Los Negros Island is the third largest of the

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 ...

. It is significant because it contains the main airport of

Manus Province Manus Province is the smallest province in Papua New Guinea in terms of both land area and population, with a land area of , but with more than of water, and the total population is 60,485 (2011 census). The provincial town of Manus is Lorengau. ...

on its eastern coastline, at Momote. It is connected to

Lorengau Lorengau is the major town in Manus Province, Papua New Guinea. The town is located on the edge of Seeadler Harbour on Manus Island, in the Admiralty Islands, and in 2000 Lorengau was recorded to have a population of 5,829. History World War ...

, the capital of the province, 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 ...

via a highway and bridge across the Lonui Passage, which separates Los Negros from the larger Manus Island. One of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

's regional centres for

asylum seeker An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country and applies for asylum (i.e., international protection) in that other country. An asylum seeker is an immigrant who has been forcibly displaced and mi ...

s caught in Australian waters, the Manus Island Regional Processing Centre, was situated on the island until it closed in November 2017. Remaining asylum seekers were housed in accommodation in

History

Los Negros was formerly a Japanese base 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and was heavily assaulted on February 29, 1944 by Allied forces, during the

Battle of Los Negros The Admiralty Islands campaign (Operation Brewer) was a series of battles in the New Guinea campaign of World War II in which the United States Army's 1st Cavalry Division took the Japanese-held Admiralty Islands. Acting on reports from airm ...

which was the spearhead for the

Admiralty Islands campaign The Admiralty Islands campaign (Operation Brewer) was a series of battles in the New Guinea campaign of World War II in which the United States Army's 1st Cavalry Division took the Japanese-held Admiralty Islands. Acting on reports from ai ...

. After its capture by allied forces, Los Negros was developed over the spring and summer of 1944 into an important air and sea base that was used by allied forces until September 1945. Allied development included the creation of an advanced naval base,

Manus Naval Base file:NABManus19455 USNavy.jpg, Manus Naval Base, Naval supply depot with piers and Quonset hut, 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 N ...

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 an ...

, a seaplane base at Lombrum Point and an extended

airfield An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...

to accommodate heavy aircraft built at Mokerang Plantation. The Australian War Crimes Court held a series of trials of accused war criminals at Los Negros between June 1950 and April 1951."Trials Conclude at Los Negros" Sydney Morning Herald, 10 Apr 1951.

References

Admiralty Islands Manus Province Bismarck Archipelago Islands of Papua New Guinea {{ManusProvince-geo-stub