Lombrum Naval Base, also known as HMPNGS ''Tarangau'' and formerly PNG Defence Force Base Lombrum, is a naval military base operated by the Maritime Operations Element of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF). It is located on

Manus Island Manus Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest of the Admiralty Islands. It is the fifth-largest island in Papua New Guinea, with an area of , measuring around . Manus Island is covered in rugged jungles w ...

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 ...

. Lombrum is the home port of the PNGDF's

Pacific-class patrol boat The Pacific class (also known as the Pacific Forum classToppan & Walsh, ''World Navies Today: Other Asia-Pacific Navies'' and the ASI 315 class) is a class of 22 patrol boats built by Australia and donated to twelve South Pacific countries. Th ...

force. After redevelopment in 1950 by the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

, it was known as HMAS ''Seeadler'', being renamed HMAS ''Tarangau'' soon afterwards. The

Manus Regional Processing Centre The Manus Regional Processing Centre, or Manus Island Regional Processing Centre (MIRCP), was one of a number of offshore Australian immigration detention facilities. The centre was located on the PNG Navy Base Lombrum (previously a Royal Aus ...

was established within the base in 2001.

History

Seeadler Harbor with floating drydocks in September 1945

The naval facility,

Manus Naval Base Manus Naval Base, Naval supply depot with piers and quonset Hut warehouses on September 18, 1945 Manus Naval Base was a number of bases built after the World War II Battle of Manus by United States Navy on the Manus Island and a smaller isla ...

, was first built during World War II as a "Lion" which was code for a major Fleet installation of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. It was constructed by the

Seabees United States Naval Construction Battalions, better known as the Navy Seabees, form the U.S. Naval Construction Force (NCF). The Seabee nickname is a heterograph of the initial letters "CB" from the words "Construction Battalion". Depending upon ...

of CBs 11, 58, and 71 and commissioned in January 1944. The base and Seeadler Harbor became a major

US Naval Advance Base US Naval Advance Bases were built globally by the United States Navy during World War II to support and project U.S. naval operations world-wide. A few were built on allied soil, but most were captured enemy facilities or completely new. Advanc ...

during the latter part of the war. The base was a major ship repair depot. At the base was the

Large 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, ...

USS ABSD-4 USS ABSD-4, later redesignated as AFDB-4, was a nine-section, non-self-propelled, large auxiliary floating drydock of the US Navy. Advance Base Sectional Dock-4 (Auxiliary Floating Dock Big-4) was constructed in sections during 1942 and 1943 by ...

and ASDB-2, able to repair the largest capital ships. There were camps on

and

Los Negros Island Los Negros Island is the third largest of the Admiralty Islands. It is significant because it contains the main airport of Manus Province on its eastern coastline, at Momote. It is connected to Lorengau, the capital of the province, on Manus I ...

. The facility was abandoned by the Americans in 1946 with the downsizing of their military and their policy of

containment Containment was a geopolitical strategic foreign policy pursued by the United States during the Cold War to prevent the spread of communism after the end of World War II. The name was loosely related to the term ''cordon sanitaire'', which was ...

shifted strategic focus away from the

southern Pacific The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

. The Australian government took over the site, redeveloped it, and reopened it as the

(RAN) base HMAS ''Seeadler'', commissioning on 1 January 1950 to replace the RAN base at

Dreger Harbour Dreger Harbour is a harbour south of Finschhafen, Papua New Guinea. During World War II, Dreger Harbour was used by Allied forces after the capture of Finschhafen in October 1943. The US Navy PT Boat Advance Base Six opened in June 1944. The Sea ...

, near Finschhafen. The base was renamed HMAS ''Tarangau'', the name of the former

base, on 1 April 1950. The base was used as a refueling and stores point for RAN ships traveling between Australia and South East Asia. The size of the facility gradually shrank through the 1950s and 1960s, and the decision was made to hand the facility over to Papua New Guinea as part of the process leading to the nation's independence from Australia. As part of this, ''Tarangau'' was

paid off Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to placing a warship in ...

on 14 November 1974 and given to the Papua New Guinea Defence Force, who reactivated the base as PNG Defence Force Base Lombrum. In 2018 Australian and Papua New Guinea officials met to discuss expanding the base again, so that it can also serve as a base for Australian and

vessels.

Gallery

MapofLosNegrosUSNavy.jpg, US Navy map Manus Naval Base in 1945 ShipRepairFacilities_Lombrum1944.jpg, Ship Repair Facilities Manus Naval Base at Lombrum in 1944. Built by 46th Seabees USS Iowa Floating Drydock.jpg, USS Iowa

battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...

being repaired at Manus Naval Base on December 28, 1944 ManusNavalBaseChapelWW2.jpg, Manus Naval Base Chapel. Chapel dedication services on Easter morning, April 1, 1945 WW2 Admiralty Islands ops.jpg, Map Admiralty Islands operations, 29 February to 30 May 1944 Admiralties-day08.JPG, Admiralty Islands map 1944 Map of Manus and Los Negros.jpg, Map of Manus and Los Negros Kittyhawk on Momote.jpg, RAAF Kittyhawks on

Momote Airfield Momote Airport is an airport on Los Negros Island in the Admiralty Islands, Papua New Guinea. It also serves Manus Island, which is connected to Los Negros by a bridge. History Hayne Airfield Built by the Imperial Japanese at Momote during Worl ...

, 8 March 1944 MomoteAirfieldSeabeesworking1944.jpg,

with Seabees working at night in 1944. CB 40 worked day and night on the Los Negros Momote Airfield. USNavymaintenancecrewsVB-106Momote Airstrip.jpg, US Navy maintenance crews VB-106 clean engine parts under an airplane wing while raining at Momote Airstrip in March 1944 71 Squadron RAAF Los Negros (AWM image P02874-141).JPG, No. 71 Squadron RAAF on Los Negros base Small floating drydock at Seeadler Harbor in September 1944.jpg,

Small Auxiliary Floating Dry Dock An auxiliary floating drydock is a type of US Navy Dry dock#Floating, 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 fl ...

, repairing

submarine chaser A submarine chaser or subchaser is a small naval vessel that is specifically intended for anti-submarine warfare. Many of the American submarine chasers used in World War I found their way to Allied nations by way of Lend-Lease in World War II. ...

PC-1121 at Seeadler Harbor in September 1944 P02874.256Kittyhawk1944.jpg, No. 76 Squadron RAAF Seeadler USN drydock 1945.jpg, US Navy floating Dry Dock Number 4 in Seeadler Harbor 1945, surrounded by floating barges with workshops and a tugboat, repairing

seaplane tender A seaplane tender is a boat or ship that supports the operation of seaplanes. Some of these vessels, known as seaplane carriers, could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are rega ...

and Navy Liberty ship USS Oyster Bay (AGP-6) tending PT boats in Seeadler Harbor on 25 March 1944.jpg,

USS Oyster Bay (AGP-6) USS ''Oyster Bay'' (AGP-6), originally and later AVP-28, was a United States Navy motor torpedo boat tender in commission from 1943 to 1946. She saw service in World War II. From 1957 to 1993, the former ''Oyster Bay'' served in the Italian Nav ...

tending

PT boat 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 ...

s in Seeadler Harbor on March 25, 1944 USS Claxton (DD-571), USS Canberra (CA-70) and USS Killen (DD-593) in floating dry dock ABSD-2 on 2 December 1944 (80-G-304088).jpg,

USS Claxton (DD-571) USS ''Claxton'' (DD-571), a , was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Thomas Claxton, born in Baltimore, Maryland. ''Claxton'' was launched 1 April 1942 by Consolidated Steel Corporation, Orange, Texas; sponsored by Mrs ...

USS Canberra (CA-70) USS ''Canberra'' (CA-70/CAG-2) was a and later a guided missile cruiser of the United States Navy (USN). Originally to be named USS ''Pittsburgh'', the ship was renamed before launch to honor the Australian cruiser sunk during the Battle of S ...

and

USS Killen (DD-593) USS ''Killen'' (DD-593), was a of the United States Navy. Namesake Edward Killen joined the Navy on 5 May 1801 as a seaman aboard the schooner . Accompanying her to the Mediterranean he was promoted to Master's Mate on 9 November 1803. He volu ...

in floating dry dock

ABSD-2 USS ABSD-2, later redesignated as AFDB-2, was a ten-section, non-self-propelled, large auxiliary floating drydock of the US Navy. Advance Base Sectional Dock-2 (Auxiliary Floating Dock Big-2) was constructed in sections during 1942 and 1943 by th ...

on 2 December 1944 USS Mindanao (ARG-3) damaged by explosion of USS Mount Hood (AE-11) in Seeadler Harbor on 10 November 1944.jpg,

USS Mindanao (ARG-3) USS ''Mindanao'' (ARG-3) was a ''Luzon''-class internal combustion engine repair ship in service with the United States Navy from 1943 to 1947. She was sunk as an artificial reef in 1980. History Construction ''Mindanao'' was named for the ...

damaged by the explosion of

USS Mount Hood (AE-11) USS ''Mount Hood'' (AE-11) was the lead ship of her class of ammunition ships for the United States Navy in World War II. She was the first ship named after Mount Hood, a volcano in the Cascade Range in the US state of Oregon. On 10 November 1 ...

in Seeadler Harbor on November 10, 1944

History

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading