![NASCubiPt](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/NASCubiPt.JPEG)
Naval Base Subic Bay was a major ship-repair, supply, and rest and recreation facility of the
Spanish Navy
The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation, ...
and subsequently 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 ...
located in
Zambales
Zambales, officially the Province of Zambales ( fil, Lalawigan ng Zambales; ilo, Probinsia ti Zambales; Pangasinan: ''Luyag/Probinsia na Zambales''; xsb, Probinsya nin Zambales), is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon re ...
, Philippines. The base was 262 square miles, about the size of Singapore. The Navy Exchange had the largest volume of sales of any exchange in the world, and the Naval Supply Depot handled the largest volume of fuel oil of any navy facility in the world. The naval base was the largest overseas military installation of the
United States Armed Forces
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...
, after
Clark Air Base
Clark Air Base is a Philippine Air Force base on Luzon Island in the Philippines, located west of Angeles City, about northwest of Metro Manila. Clark Air Base was previously a United States military facility, operated by the U.S. Air Forc ...
in
Angeles City
, anthem = Himno ning Angeles (Angeles Hymn)
, subdivision_type3 = District
, subdivision_name3 =
, established_title = Settled
, established_date = 1796
, established_title1 = Chartere ...
was closed in 1991.
[Barber, Ben. "Two decades on, Philippines struggles with U.S. base cleanup". '' The American Legion Magazine'', September 2012: 64.] Following its closure in 1992, it was transformed into the
Subic Bay Freeport Zone
The Subic Special Economic and Freeport Zone, often shorterned as Subic Bay or Subic, is a special economic zone and freeport area covering portions of the city of Olongapo and the town of Subic in Zambales, and the towns of Morong and Herm ...
by the Philippine government.
In late 2022, plans to reopen the base under the
Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement
The Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) is an agreement between the United States and the Philippines intended to bolster the American–Philippine alliance. The agreement allows the United States to rotate troops into the Philippines ...
emerged after the Philippine Navy reoccupied a portion of the base and a U.S. investment firm purchased the remainder of the port.
Spanish period
Subic Bay
Subic Bay is a bay on the west coast of the island of Luzon in the Philippines, about northwest of Manila Bay. An extension of the South China Sea, its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility, U.S. Naval Base Subi ...
's strategic location, sheltered anchorages, and deep water had first been made known when the Spanish explorer
Juan de Salcedo
Juan de Salcedo (; 1549 – March 11, 1576) was a Spanish-Novohispanic conquistador. He was born in Mexico in 1549 and he was the grandson of Miguel López de Legazpi and brother of Felipe de Salcedo. Salcedo was one of the soldiers who accompan ...
reported the bay's existence to the Spanish authorities upon his return to
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
after Salcedo arrived in Zambales to establish the Spanish crown. It would be a number of years before the Spanish would consider establishing a base there.
Cavite
Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite ( tl, Lalawigan ng Kabite; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Located on the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest ...
, which had been home to most of the Spanish fleet in the Philippines, suffered from unhealthy living conditions and was vulnerable in time of war and bad weather because of its shallow water and lack of shelter. Therefore, a military expedition was sent to Subic Bay in 1868 with orders to survey the bay to find out if it would be a suitable site for a naval yard. The Spanish explored the entire bay and concluded that it had much promise and thus reported their findings to Cavite. This report was not well received in Manila, as the Spanish command was reluctant to move to the provincial isolation of Subic. Finally, in 1884, a Royal Decree declared Subic Bay as a naval port.
On 8 March 1885, the
Spanish Navy
The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation, ...
authorized construction of the ''Arsenal de Olongapo'' and by the following September, work started at
Olongapo
Olongapo, officially the City of Olongapo ( fil, Lungsod ng Olongapo; ilo, Siudad ti Olongapo; xsb, Siyodad nin Olongapo), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Located in the province of Zambales ...
. Both the harbor and its inner basin were dredged and a drainage
canal
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...
was built, as the Spanish military authorities were planning to make Olongapo and their navy yard an "island." This canal also served as a line of defense and over which the bridge at the base's Main Gate passes. When the Arsenal was finished, the
gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.
History Pre-steam ...
s ''Caviteño'', ''Santa Ana'', and ''San Quintín'' were assigned for its defense. To complement these gunboats,
coastal artilleries were planned for the east and west ends of the station, as well as on
Grande Island
Fort Wint was part of the harbor defenses of Manila and Subic Bays built by the Philippine Department of the United States Army between 1907 and 1920 in response to recommendations of the Taft Board prior to the non-fortification clause of the Wa ...
.
Seawall
A seawall (or sea wall) is a form of coastal defense constructed where the sea, and associated coastal processes, impact directly upon the landforms of the coast. The purpose of a seawall is to protect areas of human habitation, conservation ...
s,
causeway
A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet Tra ...
s and a short railway were built across the
swamp
A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
y tidal flats. To finish these projects, thousands of tons of earth and rock from Kalalake in Olongapo had to be brought in as fill. The magnitude of this quarrying was so huge that a hill eventually disappeared and became a lagoon in the area now known as Bicentennial Park.
The main entrance to the Arsenal was the West Gate, which still stands. This gate was equipped with gunports and also served as a
jail
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...
. This gate was connected to the South Gate, which was near the water front, by a high wall of locally quarried stone.
Inside the Arsenal, the Spanish constructed a
foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...
, as well as other shops, which were necessary for the construction and repair of ships. The buildings were laid out in two rows on Rivera Point, a sandy patch of land jutting into the bay, and named after the incumbent Captain-General of the Philippines,
Fernando Primo de Rivera
Fernando Primo de Rivera y Sobremonte, 1st Marquess of Estella (24 July 1831 – 23 May 1921) was a Spanish politician and soldier.
Fernando Primo de Rivera was the son of Antonio Hermenegildo Primo de Rivera y Sobremonte and his wife Ana Ma ...
. The Arsenal's showpiece was the station
commandant
Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...
's headquarters, which was a one-storey building of
molave and
narra woods, and stood near today's Alava Pier and had colored glass windows.
The Spanish navy yard was constructed in the area that was last occupied by the U.S. Naval Ship Repair Facility.
Battle of Manila Bay
On 25 April 1898,
Commodore
Commodore may refer to:
Ranks
* Commodore (rank), a naval rank
** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom
** Commodore (United States)
** Commodore (Canada)
** Commodore (Finland)
** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore''
* Air commodore, a ...
George Dewey
George Dewey (December 26, 1837January 16, 1917) was Admiral of the Navy, the only person in United States history to have attained that rank. He is best known for his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish–American War, with ...
, Commander of the
United States Asiatic Fleet
The United States Asiatic Fleet was a fleet of the United States Navy during much of the first half of the 20th century. Before World War II, the fleet patrolled the Philippine Islands. Much of the fleet was destroyed by the Japanese by Februar ...
, received word that
war with Spain
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
had been declared and was ordered to leave Hong Kong and attack the Spanish fleet in
Manila Bay
Manila Bay ( fil, Look ng Maynila) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between the Phili ...
.
In the Philippines,
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...
Patricio Montojo
Patricio in Spanish, or Patrício in Portuguese, is a male given name equivalent to Patrick in English.
The Spanish name is pronounced with the stress on the same first i as Portuguese, but an accent is not needed because this follows normal rul ...
, realizing that Subic Bay would provide a more defensible position than Cavite, ordered his smaller ships and the batteries in Manila Bay to resist Dewey's fleet and deny them the entrance to Manila Bay. His other units would then use Subic Bay as a
sally port
A sally port is a secure, controlled entry way to an enclosure, e.g., a fortification or prison. The entrance is usually protected by some means, such as a fixed wall on the outside, parallel to the door, which must be circumvented to enter an ...
, with which he could attack the American fleet's rear and cut off its supplies. On 26 April, Montojo arrived at Subic Bay aboard with seven other ships.
On the morning of the 27 April, ''Castilla'' was towed northeast of Grande Island to help control the western entrance to Subic Bay. The eastern entrance, which was between Grande and Chiquita Islands, had been blocked by the scuttling of ''San Quintín'' and two other vessels. On Grande Island, the four
Ordóñez guns
Ordóñez guns are a type of coastal artillery that Salvador Diaz Ordóñez, an artillery officer in the Spanish Army, designed in the late 19th century. Most of the models were field guns, but some were howitzers. The guns ranged in caliber from ...
that had been shipped from
Sangley Point
Naval Station Sangley Point was a communication and hospital facility of the United States Navy which occupied the northern portion of the Cavite City peninsula and is surrounded by Manila Bay, approximately eight miles southwest of Manila, th ...
were not yet installed. Meanwhile, a
cable-laying ship, which was commandeered to lay
mines, ended up putting only four of the 15 available mines in place.
In Hong Kong, Dewey purposely delayed his sailing until he received news from the U.S. Consul at Manila, Oscar F. Williams, with information about the strength and positions of the Spanish fleet. Williams told Dewey that Montojo and his fleet had sailed to Subic Bay.
On 30 April, Dewey sighted the islands of
Luzon
Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...
and thus ordered and to sail at full speed to Subic Bay to hunt for enemy ships. After seeing no enemy vessels at Subic, ''Boston'' and ''Concord'' signaled of their findings and rejoined the squadron underway to Manila.
At dawn of 1 May 1898, the American fleet entered Manila Bay. Once the ships closed to within of the Spanish fleet, Dewey ordered the Captain, Charles Gridley, of ''Olympia'' "You may fire when you are ready, Gridley." Montojo's fleet was destroyed, losing 167 men killed and 214 wounded. The Americans only suffered a handful of wounded.
In June 1898, nearly a thousand Spanish nationals left Olongapo and took refuge at Grande Island. By July, Dewey ordered and ''Concord'' to sail for Subic Bay to demand the surrender of Grande Island. When the American ships arrived, they saw the German cruiser at the island, but as the Americans cleared for action and started to head for ''Irene'', she fled around the other end of Grande. The Spanish garrison on the island did not resist and immediately surrendered to Captain
Joseph Coghlan
Rear Admiral Joseph Bulloch Coghlan (9 December 1844 – 5 December 1908) was an officer in the United States Navy during the American Civil War and the Spanish–American War.
Biography
Born at Frankfort, Kentucky, to Cornelius and Lavinia,, ...
of ''Raleigh''.
Philippine–American War
During the
Philippine–American War
The Philippine–American War or Filipino–American War ( es, Guerra filipina-estadounidense, tl, Digmaang Pilipino–Amerikano), previously referred to as the Philippine Insurrection or the Tagalog Insurgency by the United States, was an arm ...
, the Americans focused on using the Spanish naval station at Sangley Point, largely ignoring Subic Bay, and the arsenal was occupied by Filipino forces. The Filipinos constructed a gun battery on top of a ridge using one of the guns on Grande Island.
In the summer of 1899, gunboats started patrolling Subic Bay and after realizing that the patrols would not stop, the Filipinos started to prepare to confront the Americans. During a routine patrol, the
supply ship entered Subic Bay and came under fire from the newly constructed battery. ''Zafiro'' withdrew to Cavite and reported the incident to headquarters. The cruiser was then sent to Subic to silence the battery, but as she was withdrawing, the battery gave out one last shot, provoking the Americans.
On 23 September 1899, ''Charleston'', ''Concord'', , and ''Zafiro'' sailed into Subic Bay to destroy the battery. Upon clearing Kalaklan Point, ''Monterey'', equipped with guns, opened fire. Under this barrage, the battery was only able to fire one shot.
''Charleston'' then sent a signal for 180 sailors and 70
Marines
Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...
to land on Subic. Meanwhile, the other ships continued firing. The Filipinos then deployed into the town of Olongapo, returning fire with small arms. When the entire landing force was ashore, the ships ceased firing and the landing party entered the battery. In all, three charges of
guncotton
Nitrocellulose (also known as cellulose nitrate, flash paper, flash cotton, guncotton, pyroxylin and flash string, depending on form) is a highly flammable compound formed by nitrating cellulose through exposure to a mixture of nitric acid and ...
were placed on the battery, completely destroying it. The party then went back to their ships and sailed for Manila. While the battery was destroyed, the Filipino forces still held the navy yard as well as Olongapo.
In December 1899, the
U.S. 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 ...
launched an operation to clear the countryside of Filipinos who were resisting American rule; 90 soldiers from the 32d U.S. Volunteers set out to capture Olongapo. As the soldiers were entering Santa Rita, just outside Olongapo, they met a pocket of resistance, but after returning fire, the armed Filipinos quickly scattered. The soldiers then proceeded to capture the navy yard.
When Rear Admiral John C. Watson learned of this action against the navy yard, he set out for Subic aboard , accompanied by . When the ships arrived, Watson was surprised that the U.S. Army was in complete possession of the navy yard. Watson then ordered Marine Captain
John Twiggs Myers
John Twiggs Myers (January 29, 1871 – April 17, 1952) was a United States Marine Corps general who was most famous for his service as the American Legation Guard in Peking during the Boxer Rebellion.
Early life
The son of Marion Twiggs (dau ...
ashore with 100 Marines to secure the navy yard.
When the Marines found the highest flagpole on the navy yard, which was in front of the hospital, they immediately raised the
American flag
The national flag of the United States of America, often referred to as the ''American flag'' or the ''U.S. flag'', consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the c ...
on 10 December 1899, one year after the
Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France:
Treaties
1200s and 1300s
* Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade
* Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France
* Trea ...
was signed. The Marines then took responsibility for the navy yard while the Army took over administrative and operational control of Olongapo.
Drinking water
Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, a ...
was not available on the navy yard and so water details had to be sent to the village of Binictican, near the mouth of the river of the same name. Early during the occupation of Olongapo, the town was offered as a place of refuge for Filipinos who were sympathetic to the Americans. After an ambush of seven Marines, the inhabitants of the villages of Binictican and Boton were ordered to move into Olongapo or be declared outlaws. Those people who owned property in the two villages were given houses in Olongapo. Six days after the villagers settled in Olongapo, shelled Binictican and Boton and later 100 Marines completed the destruction.
The Marines then exercised civil authority over Olongapo and ordered municipal elections, appointed local policemen, gave away food to supplement poor harvests, supplied medical care and supplies, and set up a school for the teaching of the English language.
In 1900, the
General Board of the United States Navy
The General Board of the United States Navy was an advisory body of the United States Navy, somewhat akin to a naval general staff and somewhat not. The General Board was established by general order 544, issued on March 13, 1900 by Secretary ...
made a thorough study of the naval base building program and decided that the American fleet in the Philippines could be easily bottled up in either the Manila or Subic bays. They instead recommended
Guimaras Island
Guimaras , officially the Province of Guimaras ( hil, Kapuoran sang Guimaras; tl, Lalawigan ng Guimaras), is an island province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is Jordan while its largest local government ...
, south of
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
, as the most suitable site for the main American naval base in the Philippines.
Admiral of the Navy
Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...
George Dewey
George Dewey (December 26, 1837January 16, 1917) was Admiral of the Navy, the only person in United States history to have attained that rank. He is best known for his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish–American War, with ...
and Admiral
George C. Remey
George Collier Remey (August 10, 1841 – February 10, 1928) was a rear admiral of the United States Navy, serving in the Civil War and the Spanish–American War.
Early life
George Collier Remey was born at Burlington, Iowa on August 10, 184 ...
, Commander of the Asiatic Fleet, disagreed. They thought Subic Bay held the greatest potential.
The Navy then called for another study with Remey as the senior member. This board then decided that Subic Bay was the most suitable and practicable place to build a naval base. A board of officers under Rear Admiral Henry C. Taylor was then appointed to develop a plan for the naval station. Extensive plans for fortifications,
dockyard
A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...
s,
drydock
A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...
s, workshops, a hospital, a railroad linking Olongapo with Manila and storage facilities for 20,000 tons (18,000 metric tons) of coal were drawn up and submitted to the
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
.
The board requested an appropriation of $1 million ($ in dollars) to begin building the naval station. President
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
, a strong supporter of the establishment of a naval station at Subic Bay, issued an
Executive Order
In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of th ...
establishing the Subic Bay Naval Reservation.
Because of the establishment of the Subic Bay Naval Reservation in November 1901 more troops were assigned to Subic. When the Samar force returned at the beginning of March 1902, its personnel were divided between Olongapo and Cavite. Cavite, however, still continued to have the largest number of Marines anywhere in the Philippines and continued to be the headquarters of the U.S. Navy because of its proximity to Manila.
In December 1902, Rear Admiral
Robley D. Evans, Commander of the Asiatic Fleet, directed the first fleet exercise in Asian waters. An expeditionary force of 200 Marines occupied and erected guns on Grande Island. The channels on each side of the island were mined, while vessels of the fleet operated in the bay itself. The exercise was highly successful and confirmed the Admiral's opinion of the strategic advantage of Subic Bay.
The value of Subic Bay as a training area was recognized as the Marines practiced movements in wild and difficult environment. Their building of bridges and roads was also considered to be excellent training.
In June 1907, as tensions with Japan mounted, orders were secretly issued for Army and Navy forces in the Philippines to concentrate at Subic Bay. A large supply of coal and certain advanced base materials including coastal defense guns were to be moved from Cavite. This plan, however, would be opposed by other military leaders and by Governor-General
Leonard Wood
Leonard Wood (October 9, 1860 – August 7, 1927) was a United States Army major general, physician, and public official. He served as the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Military Governor of Cuba, and Governor-General of the Philippi ...
. An acrimonious debate would emerge and plans to build a major base in the Philippines would be discarded. Roosevelt would be disappointed by this, wrote that the aforementioned decision was a humiliating experience, and instead pushed for the development of
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...
in Hawaii.
World War I and interwar years
![Aerial view Olangapo Naval Station 1928 NARA 19-LC-19C](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Aerial_view_Olangapo_Naval_Station_1928_NARA_19-LC-19C.jpg)
In 1917, as the United States was drawn into
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, all the Navy's shipyards including Subic Bay began working at a feverish pace to prepare ships for sea. American and Filipino workers would take pride in their workmanship such that destroyers that were overhauled in Subic Bay became the vanguard of Admiral
William Sims
William Sowden Sims (October 15, 1858 – September 28, 1936) was an admiral in the United States Navy who fought during the late 19th and early 20th centuries to modernize the navy. During World War I, he commanded all United States naval force ...
's convoy.
The
Washington Naval Treaty
The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was a treaty signed during 1922 among the major Allies of World War I, which agreed to prevent an arms race by limiting naval construction. It was negotiated at the Washington Nav ...
of 1922 called for the limitation of naval armaments and included provisions that facilities for the repair and maintenance of American naval forces in the Philippines would be reduced. Shops were dismantled at the navy yard at Subic Bay and
Fort Wint
Fort Wint was part of the harbor defenses of Manila and Subic Bays built by the Philippine Department of the United States Army between 1907 and 1920 in response to recommendations of the Taft Board prior to the non-fortification clause of the Wa ...
was reduced to caretaker status and personnel levels were cut.
The
Japanese government
The Government of Japan consists of legislative, executive and judiciary branches and is based on popular sovereignty. The Government runs under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan, adopted in 1947. It is a unitary state, c ...
kept a close eye on activities in the Philippines for violations of the 1922 treaty. During the
typhoon
A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...
season of 1928, VT Squadron Five which operated
Martin Martin may refer to:
Places
* Martin City (disambiguation)
* Martin County (disambiguation)
* Martin Township (disambiguation)
Antarctica
* Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land
* Port Martin, Adelie Land
* Point Martin, South Orkney Islands
Austral ...
torpedo aircraft out of Manila, arrived in Subic Bay on a routine training flight. A typhoon suddenly veered toward Subic Bay and the plane crews had to lay down ramps to haul the seaplanes up on the beach. The pontoons were filled with water and the planes lashed down. When the typhoon had passed, the undamaged planes were refloated and returned to their tenders at Manila.
Within three weeks, the squadron commander was informed of a Japanese complaint that the Navy had violated the treaty by increasing the facilities for plane handling at Subic Bay. The squadron commander was to provide all facts concerning the incident to the Office of the Governor-General of the Philippines so that a response could be made to the Tokyo government.
Even though the facilities at Subic Bay were greatly reduced under the
Coolidge administration, some ship repair capability remained, including the
Dewey Drydock. The
Great Kantō earthquake
Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements
* Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size
* Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent
People
* List of people known as "the Great"
*Artel Great (born ...
occurred on 30 August 1923, devastating the
Yokohama, Japan
is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...
region. The transport ship ''Merritt'' set sail from Subic Bay in 72 hours loaded with Red Cross relief supplies and 200 Filipino nurses.
In the 1930s a tree-planting program had begun, transforming the naval station into a virtual tropical garden, with streets lined with
coconut palm
The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the f ...
s,
hibiscus
''Hibiscus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. The genus is quite large, comprising several hundred species that are native to warm temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world. Member species ...
, and
gardenia
''Gardenia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the coffee family, Rubiaceae, native to the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Asia, Madagascar and Pacific Islands, and Australia.
The genus was named by Carl Linnaeus and John Ellis aft ...
s. Outside activities and sports were also promoted, with a
golf course
A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...
being laid out where Lowry Hall last stood.
World War II
By the mid-1930s, the Nazis had taken power in Germany and Japan was beginning to flex its military muscle. The
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
therefore authorized the release of funds with which to update the
Coast Defenses of Manila and Subic Bays
The Harbor Defenses of Manila and Subic Bays ("Coast Defenses of Manila and Subic Bays" until 1925) (a.k.a. CD/HD Manila Bay) were a United States Army Coast Artillery Corps harbor defense command, part of the Philippine Department of the Un ...
. President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
would complement this by ordering the integration of Filipino military forces into the newly created
U.S. Army Forces in the Far East
United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) (Filipino language, Filipino: ''Hukbong Katihan ng Estados Unidos sa Malayong Silangan/HKEUMS''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Fuerzas del Ejército de los Estados Unidos en el Lejano Oriente'') ...
. 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 ...
, who had been serving as a military advisor to the government of the
Commonwealth of the Philippines
The Commonwealth of the Philippines ( es, Commonwealth de Filipinas or ; tl, Komonwelt ng Pilipinas) was the administrative body that governed the Philippines from 1935 to 1946, aside from a period of exile in the Second World War from 1942 ...
and was also
Field Marshal of the Philippines
Field Marshal of the Philippines was a rank created in 1936 to be held by Douglas MacArthur.
Douglas MacArthur
US Army General Douglas MacArthur was the first and only field marshal in the history of the Philippine Army, a position he held whi ...
, was ordered back to active duty with the rank of
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
with the title of Commander of the United States Army Forces in the Far East.
To prepare for eventual war, Dewey Drydock, which had been at Subic Bay for 35 years was towed to
Mariveles Bay, on the tip of the
Bataan Peninsula
Bataan (), officially the Province of Bataan ( fil, Lalawigan ng Bataan ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the entir ...
, and scuttled there on 8 April 1942 to prevent the Japanese from deriving benefit from it.
The
4th Marine Regiment
The 4th Marine Regiment is an infantry regiment of the United States Marine Corps. Based at Camp Schwab in Okinawa, Japan, it is part of the 3rd Marine Division of the III Marine Expeditionary Force.
Mission
Close with and destroy the enemy by fi ...
, which had been withdrawn from Shanghai in China, was ordered to withdraw to the Philippines. The first members of the regiment disembarked from ''President Madison'' at Subic Bay early on the morning of 1 November 1941. The remainder arrived on 1 December. The Marines were housed in temporary wooden
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 ...
and in tents at the naval station and the
rifle range
A shooting range, firing range, gun range or shooting ground is a specialized facility, venue or field designed specifically for firearm usage qualifications, training, practice or competitions. Some shooting ranges are operated by military o ...
.
The freshly arrived Marines were assigned to provide land defense for Subic Bay. Seaward defenses included the batteries at
Fort Wint
Fort Wint was part of the harbor defenses of Manila and Subic Bays built by the Philippine Department of the United States Army between 1907 and 1920 in response to recommendations of the Taft Board prior to the non-fortification clause of the Wa ...
on
Grande Island
Fort Wint was part of the harbor defenses of Manila and Subic Bays built by the Philippine Department of the United States Army between 1907 and 1920 in response to recommendations of the Taft Board prior to the non-fortification clause of the Wa ...
and a minefield, which had been laid off the entrance to Subic Harbor. As the Marines built beach defenses,
Consolidated PBY-4 Catalinas from
VP-101
VPB-29 was a Patrol Bombing Squadron of the U.S. Navy. The squadron was established as Pacific Air Detachment on 17 January 1923, redesignated Patrol Squadron 14 (VP-14) on 29 May 1924, redesignated Patrol Squadron 1-Naval District 14 (VP-1D14) on ...
and
VP-102
VP-102 was a Patrol Squadron of the U.S. Navy. It was established as VP-18 on 1 September 1937, redesignated as VP-13 on 1 July 1939, redesignated as VP-26 on 11 December 1939, redesignated as VP-102 on 16 December 1940 and disestablished on 18 Ap ...
of Patrol Wing 10,
which was stationed at Subic Bay, were conducting daily patrols off Luzon as a response to rumors that the Japanese were approaching the Philippines. On 11 December, seven Catalinas had just returned from patrol when
Japanese Zeroes appeared and strafed the aircraft. One
ensign
An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...
was killed and all Catalinas sank to the bottom of Subic Bay's inner basin.
As the Japanese continued their advance through Luzon, telephone and
telegraph
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...
lines between Manila and Olongapo were sabotaged; as a result, all Japanese in Olongapo were rounded up and turned over to the
Provost Marshal
Provost marshal is a title given to a person in charge of a group of Military Police (MP). The title originated with an older term for MPs, '' provosts'', from the Old French ''prévost'' (Modern French ''prévôt''). While a provost marshal i ...
. A priest had also been questioning Marines and Filipinos about sensitive matters such as troop positions and strength and after the Marines became suspicious, a search of the priest's belongings was ordered and a
shortwave radio
Shortwave radio is radio transmission using shortwave (SW) radio frequencies. There is no official definition of the band, but the range always includes all of the high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30 MHz (100 to 10 me ...
was found. Right there and then, the battalion commander convened a hearing and after intense interrogation, the priest confessed to being a member of the
German-American Bund
The German American Bund, or the German American Federation (german: Amerikadeutscher Bund; Amerikadeutscher Volksbund, AV), was a German-American Nazi organization which was established in 1936 as a successor to the Friends of New Germany (FoN ...
and had been a spy for the Japanese. He was then taken behind the church and shot by a Marine firing squad.
By 24 December, the situation at Subic had become hopeless and an order to destroy the station and withdraw was given. All buildings on the station were torched while Filipinos burned the entire town of Olongapo. All that remained on Subic was the former , and she was towed into a deep part of the bay and scuttled. All Marines withdrew to
Bataan
Bataan (), officially the Province of Bataan ( fil, Lalawigan ng Bataan ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the entir ...
and eventually to
Corregidor
Corregidor ( tl, Pulo ng Corregidor, ) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of the Province of Cavite. Due to this location, Corregidor has historically b ...
where they made their last stand.
Fort Wint, under the command of
Colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
Napoleon Boudreau of the U.S. Army, was evacuated on 25 December. All equipment and supplies were destroyed. On 10 January 1942, soldiers of the
Japanese Imperial Army
The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...
's
14th Infantry Division marched into Olongapo and on 12 January, the Japanese commandeered native fishing boats to seize Grande Island. Subic Bay Naval Station was established with four companies of soldiers and a company of
Kempeitai
The , also known as Kempeitai, was the military police arm of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1881 to 1945 that also served as a secret police force. In addition, in Japanese-occupied territories, the Kenpeitai arrested or killed those suspecte ...
.
Within one week of the Japanese's occupation of Subic Bay and Grande Island, American
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 wa ...
s at Cavite were ordered to attack a Japanese ship, which was anchored at Subic Bay, that was shelling American positions. ''PT-31'' and ''PT-34'' entered the bay separately. ''PT-31'' suffered engine trouble and ran aground on a
reef
A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock out ...
. She was abandoned and destroyed. ''PT-34'' entered undetected and sunk a transport that was off-loading supplies. She then came under heavy fire but managed to escape undamaged. ''PT-32'' was then ordered into Subic Bay and attacked and hit a light cruiser on 1 February. On 17 February, ''PT-34'' made a final but unsuccessful attack at Subic Bay after which all PT boats were ordered to leave the Philippines.
To protect Subic Bay, the Japanese garrisoned Fort Wint with
anti-aircraft artillery
Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
and
automatic weapon
An automatic firearm is an auto-loading firearm that continuously chambers and fires rounds when the trigger mechanism is actuated. The action of an automatic firearm is capable of harvesting the excess energy released from a previous discharge ...
s but did not repair the American guns nor build permanent fortification. The Japanese then started shipbuilding at Subic Bay and began constructing wooden auxiliary vessels. Several hundred workers from occupied-China and
Formosa
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is an island country located in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, formerly known in the Western political circles, press and literature as Formosa, makes up 99% of the land area of the territorie ...
were brought in as laborers, in addition to 1,000 Filipinos. Nine ships were built and shipped to Cavite for engine installation, however, none of the ships would see active service as they were destroyed by U.S. Navy aircraft.
One of the few buildings that were left standing from the bombing and subsequent torching of the station was the Catholic Church. The Japanese removed all religious articles and converted it into a movie theater and was later used to imprison Americans and
Filipinos
Filipinos ( tl, Mga Pilipino) are the people who are citizens of or native to the Philippines. The majority of Filipinos today come from various Austronesian ethnolinguistic groups, all typically speaking either Filipino, English and/or othe ...
that had been captured. Those who died were buried behind the church in a common cemetery. When all the prisoners were shipped to Manila, the Japanese used the church as a stable for horses.
On 20 October 1944, four U.S. Army divisions aboard 650 U.S. Navy vessels landed at
Palo, Leyte
Palo (IPA: ɐ'loʔ, officially the Municipality of Palo ( war, Bungto han Palo; tl, Bayan ng Palo), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Leyte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 76,213 people, making i ...
, fulfilling MacArthur's promise to return to the Philippines. On 13 December, the Japanese began evacuating civilians and non-essentials from Manila aboard ''
Ōryoku Maru
was a Japanese passenger cargo ship which was commissioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II as a troop transport and prisoner of war (POW) transport ship. Japanese POW transport ships are often referred to as hell ships, due to t ...
'' and four other merchant ships. As the ship was heading for Japan,
fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...
from the
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 ...
attacked the ships and left hundred of Japanese dead or wounded. ''Ōryoku Maru'', heavily damaged with destroyed steering gear, pulled into Subic Bay. Throughout the night, the Japanese disembarked while the American and
Allied
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
prisoners, that were carried below decks, were left aboard. The next morning, Japanese guards ordered the prisoners to come up on deck. As Navy aircraft began to strafe the ships, the prisoners started frantically running about. As the pilots approached, they recognized the white shapes as Americans or Allies and sharply pulled up, rocking their wings in recognition. Afterwards, the 1,360 surviving Allied prisoners were forced to strip and swim ashore where they were crowded into a fenced tennis court near the Spanish Gate. Early the next morning, three fighters scored two direct hits on ''Oryoku Maru'' and she burst into flames. After burning for two hours, she settled into the water about off Alava Pier. When the planes had left the Japanese served the prisoners their first meal since leaving Manila two days before: two teaspoons of dry, raw rice. There was only one faucet from which the water trickled out so slowly that a prisoner was lucky if he managed one drink every 18 hours. Roll call was taken each morning. Those that had died during the night were buried in an improvised cemetery next to the seawall. After four days at Subic, only 450 survived the makeshift prison; they were subsequently sent to the labor camps in Japan.
By January 1945, the Japanese had all but abandoned Subic Bay. The U.S.
Fifth Air Force
The Fifth Air Force (5 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan. It is the U.S. Air Force's oldest continuously serving Numbered Air Force. The organiza ...
had dropped 175 tons of bombs on Grande Island evoking only light fire from the skeleton Japanese force manning the anti-aircraft guns. The commander of Japanese forces in the Philippines, General
Tomoyuki Yamashita
was a Japanese officer and convicted war criminal, who was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. Yamashita led Japanese forces during the invasion of Malaya and Battle of Singapore, with his accomplishment of conquering ...
, had withdrawn his forces into defensive mountain positions and ordered Colonel Sanenbou Nagayoshi to block Highway 7 near Subic Bay.
On 29 January, 40,000 American troops of the
38th Division and
34th Regimental Combat Team came ashore without resistance at
San Antonio, Zambales
San Antonio, officially the Municipality of San Antonio ( ilo, Ili ti San Antonio; tgl, Bayan ng San Antonio), is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Zambales, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 37,450 peo ...
, by the site of what became known as the
San Miguel Naval Communications Station. The column advanced toward Subic Bay, meeting their first resistance at the bridge spanning the Kalaklan River near the Olongapo Cemetery. The Japanese, knowing that they would imminently lose the town, decided to destroy Olongapo. Eventually, the Japanese evacuated the town and the 34th Regiment took over. The following day, Grande Island was taken and Navy
minesweepers
A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping.
History
The earliest known usage of ...
began clearing the bay. Engineers of the 38th Division remained in Olongapo to begin reactivation of Subic Bay Naval Station. Bridges, buildings and the water distilling plant were repaired and the beaches and streets were cleared. Soon enough,
LSTs were making dry-ramp landings near the town of
Subic.
While Army engineers were busy around Subic Bay, the remaining troops moved east along Highway 7, planning to cross the base of Bataan to meet elements of the Army's
XIV Corps 14 Corps, 14th Corps, Fourteenth Corps, or XIV Corps may refer to:
* XIV Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
* XIV Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during World ...
, which were moving west on the same road. On the morning of 31 January 1945, the Americans began climbing the forested hills of Zig Zag Pass and into a hornet's nest of Japanese. In the first three days at Zig Zag Pass the U.S. 152nd had more casualties than during 78 days of combat in Leyte. General
Henry L. C. Jones was relieved and command of the 38th was given to General
Roy W. Easley who used
P-47
The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bomber ...
s for air support. The planes began an intensive strafing and bombing of the jungle and dropped
napalm
Napalm is an incendiary mixture of a gelling agent and a volatile petrochemical (usually gasoline (petrol) or diesel fuel). The name is a portmanteau of two of the constituents of the original thickening and gelling agents: coprecipitated al ...
on the Japanese positions. After 15 days of fighting the enemy positions were finally overrun. The Japanese had succeeded in their mission to slow the American advance but lost more than 2,400 troops. American losses had been 1,400 killed.
After the war
![Welcome sign for NS Subic Bay](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Welcome_sign_for_NS_Subic_Bay.jpg)
Subic Bay was designated Naval Advance Unit No. 6, and became a
submarine
A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
and
motor torpedo boat base shortly after the Philippines were liberated. arrived on 11 February 1945 and found Subic Bay " ''...a primitive, humid, unhealthy, desolate Siberia far from the pleasant climate, facilities, and girls of Australia...'' ". A Naval Supply Depot was established at Maquinaya, about 3 miles (5 km) from the main base in July 1945. A new town of Olongapo was built to replace building burned by the retreating Japanese and provide housing for Filipino civilians employed at the base. Olongapo and its 9,000 Filipino residents remained under United States Navy administration when the remainder of the Philippines became independent on 4 July 1946.
[Anderson pp.128–138]
![Olongapo and bridge leading to NS Subic Bay](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Olongapo_and_bridge_leading_to_NS_Subic_Bay.jpg)
Construction of
Naval Air Station Cubi Point
U.S. Naval Air Station Cubi Point was a United States Navy aerial facility located at the edge of Naval Base Subic Bay and abutting the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines.
When the base closed, the air station became the Subic Bay International ...
began during the
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 ...
. The town of Banicain was demolished to build the airfield, and its residents were relocated to Olongapo. As Olongapo's population grew to 60,000, Filipinos requested control of the town. On 7 December 1959, 56,000 acres of land with electrical, telephone and water utilities was relinquished to Philippine control. Grande Island was converted to a recreation center for naval personnel; and most of the historic
Coastal Artillery
Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications.
From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of c ...
guns of
Fort Wint
Fort Wint was part of the harbor defenses of Manila and Subic Bays built by the Philippine Department of the United States Army between 1907 and 1920 in response to recommendations of the Taft Board prior to the non-fortification clause of the Wa ...
were moved to United States coastal defense parks in 1963 and 1968.
Vietnam War
![Klondike 1963](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Klondike_1963.jpg)
The
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
was the period of peak activity as Subic Bay became the
U.S. Seventh Fleet
The Seventh Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It is headquartered at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of th ...
forward base for repair and replenishment after the
Gulf of Tonkin incident
The Gulf of Tonkin incident ( vi, Sự kiện Vịnh Bắc Bộ) was an international confrontation that led to the United States engaging more directly in the Vietnam War. It involved both a proven confrontation on August 2, 1964, carried out b ...
in 1964. The average number of ships visiting the base per month rose from 98 in 1964 to 215 by 1967. The base, with 6 wharves, 2 piers, and 160 mooring points and anchorages, had about 30 ships in port on any given day. Alava pier was extended by in 1967. The record of 47 ships in port was set in October 1968. About one-third of these were
Military Sea Transportation Service
Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all US m ...
ships bringing 45,000 tons of food,
ammunition
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 weap ...
, and supplies and 2 million barrels of
fuel oil
Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil, marine fuel oil (MFO), bun ...
,
aviation gasoline
Avgas (aviation gasoline, also known as aviation spirit in the UK) is an aviation fuel used in aircraft with spark-ignited internal combustion engines. ''Avgas'' is distinguished from conventional gasoline (petrol) used in motor vehicles, whi ...
, and
JP-4
JP-4, or JP4 (for "Jet Propellant") was a jet fuel, specified in 1951 by the U.S. government (MIL-DTL-5624). Its NATO code is F-40. It is also known as avtag.
Usage
JP-4 was a 50-50 kerosene-gasoline blend. It had a lower flash point than JP-1, b ...
jet fuel each month including fuels transferred to Clark Air Base via a
pipeline
Pipeline may refer to:
Electronics, computers and computing
* Pipeline (computing), a chain of data-processing stages or a CPU optimization found on
** Instruction pipelining, a technique for implementing instruction-level parallelism within a s ...
. The Naval Supply Depot maintained an inventory of 200,000 parts. The 4,224,503 sailors visiting Subic Bay in 1967 purchased more than $25 million in duty-free goods from the Navy Exchange.
[Anderson pp.130–145]
More than $63 million of construction projects contracted between 1964 and 1968 did not prepare the Ship Repair Facility (SRF) for the increasing workload and emergency peaks generated by the war. American military and civilian population totaled about 4,300; and more than 15,000 Filipino SRF workers worked 12-hour shifts for an average of over 60 hours per week. The physical plant consisted of
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 put up after World War II; and workers used obsolete tools and equipment supplemented by machine tools made available by decommissioning the
New York Navy Yard
The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex located in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York (state), New York. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a ...
. Additional floating drydocks and a third
repair ship
A repair ship is a naval auxiliary ship designed to provide maintenance support to warships. Repair ships provide similar services to destroyer, submarine and seaplane tenders or depot ships, but may offer a broader range of repair capability incl ...
were assigned from the United States to increase the capabilities of the repair facility.
The
fire-ravaged was repaired in August 1967 before her return to the United States for a complete overhaul. Destroyers , , and , damaged by
North Vietnam
North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...
ese shore batteries, were repaired, as were amphibious assault craft, river patrol boats and other small craft.
The
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...
destroyer was repaired at Subic following the attack by USAF aircraft on 17 June 1968.
![Aerial view of Naval Base Subic Bay](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Aerial_view_of_Naval_Base_Subic_Bay.jpg)
On 3 June 1969 the Royal Australian Navy carrier was
involved in a collision with about southwest of Manila. brought 196 of the 199 survivors to Subic Bay. A
Joint Australian/U.S. Board of Inquiry convened on 9 June in the library of
George Dewey High School
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...
, the same day the stern section of ''Frank E. Evans'' arrived under tow by a
tug
A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...
. It was stripped and towed to sea as a gunnery target.
[Anderson pp.146–147]
Harbor Clearance Unit One was activated at Subic Bay in 1966 with the mission of salvaging ships from the rivers and harbors of Vietnam. Two of the biggest jobs were the salvaging of ''
SS Baton Rouge Victory'' from the
Saigon River
The Saigon River ( vi, Sông Sài Gòn) is a river located in southern Vietnam that rises near Phum Daung in southeastern Cambodia, flows south and south-southeast for about and empties into the Soài Rạp, which in its turn empties into th ...
and the raising of the dredge ''Jamaica Bay'' from the
Mỹ Tho
Mỹ Tho () is a city in the Tiền Giang province in the Mekong Delta region of South Vietnam. It has a population of approximately 169,000 in 2006 and 220,000 in 2012. It is the regional center of economics, education and technology. The majorit ...
River. Both jobs were accomplished despite continuous harassment by enemy sniper fire.
NAS Cubi Point served as the primary maintenance, repair and supply center for the 400 carrier based aircraft of the Seventh Fleet's carrier force. The
jet engine
A jet engine is a type of reaction engine discharging a fast-moving jet of heated gas (usually air) that generates thrust by jet propulsion. While this broad definition can include rocket, Pump-jet, water jet, and hybrid propulsion, the term ...
shop turned out two jet engines a day to keep pace with the demands of the air war in Vietnam.
Following the
Fall of Saigon
The Fall of Saigon, also known as the Liberation of Saigon by North Vietnamese or Liberation of the South by the Vietnamese government, and known as Black April by anti-communist overseas Vietnamese was the capture of Saigon, the capital of ...
in the summer of 1975 hundreds of thousands of refugees fled Vietnam. Thousands of these refugees were rescued at sea by U.S. Navy ships and taken to Subic Bay. A temporary processing center that handled thousands of refugees was set up on Grande Island in 1975. They were later taken to the
Philippine Refugee Processing Center
The Philippine Refugee Processing Center (PRPC) was a large facility near Morong, Bataan, Philippines, which was used as the final stop for Indochinese refugees making their way to permanent resettlement in other nations. It was situated south of ...
in
Morong, Bataan
Morong, officially the Municipality of Morong ( tl, Bayan ng Morong), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Bataan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 35,394 people.
The municipality is home to the Subic ...
.
The Military Bases Agreement of 1947 was amended in 1979, changing the role of the Americans at Subic Bay from landlord to guest. The amendment confirmed Philippine sovereignty over the base and reduced the area set aside for U.S. use from to . Philippine troops assumed responsibility for the perimeter security of the base to reduce incidents between U.S. military and Philippine civilians. The unhampered operation of U.S. forces was assured. The U.S. granted the Philippines $500 million in military sales credits and supporting assistance.
Pinatubo eruption
![Ash from Mount Pinatubo covers NS Subic Bay](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Ash_from_Mount_Pinatubo_covers_NS_Subic_Bay.jpg)
On 15 June 1991,
Mount Pinatubo
Mount Pinatubo is an active stratovolcano in the Zambales Mountains, located on the tripoint boundary of the Philippine provinces of Zambales, Tarlac and Pampanga, all in Central Luzon on the northern island of Luzon. Its eruptive history w ...
, just 20 miles (32 km) from Subic Bay, exploded with a force eight times greater than the
Mount St. Helens
Mount St. Helens (known as Lawetlat'la to the indigenous Cowlitz people, and Loowit or Louwala-Clough to the Klickitat) is an active stratovolcano located in Skamania County, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United St ...
eruption. The sun was nearly completely hidden as volcanic ash blotted it out. Volcanic earthquakes and heavy rain, lightning and thunder from
Typhoon ''Yunya'' passing over northern Luzon resulted in a 36-hour period of complete chaos.
By the morning of 16 June, when the eruption subsided, Subic Bay lay buried under of rain-soaked, sandy ash.
Buildings everywhere collapsed under the weight of the coarse gray ash. Two girls, one a nine-year-old American and the other a Filipino citizen, died when trapped under a falling roof at George Dewey High School. In the city of Olongapo, more than 60 volcano-related deaths were reported, including eight who were crushed when part of Olongapo General Hospital collapsed.
![Evacuees from Mount Pinatubo board the USS Abraham Lincoln](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Evacuees_from_Mount_Pinatubo_board_the_USS_Abraham_Lincoln.jpg)
That night, the threat of continued eruptions combined with the lack of water and electricity led to the decision to evacuate all dependents. U.S. warships and cargo planes began the emergency evacuation of thousands of Navy and Air Force dependents. Seven Navy ships sailed Monday, 17 June, with 6,200 dependents. A total of 17 ships, including the aircraft carriers and , evacuated all 20,000 dependents over the next few days. The evacuees were taken by ship to
Mactan Air Base
Mactan is a densely populated island located a few kilometers (~1 mile) east of Cebu Island in the Philippines. The island is part of Cebu province and it is divided into the city of Lapu-Lapu and the municipality of Cordova. The island is sep ...
and then were airlifted by
U.S. Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
C-141 Starlifter
The Lockheed C-141 Starlifter is a retired military strategic airlifter that served with the Military Air Transport Service (MATS), its successor organization the Military Airlift Command (MAC), and finally the Air Mobility Command (AMC) of th ...
s to
Andersen Air Force Base
Andersen Air Force Base (Andersen AFB, AAFB) is a United States Air Force base located primarily within the village of Yigo in the United States territory of Guam. The host unit at Andersen AFB is the 36th Wing (36 WG), assigned to the Pacific ...
at
Guam
Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
. After the dependents were evacuated, an intense clean-up was begun. All hands, American service members and Filipino base employees, worked around the clock to restore essential services.
Clark Air Base
Clark Air Base is a Philippine Air Force base on Luzon Island in the Philippines, located west of Angeles City, about northwest of Metro Manila. Clark Air Base was previously a United States military facility, operated by the U.S. Air Forc ...
, much closer to Mount Pinatubo, was covered with tons of ash after the eruption. It was declared a total loss and plans for a complete closure were started.
[
]
Restoration of base
Within two weeks NAS Cubi Point was back in limited operation. Soon, most buildings had electricity and water restored. By mid-July service had been restored to most family housing units. The dependents began returning 8 September 1991 and by the end of the month almost all were back at Subic Bay from the United States. In September 1991, more than twenty thousand Filipino civilians were employed by the base.
Closure due to disagreements in leasing costs
From 1988 to 1992, the US Government and Philippine government tried to renegotiate the terms of an extension of the military bases at Subic and Clark. This referred to the Military Bases Agreement of 1947, which was due to expire. Intense negotiations between the governments of the United States and the Philippines began. These negotiations resulted in the Treaty of Friendship, Peace and Cooperation between the United States and the Republic of the Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
. This would have extended the lease of the American bases in the Philippines. However, a bone of contention remained the amount of money that the US Government would pay to the Philippine government for the lease and use of the bases.
As per C.R. Anderegg, the Vice Commander of Clark Air Base
Clark Air Base is a Philippine Air Force base on Luzon Island in the Philippines, located west of Angeles City, about northwest of Metro Manila. Clark Air Base was previously a United States military facility, operated by the U.S. Air Forc ...
, Philippines wanted $825 million per year for a period of seven years, but the U.S. Government would not budge from the earlier agreed $360 million per year for 10 years. This was not the first such hike demanded by the Philippines - in 1984, a similar hike had been asked and given for Clark Air Base. However, this time, the US government did not agree.
On 13 September 1991, the Philippine Senate
The Senate of the Philippines (Filipino language, Filipino: ''Senado ng Pilipinas'', also ''Mataas na Kapulungan ng Pilipinas'' or "upper chamber") is the upper house of Congress of the Philippines, Congress of the bicameral legislature of the ...
rejected the ratification of this treaty.
In December 1991, the two governments were again in talks to extend the withdrawal of American forces for three years but this broke down as the United States refused to detail their withdrawal plans or to answer if nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...
s were kept on base. Additionally, the United States offered only one quarter of the $825 million in rent sought by the Filipino Government.[ Finally on 27 December, President ]Corazon Aquino
Maria Corazon "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; ; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipina politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992. She was the most prominent figure of the 1986 People P ...
, who had previously fought to delay the U.S. pullout to cushion the country's battered economy, issued a formal notice for the U.S. to leave by the end of 1992. Naval Station Subic Bay was the U.S.'s largest overseas defense facility after Clark Air Base
Clark Air Base is a Philippine Air Force base on Luzon Island in the Philippines, located west of Angeles City, about northwest of Metro Manila. Clark Air Base was previously a United States military facility, operated by the U.S. Air Forc ...
was closed.[
]
Conversion into an SEZ and merchant port
In 1992, tons of material including drydocks and equipment, were shipped to various Naval Stations. Ship repair, maintenance yards and supply depots were relocated to other Asian countries including Japan and Singapore. On 24 November 1992, the American Flag
The national flag of the United States of America, often referred to as the ''American flag'' or the ''U.S. flag'', consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the c ...
was lowered in Subic for the last time and the last 1,416 Sailors and Marines at Subic Bay Naval Base left by plane from Naval Air Station Cubi Point
U.S. Naval Air Station Cubi Point was a United States Navy aerial facility located at the edge of Naval Base Subic Bay and abutting the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines.
When the base closed, the air station became the Subic Bay International ...
and by . This withdrawal marked the first time since the 16th century that no foreign military forces were present in the Philippines. The departure of the United States Navy left a huge clean-up to be completed. Soil and water was contaminated with asbestos
Asbestos () is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the atmosphere b ...
, PCB
PCB may refer to:
Science and technology
* Polychlorinated biphenyl, an organic chlorine compound, now recognized as an environmental toxin and classified as a persistent organic pollutant
* Printed circuit board, a board used in electronics
* ...
s and pesticides. As of 2012, clean-up estimates for Subic Bay Naval Base and Clark Air Base were $40 million each.[
Beginning in June 2012, the Philippine government said that the United States military could use the old base with prior approval by the Philippine government. This follows expanded military ties between the two nations and an American pivot towards Asia. This follows a ]Visiting Forces Agreement
A visiting forces agreement (VFA) is an agreement between a country and a foreign nation having military forces visiting in that country. Visiting forces agreements are similar in intent to status of forces agreements (SOFAs). A VFA typically co ...
made in 1999, that saw annual visits of United States forces to conduct large scale exercises (known as Balikatan
Exercise Balikatan is the most prominent annual military exercise between the Philippines and the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country ...
) between the two allies. ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' reported on 20 November 2012 that Subic Bay will host US ships, Marines and aircraft on a semi-permanent basis which according to analysts will give the US a strategically important force posture for its shift in emphasis to the Pacific.
The US Navy began using the base in Subic Bay in 2015 to deliver materiel and personnel for annual joint military exercises. Some 6,000 US personnel came to Subic in April, and returned for exercises in 2016 in agreement with Philippine authorities. US ships have used Subic Bay as a resupply port during routine calls.
Reopening
In 2022, the United States and Philippine governments quietly began preparations for U.S. forces to return to the facility amid heightened tensions with China. The portion of Redondo Peninsula
The Redondo Peninsula is a short mountainous peninsula extending about 15 kilometers (9 miles) to the south of Zambales on western Luzon in the Philippines. It separates Subic Bay and the coasts around the Subic Bay Metropolitan Area of Subic and ...
which used by HHIC Phil
Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Philippines, known as HHIC Phil, was established in February 2006 by Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction of South Korea. In the same month, the first ship building contract was signed for 4 containe ...
was acquired by the national government in late 2022 and named a Naval Operation Base (NOB) through the Philippine Navy
The Philippine Navy (PN) ( tgl, Hukbong Dagat ng Pilipinas, , Sea Army of the Philippines) ( es, Armada de Filipinas, , Ejército del Mar de las Filipinas) is the naval warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It has an e ...
. After the remainder of the port came up for sale, and interest from at least two Chinese companies, U.S. private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management
Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. is an American private equity firm,Leaders Magazine"Providing Economic Opportunity: An Interview with The Honorable Dan Quayle, Chairman, Cerberus Global Investments, LLC". specializing in distressed investing. ...
acquired the port. On November 9, U.S. Ambassador
Ambassadors of the United States are persons nominated by the President of the United States, president to serve as the country's diplomat, diplomatic representatives to foreign nations, international organizations, and as Ambassador-at-large, ...
MaryKay Carlson visited Subic Bay. On November 24, a day before the 30th anniversary of the U.S. Navy's departure, Rolen Paulino, chairman of the SBMA, said that he would be "very surprised" if Subic Bay does not return to service as a U.S military facility through the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement
The Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) is an agreement between the United States and the Philippines intended to bolster the American–Philippine alliance. The agreement allows the United States to rotate troops into the Philippines ...
, as "during war, time is of the essence."
Commanders
This is the Official list of Base Commanders who served the Subic Naval Base from 1945 to 1992. Base commanders prior to 1945 are not included.
See also
''Other former United States Navy installations:''
* Naval Air Station Cubi Point
U.S. Naval Air Station Cubi Point was a United States Navy aerial facility located at the edge of Naval Base Subic Bay and abutting the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines.
When the base closed, the air station became the Subic Bay International ...
* U.S. Naval Hospital, Subic Bay U.S. Naval Hospital, Subic Bay (also the Navy Regional Medical Center) was the main medical facility of the U.S. Naval Forces, Philippines. In 1992, after the Philippine government decided not to renew the U.S. bases agreement, the U.S. Naval Base ...
* U.S. Naval Radio Facility Bagobantay
* U.S. Naval Station Sangley Point
Naval Station Sangley Point was a communication and hospital facility of the United States Navy which occupied the northern portion of the Cavite City peninsula and is surrounded by Manila Bay, approximately eight miles southwest of Manila, th ...
* San Miguel Naval Communications Station
* Mount Santa Rita Naval Link Station
* US Naval Base Philippines
US Naval Base Philippines was number of United States Navy bases in the Philippines, Philippines Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Most were built by the US Navy Seabees, Naval Construction Battalions, during World War II. The US Naval Bases in Phi ...
* US Naval Advance Bases
US Naval Advance Bases were built globally by the United States Navy during World War 2, World War II to support and project U.S. naval operations world-wide. A few were built on Allies of World War II, allied soil, but most were captured enemy f ...
Notes
Sources
* Anderson, G. R. ''Subic Bay From Magellan to Pinatubo'' (2009) Gerald Anderson
*
External links
Harbor Clearance Unit One – Salvors
Revisiting Subic Bay Naval Base
Education Primary
News Source
Source of more information about Subic Bay
{{DEFAULTSORT:Subic Bay Naval Base
Installations of the United States Navy in the Philippines
Military facilities in Zambales
Military facilities in Bataan
Buildings and structures in Olongapo
Military installations established in 1885
1885 establishments in the Philippines
1992 disestablishments in the Philippines
Military installations closed in 1992
Closed installations of the United States Navy