The Naval Air Development Center Group navairdevcen@groups.io

The Naval Air Development Center (NADC), later known as the Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC) was located in Warminster, Pennsylvania. Because of its proximity to the small village of Johnsville it was often referred to by that name. The base closed in September 1996 and the majority of its activities were transferred to NAWC Patuxent River, Maryland.

The location was established by Brewster Aircraft to produce aircraft for use during WWII. Brewster had a dubious record including aircraft failures and mismanagement. It was taken over by the Navy and became the Naval Air Modification Unit (NAMU) for a short period after the war before becoming the Naval Air Development Center.

At its peak employment in the late 1980's there were over 3300 military, civilian, and contractor personnel working at the center. Many Military firsts in research and development were achieved at the center and many made their way to civilian use. The center housed the largest centrifuge in the world when it was dedicated in 1952. All of the Mercury astronauts trained at this facility.

The purpose of this group is to update former employees on events and activities. If you were in any way connected with this facility, civilian, military or contractor, we encourage you to join our group. Please note that the group moderator cannot add or modify your email address. You have full control over joining, leaving or changing your account information. This is a closed list, only members can send or view messages. If you want to keep up to date on NADC activities and events this group is the primary means of communication.

Group Information

  • navairdevcen.org
  • 201 Members
  • 268 Topics , Last Post:
  • Started on
  • Feed

Group Email Addresses

Group Settings

  • All members can post to the group.
  • Posts to this group do not require approval from the moderators.
  • Posts from new users require approval from the moderators.
  • Messages are set to reply to group.
  • Subscriptions to this group require approval from the moderators.
  • Archive is visible to anyone.
  • Wiki is visible to members only.
  • Members can edit their messages.
  • Members can set their subscriptions to no email.

Top Hashtags [See All]

 or Log In If You Are Already A Member

Archived Messages