The last squadron at Brunswick Naval Air Station has begun its departure, marking the end of the base's use as a Navy airfield.

One of Patrol Squadron 26's three P-3 Orion planes left the base Saturday for the last time, and the other two planes are scheduled to leave this Saturday, according to The Times Record. The squadron is scheduled to deploy to Central America, the Horn of Africa and Europe, and will land at Jacksonville Naval Air Station in Florida when its overseas tour is finished. After the squadron's departure, fewer than 300 personnel will remain at the base, scheduled for full closure in 2011.

Patrol Squadron 26 was the first maritime squadron stationed at BNAS in 1952, according to the paper.