The island was originally 503 acres (2.04 km) in size (2.0 square kilometres), but was enlarged by reclamation in 1942 to 650 acres (2.6 square kilometres) to allow room for a US military base (originally the US Army's Fort Bell/Kindley Field, later Kindley Air Force Base, and then USNAS Bermuda) which occupied over half the island. The base was closed in 1995, but much of its facilities are still used as part of Bermuda International Airport. Cooper's Island is now attached to St. David's in the southeast, although the two islands are still widely regarded as if they were separate entities
