Exploring the Abandoned Argentia Naval Base Argentia Newfoundland - Discovering Newfoundland
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- Опубликовано: 23 авг 2024
- Exploring the Abandoned Argentia Naval Base, where you can find an underground hospital bunker, some say it was a command and control centre. We also happened to find the old naval runway that extends out over the ocean. The fog rolled in and the scene disappeared, what a way to end the day!!
Photos: www.pictorem.c...
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Thank you for this revived memory. My father was stationed in NAS Argentia in 1969 while I was just 6 years old. I as well as all the other young kids used to "sneak" in to those old bunkers and gun placements on a regular basis as young explorers back then. Sad to see all of the graffiti in and on them now. We lived in 900 block base housing back then. Great memories and beautiful scenery everywhere back then. Its been 52 years now that I still miss those times
Thats amazing! So happy we could bring back some happy childhood memories!
I was stationed there from 79-82. Explored that bunker a couple of times. The view from the lookout is fantastic! Thanks for letting me relive it..
My dad was station at Argentia in 1965 -69 . I was born their in 67 . My dad was Harry R. Inabinet he died in 85 . I loved being a NAVY BRAT .
Thank you so much. My brother was born on base and held dual citizenship until he passed. I was just a year old when my father was stationed there. I remember my mother having to catch a boat to get groceries.
So happy we could bring you some good memories!
I was stationed in Argentia Newfoundland in 1988 for a few years. Worked in the Navy tracking nuclear submarines top secret stuff. It’s a beautiful place but very cold, the sun didn’t shine much on the base from all the fog. It was extremely windy families with little kids had to be careful. I lived in the tower (cube) and then moved to housing that was built on the base. The local community of Freshwater and Dunville were so loving. It was a long drive to St Johns and lots of moose. Lots of snow, occasionally an Iceberg floating by.
Thank you for sharing, we love to hear stories from days gone by.
My husband worked at NAVFAC Sosus '68-''71. Our 1st child was born there @ the base hospital, wonderful facility, great care. I loved it, but hubby wanted out of the military! We had one of those big guns up on the hill behind our housing & we'd walk up there occasionally & check it out! No, the weather was not the best - it is a small spit of flat land stuck out in the Atlantic Ocean but as soon as you cleared the gates, the sun came out! Yeah. making the "Johns Run" in our day over the old dirt road was treacherous, you probably were privileged to drive the new paved access road.
What a great channel. RUclips's algorithm has directed me to you twice! Liked and subscribed. Thanks you for this video.
Thank you so much for making this video. Dad was stationed there from 77 to I think 79. LOVED Newfoundland.
Our pleasure! Thank you!
Great video . The runway didn’t extend over the water though it was the landing light towers . The underground bunker was also indeed a command centre and not a hospital. It may have had a couple of first aid rooms but it was a command centre for the coastal battery . Cheers
That was a really cool video! Fascinating how much was built by the U.S. Navy at Argentia, and how little of it remains. The only time I was ever on the base was in the late 1980s, when it was still in operation as a military base, though significantly scaled down from its use during WW2. They were still very security conscious, though, and you didn't mess around with the guards on duty!
Thank you Carol! We enjoyed exploring the grounds, we were so pleased that we were able to locate the old naval runway before the fog totally engulfed the scene. This was our favourite part of day, we throughly enjoyed capturing images of the runway, especially when the fog started to roll in. Just perfect! We hope to go back at some point, we're sure we missed a bit.
Grew up out there,those mountains are called Isaac's Head's.I kayaked all around those areas.Argentia has alot of history and some of it dark as previous residents had their property expropriated during wartime to build war machine complex and received very little compensation.
Thank you for the information, sounds like Argentia has quite a bit of history.
Excellent video and great ambiance. Narrated part is great too.👌👌
I was stationed there from 1966 thru 1968, served in the crash crew, it was awesome and very beautiful.
I was stationed in Argentia from 1961 to 1963. I was in VW-11. We deployed to Keflavik, Iceland for roughly 2 weeks and back in Argentia for roughly 6 weeks. I was a radar man in an EC-121K. A buddy of mine married a girl from St Johns in January 1963. I met one of the bridesmaids and dated her. I really liked her but was due to be discharged in April of 1963. I wanted to extend for a year but the Navy insisted on a minimum of 2 years. I wanted to go to college and wasn't willing to extend my enlistment for 2 more years. I wonder what would have happened between us had I been able to stay another year at Argentia?
My grandparents families were from Argentia. They're part of those whose homes were burned and bulldozed, cemeteries uprooted so that the base could be built. They were willing to sacrifice for the war effort.
That is amazing, the history that can be found all over Newfoundland is quite impressive. Thank you very much for sharing the video :)
Thank you this was a really interesting place.
So I lived here from like 1991 to 1993. I went to A.L. Bristol School for Pre-K and first grade. My teacher was a lady named Ms Nishihara. My best friend was a girl named Ashley Lucky and Rebecca Paul. I got to meet Alex Trebec. I used to get bullied by a kid named Jacob Sharp until one day..well the bullying abruptly stopped. Let’s say that. I saw many moose, and whales because my parents housing sat on a type of hill. My mom broke her nose, or was it her knee?Or both?? Whatever it was, it was playing softball on this base.
Crazy how I can remember all this when I was still learning how to even function as a boy. This video does no justice to show how beautiful it is when it’s full of snow and you can see the icebergs. Mann.
Some places have an ever lasting memory in your life, this is one place that has so so many memories…now wiped away in reality. Unfortunately my mother’s group was one of the last groups to get sent up there because the base was getting shut down. This video is very bittersweet for me. I showed it to my mom and she almost cried.
EVERYTHING IS GONE!
Thank you for watching, sounds like this video has brought up many memories for you and your mom. Wish I could have seen it in it's heyday.
I was born here in 1962, my father was stationed here.
My father was stationed there during the Korean war years. He flew PBY'S and PBM's. I was born there in 1953. Many years ago
It was primarily a seaplane base. Dad flew SAR and ASW to Greenland and Iceland. He went from Argentia to Pensacola, never went back north.
In the first part of the video. These are bomb shelters. Gander has then as well.
Served 2 tours in Arg. Best time of my life!
Stationed there from November 67 to May 69. Very busy place at that time. Navcommsta Argentia. I was a very young single guy who lived in the enlisted barracks and stood communications watches with brutal hours. Thank goodness for the Windjammer EM club. Dances and bands on weekends with lots of girls. Movies on a small screen in the EM club during the week. Occasional trips to St. Johns over 90 miles, half of which was dirt roads. Not the greatest duty for a single guy who was too young to think about getting hooked up. Married guys loved it for the families staying together. Can't say I blame them. Slowest 18 months of my life.
It's an art gallery now :) so colorful, I love it.
You may not of wanted to mess around with the guards but my Dad and his brother would. They grew up in the little town next the the base called Freshwater and would always ride their dirt bikes past the guards post and have the men chase them through the base. My Dads uncle was a bartender on the base as well. There used to be a big building called the cube but it was demolished years ago. On the base my dad told my there were many plane hangers that are also gone long ago.
@@Underrated709 cheers man 🍻
It would have been nice to see more of the Naval base before demolition, or the works of Mother Nature. Still we did enjoy exploring the grounds.
Like they say, if you don’t like the weather in Newfoundland,
just wait five minutes...
My grandmother worked on the base back in the day god rest her soul
Stationed there from 1991-1994. The bunker is a hospital bunker. We did some training in that bunker for the security team.
Thank you for clarifying the bunker. It was quite the place, the abandoned Naval base.
[Edited slightly to correct errors and for readability.] My dad enlisted in the US Marine Corps in the summer of 1942. After doing a stint at Quantico, VA, he was sent, via troopship, to Argentia, at that time, of course, in the Dominion of Newfoundland. They weren't told where they were going, so as to help maintain operational security. As the ships went out to sea, they entered the Gulf Stream, and the air became comfortably warm. Then, as they left the Gulf Stream, as they neared Newfoundland, it became much cooler.
As the ships approached the pier, they were able to read the sign on the building, saying "Argentia". But they misread the sign. "Argentina???". Then they thought about the weather en route, and remembered that the weather had gotten significantly warmer, before getting cooler, again. "That must have been when we crossed the equator", they murmured among themselves. Finally a fresh set of eyes looked at the sign, after hearing the others talk about it. "That sign says, "Argentia", not "Argentina!", he exclaimed.
My dad was stationed there until just after the war, when he was sent back to the States, also via troop ship, and then returned to Maine (where I'm originally from).
Being a Marine, he did security. One night, a US destroyer entered the harbor, having the anti-submarine nets opened for them, allowing them to enter. But Sonar had detected a German submarine tailing them through the nets. The ship had radioed ahead about the submarine tailing them. So, once they had the submarine trapped inside the harbor, the destroyer depth charged the German sub, and sunk her. There were at least, some, survivors, and Dad helped, escorting them to the Navy brig.
My Dad was dating my Mom, at the time, my Mom living in Placentia, and they were supposed to have a date, that night. But he had to stand her up. Duty called.
My Mom was originally from Petite Forte, across Placentia Bay on the Burin Peninsula, where her dad crewed a fishing schooner. But, after the war started, and the US Navy started building the base in Argentia, he gave that up and the family moved to Placentia, and her dad worked as a carpenter, helping to build the base.
My parents eloped, after the war, my Dad giving my Mom a USD $100 bill, which was a lot of money in 1945, and she made her own way to the States, and they got married on the 4th of July, Independence Day (1946), in the States.
After my Dad retired in 1973, we all moved to Placentia, staying initially with my Mom's youngest brother, who had inherited their mother’s house in Placentia. Since my mother never did become a US Citizen, her citizenship became Canadian when Newfoundland joined the confederation, so she was able to sponsor us into Canada. While waiting for Dad to find work, we next moved, first to Dunville, then to Freshwater, and finally to Marystown, after he found work at the fish plant that existed, at the time.
I came back to the States, initially just intending to stay just for Christmas, 1980, after having moved to Moncton, NB, by then. But, having been laid off, and the job market being poor, at the time, I decided that my best option was to stay in the US and join the US military, so I joined the Navy for 6 years, and after living in different places, following work, I eventually settled down in the Houston, TX area, where I live now.
Since the Harper government conferred the status of Canadian citizenship onto the children of Canadian citizens, born abroad, I now have dual citizenship, US & Canadian.
What a great story! We love hearing them. Thank you for sharing:)
I believe my Mom was there around 1942 ish , she was super young at that point and lied about her age to get a job there. I swear I remember her telling me that she served a young Frank Sinatra dinner at that place when he was traveling and visiting troops. I remember her saying he was very young and looked like a boy at that time.
Thank you for sharing! That's fantastic!
I don’t know when you film 🎥 it cause I wondered why seems not much growing there 😊
good luck sighting targets for the guns when the fog rolls in, pre radar days?
What is it with these vandals and their spray paint cans ??Cant leave anything alone, and for what ????
It is quite unfortunate, but exploring this place was worth the drive.
Same the world over!
I totally agree. They have no respect, and their vandalism is just a stupid little act of rebellion. I've seen it in all the cities I've visited, some worse than others.
As a vet it disgusts me, it boils down to no respect
When I lived in Newfoundland in the 1970's the only graffiti I remember ever saw was along the TransCanada, on the Avalon Peninsula, in just one spot. Something about Hitler. Spraypainted on exposed ledge.
Times have changed. For the worse, in that regard.
So disappointed that you never actually said anything about the base, other than that it's now abandoned. When did that happen?
I was out there today but don't know where exactly you explored. I did not see what I see in your video
Where is this??? Did you take a dirt road to where you are? Can you tell me exactly where you went? I swear I was in the area but didn't see anything that I see in your video. I drove over an hour to get there and left extremely disappointed. I would appreciate directions, in detail. Thank you
Hi Carl we used this website as a guide but had to search it out when we were there. Once we found the first bunker that some call the hospital we went on top of it as it was high up we got a lay of the land then started to explore. We ran into people who directed us to the old structure going out over the ocean. www.hiddennewfoundland.ca/argentia-naval-station
if you plan on doing a complete tour of Argentia I can help email you a map of the bunkers or if your in Dunville I can meet you.
Why thank you, that's very generous of you. We hope to go back at some point.
Hi Harold , where could I acquire a map of the bunkers ? Thanks
harold could you please email me this aswell
Interesting - but the audio hurts.....