Map Majuro and Arno Atolls Majuro_Atoll-USA-P-Gilberts-15

Naval Base Majuro was a major

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 built on

Majuro Atoll Majuro (; Marshallese: ' ) is the capital and largest city of the Marshall Islands. It is also a large coral atoll of 64 islands in the Pacific Ocean. It forms a legislative district of the Ratak (Sunrise) Chain of the Marshall Islands. The ato ...

, in the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...

to support the

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 ...

efforts in the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...

. The base was built after the Battle of Majuro-Kwajalein ended 3 February 1944. Majuro was found to be unoccupied and abandoned when 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 ...

arrived. The US Navy built airfields, seaport, and other facilities on the captured islands. The base was part of the vast

Naval Base Marshall Islands Naval Base Marshall Islands were United States Navy advance bases built on the Marshall Islands during World War II to support the Pacific War efforts. The bases were built by US Navy after the Marshall Islands campaign that captured the islan ...

History

When the US Army arrived they found abandoned a Darrit Island 400-foot timber pier, a seaplane ramp, Dalop Island 5,800-foot runway, and warehouses. US Navy Seabees of the 100th Construction Battalion began improvement projects at the base. On the

Delap Delap ( Marshallese: , ) is an island district in the Marshall Islands. It is located in the east of Majuro Atoll. Along with Uliga and Djarrit it forms what is known as the "Delap-Uliga-Djarrit". During World War II was the site of a large base ...

the 800 feet (1,800 m) by 445 feet (136 m) runway was repaired and paved in

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and sec ...

. The complete

Majuro Airfield Majuro Airfield or Naval Air Facility Majuro (NAF Majuro) is a former World War II airfield on the island of Delap in the Marshall Islands. The facility was supported by the large base, Naval Base Majuro History World War II Majuro Airfield was ...

became home to a number of units: two Marine dive-bomber squadrons, half a Marine patrol squadron, and staging a

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

fighter group. The Naval used the Airfield for its

Naval Air Transport Service The Naval Air Transport Service or NATS, was a branch of the United States Navy from 1941 to 1948. At its height during World War II, NATS's totaled four wings of 18 squadrons that operated 540 aircraft with 26,000 personnel assigned. Formation ...

and patrols. The Majuro Atoll offered excellent fleet anchorage in the large protected

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 ...

. The lagoon has depths of 150 to 210-feet, with only a few coral heads. The lagoon islands had some sand beaches used for boats,

landing craft Landing craft are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as boats and barges, used to convey a landing force (infantry and vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. The term excludes landing ships, which are larger. Pr ...

and

Landing Ship, Tank Landing Ship, Tank (LST), or tank landing ship, is the naval designation for ships first developed during World War II (1939–1945) to support amphibious operations by carrying tanks, vehicles, cargo, and landing troops directly onto shore with ...

. On Calanin Island, at the entrance to the lagoon Seabees built a

signal station A signal station is a form of Aids to Navigation that is defined by the IHO simply as "A signal station is a place on shore from which signals are made to ships at sea". While this broad definition would include coastal radio stations and fog signa ...

and a harbor entrance control station. Seabee built and manned at Acorn 8 Naval

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 ...

. Seabee used both new construction

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 I ...

s and captured buildings in their projects. Seabee built a 150-bed hospital. For the airfield, Seabees built a 12,000-barrel fuel depot for aviation gasoline storage on Bigariat Island and 4-inch pipe system to bring it to the airfield. For freshwater Seabees installed a Water distillation plant. The 21 distillation stills turned seawater into 50,000 gallons of fresh water per day. The water was stored in a system of tanks and plumbing with a total of 180,000 gallons for all the islands in the base. Water tank trucks were used for long runs. The one captured pier was not able to keep up with the demands of the growing base, Seabees installed a deep-water 25 by 28 foot pontoon floating pier. Seabees used coral to pave 10 miles of road and the top of 11,000 feet of causeways, making

Delap-Uliga-Djarrit Delap-Uliga-Djarrit (DUD, mh, Teļap-Wūlika-Jarōj) is the capital and the largest city of the Marshall Islands with 20,301 people (2012 census). The town is located in Majuro Atoll. History Majuro Atoll was claimed by the German Empire wi ...

. The causeways were built to connect the many small base islands together. A large Seabee camp, repair shops, and supply depot was built. For the troop

barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

mess hall The mess (also called a mess deck aboard ships) is a designated area where military personnel socialize, eat and (in some cases) live. The term is also used to indicate the groups of military personnel who belong to separate messes, such as the o ...

s, bomb-proof

shelter Shelter is a small building giving temporary protection from bad weather or danger. Shelter may also refer to: Places * Port Shelter, Hong Kong * Shelter Bay (disambiguation), various locations * Shelter Cove (disambiguation), various locatio ...

s, and recreation facilities were constructed by the Seabees. As the airfield took up almost all of Dalop Island, Uliga Island, Laura Island Rairok Island and other islands of the tropical Majuro Atoll were used. Majuro Atoll has 56 islands. In February 1944 the 100th Battalion was relieved with the arrival of Construction Battalion Detachment 1034. On 18 June 1944 the 60th Seabee Battalion was relieved with the arrival of Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit (CBMU) 591. Unlike most Pacific Navy bases, Naval Base Majuro was moved to a more forward location as the fighting moved towards Japan's homeland. On V-J Day,

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy ...

on 2 September 1945 the base was still in full operation. USS Bushnell AS-15 1947

Majuro Submarine Base

The demand for submarine bases during World War 2 was so great that bases were built around special ships called submarine tenders. Submarine Tenders carried fuel for the submarines, food for the crew, and living quarters for the crew to rest while the sub was being serviced. The Tender's depot had all the supplies that the submarine needed to get back on patrol. Submarine base had limited land facilities such Naval Base Majuro operated as an advanced submarine base. Sub-crews enjoyed the 750-man submarine base camp and fleet recreation center at the base. Majuro Submarine Base was supported by the submarine tenders: USS Howard W. Gilmore (AS-16),

USS Bushnell (AS-15) USS ''Bushnell'' (AS-15) was a in service with the United States Navy from 1943 to 1948 and from 1952 to 1970. She was finally sunk as a target ship in 1983. History ''Bushnell'' launched on 14 September 1942 at the Mare Island Naval Shipy ...

, USS Argonne (AS-10), and USS Sperry (AS-12). USS Prairie (AD-15) with destroyers c1954

Majuro Destroyer Base

To keep US Navy

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

in the war and not at faraway bases, Majuro became a Destroyer Base. US Navy

destroyer tender A destroyer tender or destroyer depot ship is a type of depot ship: an auxiliary ship designed to provide maintenance support to a flotilla of destroyers or other small warships. The use of this class has faded from its peak in the first half of ...

s provided food, fuel, and

ammo Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other wea ...

to the destroyer. Minor repair work was also done at the base. The crew was able to enjoy the fleet recreation center at the base during this time. The base was made with stationed destroyer tenders: USS Prairie (AD-15) and USS Markab

Airfields

US Navy Seabees built two airfields at Naval Base Majuro : *

, called Naval Air Facility Majuro Majuro Airfield
'pacificwrecks.com'' *Uliga Airfield on Uliga Island
A number of bombers and fighter squadrons operated from the airfields. For aircraft navigation, a

loran LORAN, short for long range navigation, was a hyperbolic radio navigation system developed in the United States during World War II. It was similar to the UK's Gee system but operated at lower frequencies in order to provide an improved range u ...

transmitting station was built.
The Naval stations at the Marshall Islands had stationed: *

Vought F4U Corsair The Vought F4U Corsair is an American fighter aircraft which saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Designed and initially manufactured by Chance Vought, the Corsair was soon in great demand; additional production contracts ...

Grumman F6F Hellcat The Grumman F6F Hellcat is an American Carrier-based aircraft, carrier-based fighter aircraft of World War II. Designed to replace the earlier Grumman F4F Wildcat, F4F Wildcat and to counter the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero, it was the United St ...

with VF-39 *

Douglas TBD Devastator The Douglas TBD Devastator was an American torpedo bomber of the United States Navy. Ordered in 1934, it first flew in 1935 and entered service in 1937. At that point, it was the most advanced aircraft flying for the Navy and possibly for any na ...

Grumman TBF Avenger The Grumman TBF Avenger (designated TBM for aircraft manufactured by General Motors) is an American World War II-era torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and eventually used by several air and naval av ...

Curtiss XBTC The Curtiss XBTC was a prototype single-seat, single-engined torpedo/ dive bomber developed during World War II for the United States Navy. Four aircraft were ordered, powered by two different engines, but the two aircraft to be fitted with th ...

for Scouting bombing (VSB) * Utility-Transport (VJR) planes, like the

Douglas R4D The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (Royal Air Force, RAF, Royal Australian Air Force, RAAF, Royal Canadian Air Force, RCAF, Royal New Zealand Air Force, RNZAF, and South African Air Force, SAAF designation) is a airlift, military transport ai ...

and Douglas R5D
At Majuro Airfield the Navy supported the installment of the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing and the

Marine Aircraft Group 13 Marine Aircraft Group 13 is a United States Marine Corps aviation unit based at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma that is currently composed of one McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II squadron, three Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II squadrons, an ...

in March 1944. The Seabees constructed two 750-man camps, shops and storage facilities for the

United States 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 combi ...

.
The Navy decided to place a pool of

fighter planes Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing aircraft, fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air supremacy, air superiority of the battlespace. Domination o ...

ready to replace losses on

Aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

at Naval Base Majuro. As Majuro Airfield did not have the space for the new air base, Seabees built a new 4,000 foot by 175-foor runway on Uliga Island. Uliga Island was connected to Dalop by the built two-lane causeway. Two

Carrier Aircraft Service Units US Navy K-class blimp Carrier Aircraft Service Units (CASU) were United States Navy units formed during World War II for the Pacific War to support naval aircraft operations. From 1942 to 1946, 69 Carrier Aircraft Service Units were formed to ...

were based as the airfields to support the many Navy planes at the base.

Post war

Marshall Islands War Memorial Park The Marshall Islands War Memorial Park is a beachfront park located in Delap on Majuro Atoll, Marshall Islands. The park was part of the U.S. Headquarters Command Center for the Marshall Islands, which was responsible for administering the Marshal ...

on Delap

Gallery

File:80-G-425529.jpg,

fighters at Majuro File:Majuro Satellite.PNG, Majuro Atoll Satellite photo File:MH -map A.png, Map of the Marshall Islands File:SBD-5 VMSB-321 Majuro Aug1944.jpg,

Douglas SBD Dauntless The Douglas SBD Dauntless is a World War II American naval scout plane and dive bomber that was manufactured by Douglas Aircraft from 1940 through 1944. The SBD ("Scout Bomber Douglas") was the United States Navy's main carrier-based scout/div ...

dive bomber at Majuro USS Essex (CV-9) at Majuro Atoll on 2 March 1944.jpg,

USS Essex (CV-9) USS ''Essex'' (CV/CVA/CVS-9) was an aircraft carrier and the lead ship of the 24-ship built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was the fourth US Navy ship to bear the name. Commissioned in December 1942, ''Essex'' partic ...

at Majuro Atoll on 2 March 1944.jpg File:Local Traffic Regulations.png, Majuro road built by US Navy File:SBDs VMSB-231 Majuro 1944.jpg, SBD Dauntless with VMSB-231 at Majuro in 1944

External links

youtube.com Airport to Uliga Majuro Atoll Marshall Islandyoutube.com Majuro Atoll Marshall Islandyoutube.com Task Force At Majuro Atoll Marshall Island

References

{{USWWII Naval Stations of the United States Navy Closed installations of the United States Navy 1944 establishments in Oceania Military installations established in 1944

Naval Base Majuro file:Majuro and Arno Atolls 2.jpg, Map Majuro and Arno Atolls Naval Base Majuro was a major United States Navy base built on Majuro Atoll, in the Marshall Islands to support the World War II efforts in the Pacific War. The base was built after t ...