Naval Advance Base Saipan
Marianas | |
| Highest elevation | 1,560 ft (475 m) |
|---|---|
| Highest point | Mount Tapochau |
| Administration | |
United States Armed Forces from 1944 to 1962 | |
| Northern Mariana Islands | |
Naval Base Saipan or Naval Advance Base Saipan or Naval Air Base Saipan was a
Seabees Naval Mobile Construction Battalions. The base was under the Commander Naval Forces Marianas. Saipan is 12 miles (19 km) long and 5 miles (8.0 km) wide. About 70% of the island was sugarcane cultivation at the start of the base construction. At the start of the Battle of Saipan, the island's population had about 30,000 Japanese troops and about 20,000 Japanese civilians. The city of Garapan was the administrative center for the Saipan governmental district.[2][3][4]
The Navy used 110 ships to bring troops and equipment to Saipan from Hawaii. Included in the Saipan fleet were 37 troopships (APA and AP), 11 cargo ships (AKA and AK), 5 Dock landing ships, 47 Landing Ship, Tank and 10 Auxiliary ships. For the battle and base, 74,986 tons of cargo was moved, at 7,845,194 cubic feet of cargo.[5][6] After the war, Saipan remained a US Navy base. In 1962 Saipan became the headquarters of the U.S. administered United Nations trust territories of the Pacific Islands till 1986.[7]
Seabees Construction
The first Seabee Construction Battalions landed with the
Okinawa campaign were taken to the hospital on Saipan. By the end of the war, Saipan had 9,500 hospital beds in seven hospitals. The Seabees built two new 8,500 feet (2,600 m), asphalted runways at Aslito Airfield. These were used for the Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers. At the end of the war, the Japanese civilians that had survived were returned to the Japanese homeland.[9][10]
Facilities
Facilities built, repaired or expanded, 7,000 buildings were built.[11][12]
- Tanapag Harbor Navy port, 3 Liberty ship beths, masonry pier and two 12 feet (3.7 m)x72 feet (22 m) pontoon piers. Ramp for LST's, LCT's, and LCM's. Seabees dredged the Harbor, so large ships could dock.
- Chalan Kanoa, minor port
- Housing, 4,250 men in quonset huts
- Seabee camp for 2,500 men
- Seabee depot
- Boat-repair facilities
- Seaplane base Tanapag concrete ramp, at Flores Point, VP-16 with Martin PBM Mariner
- Naval supply depot
- Chalan Kanoa railroad
- Capitol Hill camp
- San Roque Magazine camp
- Micro Beach landing
- Lower Base camp
- Two radio stations
- Naval hospital, 400-beds
- Army hospital, 1,000-beds
- Army hospital, 2,000-bed (Iwo Jima and Okinawa campaigns)
- Army Station Hospital 176, 600-beds
- Army Station Hospital 39, 600-beds
- Two small Hospitals
- Ammunition depot, 500 acres
- Fleet recreation areas (85 Buildings, tennis courts, volleyball, baseball and softball fields.
- Major Harbor developments
- Chapel
- Crash boat base
- Aviation Overhaul shop
- Base for 12,000 Army Air Corp
- Officers Club
- Motor pool
- Quartermaster Laundry
- PT Boatbase
- AA gun emplacements
- Naval Air Transport Service Facilities
- Large Tank farms for: Fuel oil, aviation fuel, diesel fuel, gasoline
- Navy Bank
- Fleet Post Office FPO# 3245 SF Saipan Island, Marianas Islands
- Mess halls
- Navy Communication Center
- Troop store
- Two seaplane hangars
- Aviation supply annex
- 11 refrigerator storage sheds
- Barge with a 12-ton crane
- 6x18 foot and 4x15 Auxiliary floating drydock
- Garapan pier
- Torpedo assembly center
- Bahia Laulau, also called Magicienne Bayor Lau Lau Bay, ship anchorage only.
- Pads for over 100 airplanes
- Susupe Internment Camp, housed 13,000 Japanese civilians
- Power stations
Postwar:
- International Broadcasting Bureau Voice of America broadcast site.
- Navy Technical Training Unit.
Airfields
Saipan airfields built and/or repaired by Seabees:
- East Field (Saipan) (Kagman Field) built by 51st CB
- Aslito Field, now Saipan International Airport
- Marpi Point Field built by Seabees
- Kobler Field
- Isely airfield No. 1[13][14][15]
Each airfield had housing, mess hall and depots.
See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Saipan.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Battle of Saipan.
References
- ^ Breaching the Marianas: The Battle for Saipanby Captain John C. Chapin, USMCR (Ret)
- ^ "Welcome to Joint Region Marianas". navy.mil.
- ^ Commander Joint Region Marianas, History, accessed August 2010
- ^ "Saipan". www.globalsecurity.org.
- ^ The War in the Pacific CAMPAIGN IN THE MARIANAS, by Philip .A. Crowl
- ^ "HyperWar: US Army in WWII: Campaign In the Marianas". www.ibiblio.org.
- ^ Seabees Construction
- ^ NAVY SEABEE OPERATIONS PACIFIC THEATER DURING WORLD WAR II
- ^ "HyperWar: Building the Navy's Bases in World War II [Chapter 28]". www.ibiblio.org.
- ^ "Building the Navy's Bases, vol. 2 (part III, chapter 26)". public1.nhhcaws.local.[permanent dead link]
- ^ pacificworlds.com Saipan
- ^ Hearings Before the Committee on Naval Affirs of the House, 1946
- ^ "Mindat.org". www.mindat.org.
- ^ "Pacific Wrecks - Aslito Field (Isely Field, Francisco C. Ada Airport, Saipan Airport) CNMI". pacificwrecks.com.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2021-04-10. Retrieved 2021-04-10.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)