Naval Weapons Station Earle is a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

base in Monmouth County,

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, United States. Its distinguishing feature is a pier in

Sandy Hook Bay The Raritan Bayshore region of New Jersey is a subregion of the larger Jersey Shore. It is the area around Raritan Bay from The Amboys to Sandy Hook, in Monmouth and Middlesex counties, including the towns of Woodbridge, Perth Amboy, South Amboy, ...

where ammunition can be loaded and unloaded from warships at a safe distance from heavily populated areas. The station is divided into two sections: Mainside, located in parts of Colts Neck Township, Howell Township, Wall Township, and Tinton Falls at ; and the Waterfront Area (which includes the pier complex), on Sandy Hook Bay, located in the

Leonardo Leonardo is a masculine given name, the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese equivalent of the English, German, and Dutch name, Leonard. People Notable people with the name include: * Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), Italian Renaissance scientist ...

section of Middletown Township, at . The areas are connected by Normandy Road, a military road and rail line.

History

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

operations demanded an ammunition depot near the greater

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but away from high-population sectors. Planning was hastened in early 1943 after the ammunition ship '' SS El Estero'' caught fire while moored in

Bayonne, New Jersey Bayonne ( ) is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Located in the Gateway Region, Bayonne is situated on a peninsula located between Newark Bay to the west, the Kill Van Kull to the south, and New York Bay to the east. As ...

. If the stowed and dockside explosives had detonated at once, in the manner of the great Halifax Explosion, the blast could have damaged parts of Bayonne and even

Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...

. A board was established to locate a suitable site, and chose Sandy Hook Bay, which featured a safe, sheltered, and nearby port where ships could take on ammunition. Rail lines could bring in the ammunition from the west, where the majority of ammunition shipments originated. The rural area meant few local residents would be affected. On August 2, 1943, construction began on Naval Ammunition Depot Earle, named after

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 rega ...

Ralph Earle, the chief of the

Bureau of Ordnance The Bureau of Ordnance (BuOrd) was a United States Navy organization, which was responsible for the procurement, storage, and deployment of all naval weapons, between the years 1862 and 1959. History Congress established the Bureau in the Departme ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. The depot was commissioned on December 13, 1943, though work continued on the military road and railway connecting the mainside complex, the waterfront complex and the pier, which stretches into the Sandy Hook Bay. Earle continued to develop after World War II, keeping pace with the changing needs of the navy. In 1974, the depot's name was changed to Naval Weapons Station Earle. School-aged children of active military personnel at the station in grades K through 8 attend the schools of the

Tinton Falls School District The Tinton Falls School District is a regional elementary school district in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grades. Students from Tinton Falls are a majority of the district's en ...

. Students in grades 9 through 12 attend Monmouth Regional High School in Tinton Falls, part of the Monmouth Regional High School District. NWS Earle is also the homeport to USNS Supply (T-AOE 6),

USNS Arctic (T-AOE-8) USNS ''Arctic'' (T-AOE-8), formerly USS ''Arctic'' (AOE-8), is the third ship in the ''Supply'' class of fast combat support ships and is the fifth supply ship to carry the name of the region surrounding the North Pole. ''Arctic'' was built b ...

, and Combat Logistics Squadron 2.

Facilities

*Mainside: The in Colts Neck house most of Earle's departments and facilities. The Navy Munitions Command, Detachment Earle, performs the station's primary mission: storing and providing ammunition to the fleet. Military and civilian personnel operate the inland storage, renovation, transshipment and demilitarization facilities. *Waterfront: At the Waterfront Complex, the Navy Munitions Command provides ammunition for nearly every class of ship operated by the navy and

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, m ...

as well as commercial vessels from other countries. *Pier Complex: The station's pier complex is one of the longest "finger piers" in the world. A two-mile (3 km) trestle connects to three finger piers. One mile from the shore the trestle branches off to Pier 1. At the junction of Piers 2, 3 and 4, a concrete platform supports a forklift/battery-recharging shop and the port operations building. This area is known as the "wye."

References

External links

Naval Weapons Station Earle
at the Commander, Navy Region Mid-Atlantic official website *

Historic American Engineering Record Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...

(HAER) documentation, filed under Sandy Hook Bay, Colts Neck, Monmouth County, NJ: ** ** ** ** ** {{Authority control Weapons and ammunition installations of the United States Navy Military installations in New Jersey Buildings and structures in Monmouth County, New Jersey Historic American Engineering Record in New Jersey Raritan Bayshore Piers in New Jersey Colts Neck Township, New Jersey Howell Township, New Jersey Middletown Township, New Jersey Tinton Falls, New Jersey Wall Township, New Jersey Earle Earle 1943 establishments in New Jersey Military installations established in 1943

History

Facilities

See also

References

External links