Santa Rosa Island Range Complex, Military testing complex on Santa Rosa Island, Fort Walton Beach, United States.
Santa Rosa Island Range Complex is a military testing site off the coast of Fort Walton Beach featuring multiple operational zones positioned over water. The facility supported aircraft tests and missile launches, keeping dangerous experiments safely away from populated areas.
The facility started in 1944 to study German V-1 flying bombs and support American missile weapon development. It served as a crucial Cold War testing location for aircraft and rocket programs over the following decades.
Two JB-2 launch sites on Santa Rosa Island, recorded as Florida archaeological sites 8OK246 and 8OK248, were added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 19, 1996. At 8OK246 two concrete pads and an observation bunker survive nearly intact, with a JB-2 wreck lying south of the missing ramp; at 8OK248 only the ramp pillars and a concrete blockhouse remain, mostly under sand.
The JB-2 launch remains at sites 8OK246 and 8OK248, on Air Force property on Santa Rosa Island, are closed by order of the National Park Service and the United States Air Force. The two sites lie within half a mile of each other, and the third launch ramp stands on the Coffeen Nature Preserve east of Destin.
Two JB-2 launch sites survive on the island as Florida archaeological sites 8OK246 and 8OK248, listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 19, 1996. At 8OK246 two concrete pads and an observation bunker stand nearly intact, with a JB-2 wreck lying south of the missing ramp; at 8OK248 only the ramp pillars and a concrete blockhouse remain, mostly buried in sand.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,463 contributors worldwide.