Naval Base Woodlark Island 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 built 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 opposing ...

Woodlark Island Woodlark Island, known to its inhabitants simply as Woodlark or Muyua, is the main island of the Woodlark Islands archipelago, located in Milne Bay Province and the Solomon Sea, Papua New Guinea. Although no formal census has been conducted sinc ...

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 ...

. The US Navy built a

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 war ...

base, boat repair depot, and harbor facilities at the city of

Guasopa Guasopa is a village on Woodlark Island, Milne Bay Province Papua New Guinea. It is served by Guasopa Airport. Its population during the 1990 census was 170, though it has since grown extensively. Guasopa is the location of the Guasopa Health Cente ...

to support the Pacific War in 1943. The Harbor facilities was also built to support the US Navy in building the Narewa Airfield on the island. The base was part of the New Guinea campaign.

History

On June 21, 1943, American forces came ashore on southern

New Georgia New Georgia, with an area of , is the largest of the islands in Western Province, Solomon Islands, and the 200th-largest island in the world. Geography New Georgia island is located in the New Georgia Group, an archipelago including most ...

, and then on June 30, landed on Woodlark Island as part of

Operation Chronicle Operation Chronicle was the Allied invasion of Woodlark and Kiriwina Islands, in the South West Pacific, during World War II. The operation was a subordinate action that formed part of the wider Operation Cartwheel, the advance towards Rabau ...

. Guasopa Bay lacked a usable dock so the landing were done with LST landing ships. Landing with the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

and

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 ...

at Guasopa was the US Navy's

Seabee , colors = , mascot = Bumblebee , battles = Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Cape Gloucester, Los Negros, Guam, Peleliu, Tarawa, Kwajalein, Saipan, Tinian, Iwo Jima, Philippin ...

60th Construction Battalion, and the 20th Construction. The 500 men with the 60th Construction Battalion started work on the airfield and its facilities. The 200 men with the 20th Construction Battalion started work on the harbor, barracks, mess halls, roads, water plant and other services. At Guasopa Bay Harbor at pontoon

pier Seaside pleasure pier in Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century.">England.html" ;"title="Brighton, England">Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th ...

was built. The PT boat base, and boat repair depot was completed. A sawmill was built to supply lumber for the

harbor A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...

and

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 pub ...

needs. A

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 ...

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envir ...

was built to build roads, walkways and runways. Airfield construction started on July 2, after 12 days a 3,000-foot

fighter plane 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 ...

runway was completed. On September 15, the runway was lengthened to 6,500-feet and

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 torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped from an air ...

began use of the runway. The airfield was called Narewa Airfield, but also called Woodlark Island Airfield and Guasopa Airfield. After the war, the airfield became

Guasopa Airport Guasopa Airport , is an airport at Guasopa on Woodlark Island, in the Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea. History World War II U.S. forces captured Woodlark Island on 30 June 1943 as part of Operation Chronicle. The 60th US Naval Constructi ...

. Japan had airbases close enough that there were some bombings at Guasopa during construction. The bombings caused minor damage and no casualties to the construction crews. All construction was completed on November 1, 1943, and the most Seabees depart Naval Base Woodlark Island. A maintenance crew of 309 men with the 60th Battalion stay at Naval Base Woodlark Island until March 1944. Naval Base Woodlark Island Feet Post Office, FPO# is 528 SF Woodlark Island.

Gallery

CampSeabeeNavalBaseBrisbane buildingtrips.jpg, Camp Seabee

Naval Base Brisbane Naval Base Brisbane was a major United States Navy base built in the early part of World War II at Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. At first, operated as a base for patrol aircraft and convoy escort aircraft to protect the last leg of the Pacific ...

building trips map USSAchilles(ARL-41)1943.jpg, USS Achilles (ARL-41) in 1943 at Naval Base Woodlark Island File:MilneBayLocation.jpg, Naval Base Woodlark Island was supported by nearby

USA-P-Rabaul-5.jpg, Map Naval Base Woodlark Island and Woodlark Harbor 1943 Woodlark_(Murua)_map_by_British_Admiralty_Naval_Intelligence_Division_1943-1945.jpg, Map Woodlark Island 1945

References

External links

youtube, Battle for New Guinea 1942-1945
{{USWWII Naval Base Woodlark Island Naval Stations of the United States Navy World War II airfields in the Pacific Ocean Theater Airfields of the United States Navy Military installations closed in the 1940s Closed installations of the United States Navy

History

See also

Gallery

References

External links