Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst is actually located about 3 miles away from the town of Lakehurst, New Jersey, in Ocean County. Recently, in October, 2009, the base became part of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, which is often called JB MDL. The station is operated by the Naval Air Systems Command, and is a major military airport.
Unfortunately, this base has a tragic past. It is primarily known as the location of the Hindenburg disaster, which took place on May 6, 1937. Before the disaster happened, Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst was the center of naval Airship development. The station played home to 4 major airships the Navy had at that time. One of them, the Shenandoah, had its own hanger built, the Hanger One. For quite some time, this hanger held the world record for the largest single room. Today, the station is used primarily to ensure the safety of aircrafts, especially during launch periods. It’s one of the navy’s primary control sites for aircraft launches, and oversees the safety of hundreds of launches each year.