NavalAirStationTerminalIsland_ReevesField_1944

Naval Operating Base Terminal Island, (NOB Terminal Island) was

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 founded on 25 September 1941 to support the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

efforts in the

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

. Naval Operating Base Terminal Island was founded by combining Naval Facilities in cities of San Pedro,

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

and Wilmington,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

under one command. Much of the base was on the man-made

Terminal Island Terminal Island, historically known as Isla Raza de Buena Gente, is a largely artificial island located in Los Angeles County, California, between the neighborhoods of Wilmington and San Pedro in the city of Los Angeles, and the city of Long Be ...

, and harbor in San Pedro Bay. The harbor was made through the construction of a large

breakwater Breakwater may refer to: * Breakwater (structure), a structure for protecting a beach or harbour Places * Breakwater, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia * Breakwater Island Breakwater Island () is a small island in the Palme ...

system.

Naval Operating Base Terminal Island Facilities

Naval facilities were combined under one Naval command by The US Navy Department General Order No. 154. At the end of the war, the facilities were renamed to be US Naval Bases. Naval Facilities that made up Naval Operating Base Terminal Island: *Roosevelt Base Terminal Island *

Naval Air Base San Pedro Naval Air Base San Pedro, NAS Terminal Island was a US Navy World War II 410-acre airfield on Terminal Island in San Pedro, California part of the City of Los Angeles. Before the Navy took control of the airfield, the airstrip was the civilian All ...

, Reeves Field, Terminal Island (1927-1947) * Naval Net Depot, San Pedro * Naval Hospital Long Beach (1941-1950), now VA Long Beach Healthcare System *Naval

Dispensaries A dispensary is an office in a school, hospital, industrial plant, or other organization that dispenses medications, medical supplies, and in some cases even medical and dental treatment. In a traditional dispensary set-up, a pharmacist dispense ...

*Naval Reserve Aviation Base Long Beach, NRAB Long Beach, at Daugherty Field now

Long Beach Airport Long Beach Airport is a public airport three miles northeast of downtown Long Beach, in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is also called Daugherty Field, named after local aviator Earl Daugherty. The airport was an operating base ...

(1928-1947) *Naval Disbursing and Transportation Officer, San Pedro
*Small Craft Training Center (SCTC) was on Roosevelt Base, but operated independently.

Roosevelt Base Terminal Island

shipyard 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 ...

was founded in September 1942 as a ship repair facility. Construction started in 1939. Roosevelt Base also was the administrative and 40 acre recreational center for the Naval facilities on Terminal Island. Roosevelt Base Terminal Island was renamed

Naval Station Long Beach The Long Beach Naval Shipyard (Long Beach NSY or LBNSY), which closed in 1997, was located on Terminal Island between the city of Long Beach and the San Pedro district of Los Angeles, approximately 23 miles south of the Los Angeles Internationa ...

on 15 November 1946. The Roosevelt Base had:

s, a Marine barracks, fuel tank foram, net depot,

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 ...

depot, hospital, prison, degaussing range, radio station, mess halls and recreational center, schools, and Navy barracks. The expansion of the harbor breakwater and dredging to make more land was included in the Roosevelt Base plan. The Navy contractors that oversaw the construction were the Guy F. Atkinson Construction Company of

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

and the George Pollock Company of

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, with Allied Engineers of as

architects An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

and

civil engineers This list of civil engineers is a list of notable people who have been trained in or have practiced civil engineering. A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U ...

. Roosevelt Base Terminal Island was boarded by Ocean Boulevard, Pennsylvania Avenue, Richardson Avenue and Idaho Street, on Naval Station Long Beach. Construction started in 1940 on one large drydock and two small docks. The complete construction of base was completed in 1943. The 11 buildings on the base were built in the

Mediterranean Revival architecture Mediterranean Revival is an architectural style introduced in the United States, Canada, and certain other countries in the 19th century. It incorporated references from Spanish Renaissance, Spanish Colonial, Italian Renaissance, French Colonial ...

. Roosevelt Base Terminal Island

was named the Terminal Island Naval Dry Docks in June 1940. In August 1940 on one. In April 1942 piers were completed. On 9 February 1943 the named of the shipyard change again to US Naval Dry Docks, Roosevelt Base, California. With so much activity in the peak of World War II, in 1944 a pontoon bridge was built to Terminal Island. The pontoon bridge was removed after the completion of the

Gerald Desmond Bridge The 1968 Gerald Desmond Bridge was a through arch bridge that carried five lanes of Ocean Boulevard from Interstate 710 in Long Beach, California, west across the Back Channel to Terminal Island. The bridge was named after Gerald Desmond, a prom ...

in 1968. With the end of World War II the shipyard was again renamed on 30 November 1945 to Terminal Island Naval Shipyard and in March 1948 renamed to

Long Beach Naval Shipyard The Long Beach Naval Shipyard (Long Beach NSY or LBNSY), which closed in 1997, was located on Terminal Island between the city of Long Beach and the San Pedro district of Los Angeles, approximately 23 miles south of the Los Angeles International ...

(NSY) On 15 November 1946, the adjoining Naval Station Long Beach was established.

Small Craft Training Center

Small Craft Training Center was located on Roosevelt Base, but operated independently. Many small wooden crafts were used in World War II. These crafts were given the nickname Splinter Fleet. There was a shortage of

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

and steel shipyards during World War II, so there was a need for a vast wooden fleet of crafts. The Small Craft Training Center Terminal Island housed 7,500 troops. The Small Craft Training Center had classrooms and crafts for training. To get men and craft out into the field quickly, the crafts the men training on were new ships. The new ships were at the center for about 4 weeks as part of the vessel's

sea trial A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a " shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and ...

tugboat 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, su ...

minesweeper 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 ...

Net laying ship A net laying ship, also known as a net layer, net tender, gate ship or boom defence vessel was a type of naval auxiliary ship. A net layer's primary function was to lay and maintain steel anti-torpedo or anti-submarine nets. Nets could be laid ...

s and other crafts built in California were take to the center for testing. Crafts built at

Lynch Shipbuilding Lynch Shipbuilding was a wooden shipbuilding company in San Diego, California. To support the World War II demand for ships, Lynch Shipbuilding built US Navy rescue tugs and Coastal trading vessel, coastal cargo ships. Lynch Shipbuilding yard w ...

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, were taken to the center for their sea trial. Lynch Shipbuilding built

tugboats 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 ...

and minesweepers. Some of the craft at the school were:

USS Density (AM-218) USS ''Density'' (AM-218) was an ''Admirable''-class minesweeper built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. She was built to clear minefields in offshore waters, and served the Navy in the Pacific Ocean. She was launched 6 February 1944 by Ta ...

USS Waxsaw (AN-91) USS ''Waxsaw'' (YN-120/AN-91) was a which was assigned to protect United States Navy ships and harbors during World War II with her anti-submarine nets. Her World War II career was cut short due to the war coming to an end, but, post-war, she was ...

USS Climax (AM-161) USS ''Climax'' (AM-161) was an Admirable-class minesweeper built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. She was built to clear minefields in offshore waters, and served the Navy in the Pacific Ocean. She was launched 9 January 1943 by Willamett ...

USS Wateree (ATF-117) USS ''Wateree'' (ATF-117/AT-117) was an ''Abnaki''-class fleet ocean tug acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War II. ''Wateree'' was sent to the western Pacific Ocean to perform towing services; however, during a typhoon, she was damaged be ...

USS Quest (AM-281) USS ''Quest'' (AM-281) was an built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was decommissioned in 1947 after wartime service and transferred to the Philippine Navy in 1948 where she served as presidential yacht RPS ''Pag-asa'' (APO- ...

, and

USS Snowbell (AN-52) USS ''Snowbell'' (YN-71/AN-52) was a which served the U.S. Navy during World War II. She operated in the Pacific Ocean until she was destroyed by Typhoon Louise off Okinawa, 9 October 1945. Career ''Snowbell'' (AN-52) was laid down on 3 May 19 ...

. Other local craft builders were: Harbor Boat Building Company,

Fellows & Stewart Fellows & Stewart Inc. was a shipbuilding company in San Pedro, California on Terminal Island's Pier 206. To support the World War II demand for ships Fellows & Stewart built Crash rescue boats and submarine chasers. The Crash rescue boats wer ...

, Hodgson-Greene-Haldeman Shipbuilders,

Peyton Company The Peyton Company, also called Peyton Marine Service and Supplies, was a wooden shipbuilding and dry dock company in Newport Beach, California. The shipyard was started by J. W. Peyton (1875-?), born in Texas, and his wife Anabel Peyton (188 ...

, Wilmington Boat Works,

Al Larson Boat Shop Al Larson Boat Shop or Al Larson Boat Building is a shipbuilding and dry dock repair company in San Pedro, California on Terminal Island. To support the World War 2 demand for ships Al Larson Boat Shop built: US Navy Sub chasers and Minesweeper ...

, Garbutt-Walsh Inc.,

South Coast Shipyard South Coast Shipyard was a shipbuilding company in Newport, California. To support the World War II demand for ships South Coast Shipyard built: minesweepers, Torpedo Boats, Submarine chasers, & Air-sea rescue boats. South Coast Shipyard was op ...

United Concrete Pipe Corporation United Concrete Pipe Corporation main construction was of main water pipeline lines, building concrete bridges, concrete roads, and foundations for buildings. United Concrete Pipe was established in 1919 in Ventura, California, by (Thomas) Tom ...

, and

San Pedro Boatworks San Pedro Boatworks also called the San Pedro Boat and Yacht Company was a boatyard in San Pedro, California the entrance to the West Channel of Los Angeles Harbor, at berth 44 and next to fire station 110. The boatyard opened in 1923 and close ...

The US Navy also had Small Craft Training Centers in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coas ...

and other sites.

Terminal Island Facilities

The Navy operated a number of Facilities on

: *

**Combat Aircrew Refresher Training Unit. (A46474) **Navy Ferry Control Liaison Officer. *Roosevelt Base **Naval Drydocks (12236), Moreell Drydock, Drydock No. 1 (April 1942-1997) (Called US Naval Dry Docks Roosevelt Base 9 February 1943) **Naval Operating Base **Harbor Craft Base (2977) **Navy Accounting Office **Small Craft Training Center (SCTC) (7636) with housing for 7,500 troops. **Assistant Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Bethlehem Shipbuilding San Pedro **Officer in Charge of Construction of "Civil Works" Contracts, Office of Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Bethlehem Steel Co. *Naval Disciplinary Barracks (2815) *Naval Radio Station (40773A) *Naval Receiving Station *Naval Dispensary *Naval Fire Fighters School *Receiving Station School for Transient Personnel, Receiving Station, Terminal Island. *Navy Cost Inspector, Bethlehem Steel and Shipbuilding Company LosAngelesShipbuilding

*Navy Cost Inspector,

Los Angeles Shipbuilding and Drydock Company Todd Pacific Shipyards, Los Angeles Division was a shipyard in San Pedro, Los Angeles, California. Before applying its last corporate name, the shipyard had been called Los Angeles Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company and Todd Shipyards, Los Angeles ...

*Navy Operating Plant, Los Angeles Shipbuilding & DryDock Co. *Naval Inspector of Ordnance, Los Angeles Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. (29861) *Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Los Angeles Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. *Navy Cost Inspector,

Western Pipe and Steel Company The Western Pipe and Steel Company (WPS) was an American manufacturing company that is best remembered today for its construction of ships for the Maritime Commission in World War II. It also built ships for the U.S. Shipping Board in World Wa ...

*Naval Training School (Harbor Defense) *Officer in Charge of Construction of "Civil Works" Contracts **Mine Force Pacific Fleet (MINEPAC) *Officer in Charge of Construction of Contract No. 6096 *Shore Patrol, Military Police *Naval Inspector Concrete Floating Drydocks (9119), five ARDC Floating Drydocks were built in San Pedro *Recreational center **

Gym A gymnasium, also known as a gym, is an indoor location for athletics. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasium". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learning spaces in educational ins ...

Auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, community ...

Swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

s **Clubhouse, Allen Center for Captain Ezra G. Allen **Tennis courts **Lounge **

Bowling alley A bowling alley (also known as a bowling center, bowling lounge, bowling arena, or historically bowling club) is a facility where the sport of bowling is played. It can be a dedicated facility or part of another, such as a Meetinghouse, clubhous ...

Field house Field house or fieldhouse is an American English term for an indoor sports arena or stadium, mostly used for college basketball, volleyball, or ice hockey, or a support building for various adjacent sports fields, e.g. locker room, team room, coac ...

* Athletic fields Stark Field for Admiral

Harold Rainsford Stark Harold Rainsford Stark (November 12, 1880 – August 20, 1972) was an officer in the United States Navy during World War I and World War II, who served as the 8th Chief of Naval Operations from August 1, 1939 to March 26, 1942. Early life an ...

**Officers' recreation building **

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

s **Classrooms **Chapel

San Pedro Facilities

Los Angeles Harbor Light built in 1913, on the 2.11-mile San Pedro breakwater was completed in 1911, part of Naval Operating Base Terminal Island in World War II

Naval Base San Pedro Naval Base San Pedro and San Pedro Submarine Base were United States Navy bases at the Port of San Pedro, California officially founded in 1919. While commissioned in 1919, the Navy started operating out of the port in 1910, by renting dock spac ...

at Pier No. 1: *A/S Attack Teacher Training Unit, Frontier Base. (46476) *Area Public Relations Office *Assistant District Material Officer *Assistant District Ordnance & Engineering Office. (34163A) *Assistant Industrial Manager (1470) *Branch Hydrographic Office *Branch Intelligence Office *Branch Public Relations Office (35805A) *Degaussing Office *Target Repair Base *

Degaussing Degaussing is the process of decreasing or eliminating a remnant magnetic field. It is named after the gauss, a unit of magnetism, which in turn was named after Carl Friedrich Gauss. Due to magnetic hysteresis, it is generally not possible to redu ...

Range (36727) *ECM Repair Facility NOB,

electronic countermeasure An electronic countermeasure (ECM) is an electrical or electronic device designed to trick or deceive radar, sonar, or other detection systems, like infrared (IR) or lasers. It may be used both offensively and defensively to deny targeting info ...

*Fire Fighters' School (48471) *Fleet Post Office (35216a) *Harbor Entrance Control Post *Maintenance Branch Office, Training Command,

Amphibious Forces 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 ...

, Pacific Fleet (located at San Pedro). (31444A-1) *Maintenance Office, San Pedro Area (31444A-1) *Maintenance Office, Training Command, Amphibious Forces, Pacific Fleet (31444A) *Naval Frontier Base (3332) *Naval

Fuel Depot An oil terminal (also called a tank farm, tankfarm, oil installation or oil depot) is an industrial facility for the storage of oil, petroleum and petrochemical products, and from which these Petroleum product, products are transported to end u ...

*Naval Hydrographic Distributing Office *Naval Medical Storehouse *Naval Operating Base *Naval Dispensary *Naval Supply Depot *Central Navy Disbursing Office (11829) *Naval Fuel Annex *Port Director, Naval Transportation Service *Port Director. (35098) *San Pedro Section, Inshore Patrol *San Pedro Section (36949) *Ship's Control Office *Sub-Issuing Officer *Navy Routing Office (36885E) *Assistant Industrial Manager. (14783A) *Maritime Service Graduate Station *Office of the Industrial Manager, 11th Naval District. (14783) *Naval Operating Base *

Marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

Barracks *Naval Disciplinary Barracks (2805) *Navy Accounting Office *Registered Publication Sub-Issuing Office. (35665A) * Wartime Merchant Ship Communications School. (48469) *Receiving Station

Long Beach Facilities

Long Beach Facilities: *Resident Inspector of Naval Material. *Naval Dispensary * Naval Hospital *

Epidemiological Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evidenc ...

Unit *

Chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

's Office (7873) *Senior Patrol Officer *Navy Relief Office *Officer in Charge Construction, Naval

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 ...

Magazine & Net Depot *Navy First Aid and

Prophylaxis Preventive healthcare, or prophylaxis, consists of measures taken for the purposes of disease prevention.Hugh R. Leavell and E. Gurney Clark as "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical and mental hea ...

Station, Long Beach Entrance to Camp Ross in San Pedro, supporting troop deparing at Naval Operating Base Terminal Island

Camp Ross

Camp Ross was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

World War II base and served as a staging area (embarkation camp) under the command of the Army's Los Angeles Port of Embarkation. The camp was located in San Pedro and Wilmington. Troops were housed, processed, and prepared before departing on a ship at Naval Operating Base Terminal Island.Roosevelt Base Terminal Island
oc.gov

References

{{US Navy navbox California in World War II Formerly Used Defense Sites in California