On 23 April 1941, the U.S. Navy acquired approximately 176 acres of land for use as a target range for naval aircraft. The Department of the Navy used the land, which came to be known as the Duck Target Facility, as a bombing and rocket target range between 1941 and 1965. During this period, U.S. Navy aircraft from the Norfolk, VA area would fly to the target range and conduct practice bombing and rocket runs. The Navy removed the target structures after the completion of two new bombing ranges in Southern Dare County. Subsequently, the General Services Administration transferred the 176 acres to the Department of the Army on 23 April 1973. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) has since operated a research facility on the transferred acreage.
This munitions response site includes the areas used by the pilots to approach and exit beyond targets that were located on the 176 acre property. These additional areas include 221 land acres north and south of the Duck Target Facility and 2,718 water acres in Currituck Sound on the west and in the Atlantic Ocean on the east, for a total of 3,115 acres. Training aircraft would conduct practice bombing and rocket runs within the range complex. Pilots entered the range complex from the west and fired eastward at landbased stationary targets. Historical information indicates these targets were located in the portion of the site currently occupied by the ERDC. Training rockets and practice bombs were fitted with spotting charges for marking by ground personnel. Debris remaining from these items would currently be considered as material potentially presenting an explosive hazard. Practice items are known to have periodically fallen short, wide, and long of the intended targets, potentially ending up in Currituck Sound, the Atlantic Ocean, or on land north or south of the targets. Intact spotting charges associated with practice munitions were historically encountered and may remain on this site.
IF YOU ENCOUNTER MUNITIONS, CALL 911 IMMEDIATELY.
FOLLOW THE 3Rs
- RECOGNIZE When you may have come across a munition, and that munitions are dangerous!
- RETREAT Do not approach, touch, move, or disturb it, but carefully leave the area.
- REPORT Immediately what you saw and where you saw it to local law enforcement – call 911.
Click here for a PDF of the 3Rs safety brochure.
Visit 3rs.mil for more information.