Naval Base Adelaide was a

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 ...

base at

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

and

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is the main port for the ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

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 ...

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 ...

. Northern Australian ports were within reach of Japanese long-range

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped ...

s. The

bombing of Darwin The Bombing of Darwin, also known as the Battle of Darwin, on 19 February 1942 was the largest single attack ever mounted by a foreign power on Australia. On that day, 242 Japanese aircraft, in two separate raids, attacked the town, ships in ...

on February 19, 1942, demonstrated that a more southern port was needed, with Adelaide, in southern Australia, being distant from the possibility of any current or future attacks. The existing port facilities at Adelaide were large enough to support the staging of future actions. Local civilians were hired to help in the unloading and loading of US Navy, US Army and Merchant Navy ships.

History

Protected by

Fort Largs Fort Largs is a historic defence site in the coastal suburb of Taperoo near Port Adelaide, South Australia, approximately north west of Adelaide's city centre. Fort Largs was built as a coastal battery installment in 1885, responsible for A ...

, Port Adelaide was an Army staging port from May 1942 to July 1942, with depots supplying the 32nd Division of the

United States 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, cla ...

. Camps were built from the Port of Adelaide. Japan planned an invasion of Australia, but after their losses at the

Battle of the Coral Sea The Battle of the Coral Sea, from 4 to 8 May 1942, was a major naval battle between the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and naval and air forces of the United States and Australia. Taking place in the Pacific Theatre of World War II, the batt ...

, Japan canceled these plans. In 1944 use of the distant Port of Adelaide lessened as newer bases closer to the action were built. After the war, the US Navy and Army bases were closed.

Adelaide Convoys

*Regular convoys were numbered, with the code letter prefix "CO" being used for the

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and Adelaide run, from June 1942 to December 1943, with 150 convoys; the reverse trip had the code prefix "OC". *The first CO convoy was CO.1, and departed on June 8, 1942. Ships in the convoy included: ''British Age'', British ''Allara'', ''George M. Livanos'', New Zealand MV ''Hauraki'', British ''Iron Baron'', British ''Macedon'', British ''Meroo'', British ''Scottish Chief'', Greek ''Theofano Livanos'' and Norwegian ''Vito'', escorted by Australian destroyer HMAS ''Arunta'' and corvette/minesweeper HMAS ''Kalgoorlie''. The last convoy was CO.149, which departed December 4, 1943 with ships: British ''Barrosa'', British ''Helen Moller'', Yugoslav ''Olga Topic'', British ''Wear'', and US ''Wilbur Wright'', escorted by Australian corvette/minesweeper HMAS ''Ballarat'' and auxiliary patrol vessel HMAS ''Wilcannia''. *Some ships that ported at Adelaide: USS ''Ancon'', USS ''Briareus'', SS ''America'', MV ''Duntroon'', MS ''West Honaker'', and the SS President Taft,

Terowie railway station

Terowie railway station Terowie railway station was located on the Roseworthy–Peterborough line in the South Australian town of Terowie. History Terowie station opened in 1880 when the broad gauge line from Adelaide was completed. In 1881, it became a junction st ...

, 217 km north of the Port of Adelaide, became the main transfer point for staging troops and supplies. A US Army camp was built at Terowie. All that remains of the camp is the six concrete prison cells. The Terowie railway station is known for General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...

making his first “I Shall Return” speeches there on March 20, 1942. TerowieandeneralandDouglasMacArthurandfamily

Supply depot

The US Army set up a supply depot, Base Section 5, outside of Adelaide. The depot was run by the 84th Ordnance for the 32nd Division. The depot supplied remote advance bases. Due to port limitations, the depots were set up inland, and rail lines and trucks were used to move supplies.

South Australian airfields

Both the US Navy and US Army used some of the nearby Australian Airfields: *Ceduna Airfield, now

Ceduna Airport Ceduna Airport is a public airport in Ceduna, South Australia. The airport, which is owned by the District Council of Ceduna is located adjacent to the Eyre Highway, approximately east of the town. It is the westernmost airport that receive ...

*Gawler Airfield, now Gawler Aerodrome *Kingscote Airfield, now

Kingscote Airport Kingscote Airport is located southwest of Kingscote, South Australia, the main town on Kangaroo Island, in the locality of Cygnet River, South Australia, Cygnet River. The airport is the sole airport for Kangaroo Island. The airport is served ...

*Mallala Airfield,

RAAF Base Mallala RAAF Base Mallala was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) base at Mallala, South Australia. History Since 1939, the RAAF was aware of a suitable airfield at Mallala. On 25 February 1941 a group of officers conducted a detailed assessment of the ...

; now defunct *Mount Gambier Airfield, now

Mount Gambier Airport Mount Gambier Regional Airport is an airport in the Limestone Coast, South Australia. It is located on the Riddoch Highway in Wandilo, about north of Mount Gambier. It is the only commercial airport servicing the Limestone Coast region of S ...

*Oodnadatta Airfield, now

Oodnadatta Airport Oodnadatta Airport is an aerodrome that services Oodnadatta, South Australia, Australia. History It was utilised by the Royal Australian Air Force's No. 34 Squadron to courier equipment and stores, transport troops and utilised by RAAF and Un ...

*Parafield Airfield (Adelaide Airfield), now

Parafield Airport Parafield Airport is on the edge of the residential suburb of Parafield, South Australia, north of the Adelaide city centre and adjacent to the Mawson Lakes campus of the University of South Australia. It is Adelaide's second airport and the ...

*Port Lincoln Airfield, now

Port Lincoln Airport Port Lincoln Airport is an airport serving Port Lincoln, a city in the Australian state of South Australia. It is located north of Port Lincoln, at North Shields. The airport is owned and operated by the District Council of Lower Eyre Peninsul ...

*Port Pirie Airfield, now

Port Pirie Airport Port Pirie Airport is an airport that is located south of Port Pirie, South Australia, Australia. The airport is owned by the Port Pirie Regional Council. History The airfield was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) station and home to ''No. ...

Post war

South Australian Aviation Museum The South Australian Aviation Museum, located in Port Adelaide, South Australia, is an aviation museum which displays aircraft, aircraft engines, and rockets of relevance to South Australia, and the history of aviation and the aerospace industr ...

at Port Adelaide * Whyalla Maritime Museum at

Whyalla Whyalla was founded as "Hummocks Hill", and was known by that name until 1916. It is the fourth most populous city in the Australian state of South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier and Gawler and along with Port Pirie and Port Augusta ...

*General Douglas MacArthur Monument at Terowie *

National War Memorial (South Australia) The National War Memorial is a monument on the north edge of the city centre of Adelaide, South Australia, commemorating those who served in the First World War. Opened in 1931, the memorial is located on the corner of North Terrace and Kintor ...

*Plaques United States Servicemen, Text on the plaques, located in the

Adelaide Botanic Garden The Adelaide Botanic Garden is a public garden at the north-east corner of the Adelaide city centre, in the Adelaide Park Lands. It encompasses a fenced garden on North Terrace, Adelaide, North Terrace (between Lot Fourteen, the site of the old ...

: at ::''In deep gratitude to the men and women of the United States of America who joined in the defense of Australia during the war of 1939 - 1945''Plaques United States Servicemen
''tracesofwar.com''

Notes

a:. New Zealand-registered MV ''Hauraki'' was captured by Japanese armed merchant cruiser ''Aikoku Maru'' near Ceylon, 12 July 1942. b:. Possibly SS ''Barossa'' c:. For SS ''Wilbur Wright'', see

List of Liberty ships (S–Z) This section of List of Liberty ships is a sortable list of Liberty ships— cargo ships built in the United States during World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that la ...

References

External links

youtube MaCarthur In Australia (1942)
*
Flickr gallery
{{USWWII Military installations established in 1942 Closed installations of the United States Navy 1942 in Australia

Naval Base Adelaide Naval Base Adelaide was a United States Navy base at Adelaide and Port Adelaide, South Australia, Australia during World War II. Northern Australian ports were within reach of Japanese long-range bombers. The bombing of Darwin on February 19, 1 ...