Gateway National Recreation Area ⓘ

History includes much more than the stories of the famous. Every day, the decisions and actions of "ordinary" people help to shape history as we know it.

In this section, you will find brief biographies of several people who are famous or were once famous in their day: aviators, military figures and social activists who were important to the history of Gateway or who had sections of the park named after them. You will also find dozens of oral histories from artillery soldiers, lighthouse keepers and lifesavers, civilian workers, spouses and children. Together, these stories help us understand what happened in the past and how we influence events today, events that will themselves pass into history.

Jamaica Bay People includes aviators at Floyd Bennett Field, military figures at former Navy, Army and Coast Guard facilities and New York City figures who helped literally shape the park now known as Gateway.

Sandy Hook People includes not only the well-known figures in its history but also the Sandy Hook Oral History Project. This project focuses primarily on the occupants and work force at the former Fort Hancock: soldiers, spouses, children and civilian workers. Staten Island People includes the many soldiers Gateway's forts are named for as well as people important in Staten Island history.

Gateway, a national park in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and New Jersey, includes a wide diversity of resources. These places tell the stories of our nation's defense, the golden age of aviation, maritime safety, public recreation and natural resource protection. New York Harbor is America's largest port. To keep ships and cargo safe, lighthouses were set up at Sandy Hook, at Fort Wadsworth and other locations. The former U.S. Life Saving Service set up places to watch for the safety of ships and to rescue shipwrecked passengers and crew.

These were also ideal locations for forts and airfields defending New York from possible invasion or attack. The idea of using these areas for human recreation and wildlife conservation came later. New York City government set aside Jacob Riis Park for beachgoers and built Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge from former landfill. Sandy Hook became a beachcomber's destination only as Fort Hancock began to wind down.

For a closer look at these places, click the links below. You can also find out more about Gateway on our stories page .

The Gateway National Recreation Area museum collection contains a great variety of objects ranging from artillery shells to sea shells. Aircraft to insects, this collection contains something of interest to everyone. The museum holdings relate to the history of the park and include significant archival and historical collections related to the military, aviation and recreational stories and sites throughout the park. These holdings also include an archeological and a natural history collection.

Archival holdings include photographs, architectural drawings, manuals, maps, menus, newspapers and more. The history objects in the collection include a wide variety of items such as uniforms, insignia, cups, plaques and jewelry.

Gateway's collection can be viewed and used by researchers by calling 718-354-4537 to contact one of our curatorial staff.

The early history of American civilian and military aviation is well represented at Floyd Bennett Field and Miller Field. Along with Naval Air Station Rockaway, once located in today’s Riis Park, Gateway can represent the history of aviation from the early 1900’s to modern times. We have items that range from airplanes and helicopters to photographs, manuals, pilot log books, flight suits and goggles.

Harbor defense is strongly represented at many of Gateway’s sites. Forts Wadsworth, Tilden and Hancock all played an integral part in the defense of New York Harbor from the American Revolution through the Cold War, and into the early 1970’s. There are many artifacts in the collection ranging from the official to the personal. These include architectural drawings, uniforms, reports, menus, letters, cannons, insignia, etc.

Another important aspect Gateway’s history, as well as its current use, is recreation. Many of Gateway’s visitors come to use the beaches, walk along the paths, play sports, bird watch, and attend special events. These uses can also be traced throughout the history of Gateway, and prior to the park’s establishment. Some of the artifacts we have in this area are swim suit wringers, programs and photographs.

Gateway is unique in its abundance of open space around New York Harbor. One of the truly exciting aspects of the park is the abundance of nature surrounded by an intensely urban setting. Our museum collection has some examples of the many plants and animals found at our sites. These items were collected under permit for scientific study. Please remember that it is illegal to remove any natural or cultural resources from national parks.

The Sandy Hook Oral History Program consists of more than 100 interviews with people who either lived or worked at Sandy Hook. Most were soldiers and dependents of the U.S. Army, but many others worked here too. Interviews were conducted by park staff and Monmouth University student interns over several years. These are personal memories, which may be imprecise with the passage of time. Interviews may include factual errors and opinions. Items written in parenthesis are editorial notes. In a few rare instances, objectionable or offensive comments have been edited or removed.

For most of the last two centuries, Sandy Hook was Federal property. A lighthouse and two Life-Saving Service stations helped protect and save ship passengers. The U.S. Army established a longterm presence here when Fort Hancock was commissioned in 1895. Many thousands of people lived and worked at the Hook. Population peaked during World War II when more than 7,000 soldiers trained here and guarded New York Harbor from America's enemies.

Daniel Bissell was a soldier and a spy for the Continental Army on Staten Island during the Revolutionary War. His service included going undercover in the British Army for 13 months, where he recorded and reported information for George Washington and his officers about the British Fort, Flag Staff Post, which occupied land on modern-day Fort Wadsworth. Bissell, under direct orders from George Washington, posed as a deserter in New York City and joined the British Army in order to gain access to the most valuable information about the British forces. He was placed in the British Infantry Corps under the leadership of Benedict Arnold, a traitor of the Continental Army. With an impressive memory and detailed drawing skills, Bissell recorded important information about the British fortifications that were erected in the New York area during his time undercover. During his time with the British Army, he garrisoned posts at Ireland Heights, Fresh Meadows, and Harlem Lane. His final detail was to Flag Staff Post, the British fort that preceded modern-day Fort Wadsworth. Bissell remained at Flag Staff Post from May 27, 1782 until September 26, 1782, and fled the area that night. The information that he gathered detailed the number of troops stationed around and in fortifications, as well as the shape and style of British fortifications. Specifically, at Flag Staff Post, he described with tremendous detail the specifics of the British fort and soldiers. Today, in the Fort Wadsworth Visitor Center, we showcase a replica of the drawing that Bissell recorded, and a replica of Flag Staff Post as was expertly described by Bissell when he returned to the Continental Army. Upon his return, Bissell was placed under arrest by the Continental Army until General Washington could corroborate his story. For his courage and bravery as a spy, Bissell was the last recipient of the Badge of Military Merit in June of 1873, which was the precursor of the contemporary Purple Heart. Bissell’s bravery in his acts of espionage and his detailed record keeping allowed the Continental Army to obtain critical information on British fortifications across New York. Most notably, his undercover work at Flag Staff Post gives us a heroic story of American espionage during the Revolutionary War on what we now know as Fort Wadsworth.

Beginning in 1807, incidents on the seas between the U.S. and Great Britain occurred. The U.S. response was to create new coastal defenses. This new program of defense became the 2nd system and was constructed between 1807 and 1815.

The fortifications of the 2nd system were open batteries built of earth and wood and casemated masonry structures. The primary defensive positions for New York Harbor were in the inner harbor close to and on Manhattan.

The southern New York Harbor 2nd system defenses included Castle Clinton (on Manhattan), Castle Williams and Fort Jay also known as Fort Columbus (on Governors Island), Fort Wood (on today's Liberty Island), Fort Gibson (on Ellis Island), Forts Hudson , Morton , Smith, Tompkins, and Richmond (on Staten Island), Fort Gates (on Sandy Hook) and a blockhouse on Rockaway Peninsula.

These fortifications were used in the War of 1812 . The forts fired canonballs that could cover approximately one mile. An example of the enemy that these forts were built to defend against would be the British HMS Victory, a wooden sailing ship with smoothbore canons.

All of the fort locations mentioned above are today managed by the National Park Service. Within Gateway NRA, the Staten Island forts were within today's Fort Wadsworth, and Fort Gates was at Sandy Hook.

Advancements in weapons developed during the Civil War made masonry forts and smoothbore cannons obsolete. The U.S. government convened the Endicott Board in 1885 to create a new system of defense using the latest weaponry. The Endicott system was constructed from 1890-1910 with some remaining in use until 1945.

Forts at every major harbor in the United States were armed with Endicott system weapons. Fort Hancock , Fort Wadsworth and Fort Hamilton were the southern New York Harbor defenses armed with this weapon system.

The Endicott system was created to attack enemy warships from fortifications mounted in concrete that were not visible from the water. This attack would stop an invasion and allow Navy vessels the time necessary to reach and engage the enemy. The first in which this weapon system was armed and ready was for the Spanish-American War in 1898. An example of a potential enemy were the steel armored Spanish Battleship Pelayo or Cruiser Infanta Maria Teresa.

Endicott weaponry used very accurate rifled disappearing cannons, mortars, rapid fire guns, submarine nets, underwater mines, and searchlights. The guns were 3-inch to 12-inch in caliber and had a range of 7 to 9 miles. The modern age had begun with concrete and electricity being used in defenses for the first time.

Learn more about the next generation of fortifications, New York Harbor Defenses 1907-1945 .

Anti-aircraft gun batteries were first constructed at the end of World War I. During World War II it became clear that the viable threat to the U.S. coast was from the air and no longer from the sea. Anti-Aircraft batteries numbers increased and coastal gun positions were removed. After World War II ended, the Coast Artillery was abolished. Anti-aircraft guns were now the only defenders of the coastlines. These weapons stood ready during the Korean War, but they could only shoot down propellered airplanes. Jet fighters flew higher and faster. This lead to the development of the Nike Air Defense Missile.

From 1954 until 1974, during the height of the Cold War, Nike Missiles guarded the New York area. The missiles were able to intercept long range Soviet Bear Bombers and destroy them while still over the ocean. Nineteen Nike Missile sites ringed New York City. Two of the missile sites and the Headquarters unit were located in what is now Gateway NRA. Fort Hancock (NY-56) and Fort Tilden (NY-49) operated from 1954 to 1974, while Fort Wadsworth was the Headquarters of the 52nd Anti-Aircraft Brigade from 1954 to 1960.

Soldiers assigned to the Nike Missile defenses worked in one of two locations within a site. They worked at the Missile Launch Area or the radar area, known as the Integrated Fire Control Area (IFC). These soldiers lived at these locations in ready barracks when they were on 24-hour duty shifts.

Fort Tilden and Fort Hancock were both considered double battery sites as they each had two missile batteries. Each battery had two underground storage rooms for a total of four magazines at each site. Each magazine room had a large elevator that raised and lowered missiles.

The IFC had three types of radar. The first, called Acquisition Radar, located the enemy target. Target Tracking Radar then followed the target. The third radar type was Missile Tracking Radar that would follow and guide the Nike to destroy the target.

Nike batteries were part of ARADCOM, the U.S. Army Air Defense Command. Placed strategically near cities throughout the country to prevent “destruction of the centers of America’s great retaliatory and productive might,” the batteries defended against Soviet aggression.

The first Nike Missile developed was the Ajax. This missile could fire and destroy a target at 30 miles. By 1958, the Hercules began replacing the Ajax. This larger missile had a range of over 96 miles and was designed to carry a nuclear warhead. In 1974, all remaining Nike batteries were disarmed in compliance with the SALT treaty signed with the Soviet Union. Besides, the arms race’s newest weapon, the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) made them obsolete.

First lit on June 11, 1764, the Sandy Hook Light is the oldest surviving lighthouse in what is now the United States. Financed by a lottery, it was built by the Colony of New York to keep ships safe as they passed by Sandy Hook on their way to and from New York Harbor. In 2014, the lighthouse celebrated its 250th anniversary . It remains a working lighthouse today and the 1857 Fresnel (fray-NEL) lens is electrically lit and maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard.

During the American Revolution, its thick walls protected it from cannonball fire from the Continental Army. The British captured the lighthouse in 1776 and held it through the end of the war in 1783. The lighthouse itself was fortified during the War of 1812, when the shortlived Fort Gates was built here.

The Lighthouse Keeper's Quarters, built in 1883, is the fifth such quarters built on this site. It was one of two U.S. Life Saving Service (USLSS) structures on the Hook. After Hurricane Sandy, it has served as a museum and visitor center until the USLSS building at Spermaceti Cove is repaired.

The Sandy Hook Light is a National Historic Landmark within a National Historic Landmark. It has its own status as a National Historic Landmark but is also part of the Fort Hancock and Sandy Hook Proving Ground Historic District National Historic Landmark.

View Sandy Hook Lighthouse brochure . *New Sandy Hook Lighthouse. The Facts, Mystery and History Surrounding America's Oldest Operating Lighthouse .

Spermaceti Cove Life-Saving Station , built in 1894, housed the men who risked their lives saving shipwrecked victims. In 1915 the United States Life-Saving Service became part of the U.S. Coast Guard. The station was used by the Coast Guard until the late 1940s. The National Park Service converted it into a visitor center, which was used until it was damaged Hurricane Sandy. This building has been restored, and is open to the public Thursday, Friday and Monday from 12 p.m. - 4 p.m. and from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Spermaceti Cove #2 Life-Saving Service Station is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is also part of the Fort Hancock and Sandy Hook Proving Ground Historic District National Historic Landmark.

Record - setting and Famous Flights From Floyd Bennett Field (also, known as Naval Air Station - New York,) 1930 - 1957

June 26, 1930 Although unfinished and with major construction continuing throughout the ceremony, Floyd Bennett Field received its first dedication. Floyd Bennett's widow, Mrs. Cora Bennett and Lieut. Comdr. Richard E. Byrd were present at the event which featured a flyby by the Army Air Corps and a visit by the Navy dirigible Los Angeles. Flight operations began at FBF after the dedication.

May 23, 1931 Floyd Bennett Field's formal dedication ceremony was marked by a flyby of 672 U.S. Army aircraft. Presided over by N.Y. Mayor James J. Walker, the event drew some 25, 000 spectators. Eight Navy planes commanded by Lieut. R.F. Whitehead were the first aircraft to arrive officially at the field

July 28-30, 1931 Russell N. Boardman and John Polando in the monoplane "Cape Cod", establish a distance record of 5,011.8 miles without refueling in their flight, mostly on instruments, from Floyd Bennett Field to Istanbul, Turkey (49:20:00, Bellanca CH, Wright J-6 engine) . This flight breaks the previous record of 4,912 miles set by Costes and Bellonte flying from Paris to Coulart, China in 1930.

July 28-29, 1931 Hugh Herndon and Clyde Pangborn in their plane Miss Veedol fly to Moylegrove, Wales (31:42:00, Bellanca Skyrocket, Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine) from FBF on the first leg of a round-the-world flight. The two had taken off from FBF 17 minutes later than the Cape Cod and were out to break the globe circling record set by Wiley Post and Harold Gatty. Delays due to bad weather and need for repair caused them to fall far behind schedule. They decided to fly to Tokyo and try for the first nonstop crossing of the Pacific which brought with it a $25,000 prize offered by the newspaper Tokyo Asahi. They had radioed ahead to Japan for permission to land at Tokyo but took off before they received a reply. In Tokyo they were arrested for flying over and photographing military installations. They were held by the military and questioned for a number of weeks, tried, fined $1,025 and granted permission to leave the country by air. However, they were allowed only one chance for take off. If that failed they would have to leave by ship.

On October 3rd they took off from Samishiro Beach, north of Tokyo. In the air Herndon cut a wire to jettison the plane's landing gear, reducing the load by 300 pounds. At Wenatchee, Washington the aircraft landed on its belly, sliding along in a cloud of sparks and dust, the pilots unhurt. Waiting for them on the field was a representative from the Japanese newspaper with a check for $25,000.

October 17, 1931 Hugh Herndon and Clyde Pangborn complete the round the world flight begun in July setting a record for the longest non-stop flight to date in a first trans-Pacific crossing (4,558 miles in about 41 hours). Having installed a new landing gear and propeller on their plane the two pilots crossed the country in easy hops, timing their arrival at FBF for a Four-Field Flying Show staged as a benefit for New York's unemployed by the aviation industry.

December 10, 1931 The Herbert Shiff Memorial Trophy is awarded to the U.S. Naval Reserve Aviation Base at Floyd Bennett Field for the aircraft squadron or unit flying the greatest number of hours during the year without serious accident.

February 1, 1932 Ruth Nichols flying from FBF sets an altitude record for oil (diesel motors) burning planes, of 19,928 feet (Packard Lockheed monoplane).

June 3, 1932 Stanislaus F. Hausner rescued by a British tanker eight days after his plane was forced down in the Atlantic in an aborted attempt to make a solo trans-oceanic flight (Bellanca Pacemaker, Wright Whirlwind engine).

July 5-6, 1932 James Mattern and Bennett Griffin, starting from FBF fly non-stop from Harbor Grace, Newfoundland to Berlin, Germany in their attempt to fly around the world. They continued to Borisov, Russia. (18:41:00, Lockheed Vega, Pratt & Whitney engine.)

August 25-September 11, 1932 George Hutchinson and Family attempt trans-Atlantic flight but had to make a forced landing off the coast of Greenland. They were rescued by a British trawler two days later (Sikorsky amphibian, two Pratt & Whitney motors). August 29, 1932 James C. Haizlip establishes a transcontinental record from Burbank, California to FBF during the Bendix Trophy Race (10:19:00, Wedell-Williams, Pratt & Whitney Wasp Jr. engine).

August 29, 1932 Roscoe Turner arrives shortly after Haizlip from Los Angeles (10:58:39, Wedell-Williams, Pratt & Whitney Wasp Jr. engine)

September 13, 1932 William Ulbrich with co-pilot Edna Newcomber and passenger/medical observer Dr. Leon Pisculli, are lost at sea in an attempted trans-Atlantic crossing from FBF to Rome. (Bellanca Skyrocket, named "American Nurse" Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine).this attempt to conquer the Atlantic was made for the purpose of collecting medical data on the effects of a protracted and hazardous flight on the human system.

November 14, 1932 Roscoe Turner fighting westerly winds establishes a new East-West record from FBF to Burbank (12:33:00, Wedell-Williams, Pratt and Whitney engine).

June 2, 1933 Lt. Comdr Frank Hawks in his Sky Chief establishes a new West-East non-stop record, from Los Angeles to FBF (13:26:15, Northrop Gamma, Wright Whirlwind R-1510 engine)

June 3, 1933 James J. Mattern attempts the first solo around-the-world flight, making it across the Atlantic to be forced down in Siberia on June 15th. After 14 days on the banks of the river Anadyr he was rescued by Eskimos. He had broken his ankle in the crash. What food he had with him, a small supply of chocolate and biscuits lasted five days. Later, he flies part of the way back to New York (Lockheed Vega, Pratt & Whitney engine).

June 4, 1933 Henrietta Sumner of Los Angeles wins the second annual Annette Gipson All-women Air Race at FBF. A crowd of more than 50,000 watched as "23 leading aviatrices [sic] competed in this 40-mile race for $850 first prize." Amelia Earhart was the race Starter and Ruth Nichols the Chief Scorer. Frances Marsalis came in second, Jessamine Goddard third, and Mary Sansome fourth.

June 11-12, 1933 Capt. J. Errol Boyd with Harold P. Davis and Robert G. Lyon fly from FBF to St. Marc, Haiti in the eight year-old Columbia a veteran of long distance nonstop flights including two crossings of the Atlantic -- carrying Chamberlin and Levine to Germany in 1927 and Boyd and Connor to England in 1930 (about 24 hours, Bellanca monoplane, Wright-Whirlwind engine). July 1, 1933 The Bendix Trophy Race starts from FBF. Winner Roscoe Turner establishes new East-West record from FBF to Los Angeles (11:30:00, Wedell-Williams, Pratt & Whitney engine) . other entrants in the race are James Wedell, Russell Boardman, Lee Gehlbach, Russell Thaw, Amelia Earhart Putnam, and Ruth Nichols.

July 15-17, 1933 Capt. Stephen Darius and Lieut. Stanley Girenas fly from FBF to Lithuania but are killed when their plane crashes in Soldin, Germany just a few miles short of their goal, Kaunas, Lithuania (Bellanca, Wright-Whirlwind engine).

July 15-22, 1933 Wiley Post in the Winnie Mae makes the first solo round-the-world flight, 15,957 miles, landing at FBF to a welcome by an estimated 50,000 people (7 days 18:45:5, Lockheed Vega, Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine).

July 19-25, 1933 Air Marshall Italo Balbo of the Italian Air Force lands at Floyd Bennett Field with his flotilla of 24 seaplanes. He had flown on a goodwill mission to the Century of Progress Exhibition (Chicago World's Fair) from Italy via Iceland and Labrador, losing two planes on the way. The longest, seven days, stop of the squadron was an occasion to meet with the Italian community in New York as well thoroughly overhaul the flying boats in preparation for their journey back to Italy. (Savoia-Marchetti S-55X, two Isotta Fraschini Asso motors).

From the Aircraft Yearbook "July 1-Aug.12 General Orbetello, Italy with 25 seaplanes of the Italian Air Force, flies to Chicago, Ill., via Iceland and Labrador, 23 of the planes returning to Rome via New York, Newfoundland, and the Azores."

August 5-7, 1933 Lieut. Maurice Rossi and Paul Codos fly their plane Joseph Lebrix from FBF to Rayak, Syria to establish a distance record of 5,657.387 miles (in about 55 hours). Loaded down with 1, 770 gallons of gasoline the aircraft used nearly all of the 4,200-foot runway at the field to gain airspeed (Bleriot 110, Hispano-Suiza engine.) August 8, 1933 The brothers Benjamin and Joseph Adamowicz take off from FBF in a proposed flight to Warsaw, Poland. They had to abandon their attempt after their plane was badly damaged while landing at Harbor Grace, Newfoundland on the first leg of the trip.

September 2, 1933 Former Chief of Staff of the Royal Italian Air Force, General Francesco de Pinedo was killed trying to take off from FBF in an attempt to set a solo distance record of 7,500 miles from New York to Baghdad, Iraq.

"The wheels of the big Bellanca the "Santa Lucia," never left the ground. The plane swerved over the wide, long runway, bumped across 500 feet of uneven turf and tore through a steel fence which snapped off one of the broad wings and the whirling prop and burst into flames.

"Horrified but helpless witnesses saw Marquis de Pinedo stand in the cockpit of his plane as if trying to cut the switch a moment before its orange-red wings were engulfed in flames. After that . there was nothing any one could do and de Pinedo perished in the fire." -- Newspaper Account

September 25, 1933 Roscoe Turner sets new trans-continental record in flight from Burbank to FBF averaging 250 miles per hour (10:04:55, Wedell-Williams, Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine).

April 25, 1934 Laura H. Ingalls arrives at FBF after completing a 17,000 mile flight to South America, flying alone since her departure on February 28th from Glen Curtiss Airport, North Beach [later LaGuardia Field] (Lockheed Air Express, Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine).

May 14-15, 1934 George R. Pond and Cesare Sabelli fly from FBF to Lahinch, Ireland, continuing on to their planned destination, Rome (32 hours, approx. , Bellanca Pacemaker, Wright Whirlwind engine).

May 27-28, 1934 Paul Codos and Maurice Rossi complete the second non-stop airplane crossing from Continental Europe landing at FBF. The flight which began in Paris was an attempt to beat their non-stop distance record of 5, 657 miles, New York to Syria in 1933 with a planned destination of Los Angeles. They reported the strain of carrying 12,540 pounds of gasoline was beyond the capability of their veteran plane and they had to land in New York (38:27:00, Bleriot 110, Hispano-Suiza engine). June 28, 1934 Adamowitz Brothers leave from FBF in a second attempt to fly to Poland. After forced landings at Saint André de Messei and Nedlitz-Thermendorf, Germany, they reached Warsaw on July 2nd.

September 1, 1934 Roscoe Turner arrives at FBF from Burbank, California to set a new transcontinental record (10:02:57, Wedell-Williams, Pratt & Whitney Hornet engine).

January 15, 1935 Maj. James Doolittle arriving from Burbank, California, with his wife, Josephine, and one other passenger, sets a transcontinental nonstop record for a passenger transport aircraft (11:59:00, Developmental Vultee, Wright Cyclone engine).

"With any kind of flying weather the trip could have been made in considerably less time. We flew at least 300 miles out of the way. The steady northwest: wind drifted us far south of our course. Several times I used a knife to try to scrape the ice from the windshield but didn't have much success with this. occasionally the moon would come out through the clouds but for the most part everything was blackness around us." -- James Doolittle

February 20-21, 1935 Leland S. Andrews with Henry Meyers, co-pilot, and G.D. Rayburn, radio operator breaks Doolittle's transcontinental passenger plane speed record, arriving from Los Angeles at FBF in an American Airlines plane (11:34:16, Developmental Vultee, Wright Cyclone engine).

April 30, 1935 Comdr. D.W. Tomlinson with H.B. Snead and Peter Redpath in a Transcontinental and Western Air (TWA) plane sets nonstop record from Burbank to FBF (11:05:45, Douglas DC-1, two Wright Cyclone engines).Flying 80 percent of the time guided by instruments -- the Sperry gyropilot -- they were helped to a speed of 280 miles per hour with a high tail wind and the three-mile-high layer of light air through which they were flying. one minute before eight p.m., New York time they streaked across the field, too high and too fast to make an approach. Tomlinson had to take the plane ten miles out over the Atlantic ocean and turn back while slowing down and losing enough altitude to land.

May 16-17, 1935 Comdr. D.W. Tomlinson and J.S. Bartles in demonstrating increased ability of modern transport planes and engines to carry heavy loads, set 14 speed records at FBF (Douglas DC-1, two Wright Cyclone engines).

May 18, 1935 D.W. Tomlinson and J.S. Bartles establish eight more speed records for passenger transport airplanes (Douglas DC-1, two Wright Cyclone engines). July 11, 1935 Laura H. Ingalls sets east-west speed record for women with a non-stop flight from FEF to Burbank (18:23:00, Lockheed Orion, Pratt &: Whitney Wasp engine).

July 18-August 16, 1935 Thor Solberg with radio operator Paul Oscanyan leaves FBF for Bergen, Norway by way of Canada, Greenland, and Iceland (Loening Amphibian, Wright Cyclone engine).

August 24, 1935 Major General Frank M. Andrews, U.S. Army, J.G. Moran, and H.O. Johnson ,ake three seaplane speed records for 1,000 km of 165.040 mph at Floyd Bennett Field , Brooklyn, New York. (Martin B-12-A, 2 Pratt and Whitney Hornet engines).

September 12, 1935 Laura H. Ingalls sets a west-east record for women flying from Burbank to FBF breaking the 17 hour seven minutes record set by Amelia Earhart (13:34:05, Lockheed Orion, Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine).

"My radio went out of order west of Columbus when I needed it most. I found myself flying on the wrong beam and so I just turned east and came on." -- Laura Ingalls

September 20, 1935 Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker flying the first Lockheed Electra received by Eastern Airlines made a record flight from Kansas City, Mo. to FBF.

September 21-22, 1935 Lieut. Felix Waithus (Feliksas Vaitkus) takes off from FBF on a projected flight to Lithuania but is forced down in Ballinrobe, Ireland (23:15 Lockheed Vega, Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine).

April 21, 1936 Howard Hughes lands at FBF after setting a new intercity speed record from Miami (04:21:32, Northrop Gama, Wright Cyclone engine).

September 2-21, 1936 Henry T. ("Dick") Merrill and Harry Richman in the Lady Peace are forced down in Llwyncelny, Wales during an attempt to be the first to fly from FBF to London and return (18:38, Development Vultee, Wright G Cyclone engine). They made the return trip via Newfoundland leaving Southport Beach, England on September 14 and arriving at FBF on September 21. September 4, 1936 Louise Thaden and Blanche Noyes win the Bendix Trophy Race from FBF to Burbank, California, setting a new women's east-west transcontinental record (14:55:01, Beechcraft, Wright Whirlwind engine). Other participants were: Laura Ingalls, Joe Jacobson, George Pomeroy, Amelia Earhart, Bermy Howard, William Warner.

September 4-5, 1936 Mrs. Beryl Markham flies from Abingdon, England, to Baleine, Nova Scotia, on an attempted flight to New York, in 24 hours, 30 minutes. (Percival Vega Gull, DeHavilland Gypsy engine.)

September 21, 1936 Mrs. Beryl Markham arrives at Floyd Bennett Field to complete the first solo flight from Europe to America. She had been forced down in Sydney, Nova Scotia damaging her plane. Floyd Bennett Field was her original destination

October 6-7, 1936 After taking off from FBF on a projected flight to Stockholm, Sweden Kurt Bjorkvall crash lands in the Atlantic 100 miles west of Ireland. He was rescued by a French trawler.(NOTE: Bellanca Pacemaker, Pratt and Whitney Wasp engine)

October 28-30, 1936 Capt. James A. Mollison flies non-stop from FBF to Croydon Airport, London establishing a new record for the segment over the Atlantic from Harbor Grace, Newfoundland to England (13:17, Bellanca Flash, Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine).

December 13, 1936 Maj. Alexander de Seversky attempts non-stop flight from FBF to Havana but is forced down in Miami by bad weather. Later, he sets a new record for flights by amphibians between Miami and Havana (Seversky Amphibian).

December 14, 1936 Maj. Alexander P. de Seversky sets new speed record between FBF and Miami (5:46:30, Seversky Sev 3, Wright Cyclone engine).

May 9, 1937 1t Lieut. H.M. McCaffrey piloting a new U.S. Army amphibious plane from FBF made a trial flight to Miami with eight military passengers (Douglas Amphibian, YOA-3317)

May 9, 1937 Dick Merrill and co-pilot Jack Lambie fly to Croydon airport, London to bring back photographs of the Coronation of King George VI (20:59:00, with a stop in Essex to get their bearings. (Lockheed Electra, two Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp engines). May 14, 1937 Dick Merrill and John Lambie land at FBF after setting a new record for the westward crossing of the Atlantic (24:22:25, including landing at Squantum, Mass. to check gas, Lockheed Electra, two Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp engines).

May 23, 1937 1st Lieut. Bentley and 2nd Lieut. Morgan with a crew of seven arrive at FBF in the prototype heavy coastal defense bomber. "The ship was placed on display for a large Sunday crowd and at about 5:00 PM departed for Langley Field, Va. (Boeing YB-17, Flying Fortress, four engines).

September 3, 1937 Frank Fuller, arriving from Los Angeles, sets a new Bendix transcontinental record (09:44:30, Seversky R70Y).

October 22, 1937 Sir Hubert Wilkins and co-pilot Herbert Hollick-Kenyon fly to Winnipeg, Canada on the first leg of a continued search for Soviet fliers lost in the Arctic (Lockheed Electra, fitted with skis in Canada).(Aviation Yearbook)

November 20, 1937 An air parade was held at Floyd Bennett Field in memory of Amelia Earhart who had disappeared earlier in the year over the Pacific ocean. Civilian planes joined those from the Navy, Coast Guard and Army in the fly by. (Aviation Yearbook)

December 3, 1937 Jacqueline Cochran sets a non-stop record from FBF to Miami, Florida (4:12:30, Seversky Executive X18y).

December 3, 1937 Alexander de Seversky sets record for non-stop flight from FBF to Havana, Cuba (05:03:00, Seversky P-35) . (Aviation Yearbook)

July 4, 1938 Howard Hughes is greeted by several thousand people when he arrives at FBF to begin preparations for his round-the-world flight.

July 10-14, 1938 Howard Hughes , pilot, with Harry P.M. Connor and Lieut. Thomas Thurlow, navigators, Richard Stoddart, radio engineer, and Ed Lund, flight engineer, make record round-the-world flight in the plane named The New York World's Fair, 1939. In addition to maintaining radio contact with the fair, the flight conducted tests of long range flying with new navigational equipment. The 14,791-mile route went from New York to Paris, Moscow, Omsk, Yakutsk, Fairbanks, Minneapolis, New York (3 days 19:08:10, Lockheed 14 monoplane, two 1,100-horsepower Wright Cyclone engines). July 17-18, 1938 Douglas "Wrong Way" Corrigan , after filing a flight plan to go from Floyd Bennett Field to the West Coast, and in an airplane not certified to fly over water, flies 3,150 miles to Baldonnel Airport, Dublin, Ireland. He noted as his panel compass was broken he navigated by one placed on the floor of the plane. In two hours he flew over a city he thought was Baltimore but proved to be Boston (28:13, Curtiss Robin, 175-horsepower Wright Whirlwind, J-6 engine).

August 10-11, 1938 Alfred Henke, Rudolf von Moreau, Paul Dierberg, and Walter Kober make record crossing from Berlin, Germany, to FBF, returning August 13-14. originally planned as a round-the-world flight until the Howard Hughes feat they decided to attempt the distance-speed record for the North Atlantic. (24:50:12 east-west, 19:55:01 west-east, Focke-Wulf FW 200, four BMW Hornet engines).

August 20. 1938 At 8:53 A.M. Howard Hughes and a crew of three landed at Floyd Bennett Field in his Lockheed "15" airplane on a non-stop flight from Glendale, California. A new transport record of 10 hours and 32 minutes was set on this flight.

August 29, 1938 At 7:37 A.M. Major Alexander de Seversky took-off in a Seversky airplane on a transcontinental flight to Burbank, California. A new record was set on this flight. 10 hr 3 min. (Seversky Pursuit, Pratt and Whitney Twin Wasp engine).

September 3, 1938 Jacqueline Cochran sets the women's west-east transcontinental record flying from Burbank to Floyd Bennett Field (10:27:55, Seversky, Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp engine).

May 24, 1939 Francesco Sarabia flies from Mexico City, 2,350 miles in record time to beat that set by Amelia Earhart of 14:19:00 on May 8th, 1935 (10:40:00, Gee Bee Racer).

April 1, 1954 Lt. Comdr. Francis Brady, and Lts. John Barrow and Wallace Rich set a transcontinental record for a 2,438-mile flight from San Diego to FBF in their Grumman Cougar jet planes averaging 645 miles an hour

July 16, 1957 Maj. John Glenn arrives at FBF from Burban, CA, after the first nonstop supersonic flight (Project Bullet) establishing a new transcontinental record (3:23:8.4, F8U Crusader).

While many portions of the Endicott Defenses continued to deter the enemy into World War II, newer weapons and technology would eventually supplement or replace them.

In 1905, the Taft Board, headed by Secretary of War, William Taft recommended upgrading the Endicott defenses and adding fortifications to the new U.S. possessions obtained in the Spanish-American War. The Taft Era , beginning in 1907, added to existing defense fortifications electric lights and motorized ammunition hoists, searchlights and telephone communications. Fire Control Stations (observation posts) were now added at coastal defense forts to provide a target's direction, bearing, and speed to soldiers in a plotting room where this range information was used to triangulate on and target a moving enemy ship with great accuracy. Soldiers in the plotting rooms relayed via telephone to the artillery gun crews what elevation and direction to fire their guns.

By 1915, with Europe involved in World War I , the U.S. realized its disappearing guns were no match for new battleships capable of longer firing ranges. The result was 12-inch gun batteries on new fixed barbette carriages with a 17+ mile range that could out range battleships.

In the post-World War I period , it became apparent that airplanes were to become the top threat during war. This prompted the Army to make additions to the defense system, including rapid-fire anti-aircraft guns and camouflage. Some 16-inch gun batteries were constructed in this period and could be covered with netting, but if detected, they remained vulnerable to aerial bombing. The Army developed a solution to this threat.

During World War II , new 16-inch gun batteries were constructed and existing 12 and 16-inch barbette guns were casemated with thick concrete enclosures covered by tons of sand and camouflaged with natural vegetation to make them virtually invisible from above and impervious to most aerial bombs. The 16-inch guns were the largest defensive guns used and the primary coast defense weapons during World War II. They fired 2,240 pound projectiles to a maximum range of 26 miles. These guns could keep battleships from reaching striking range.

A vast change in the nature of warfare occurred during World War II. The War was fought for the first time with airpower as a critical tactical element. Carrier based aircraft became extremely important. By 1943, the Allies had put the Axis on the defensive and the possibility of a large scale naval attack on the U.S. became remote. Also, radar, which was developed by the Army on Sandy Hook only a few years earlier, was able to provide an early warning of enemy aircraft approaching.

Even before the war ended, seacoast guns were scrapped to become new weapons, and soldiers of the Coast Artillery converted over to a variety of anti-aircraft weapons. By the war's end and to this day, no nation's naval forces could threaten our shores.

In southern New York Harbor, Fort Tilden and Fort Hancock were the primary defenders of New York, while Fort Wadsworth and Fort Hamiliton also played a role.

Gateway National Recreation Area overlaps two states and includes areas in three New York City boroughs: Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island. The history of the park's three units---Jamaica Bay, Sandy Hook and Staten Island---has been shaped by their access to New York Harbor. They also share the story of defending America's largest port from real and potential enemies.

Jamaica Bay Unit includes places such as Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, New York City's first municipal airport, where aviators such as "Wrong Way" Corrigan took flight. Military facilities at Fort Tilden and Floyd Bennett Field tell the stories of the defense of New York Harbor and the nation. Landfill, plus the insight of determined people in city government, transformed a former city garbage dump into the only Wildlife Refuge in the National Park Service.

Sandy Hook Unit lies within the Fort Hancock and Sandy Hook Proving Ground National Historic Landmark. It is home to several batteries and historic Army buildings, the oldest surviving lighthouse in the U.S., a former United States Life-Saving Service station building which bears witness to the maritime history of this peninsula. Since 1895, Fort Hancock was one of the places vital to American defense up to the nuclear age. You can read dozens of stories by the people who served here.

Staten Island Unit also includes places such as a former airfield, former Army fortifications and a public park created from landfill. At Fort Wadsworth, Battery Weed is one of the places where stone forts protected New York Harbor.

Gateway has hundreds of wild plant species are scattered throughout the 27,000 acres of the park. You can find various types of mushrooms and, yes, cacti (plural for cactus) here too. Look and you will find many examples of nature's beauty.

Gateway's visitors depend on the park's plant life more than they might realize. If you like going to the beach, for example, you can be thankful for poison ivy. Why? Its leaves, stems and roots may make most of us itch, but its woody roots anchor Gateway's sand dunes during harsh storms, literally holding the beach in place.

American beachgrass helps stabilize dunes and reduce erosion. It can be found throughout Gateway.

The black cherry, which belongs to the rose family, is consumed by a variety of birds and mammals.

This perennial shrub produces purple and blue blossoms in the spring and summer, hence the name "false indigo."

This monoecious plant produces purple berry-like fruit and is a host for butterfly and moth larvae.

Poison ivy serves a vital function throughout Gateway. It provides food and cover for animals and the roots help stabilize soil.

Belonging to the cypress family, these cone-bearing trees can grow to be up to 90 feet tall.

Gateway National Recreation Area exists within one of the most urbanized areas of the country, yet the park includes grasslands, woodlands, sand dunes, beaches, ponds, salt marshes and forests. Each of these ecosystems is a home to a surprising variety of animals, plants, amphibians, insects and other creatures. One way to learn about the diversity of life at Gateway is to get to know each of the ecosystems.

Urbanization has a profound effect on Gateway's ecosystems, including stormwater runoff into Jamaica Bay. The U.S. Geological Survey has produced two video podcasts on similar issues: how stream ecosystems react to stormwater and impervious surfaces.

Tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the sun and moon on the earth. Life throughout the salt marsh depends on the tides. The twice-daily incoming tides bring a fresh supply of oxygen and nutrients into the marsh. The twice-daily outgoing tides leave behind a line of seaweed, marsh grass and other debris left on the beach called the wrack line. Often, the wrack line provides shelter for crabs and other invertebrates that may become meals for gulls or other predators. At low tide, the mudflats are exposed and shorebirds are able to feed on the invertebrates found there. During the months of May and June, horseshoe crabs come up to shore on the spring tides to lay their eggs, which are a major food source for migrating shorebirds. During June and July, diamondback terrapins take advantage of daily high tides to come up and lay their eggs in nests in the sand.

Floyd Bennett Field has changed over the last hundred years from a salt marsh area to landfill to a municipal airport to a Naval Reserve area. Today, the "North 40" section of Floyd Bennett is home to a surprisingly diverse woodland habitat, a natural oasis within the borough of Brooklyn.

Phragmites grasslands cover vast areas of Gateway, and are subject to frequent burning. Remnants of other more diverse grassland types, particularly at Floyd Bennett Field, are significant remnants of former habitats.

Long shore currents and storms constantly reshape barrier beaches like Breezy Point in Jamaica Bay Unit and sand spits like Staten Island Unit's Crooke's Point. The Shifting Sands of Sandy Hook tells you more about shore dynamics at Sandy Hook Unit.