Naval Advance Base Espiritu Santo or Naval Base Espiritu Santo, most often just called ''Espiritu Santo'', was a major advance
Naval base
A naval base, navy base, or military port is a military base, where warships and naval ships are docked when they have no mission at sea or need to restock. Ships may also undergo repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that u ...
that the
U.S. Navy Seabees built during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
to support the Allied effort in the
Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...
. The base was located on the island of
Espiritu Santo in the
New Hebrides
New Hebrides, officially the New Hebrides Condominium (french: link=no, Condominium des Nouvelles-Hébrides, "Condominium of the New Hebrides") and named after the Hebrides, Hebrides Scottish archipelago, was the colonial name for the isla ...
, now
Vanuatu
Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of ...
, in the
South Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
. The base also supported the
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
and
Army Air Corps,
U.S. Coast Guard, and
US Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through com ...
. 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. 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. Prior to
December 7th
Events Pre-1600
*43 BC – Marcus Tullius Cicero is assassinated in Formia on orders of Marcus Antonius.
* 574 – Byzantine Emperor Justin II, suffering recurring seizures of insanity, adopts his general Tiberius and proclaims hi ...
,
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the ...
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
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...
, or
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...
for major repairs and resupply. The base became a major
R and R destination for the fleet.
History
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
Efate (french: Éfaté) is an island in the Pacific Ocean which is part of the Shefa Province in Vanuatu. It is also known as Île Vate.
Geography
It is the most populous (approx. 66,000) island in Vanuatu. Efate's land area of makes it Vanu ...
, as a defence against the expanding
Imperial Japan
The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent forma ...
.
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
Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the se ...
.
The
4th Marine Defense Battalion and the
24th Infantry Regiment
The 24th Infantry Regiment was a unit of the United States Army, active from 1869 until 1951, and since 1995. Before its original dissolution in 1951, it was primarily made up of African-American soldiers.
History
The 24th Infantry Regiment (o ...
both on Efate respectively sent an
anti-aircraft battery and an
Infantry
Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...
Company to help the Seabees. Together, working around the clock, they built
Turtle Bay Airfield
Turtle Bay Airfield or Fighter Field #1 is a former World War II airfield on the island of Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides Islands at the Espiritu Santo Naval Base.
History
World War II
The first bases on Espiritu Santo were established ...
in 20 days.
In August the 7th CB arrived tasked with constructing a base.
[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.228-3]
/ref> In 60 days they had built a second field and began work on two more. In October the 15th CB arrived. In February the 36th Naval Construction Battalion arrived as did the Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 40, 40th CB.
Facilities
* Navy port - support base
* Navy Base Hospital No. 1 at Bellevue plantation, 1,500-beds in quonset hut
A Quonset hut is a lightweight prefabricated structure of corrugated galvanized steel having a semi cylindrical cross-section. The design was developed in the United States, based on the Nissen hut introduced by the British during World War ...
s (600 beds to start)
* Navy Base Hospital No. 2
* Navy Base Hospital No. 3, now Northern Provincial Hospital
* 25th Evacuation Hospital
* Naval harbors for anchoring
* Floating drydock repairs
* Luganville Seaplane Base served the PBY seaplane
A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their technological characteri ...
s at Havannah Harbor
* Pontoon wharf at Santo
* 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
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...
and Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
. The base was very active in the Solomon Islands campaign
The Solomon Islands campaign was a major campaign of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign began with Japanese landings and occupation of several areas in the British Solomon Islands and Bougainville, in the Territory of New Guinea, ...
and New Guinea campaign
The New Guinea campaign of the Pacific War lasted from January 1942 until the end of the war in August 1945. During the initial phase in early 1942, the Empire of Japan invaded the Australian-administered Mandated Territory of New Guinea (23 Jan ...
. 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.
Airfields
US Navy seabees built four airfields near the naval base, three to support United States Army Air Forces bombers, one to support fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...
. The Royal New Zealand Air Force
The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) ( mi, Te Tauaarangi o Aotearoa, "The Warriors of the Sky of New Zealand"; previously ', "War Party of the Blue") is the aerial service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed from New Zeal ...
and US Marine Corps also operated at the airfield.
* Palikulo Bay Airfield
Palikulo Bay Airfield or Bomber Field #1 is a former World War II airfield on the island of Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides Islands at the Espiritu Santo Naval Base.
History
World War II
The 7th Naval Construction Battalion arrived on Santo ...
also called Bomber Field #1
* Bomber Field No.2 which became Santo-Pekoa International Airport after the war
* Luganville Airfield
Luganville Airfield or Bomber Field #3 is a former World War II airfield on the island of Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides Islands at the Espiritu Santo Naval Base.
History
World War II
The Seabees of the 40th Naval Construction Battalion ...
also called Bomber Field #3
* Turtle Bay Airfield also called Fighter Field #1 served the Fighter planes, built by the 1st Construction Battalion
The base also supported the US New Caledonia
)
, anthem = ""
, image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg
, map_alt = Location of New Caledonia
, map_caption = Location of New Caledonia
, mapsize = 290px
, subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...
base, to the southwest and the Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consis ...
training base, to the east. Crushed coral was used or the runways, ramps and road. Local coconut logs were used in building the base.
Auxiliary floating drydock
Auxiliary floating drydock
An auxiliary floating drydock is a type of US Navy floating dry dock. Floating dry docks are able to submerge underwater and to be placed under a ship in need of repair below the water line. Water is then pumped out of the floating dry dock, ...
s 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.
* USS ''Artisan'' (ABSD-1) (A-J), built by Everett-Pacific and others, docked in the Segond Channel
Canal du Segond, also known as Canal Pekoa and in English Segond Channel, literally "Second Channel," separates the island of Aore from the city of Luganville on main island of Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu.
The channel was the location of the United ...
, off Aese island. This was the largest floating drydock ever built able to lift 90,000 tons out of the water for repairs.
* USS ''AFD-14'' served Espiritu Santo. This was a Small Auxiliary Floating Dry Dock
An auxiliary floating drydock is a type of US Navy floating dry dock. Floating dry docks are able to submerge underwater and to be placed under a ship in need of repair below the water line. Water is then pumped out of the floating dry dock, ...
. AFD were built as one piece, open at both ends. AFD were used to repair small craft, PT boats
A PT boat (short for patrol torpedo boat) was a motor torpedo boat used by the United States Navy in World War II. It was small, fast, and inexpensive to build, valued for its maneuverability and speed but hampered at the beginning of the wa ...
and small submarines.
*( (A-J), built by Mare Island Naval Shipyard
The Mare Island Naval Shipyard (MINSY) was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates t ...
in Vallejo, California
Vallejo ( ; ) is a city in Solano County, California and the second largest city in the North Bay region of the Bay Area. Located on the shores of San Pablo Bay, the city had a population of 126,090 at the 2020 census. Vallejo is home to th ...
. Assembled at the base and then towed to Admiralty Islands
The Admiralty Islands are an archipelago group of 18 islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the South Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island.
These rainforest-co ...
's Seeadler Harbor
Seeadler Harbor, also known as Port Seeadler, is located on Manus Island, Admiralty Islands, Papua New Guinea and played an important role in World War II. In German, "Seeadler" means sea eagle, pointing to German colonial activity between 1884 a ...
.)
*( (A-G), built by Mare Island Naval Ship Yard (NSY). Assembled at the base and then towed to Admiralty Islands's Seeadler Harbor. Attacked by air on April 27, 1945. Partially sunk 1989 as a reef.)
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
A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable land troops directly on shore, typicall ...
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 of 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
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
listing.
Million dollar point
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.[The Million Dollar Point of Vanuatu, Kaushik Patowary, Amusing Planet web site, November 201]
/ref> Also it would have hurt home front industries in bringing all the gear home as the was already a vast amount of military surplus
Military surplus are goods, usually matériel, that are sold or otherwise disposed of when held in excess or are no longer needed by the military. Entrepreneurs often buy these goods and resell them at surplus stores. Usually the goods sold by t ...
. 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. But the U.S had the Seabees to build a ramp into the sea near Luganville Airfield. The gear was then dumped into the sea. The base was abandoned in February 1946. Today the site is a tourist attraction
A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement.
Types
Places of natural ...
called ''Million Dollar Point''.
Post war
In 1948 author, James Michener wrote a sequence of fictional short stories called ''Tales of the South Pacific
''Tales of the South Pacific'' is a Pulitzer Prize-winning collection of sequentially related short stories by James A. Michener about the Pacific campaign in World War II. The stories are based on observations and anecdotes he collected while s ...
''. The stories became the basis for the Rodgers and Hammerstein
Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their popular ...
musical, ''South Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
''. As many troops stayed at or passed through the base, the island became a tourist spot, including a popular scuba diving
Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for " Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chr ...
spot. The Navy base is now part of the city of Luganville.
South Pacific World War II Museum
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. A few quonset hut
A Quonset hut is a lightweight prefabricated structure of corrugated galvanized steel having a semi cylindrical cross-section. The design was developed in the United States, based on the Nissen hut introduced by the British during World War ...
s and other remnants can still be found on the island.
Gallery
"... entrance to the U.S. Navy Base Camp Annex, Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides.", ca. 1941 - ca. 1945 - NARA - 520632.jpg, Entrance to the U.S. Navy Base Camp Annex
EspirituSantobasedock.jpg, Espiritu Santo Naval Base dock
AviationSupplyAnnexEspiritu_Santo.jpg, Aviation Supply Annex under construction
EspirituSantobases.jpg, Pallikulo Bay Pontoon Wharf with USS ''Tangier'' unloading supplies
NavalAirTransportServiceFacilitiesEspirituSanto.jpg, Naval Air Transport Service Facilities
EspirituSantobaseoverhual.jpg, Aviation Overhaul Area
SarakataRiverBridge.png, Sarakata River Bridge being built
F6F-3 Hellcats of VF-40 at Espiritu Santo 1944.jpg, F6F-3 Hellcats of VF-40 in 1944
EspirituSantobaseboatrepair.jpg, base boat repair dock
F4UCorsairEspirituSantoNavalBase.jpg, F4U Corsair over Segond Channel, March 1944
USS Artisan ABSD-1 04.jpg, AFDB-1 with in for repairs off Aessi Island on 13 November 1944
SeabeesEspirituSantoNavalBase.jpg, Seabees depot with earthmovers, used to built runways, ramps, roads and foundations.
EspirituSantobasedock2.jpg, SBD Dauntless being moved small bulldozer and two plywood Landing Craft (LCVPs)
EspirituSantobasePBYramp.jpg, PBY Catalinas at the Luganville Seaplane Base February 1942
File:South Pacific islands 1945.jpg, South Pacific islands in 1945
See also
*Roi Mata
Roi Mata (or Roy Mata, Roymata) was a powerful Melanesian chief in what is now Vanuatu. He is believed to have lived at the end of the 16th century, or the beginning of the 17th. ''Chief Roi Mata's domain'' (UNESCO report).
In 2008, three site ...
* Seabees in World War II
*Battle of the Eastern Solomons
The naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons (also known as the Battle of the Stewart Islands and, in Japanese sources, as the Second Battle of the Solomon Sea) took place on 24–25 August 1942, and was the third carrier battle of the Pacific cam ...
* US Naval Advance Bases
References
External links
Video Espiritu Santo Navy Base Hospital No. 3 #1
Video Espiritu Santo Navy Base Hospital No. 3 #2
Video Espiritu Santo Navy Base Hospital No. 3 #3
Video Espiritu Santo Navy Base Hospital
Video, August 15, 1944 the mighty battleship Idaho arrived at Espiritu Santo
Youtube, BATTLESHIP USS IDAHO REPAIRED AT ESPIRITU SANTO in 1944 in USS Artisan (ABSD-1)1
{{Provinces and islands of Vanuatu
Military installations established in 1942
Naval Stations of the United States Navy
World War II airfields in the Pacific Ocean Theater
Espiritu Santo
Airfields of the United States Navy
Military installations closed in the 1940s
1942 establishments in the New Hebrides
1946 disestablishments in Oceania
1940s in the New Hebrides
Military installations closed in 1946
Closed installations of the United States Navy