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The Southeast Pacific Area was one of the designated area commands created by the
The Southeast Pacific Area was one of the designated area commands created by the Combined Chiefs of Staff
The Combined Chiefs of Staff (CCS) was the supreme military staff for the United States and Britain during World War II. It set all the major policy decisions for the two nations, subject to the approvals of British Prime Minister Winston Churchil ...
in the Pacific region during World War II. It was responsible to the Joint Chiefs of Staff via the Commander-in-Chief of the United States Navy (COMINCH), Admiral
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, ...
Ernest King. Rear Admiral Abel T. Bidwell, former commander of Cruiser Division Three, commanded the Southeast Pacific Area during the first months of the war.
History
On 24 March 1942, the newly formed British and Combined Chiefs of Staff issued a directive designating the Pacific theater an area of American strategic responsibility. Six days later the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) divided the Pacific theater into three areas: the Pacific Ocean Areas (POA), the Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA), and the Southeast Pacific Area. The Southeast Pacific Force, SoEastPac, was a small force of cruisers and destroyers based at Balboa, Panama which formed the main force operating in the Southeast Pacific Area. The Southeast Pacific Force was formed by a directive of 28 August 1941 to AdmiralHusband Kimmel
Husband Edward Kimmel (February 26, 1882 – May 14, 1968) was a United States Navy four-star admiral who was the commander in chief of the United States Pacific Fleet (CINCPACFLT) during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He was removed fro ...
:
Amongst ships assigned to the Southeast Pacific Force were the light cruisers USS ''Concord'', USS ''Trenton'', USS ''Detroit'', and the destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort
larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...
s USS ''Warrington'' and USS ''McDougal''.
Commanders
The ''Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II'' dates the establishment of the Southeast Pacific Area to 8 December 1941. *Rear Admiral Abel T. Bidwell: 8 December 1941 – 6 January 1942 *Rear Admiral John F. Shafroth Jr.: 6 January 1942 – 25 December 1942 *Rear AdmiralFrancis E. M. Whiting
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* Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome
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: 25 December 1942 – 12 October 1943
*Rear Admiral Harold C. Train
Harold Cecil Train (October 15, 1887 – September 7, 1968) was a rear admiral in the United States Navy who served as the Director of the Office of Naval Intelligence between 1942 and 1943 and as commanding officer of the battleship . He was fat ...
: 12 October 1943 – 8 June 1944
*Captain Ellis S. Stone (A): 8 June 1944 – 3 November 1944
*Rear Admiral Howard F. Kingman
Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...
: 3 November 1944 – 9 July 1945
*Captain Schuyler Mills (A): 9 July 1945 – 23 August 1945
*Rear Admiral John R. Beardall
John Reginald Beardall (February 7, 1887 – January 4, 1967) was a rear admiral in the United States Navy. He was Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. s ...
: 23 August 1945 – 2 September 1945
See also
* Panama during World War IIReferences