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Naval Advance Base Espiritu Santo

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Coordinates: 15°30′52″S 167°10′38″E / 15.51444°S 167.17722°E / -15.51444; 167.17722
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Naval Advance Base Espiritu Santo
Nickname: Espiritu Santo
Map of Espiritu Santo
Geography
LocationEspiritu Santo, Vanuatu
Coordinates15°30′52″S 167°10′38″E / 15.51444°S 167.17722°E / -15.51444; 167.17722
ArchipelagoInlands of New Hebrides
Major islandsEspiritu Santo and Aore Island, Espiritu Santo Naval Base from 1942 to 1946
Administration
Current name: Vanuatu,
US Navy New Hebrides in 1940s
Largest settlementCity of Luganville

Naval Advance Base Espiritu Santo or Naval Base Espiritu Santo, most often just called Espiritu Santo, was a major advance Naval base that the U.S. Navy Seabees built during World War II to support the Allied effort in the Pacific.[1] The base was located on the island of Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides, now Vanuatu, in the South Pacific. The base also supported the U.S. Army and Army Air Corps, U.S. Coast Guard, and US Marine Corps. It was the first large advance base built in the Pacific. By the end of the war it had become the second-largest base in the theater.[2] To keep ships tactically available there was a demand for bases that could repair and resupply the fleet at advance locations, rather than return them to the United States.[3] Prior to December 7th, Pearl Harbor was the U.S. fleet's largest advance base in the Pacific. Espiritu became capable of all aspects necessary to support the Fleet's operations from fleet logistics in fuel, food, and ammunition, to transport embarkation for combat operations or returning to the continental United States. The ship repair facilities and drydocks were capable of attending to most damage and routine maintenance. Had it not existed, ships would have had to return to Pearl Harbor, Brisbane, or Sydney for major repairs and resupply. The base became a major R and R destination for the fleet.[4][5][6][7]

History

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Espiritu Santo Naval Base and to the right Bomber Field # 2

At the start of the war Espiritu Santo was one of a string of roughly 80 islands under the rule of a joint British and French New Hebrides colony. The administration was the Anglo-French Condominium of the New Hebrides. U.S. troops first set up a base in May 1942 on the nearby island of Efate, as a defence against the expanding Imperial Japan.[8] In July 1942 the 1st Construction Battalion (CB) sent a detail from the 3rd CB Construction detachment that was on Efate to Espiritu Santo to build a bomber strip to attack the Japanese on Guadalcanal.[9] The 4th Marine Defense Battalion and the 24th Infantry Regiment both on Efate respectively sent an anti-aircraft battery and an Infantry Company to help the Seabees.[10] Together, working around the clock, they built Turtle Bay Airfield in 20 days.[9] In August, 7th CB arrived tasked with constructing a base.[11] In 60 days they had built a second field and began work on two more.[11] In October, the 15th CB arrived,[11] followed by the 35th CB on January 27, 1943.[12] In February, the 36th Naval Construction Battalion arrived as did the 40th CB.[11]

Facilities

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  • Navy port - support base[13]
  • Navy Base Hospital No. 1 at Bellevue plantation, 1,500-beds in quonset huts (600 beds to start)
  • Navy Base Hospital No. 2
  • Navy Base Hospital No. 3, now Northern Provincial Hospital
  • 25th Evacuation Hospital [14]
  • Naval harbors for anchoring
  • Floating drydock repairs
  • Luganville Seaplane Base served the PBY seaplanes at Havannah Harbor
  • Pontoon wharf at Santo [15]
  • Vanuatu Labor Corps
  • Naval Air Station Tender
  • Crash boat base
  • Aviation Overhaul shop
  • Red Cross Service Club
  • Officers Club
  • Casual camp
  • Motor pool
  • Quartermaster Laundry
  • 17th Photo Detachment
  • Army Air Force Transient Camp
  • Army Air Force Fighter pilot camp
  • Royal New Zealand Air Force Fighter pilot camp
  • Firing ranges
  • Torpedo assembly center
  • Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit
  • Navy Fleet Ammunition Stores, large complex north of base for safety
  • Marine Air Depot Squadron
  • Army Air Force Bombers Camp
  • Marine Camp
  • Marine Air Warning Squadron
  • Oxygen Plant
  • Navy Net Layer center
  • US Navy Port Director's Office, now Cruise Ship Terminal
  • Navy Pier No 1, now Cruise Ship Terminal
  • Navy Pier No 2, 3 and 4
  • Aore Island - Navy Ammunition store, Navy mine assembly, Fuel Store, Fleet Recreational Center
  • PT Boat base #1 and #2
  • Sarakata River Bridge
  • Boat repair dock
  • Pallikula Bay Pontoon Wharf
  • AA gun emplacements
  • Naval Air Transport Service Facilities
  • Tank farms for: Fuel oil, aviation fuel, diesel fuel, gasoline
  • Headquarters at Malapoa Point
  • Barracks
  • Navy Bank
  • Fleet Post Office FPO# 140 SF Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides
  • Mess halls
  • Navy Communication Center
  • Troop store
  • Royal New Zealand Air Force seaplane base
  • Military supply depot
  • Espiritu Santo Military Cemetery opened in 1944
  • Army 122nd Station Hospital
  • 687th Quartermaster Bakery Company
  • US Army Radar & Searchlight
  • 674th Signal Air Warning Company
  • Coral mining pits
  • Trash dump

Built at the bases were personnel housing, piers, roads, shops, power plants, water plants and large storage depots with fuel, ammunition, food and other consumable supplies. Fuel for ships, planes and vehicles was in much demand. The build up of Espiritu Santo was both a defense strategy and then a staging point for the offense against the Japanese. The base supported action in the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. The base was very active in the Solomon Islands campaign and New Guinea campaign. There were always fears that New Hebrides and Espiritu Santo would be invaded. To build all the bases and airfield tens of thousands of tonnes of equipment was shipped to the base. By the end of the war 9 million tonnes of equipment had been shipped there and over 500,000 servicemen and women had spent some time at New Hebrides and Espiritu Santo.[16][5][17][18]

Airfields

[edit]

US Navy seabees built four airfields near the naval base, three to support United States Army Air Forces bombers, one to support fighter aircraft.[8] The Royal New Zealand Air Force and US Marine Corps also operated at the airfield.[19]

The base also supported the US New Caledonia base, 300 miles (480 km) to the southwest and the Fiji training base, 600 miles (970 km) to the east. Crushed coral was used or the runways, ramps and road. Local coconut logs were used in building the base.[20]

Auxiliary floating drydock

[edit]
Artisan with USS Antelope (IX-109) and LST-120 in the dock at Espiritu Santo in January 1945

Auxiliary floating drydocks were used to repair ships. Three large floating drydocks were stationed at the base. Advance base sectional dock (ABSD) were able to repair the largest of the Navy's ships.

SS President Coolidge

[edit]

SS President Coolidge sank at Espiritu Santo. Coolidge was built as luxury ocean liner in 1931. In 1941 the US War Department converted the ship to a troopship with a capacity of 5,000. On 26 October 1942 it was sunk by two U.S. Navy mines when it unknowingly entered a mined area. It was run aground to keep from sinking while the crew and 5,340 troops safely disembarked. Two died from the mine explosions: a fireman in the engine room and a captain of the 103rd Field Artillery Regiment who had returned to the ship when he heard men were still trapped in the infirmary. As the ship went down it slipped off the reef and sank in the channel. The President Coolidge is the largest and most accessible wreck dive in the world. The ship has vast array of corals and fish, including barracuda and sharks. The President Coolidge is part of the tentative list of World Heritage Site listing.[32][33]

Million dollar point

[edit]
Encrusted truck tire at Million Dollar Point on Espiritu Santo

At the end of the war a vast amount of vehicles, supplies and equipment at the bases was deemed not needed and too costly to ship to the U.S.[34] Also it would have hurt home front industries in bringing all the gear home as there was already a vast amount of military surplus. The U.S. attempted to sell much of the gear to the French for 6 cents on the dollar. The French hoped that by buying none of the gear the U.S would abandon the base and get everything for free.[34] But the U.S had the Seabees build a ramp into the sea near Luganville Airfield. The gear was then dumped into the sea. The base was abandoned in February 1946.[34] Today the site is a tourist attraction called Million Dollar Point.[35]

Post war

[edit]

In 1948 author, James Michener wrote a sequence of fictional short stories called Tales of the South Pacific. The stories became the basis for the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, South Pacific. As many troops stayed at or passed through the base, the island became a tourist spot, including a popular scuba diving spot.[36][37][38] The Navy base is now part of the city of Luganville.

South Pacific World War II Museum

[edit]

There is a plan to build a South Pacific World War II Museum on Espiritu Santo in the town of Luganville. The site will be at Unity Park, Main Street, Luganville, Vanuatu. On 26 October 2017 the South Pacific World War II's Museum Museum Project Development Office opened.[39] A few quonset huts and other remnants can still be found on the island.[40]

[edit]
  • Entrance to the U.S. Navy Base Camp Annex
    Entrance to the U.S. Navy Base Camp Annex
  • Espiritu Santo Naval Base dock
    Espiritu Santo Naval Base dock
  • Aviation Supply Annex under construction
    Aviation Supply Annex under construction
  • Pallikulo Bay Pontoon Wharf with USS Tangier unloading supplies
    Pallikulo Bay Pontoon Wharf with USS Tangier unloading supplies
  • Naval Air Transport Service Facilities
    Naval Air Transport Service Facilities
  • Aviation Overhaul Area
    Aviation Overhaul Area
  • Sarakata River Bridge being built
    Sarakata River Bridge being built
  • F6F-3 Hellcats of VF-40 in 1944
    F6F-3 Hellcats of VF-40 in 1944
  • base boat repair dock
    base boat repair dock
  • F4U Corsair over Segond Channel, March 1944
    F4U Corsair over Segond Channel, March 1944
  • AFDB-1 with USS West Virginia in for repairs off Aessi Island on 13 November 1944
    AFDB-1 with USS West Virginia in for repairs off Aessi Island on 13 November 1944
  • Seabees depot with earthmovers, used to build runways, ramps, roads and foundations.
    Seabees depot with earthmovers, used to build runways, ramps, roads and foundations.
  • SBD Dauntless being moved small bulldozer and two plywood Landing Craft (LCVPs)
    SBD Dauntless being moved small bulldozer and two plywood Landing Craft (LCVPs)
  • PBY Catalinas at the Luganville Seaplane Base February 1942
    PBY Catalinas at the Luganville Seaplane Base February 1942
  • South Pacific islands in 1945
    South Pacific islands in 1945

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ 1944 SENATE - US Government Publishing Office, Report from commanding officer of United States naval advance base Espiritu Santo
  2. ^ Seabees report on Naval Advance Base Espiritu Santo
  3. ^ "USS Independence CVL22 & USS Denver CL58 War Damage Report No. 52". NHHC.
  4. ^ "The South Pacific's WW2 forgotten base". Ww2wrecks.com. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Map – South Pacific WWII Museum". Archived from the original on 2021-07-16. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  6. ^ "NH 95045 Espiritu Santo Naval Base, New Hebrides". NHHC.
  7. ^ "LIONS and ACORNS and CUBS, Oh My!! | The Sextant". usnhistory.navylive.dodlive.mil. March 8, 2017.
  8. ^ a b "NAVY SEABEE OPERATIONS PACIFIC THEATER DURING WORLD WAR II" (PDF). Web.mst.edu. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  9. ^ a b "Seabee History: Formation of the Seabees and World War II". NHHC.
  10. ^ Efate, Building the Navy's Bases in World War II, Vol II (Part III), GPO Washington DC, 1947
  11. ^ a b c d Espiritu Santo, Building the Navy's Bases in World War II, History of the Bureau of Yards, and Docks and the Civil Engineer Corps, 1940-1946, Volume II, US GPO, Washington, 1947, p.228-31 [1]
  12. ^ "NCB-List". public1.nhhcaws.local. Retrieved 2024-08-12.
  13. ^ US Navy, Naval Construction Battalion Detachment 1007 - Naval History
  14. ^ "Historical Gallery - 25th Evac". Southpacificwwiimuseum.com. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  15. ^ "Santo". Southpacificwwiimuseum.com. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  16. ^ "Espiritu Santo | NZETC". nzetc.victoria.ac.nz.
  17. ^ "Naval Construction Battalion Detachment 1007". www.history.navy.mil.
  18. ^ "Building the Navy's Bases in World War II". NHHC.
  19. ^ "New Zealanders in the Pacific War - War in the Pacific | NZHistory, New Zealand history online". nzhistory.govt.nz.
  20. ^ "HyperWar: Building the Navy's Bases in World War II [Chapter 24]". Ibiblio.org.
  21. ^ "Chapter IX, Floating Drydocks". Building the Navy's Bases in World War II: History of the Bureau of Yards and Docks and the Civil Engineer Corps 1940–1946. Vol. I. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office. 1947. Retrieved 14 February 2019 – via Hyperwar.
  22. ^ Budge, Kent G. "Floating Dry Docks". The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  23. ^ Angas, W. Mack, Capt. (CEC) USN (November 1945). "Sea Going Navy Yard Follows The Fleet". Popular Science. Vol. 147, no. 5. pp. 121–124. Retrieved 10 July 2012.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  24. ^ "Artisan AFDB-1, ABSD-1, IX-521 / IX-525". NavSource Online. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  25. ^ Colton, Tim (30 April 2015). "Floating Dry-Docks (AFDB, AFDM, AFDL, ARD, ARDM, YFD)". Shipbuilding History. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  26. ^ Beans, Bullets, and Black Oil, By Rear Adm. Worrall Reed Carter, page repair
  27. ^ "Auxiliary Floating Dry Dock AFDL (This is a substitute number 2806 and 6706 are already in use)". Navsource.org.
  28. ^ "Ships By Category". Nvr.navy.mil.
  29. ^ "Pacific Wrecks - USS ABSD-2 Auxiliary Floating Dry Dock 2 (AFDB-2)". pacificwrecks.com.
  30. ^ "Pacific Wrecks - USS ABSD-4 Auxiliary Floating Dry Dock 4 (AFDB-4)". Pacificwrecks.com.
  31. ^ "Auxiliary Floating Dry Dock". Navsource.org.
  32. ^ Pablobini; Vleggert, Nico (10 January 2012). "SS President Coolidge (+1942)". WreckSite.eu. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  33. ^ "Elwood J. Euart". Web.uri.edu. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  34. ^ a b c The Million Dollar Point of Vanuatu, Kaushik Patowary, Amusing Planet web site, November 2016 [2]
  35. ^ Seabee Junkyard: A holistic and locally inclusive approach to site management and interpretation, Kalle Applegate Palmer, online Museum of Underwater Archaeology, 2014 [3]
  36. ^ "Espiritu Santo Tourism Association - Allan Power Dive Tours, Vanuatu". Espiritusantotourism.com. 25 April 2022.
  37. ^ "Espiritu Santo Tourism Association - Scuba Diving". Espiritusantotourism.com. 25 April 2022.
  38. ^ "Diving the Wreckage of World War II in Beautiful Vanuatu". Houstonia Magazine.
  39. ^ "Development Office Opening – South Pacific WWII Museum". Archived from the original on 2021-07-18. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  40. ^ "Contact". Southpacificwwiimuseum.com. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Espiritu Santo.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Turtle Bay Airfield.
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