Naval Station Norfolk is a United States Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia, that is the headquarters and home port of the U.S. Navy's Fleet Forces Command. The installation occupies about of waterfront space and of pier and wharf space of the Hampton Roads peninsula known as Sewell's Point. It is the world's largest naval station, with the largest concentration of U.S. Navy forces through 75 ships alongside 14 piers and with 134 aircraft and 11 aircraft hangars at the adjacently operated Chambers Field. Port Services controls more than 3,100 ships' movements annually as they arrive and depart their berths. Air Operations conducts over 100,000 flight operations each year, an average of 275 flights per day or one every six minutes. Over 150,000 passengers and 264,000 tons of mail and cargo depart annually on Air Mobility Command (AMC) aircraft and other AMC-chartered flights from the airfield's AMC Terminal. History The area where the base is located was the site of the original 1907 Jamestown Exposition. In 1915, the Headquarters of the 5th Naval District was established. In April 1917, shortly after the United States entered World War I, a bill was passed for the purchase of the land, and money was set aside in the amount of $1.6 million for the development of the base. The Naval Operating Base (NOB) and other facilities were established. By 1918, there were 34,000 enlisted men at the base. However, by the war's end, the base was reduced in personnel and put into a "standby mode." When World War II began in Europe in 1939, the base became more active again. New facilities were built, including new runways for aircraft, part of Naval Air Station Norfolk. It also had ramps built to be used by seaplanes to be operated by the Navy during the war. About 400 acres was acquired and, by 1943, the air station had become a central airfield for operations. Due to the expansion, it contributed to ending the war because of the training it provided to naval air units. In March 1946, the Chief of Naval Operations ordered the Commandant of the 5th Naval District to place NOB Norfolk and NAS Norfolk as separate installations under the command of Commandant Naval Base, whose title was soon changed to Commander, Navy Region, Mid-Atlantic. Following World War II, NOB Norfolk became the primary base of the Atlantic Fleet. It was one of the