Naval Construction Battalion Center
Port Hueneme
Port Hueneme ( ; Chumash: ''Wene Me'') is a small beach city in Ventura County, California, surrounded by the city of Oxnard and the Santa Barbara Channel. Both the Port of Hueneme and Naval Base Ventura County lie within the city limits.
P ...
, operated as an independent
base from 1942 to 2000 as the
West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to:
Geography Australia
* Western Australia
*Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia
* West Coast, Tasmania
**West Coast Range, mountain range in the region
Canada
* Britis ...
home port of the
Navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
’s
Construction Battalions. In 2000, the CBC merged with nearby
Naval Air Station Point Mugu
Naval Air Station Point Mugu was a United States naval air station near Oxnard, California, which operated as an independent base from 1941 to 2000, when it merged with nearby Naval Construction Battalion Center Port Hueneme to form Naval Base V ...
to form
Naval Base Ventura County
Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC) is a United States Navy base in Ventura County, California. Formed by the merger of NAS Point Mugu and CBC Port Hueneme, NBVC is a diverse installation composed of three main locations — Point Mugu, Port Hueneme ...
.
History
"1942: The start of the Second World War sent naval survey teams up and down the Pacific coast looking for new locations for naval facilities. One team was looking for a site to build a naval base to support naval construction activities at advanced bases in the Pacific. The team came to Port Hueneme, California and recognized it as an ideal port, because it was the only Pacific deep water port between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Word of the discovery was sent to Admiral Ben Moreell, Chief of the Bureau of Yards and Docks, who was busily putting together the new construction battalions. Port Hueneme therefore was tentatively selected as the site for the advanced base depot on the Pacific coast. On February 16, 1942, Admiral Moreell sent his recommendations to the Chief of Naval Operations and it was speedily approved."
[This Week in Seabee History, Seabee online Magazine, February 11 - February 1]
/ref>
The facility at Port Hueneme was built as a temporary depot to train, stage, and supply the newly created Seabees. The base was officially established and began operating May 18, 1942 as an Advance Base Depot (ABD). In 1945 the Advance Base Depot was renamed as a Naval Construction Battalion Center.Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, almost all Navy construction equipment and supplies for the war were routed through CBC Port Hueneme.
U.S. Navy Seabee Museum
Located on Naval Base Ventura County is the U.S. Navy Seabee Museum, one of fifteen official U.S. Navy museums.[U.S. Navy Seabee Museum]
webpage. Naval History & Heritage Command official website. Retrieved 2010-03-09. The museum is the principal repository for the Seabees’ operational history. The Seabee Archive
An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located.
Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...
contains various operational records, battalion histories, manuscripts, oral histories, biographies, and personal papers pertaining to the Seabees.[
]
See also
*Admiral Ben Moreell
Admiral Ben Moreell (September 14, 1892 – July 30, 1978) was the chief of the U.S. Navy's Bureau of Yards and Docks and of the Civil Engineer Corps. Best known to the American public as the father of the Navy's Seabees, Moreell's life spanned ...
* Amphibious Construction Battalion One (ACB-1)
*Amphibious Construction Battalion TWO
Amphibious Construction Battalion TWO (abbreviated as ACB 2, or PHIBCB 2) is an amphibious construction battalion in the United States Navy based in Little Creek, Virginia. Amphibious Construction Battalion ONE is its sister unit based in Coronado ...
(ACB-2)
*Civil Engineer Corps
The Civil Engineer Corps (CEC) is a staff corps of the United States Navy. CEC officers are professional engineers and architects, acquisitions specialists, and Seabee Combat Warfare Officers who qualify within Seabee units. They are responsib ...
United States Navy
*Naval Construction Battalion
, colors =
, mascot = Bumblebee
, battles = Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Cape Gloucester, Los Negros, Guam, Peleliu, Tarawa, Kwajalein, Saipan, Tinian, Iwo Jima, Philippi ...
aka Seabee
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 ...
*Seabees in World War II
When World War II broke out the United States Naval Construction Battalions (Seabees) did not exist. The logistics of a two theater war were daunting to conceive. Rear Admiral Moreell completely understood the issues. What needed to be done ...
* Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek#Major shore commands (at "Naval Construction Force")
*Naval Amphibious Base Coronado
Naval Amphibious Base Coronado (NAB Coronado) is a US naval installation located across the bay from San Diego, California. The base, situated on the Silver Strand, between San Diego Bay and the Pacific Ocean, is a major Navy shore command, sup ...
*Naval Construction Battalion Center (Gulfport, Mississippi)
Naval Construction Battalion Center is a U.S. Navy industrial complex located in Gulfport, Mississippi. It serves as home base for the Atlantic Fleet Seabees, which are the Navy's construction battalions.
Mission
The mission of the Naval Construc ...
*Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 3
Naval Mobile Construction Battalion THREE (NMCB 3) is a United States Navy Seabee that was one of the three original Construction Battalions authorized to be formed in 1942. In May 1942 Naval Construction Battalion 3 deployed to the Territory o ...
*Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 4
Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 4 (NMCB 4) is a Navy Seabee battalion homeported at Port Hueneme, California. Nicknamed the "Pioneers", it is the first of the many CBs created after the original three. The Battalion's current insignia fi ...
* Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 7
* Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 11
*Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 25
Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 25 or NMCB 25 is a Navy Reserve Seabee unit that is headquartered at Port Hueneme, CA. Its World War II predecessor was one of three CBs transferred to the Marine Corps in the late summer of 1942 ...
* Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 26
*Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 40
Naval Mobile Construction Battalion FORTY (NMCB 40), nicknamed Fighting FORTY, was a US Navy Seabee Battalion based out of Port Hueneme, California. Its primary mission was wartime contingency construction as well as peacetime construction and ...
*Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 133
Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 133 (NMCB 133) is a United States Navy Construction Battalion, otherwise known as a Seabee Battalion, homeported at the Naval Construction Battalion Center (Gulfport, Mississippi) (aka: Naval Mobile Constructio ...
Footnotes
External links
Naval Base Ventura County
website
Installations of the United States Navy in California
Seabees
Buildings and structures in Ventura County, California
Military facilities in Greater Los Angeles
Port Hueneme, California
Military installations established in 1945
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