Mios Woendi Base Administration Quonsets

Mios Woendi island is an island in the Schouten Islands of Papua province, eastern

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. It lies in Cenderawasih Bay (or Geelvink Bay) off the northwestern coast of the island nation of

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 ...

Description

The island is in an

atoll An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical oceans and seas where corals can gr ...

southeast of

Biak Biak is an island located in Cenderawasih Bay near the northern coast of Papua (province), Papua, an Indonesian province, and is just northwest of New Guinea. Biak is the largest island in its small archipelago, and has many atolls, reefs, and c ...

, off the north coast of Papua in

Western New Guinea Western New Guinea, also known as Papua, Indonesian New Guinea, or Indonesian Papua, is the western half of the Melanesian island of New Guinea which is administered by Indonesia. Since the island is alternatively named as Papua, the region ...

. It is roughly a triangle in shape with the longest side in length. Padaido

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') a ...

at Mios Woendi, provides a deep-water

anchorage Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...

of nearly , and the island has of navigable beach front. The climate is tropical, with an annual rainfall close to . The people are primarily

Melanesian Melanesian is the adjectival form of Melanesia. It may refer to: * Melanesians * Melanesian mythology * Melanesian languages In linguistics, Melanesian is an obsolete term referring to the Austronesian languages of Melanesia: that is, the Oceani ...

History

World War II

Mios Woedni was the location of a forward base,Naval Base Mios Woendi , 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 ...

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 ...

code named "Stinker".31.1 Introduction: Allied Submarine Special Operations Missions in Support of the Allied Intelligence Bureau, Australian Submarines, Michael White, Australian Teachers of Media, POB 2040, St. Kilda West, Victoria, Australia, 2015, p.12

/ref> In June 1944 PT Advance Base 2 arrived along with 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 PT Advance Base Construction Detachment of the 113th Naval Construction Battalion.Building the Navys bases in WWII, Volume II, Part III, GPO Washington DC, 1946-47, p.3

/ref> When all was done Mios Woendi would be the largest PT facility in the Pacific and named Camp Taylor for the skipper ''PT-193'' lost. To make that happen the 55th CB was sent to enlarge the camp into a 2,000 man base that would be PT Base 21. There were 12 finger docks to accommodate 50 PT boats. The 19th Special Construction Battalion was sent to take care of the stevedoring and had brought a 100-bed mobile

dispensary A dispensary is an office in a school, hospital, industrial plant, or other organization that dispenses medications, medical supplies, and in some cases even medical and dental treatment. In a traditional dispensary set-up, a pharmacist dispen ...

to set up in addition. The dispensary would be absorbed into the 300 bed Naval Hospital 16 built by the 55th CB. The Seabees had to add more when Navy Seaplane Base 2 arrived in July. VPB-11,

VPB-20 VPB-20 was a patrol bombing squadron of the U.S. Navy. The squadron was established as Patrol Squadron 20 (VP-20) on 15 February 1944, redesignated as Patrol Bombing Squadron 20 (VPB-20) on 1 October 1944, and disestablished on 4 February 1946. ...

, VPB-33 and

VPB-34 VPB-34 was a Patrol Bombing Squadron of the U.S. Navy. The squadron was established as Patrol Squadron 34 (VP-34) on 16 April 1942, redesignated Patrol Bombing Squadron 34 (VPB-34) on 1 October 1944 and disestablished on 7 April 1945. Operational ...

all had aircraft there at one point. Also arriving in July was Mobile Amphibious Repair Base 2. This advance base component was designed to provide repairs and support for the operation of 18 LST's, 18 LCI's, 36 LCT's, 60 LCM's, and 240 LCVP's. Five PT drydocks plus repair shops and a torpedo depot were also constructed. The last combat patrol out of Mios Woendi was mid-November 1944. Mios Woendi PT Boat Base(Base 21 Camp Taylor), Pacific Wrecks, Dec. 2017, pacificwrecks.c

/ref> Ships stationed at or transitioning the base to support PT operations were the , , , , , , and . The Hilo was the

Flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

of PT Task Group 70.1 and the Griffen was tasked for submarines. On short notice the Seabees built a stage for a

USO The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

show featuring

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 5 ...

Frances Langford Julia Frances Newbern-Langford (April 4, 1913 – July 11, 2005) was an American singer and actress who was popular during the Golden Age of Radio and made film and television appearances for over two decades. She was known as the "GI Nighting ...

and

Patty Thomas Patty Thomas was an American dancer, USO entertainer and actress. She appeared in the 1961 film ''The Ladies Man'', 1938 film You Can't Take It with You (film), ''You Can't Take It with You'' and toured with Bob Hope during and after World Wa ...

. Camp Taylor also served submarines. It's torpedo depot was one reason. The other was special operations of the Combined Field Intelligence Service in support of guerrillas and

coast watcher The Coastwatchers, also known as the Coast Watch Organisation, Combined Field Intelligence Service or Section C, Allied Intelligence Bureau, were Allied military intelligence operatives stationed on remote Pacific islands during World War II t ...

s. These guerrilla sub missions originated at

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

's,Capricorn Wharf or Mios Woendi.Guerrilla Submarines, West-Point-org, 23802 Oscar Road, Spicewood, TX 7866

/ref> The

USS Narwhal (SS-167) USS ''Narwhal'' (SS-167), the lead ship of her class of submarine and one of the "V-boats", was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the narwhal. She was named ''V-5'' (SC-1) when her keel was laid down on 10 May 1927 ...

one of these boats. She would have a

refit Refitting or refit of boats and marine vessels includes repairing, fixing, restoring, renewing, mending, and renovating an old vessel. Refitting has become one of the most important activities inside a shipyard. It offers a variety of services for ...

at Mios Woendi and be based there for a period. When the war ended the Dutch Navy used the facilities until 1961. PT Squadrons at Camp Taylor at various times: * MTB Ron 9 * MTB Ron 10War diary USS Mobjack, NARA digital online records * MTB Ron 12 * MTB Ron 13 * MTB Ron 16 * MTB Ron 18 * MTB Ron 21 * MTB Ron 25 * MTB Ron 33 * MTB Ron 36

References

External links

Rising to Victory: The Pacific Submarine Strategy in World War II
says Mios Woendi was east of

near *PTBoats.org
PT Boat Base 21, Mios Woendi, BiakDictionary of American Naval Aviations Squadrons, Appendix 6 - Patrol Squadron Shore Establishments
lists Naval Seaplane Base 2, a.k.a. NAF Biak, as located on Mios Woendi, in 1944 and 1945. Islands of Western New Guinea Landforms of Papua (province) United States Navy installations Military installations closed in 1961 {{Papua-geo-stub