Kirtland Field south of Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the early years of World War II. The adjacent Sandia Base was created as a training facility. Several units from the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory were relocated to the Sandia Base in 1945 to use the Kirtland Field flight test facilities. Kirtland Field was designated Kirtland Air Force Base in 1947, and the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project (AFSWP) operated on Sandia Base. When the United States Air Force established the Air Force Special Weapons Command at Kirtland Air Force Base in 1949, the United States Navy formed a detachment to investigate nuclear capabilities for naval aircraft and assist the AFSWP with naval equipment for demonstrations and training. This detachment was headed by CDR Thomas Walker who had been working at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory as the prospective commander of the 4th atomic bomb mission which was cancelled following the surrender of Japan. In 1952 this detachment was designated the Naval Air Special Weapons Facility (NASWF) to conduct special weapons tests on the White Sands Missile Range and Tonopah Test Range in coordination with the United States Atomic Energy Commission.[1] As other nuclear weapons delivery systems were developed through the late 1950s, the mission expanded to include ballistic missiles, guided missiles, and torpedoes.[2] In March 1961 NASWF was redesignated the Naval Weapons Evaluation Facility with mission expanded to include safety studies on nuclear weapons. Aircraft used for NWEF testing were decorated with a unique thunderbird image. NWEF personnel became known as the Rio Grande Navy among the Albuquerque community. Popularity of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta encouraged NWEF personnel to form the Navy Balloon Team as a recruiting effort in 1976. Operations at Sandia Base ceased in 1993 after Base Realignment and Closure transferred the functions of NWEF to the weapons division of the Naval Air Warfare Center.[1]