Naval Base Okinawa, now Naval Facility Okinawa, encompasses a number of bases built after the

Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa Island, Okinawa by United States Army and United States Marine Corps forces against the Imperial Japanese Army during the Pacific War, Impe ...

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

Okinawa Island , officially , is the largest of the Okinawa Islands and the Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands of Japan in the Kyushu region. It is the smallest and least populated of the five Japanese archipelago, main islands of Japan. The island is ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. The naval bases were built to support the landings on Okinawa on April 1, 1945, and the troops fighting on Okinawa. The Navy repaired and did expansion of the airfields on Okinawa. United States Navy

Seabees United States Naval Construction Battalions, better known as the Navy Seabees, form the U.S. Naval Construction Forces (NCF). The Seabee nickname is a heterograph of the initial letters "CB" from the words "Construction Battalion". Dependi ...

built or repaired the facilities on the island. The bases on Okinawa put the

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...

only 350 miles from Japan's home islands. Most facilities closed after the war, but some are still in use today by all branches of the

OneofmanyroadimprovementbySeabeeonOkinawa1945

PontooncausewaysbuiltSeabeesOkinawafor_LSTs

Construction history

Construction and improvements to captured facilities were given to Navy Seabee construction brigades 8th, 10th, 70th and 11th. The 1181st

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

Engineer construction joined in the construction projects. Some construction brigades came ashore during the landings as support combat engineers. As soon as the beaches were secured, the construction brigades began fixing and improving beach exit roads and bridges. Construction brigades were given the dangerous task of clearing

land mine A land mine, or landmine, is an explosive weapon often concealed under or camouflaged on the ground, and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets as they pass over or near it. Land mines are divided into two types: anti-tank mines, wh ...

s and demolitions. The other high priorities for the Construction brigades were

fresh water Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salt (chemistry), salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include ...

and the repair and expansion of the airfields on Okinawa, once they were captured. Construction brigades worked in shifts around the clock, due to the high priorities of these tasks. Seabee 43rd Naval Construction Regiment landed with the troop on the east coast of Okinawa. The next Seabee landings were the 36th, 40th, and 87th Seabee Battalions in late April from Naval Base Saipan on LST ships. Seabees built their own loading zone for the heavy equipment needed for

road work Roadworks, also called road construction or road work, occur when part of the road, or in rare cases, the entire road, has to be occupied for work relating to the road, most often in the case of road surface repairs. In the United States road ...

and

runway In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...

repair and improvement. Heavy rains sometimes slowed and stop the work. Work on Yontan Airfield and Kadena Airfield started on April 3, both were ready the next day by the efforts of 1901st Aviation Engineer Battalion and Seabee 624. The repaired runways were used by

fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft (early on also ''pursuit aircraft'') are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air supremacy, air superiority of the battlespace. Domina ...

and

reconnaissance aircraft A reconnaissance aircraft (colloquially, a spy plane) is a military aircraft designed or adapted to perform aerial reconnaissance with roles including collection of imagery intelligence (including using Aerial photography, photography), signals ...

. Seabees added a tank farm for fuel storage. On April 28, Seabee started construction of new runway that could handle the needs of

Bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles. There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strateg ...

s at Yontan Airfield. There were now 95,000 construction troops on Okinawa, improving and building facilities. Next repair and improvement started at Bolo Airfield and Yonabaru Airfield. When completed Yonabaru Airfield was 6,500 feet long. Due to poor drainage at

Awase Airfield Awase Airfield or NAB Awase is a former World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the A ...

, the captured runway was abandoned, for later work. From June 15 to Awase Airfield completion on June 30, Seabees did massive earthwork project to drain and fill the Awase runway. Awase Airfield became a fighter aircraft base. Seabee 36th Battalion began building a new 5,000-foot fighter aircraft runway nearby to Awase starting on April 23. On May 6 Seabees of the 40th Battalion began the repair and improvement of the Chimu Airfield. On the Katsuren Peninsula at Katchin Hanto Seabees of the 7th Battalion started work on a

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tech ...

base, that opened on July 1. Also at Katchin Hanto Seabees built a large supply depot. For unloading all the needed cargo harbor facilities at Katchin Hanto, Tengan and Baten Ko at

Buckner Bay is a bay on the southern coast of Okinawa Island on the Pacific Ocean in Japan. The bay covers and ranges between to deep. The bay is surrounded by the municipalities of Uruma, Kitanakagusuku, Nakagusuku, Nishihara, Yonabaru, Nanjō, all ...

were built. At Tengan a breakwater and pier was built. A number of anchored pontoon piers and causeways were built to get over the

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in group ...

s. Seabees used many

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, suc ...

s and

barges A barge is typically a flat-bottomed vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. Original use was on inland waterways, while modern use is on both inland and marine water environments. The first modern barges were pull ...

to get cargo ashore. Most ships could not get to pontoon causeways, so ships would unload into barges, barge cargo was then loaded into trucks. Additional piers and causeways were built at City of Kin on Chimu-Wan Bay, Awase, Machinato, Chimu Wan, Yonabaruand, City of Kuba Saki and Bisha Gawa. Unten Ko on Motobu Hanto and Chimu Wan became a supply depot with boat repair,

naval mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive weapon placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Similar to anti-personnel mine, anti-personnel and other land mines, and unlike purpose launched naval depth charges, they are ...

depot. Each depot has an

ammunition Ammunition, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of oth ...

depot outside of the main depot. A ship repair depot was established at Baten Ko. Buckner Bay and Chimu Wan became massive supply depots. Port at Awase became an aircraft repair depot, with the docking of aircraft repair ships and Combat Aircraft Service Unit. On June 1, 1945, the original Seabees Battalion were given a break as replacements arrived and took over unloading the massive amount of cargo still needed for operation. The new units were: Seabee 3rd, 4th, 11th, 12th, 23rd, 27th, and 36th Special Battalions, the Seabee 81st, 28th, and 148th Pontoon Battalions, and the Seabee 137th and 139th Trucking Battalions. June rain slowed the supply chain on muddy roads, priority cargo was unloaded first due to this slow down. Okinawa Island was declared secured on June 22, 1945. By July 1 supply chain problems were gone. Seabee also built the Third Amphibious Corps evacuation hospital at Yontan and Special Augmented Hospital 3, 4, 6 & 7. Seabee built degaussing station at Tsuken Shima, and a joint Headquarter communications center. All this work was interrupted from the landing to victory by air attacks, troops and Seabee were bombed, strafed and

Kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...

attacked on ships. On the ground, sniper fire, artillery, mortar fire, land mines and booby traps were a constant danger for work crews. Seabee repaired the remaining airfields at Ie Shima Airfield, Futema Airfield, Machinato Airfield and Tsuken Shima Airfield. By August, the troops peaked at 87,000 construction and engineering troops on Okinawa in 36 naval construction battalions, 21 Army engineer aviation battalions, 14 Army combat engineer battalions, and 7 Army engineer construction battalions.

Post War

More than 12,000 US Troops died during the fighting on Okinawa. The Okinawa Bases were building up for the planned, more costly, invasion of Japan home island, called

Operation Downfall Operation Downfall was the proposed Allied plan for the invasion of the Japanese home islands near the end of World War II. The planned operation was canceled when Japan surrendered following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki ...

. With the

Surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was Hirohito surrender broadcast, announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally Japanese Instrument of Surrender, signed on 2 September 1945, End of World War II in Asia, ending ...

on September 2, 1945, the invasion was not needed. The Navy cleared naval mines around Okinawa waters in Operation Zebra.

The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...

decided to keep Okinawa Bases as a Naval Advance Base. Seabee projects that were planned continued after the surrender of Japan. These projects included a full naval base at Baten Ko, camp for receiving troops at Kuba Saki, camp for outgoing troops, new ammunition depot, Fleet Hospital #116, a small naval base at Katchin Hanto, full aviation supply depot, making a deep harbor at Baten Ko, building a fleet recreation area at Tsuken Shima, and enlarging the naval supply depot at Tengan on Chimu Wan. On September 1, 1945, the agreement between the US Army engineer and the Seabee ended. Before this time both operated under a single command. This ended the largest ever joint construction force assembled. On October 9, 1945, the south part of Okinawa Island was hit by a

typhoon A typhoon is a tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere and which produces sustained hurricane-force winds of at least . This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, accounting for a ...

, Typhoon Louise. Typhoon Louise did massive damage to the fleet post office at Baten Ko, departure camp, and Special Augmented Hospital No. 4, along with general damage across the southern bases. The typhoon did more damage to vessels than the air attacks. At the end of construction in late 1945, The US Navy bases and facilities covered 20,000 acres. Construction crews had built for both the naval and army use: 4,180 feet of

wharves A wharf ( or wharfs), quay ( , also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths ( ...

, 712,000 square feet of storage depot buildings, 193,000 cubic feet of

refrigerated Refrigeration is any of various types of cooling of a space, substance, or system to lower and/or maintain its temperature below the ambient one (while the removed heat is ejected to a place of higher temperature).IIR International Dictionary of ...

storage and 11,778,000 square feet of open storage. Seabee had built tank farms holding: 8,820,000 gallons of

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, wh ...

, 30,000 barrels of

Diesel fuel Diesel fuel, also called diesel oil, heavy oil (historically) or simply diesel, is any liquid fuel specifically designed for use in a diesel engine, a type of internal combustion engine in which fuel ignition takes place without a spark as a re ...

, 50,000 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 (bunker fuel), marine f ...

. Always built outside of camp and other depots Seabee built 13,000 square feet for ammunition storage. At the airfields, 324,100 square feet of buildings were built for aviation repair shops and 91,000 square feet for general repair shops. The Hospitals took up 338,000 square feet. For the troops, 4,755,000 square feet of

barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

were built. The US Navy's share of the space was: 16,700 square feet of supply depot and 7,475 cubic feet of refrigerated storage, and 4,500 square feet of open storage, 2,400 square feet of hospital and 67,692 square feet of barracks. The Seabee had a 5,500 square feet repair shops. Japanese prisoner of war camps were built to house the 11,250

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

troops that surrendered between April and July 1945. The 11,250 Troops, which included 3,581 unarmed laborers, made up 12 percent Troops Japan had placed on the island. Some of the Troops that surrendered were home guard personnel called '' Boeitai''. The camps held the POWs until repatriation to the Japanese homeland on US Navy ships.

United States Military Government of the Ryukyu Islands The , also referred to as U.S. Ryukyu Islands, was the government in the Ryukyu Islands, Japan (centered on the Okinawa Island) from 1945 to 1950, whereupon it was replaced by the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands (USCAR ...

was set up during the battle in 1945 for Administrative control. In 1950,

United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands The was the civil administration government in the Ryukyu Islands, Japan (centered on Okinawa Island), replacing the United States Military Government of the Ryukyu Islands (itself created after World War II) in 1950, and functioned until the ...

was set up Administrative control. In 1972, Administrative control was returned to Japan.

United States Forces Japan is a subordinate Unified combatant command, unified command of the United States Indo-Pacific Command. It was activated at Fuchū Air Base (Tokyo), Fuchū Air Station in Tokyo, Japan, on 1 July 1957 to replace the Far East Command (United State ...

was founded in 1957 for the defense of Japan. Naval Forces Japan (United States) was founded in 1962 and has control over all United States Navy shore installations in Japan. Japanese governments has allowed US bases on Okinawa in exchange for a US commitment to defend Japan from external attacks, called The U.S.-Japan Security Alliance. Map Commander, US Fleet Activities Okinawa (CFAO)

Current Navy use

Naval Facility Okinawa *Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Okinawa *United States Naval Hospital Okinawa *Camp Courtney near Kadena Air Base *Tengan Pier *Northern Training Area, part of United States Forces Japan, used by all branches, including the US Navy. *Kin Blue Beach Training Area *Kin Red Beach Training Area *Henoko Navy Ammunition Dump *Camp Shields *Camp Lester (Camp Kuwea) (base hospital) *

Camp Foster Camp Foster (), formerly known as Camp Zukeran, is a United States Marine Corps camp located in Ginowan City with portions overlapping into Okinawa City, Chatan town and Kitanakagusuku village in the Japanese prefecture of Okinawa Island. It ...

Marine Corps and US Navy *Awase Communication Site *White Beach Naval Facility on Katsuren peninsula * Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, US Navy operates from Air Station also. *Parts of Kadena Air Force Base *Some waters off the coast of Okinawa are reserved for use by US Navy and other branches. *Naval Facility Okinawa Units: **76th Task Force **Battalion for Mobile Construction **Communication Detachment **Command for Military Sealift / Air Pacific Repair unit **Temporary units posted at Okinawa

Bases and facilities

Built at Okinawa: * Naha Port Facility US Navy, Naval Headquarters, radar, depot, communication, (1945–present), now US Army *Teguchi Harbor,

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, and it was valued for its maneuverability and speed. However, PT boats were hampe ...

base, Squadrons 31, 32, and 37 Beachheads Secured: The history of patrol torpedo (PT Baot), by Harold L. Barbin, page 524, 2010 *Awase port, repair base *Fleet anchorage *Shonawan Harbor PT Boat base, NPTB 25 *Kuba Saki, pier and supply depot *Chimu Wan, section base and suplly depot *Unten Ko, on Motobu Peninsula, port *Bisha Gawa, pier, supply depot * Tsuken Island, degaussing station. fleet recreation, pontoon pier (later training center) *

Nakagusuku Bay is a bay on the southern coast of Okinawa Island on the Pacific Ocean in Japan. The bay covers and ranges between to deep. The bay is surrounded by the municipalities of Uruma, Kitanakagusuku, Okinawa, Kitanakagusuku, Nakagusuku, Okinawa, Naka ...

, naval base, depot *

Yomitan is a village located in Nakagami District, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Geography Yomitan is located on the western coast of the central part of Okinawa Island. The village is bound to the north by Onna, to the east by Okinawa City, to the ...

hospital *Katchin Hanto, pier, seaplane base, hospital, supply depot *Chimu and Naval Base, repair (1945–1946) *Ie Shima fleet port off airfield *

USS Comfort (AH-6) The second USS ''Comfort'' (AH-6) was launched 18 March 1943 by Consolidated Steel Corporation, Wilmington, Los Angeles, under a Maritime Commission contract; sponsored by First Lieutenant E. Hatchitt, USAMC; transferred to the Navy the same d ...

hospital ship, was off shore to receive wound troops *Fleet Post Office *Rock and

coral Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important Coral ...

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mining, open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock (geology), rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some juri ...

Power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...

s *Tank farms for: Fuel oil, aviation fuel, diesel fuel, gasoline *

AA gun Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-bas ...

emplacements *Navy Communication Center *Seabee depots *

Aircraft hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...

s *Mess halls - quonsets *Navy

Carrier Aircraft Service Unit US Navy K-class blimp Carrier Aircraft Service Units (CASU) were United States Navy units formed during World War II for the Pacific War to support naval aircraft operations. From 1942 to 1946, 69 Carrier Aircraft Service Units were formed to ...

(CASU) camp and depot *Water supply system, with tanks *

Ammunition Ammunition, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of oth ...

depots *Quartermaster depots *Medical centers *Engineering camp *Chemical Engineering Camp * Crash boat base * Camp McTureous, Marine Corps, some Navy use * Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler some Navy use * Camp Gonsalves, Marine Corps, some Navy use * Camp Schwab, Marine Corps, some Navy use * Camp Kinser, Marine Corps, some Navy use *Fleet Post Office FPO# 3256 SF Okinawa Jima, Ryukyu Retto, Japan *Fleet Post Office FPO# 1170 SF Katchin Hanto, Okinawa *Fleet Post Office FPO# 1171 SF Motobu Peninsula, Okinawa *Fleet Post Office FPO# 1172 SF Bishi Gawa, Okinawa *Fleet Post Office FPO# 1173 SF Chimu Wan, Okinawa *Fleet Post Office FPO# 1174 SF Awase, Okinawa *Fleet Post Office FPO# 1175 SF Yonabaru, Okinawa

Repair bases

Naval Base Okinawa became a major repair base, ships and other equipment had been fighting in the war for some time, or damaged in kamikaze attacks and were in need of repair. In addition to the land-based repair shops and depots, repair ships worked at Okinawa. Aircraft repair ship,

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 ...

and

floating dock Floating may refer to: * a type of dental work performed on horse teeth * use of an isolation tank * the guitar-playing technique where chords are sustained rather than scratched * ''Floating'' (play), by Hugh Hughes * Floating (psychological p ...

s were used to do maintenance, some based at

Kerama Islands The are a subtropical island group southwest of Okinawa Island in Japan. Geography Four islands are inhabited: Tokashiki Island, Zamami Island, Aka Island, and Geruma Island. The islands are administered as Tokashiki Village and Zamami Vi ...

: *AFD 13, a

Auxiliary floating drydock An auxiliary floating drydock is a type of US Navy List of auxiliaries of the United States Navy, auxiliary Dry dock#Floating, floating dry dock. Floating dry docks are able to submerge underwater and to be placed under a ship in need of repai ...

, lost in Typhoon, good parts removed for depot stock. *AFD 14, Aux floating drydock, damaged in Typhoon * AFDL 32, Aux floating drydock, lost in Typhoon, good part removed. * ARD 21, Auxiliary Repair Dock, damaged in Typhoon repaired *ARD 22, Auxiliary Repair Dock, damaged in Typhoon repaired * ARD 29, Auxiliary Repair Dock, damaged in Typhoon repaired * USS Nestor (ARB-6), repair ship, damaged in Typhoon not repaired * USS Sarpedon (ARB-7), a repair ship, damaged in Typhoon repaired * USS Mona Island (ARG-9), a repair ship, damaged in Typhoon repaired * USS Extricate (ARS-16), rescue and salvage ship, damaged in Typhoon repaired * USS Aventinus aircraft repair ship, damaged in Typhoon * USS Fabius aircraft repair ship, damaged in Typhoon Okinawa airfields 1945

Airfields

Construction crews, both Navy and Army improved the airfields on the island. After Seabee construction, four airstrips were turned over to the US Army. But were used by Naval Air Transport Service and Navy patrol planes also. *

Naha Air Base , formally known as the , is an air base of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force formerly under control of the United States Air Force. It is located at Naha Airport on the Oroku Peninsula in Naha, Okinawa, Japan. History Imperial Period Naha Air ...

Naval Headquarters (Navy 1945–1952) (

USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

1954–1971) *

Yomitan Auxiliary Airfield Yontan Airfield (also known as Yomitan Auxiliary Airfield) is a former military airfield located near Yomitan Village on the west coast of Okinawa. It was closed in July 1996 and turned over to the Japanese government in December 2006. Today it i ...

, (1945–1996) three runways, joint Airfield Navy, Army, Marine Corps * Kadena airfield, (Naval Air Facility Kadena 1975–1992, now Camp Shields) Improved and used for

USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

bombers A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles. There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strategic bombing is ...

(1945 – present as

Kadena Air Base (International Air Transport Association airport code, IATA: DNA, International Civil Aviation Organization airport code, ICAO: RODN) is a United States Air Force base in the towns of Kadena, Okinawa, Kadena and Chatan, Okinawa, Chatan and the ...

) * Ie Shima Airfield built on a small island, post for training only (1945–present) *** Iejima Airport Auxiliary to Ie Shima Airfield, now civil airport. *Tsuken Shima airfield on small Tsuken Island (1945–1946) * Machinato Airfield, became Camp Kinser Marine Corps post war (1945–present) * Yonabaru Airfield US Navy patrol base (active 1945–1947) * Motobu Airfield (Operated by Navy and Army) (1945) abandoned after war is now a road. * Chimu Airfield (1945–1946), then Camp Hansen United States Marine Corps camp (1965–present) ***Chimu Seaplane Base (July 1945 – 1946) *

(1945–1950) For United States Marine Corps fighters, US Air Force (1950–1977), site is now housing * Bolo Airfield, 78 and 87 Seabee camp, opened too late for war, used as a storage depot (1945–1972) *Futenma airfield, became Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, also used by Navy * Miyako Airfield on Miyako Island (1945–1946), now Miyako Airport * Itazuke Auxiliary Airfield, (1945–1972) now

Fukuoka Airport — formerly known as Itazuke Air Base — is an international airport located east of Hakata Station in Hakata-ku, Fukuoka, Japan. The facility has two runways and covers 355 hectares (877 acres) of land. Fukuoka Airport is the principal a ...

*Kerama Retto Seaplane Base, unit VH-3 with

Martin PBM Mariner The Martin PBM Mariner is a twin-engine American Maritime patrol aircraft, patrol bomber flying boat of World War II and the early Cold War era. It was designed to complement the Consolidated PBY Catalina and Consolidated PB2Y Coronado, PB2Y C ...

air & sea rescue

Okinawa supplies

Both US Navy and

World War II United States Merchant Navy World War II United States Merchant Navy was the largest civilian Navy in the world, which operated during World War II. With the United States fighting a world war in all the world oceans, the demand for cargo and fuel was very high. Cargo and ...

ships unload massive amounts of cargo and fuel needed to build and operate the Okinawa Bases. , , each an

ammunition ship An ammunition ship is an auxiliary ship specially configured to carry ammunition, usually for naval ships and aircraft. An ammunition ship's cargo handling systems, designed with extreme safety in mind, include ammunition hoists with airlocks bet ...

, were attacked and sank with an explosion after kamikaze attack in 1945 at Okinawa. The loss of the three

Victory ship The Victory ship was a class of cargo ship produced in large numbers by American shipyards during World War II. They were a more modern design compared to the earlier Liberty ship, were slightly larger and had more powerful steam turbine engin ...

s, each sunk by a kamikaze attack severely hurt the combat forces on Okinawa. The ships were carrying a total of 24,000 tons (54 million pounds) of ammunition; including most of the 81 mm mortar shells needed for the troops. The Victory ships were some of 47 ships sunk by ''kamikaze'' attack during World War II. The ammunition ship '' SS Saginaw Victory'' arrived April 12, 1945, at Okinawa to replace the ammunition lost on the ships. More

s were not needed, as the war came to an end without the invasion of Japan. The delivered C-rations to the troops on Okinawa, during unloading came under attack. Sharon Victory fought off a Japanese kamikaze plane attacking the ship.

Monuments

*Buckner Monument on Itoman (Ichuman) * Cornerstone of Peace, Peace of Peace Memorial Park at Itoman at * Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum * Okinawa Peace Hall at * Cemetery & National War Dead Peace Mausoleum, Mabuni Hill, (Mabuni no Oka) * Monument of Kai to people from Yamanashi died on Okinawa located in Yaese. * Easley Monument, Memorial monument of Brigadier General Claudius M. Easley of the 96th Infantry Division of the US Army at Okinawa, his KIA place at *May Monument, On June 5, 1945, U.S. Army Col. Edwin T. May was Killed In Action (KIA) at the spot of the marker *Kyan Memorial (Kyan Misaki Enchi), Large black marble monument notes where civilians jumped to their death off cliffs during the battle. * Himeyuri Peace Museum and Himeyuri Monument-1.jpg, Himeyuri Monument (Himeyuri No To) *Konpaku Memorial Tower, Konpaku No To (Japanese monument, Mass Grave Site) at *96th Infantry Division Memorials *Marker April 1, 1945 invasion beaches of Minatoga (Minatogawa) located on the southeast of Okinawa.

Gallery

Okinawa Jima.jpg, Map of Okinawa OkinawaUSBasesMap.jpg, Map Okinawa US Bases USS LST 17 Okinawa.jpeg, USS LST-17 unloading at Okinawa SCR-270 (Okinawa, AWS-6 - crop).jpg, Air Warning Squadron 6 on Okinawa Okinawa Central Hospital Nursing School.JPG, Nurses at Okinawa Central Hospital Nursing School in 1946 Futenma Air Base in Okinawa, Japan circa 1945.jpg, Futenma Air Base in Okinawa, Japan 1945 STOCKADE in Okinawa.jpg, Camp for thousands of Japanese troops who surrendered on Okinawa in 1945 Bolo airfield.jpg, Bolo airfield Awase Airfield.jpg,

Awase Airstrip, Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands.jpg,

Awase airfield Awase Airfield or NAB Awase is a former World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the A ...

Yontan-airfield-1945.jpg, Yontan Airfield Ieshima-1945.jpg, Ieshima in 1945 Motobu airfield.jpg, Motobu Airfield Hagushi_landing.jpg, Map with Yontan Airfield and Kadena Airfield 90mm-aa-gun-okinawa.gif, 90mm

on Okinawa base USS LST-1000.jpg, USS LST-1000 and beach with cargo YF-1079 Buckner Bay, Okinawa November 1945.jpg, Barge YF-1079 in Buckner Bay, damaged in Typhoon USS Cinnabar (IX-163) and USSYP-520, Buckner Bay Okinawa, November 1945.jpg, USS Cinnabar (IX-163) and USSYP-520 damaged in Typhoon, in Buckner Bay OkinawaJapanesePOW.jpg, A group of Japanese captured during the

USS Ocelot (IX-110), USS Nestor (ARB-6) and APL-14 aground in Buckner Bay, Okinawa, in November 1945 (NH 105655).jpg, USS Nestor damaged in Typhoon Ryukyus-surrender.jpg, Okinawa-Ryukyus surrender on September 7, 1945 305_FCS_headquaters_WWII,_Okinawa,_Japan.jpg, Headquarters 305th FCS, Camp Bishigawa, Okinawa 1945 305th_FCS_Radar_and_Comm_vans_ontop_of_Yontan_Mountain.jpg, Radar and Comm Vans line the top of Yontan, looking north, Okinawa 1945 305th_FCS_Yontan_Radar_Site.jpg, Yontan Radar "Walter Control", Camp Bishigawa, Okinawa 1946 305th_FCS,_Radar_Plotting_Room,_Camp_Bishigawa,_1945.jpg, Radar Plotting Room of the 305th FCS, Camp Bishigawa, Okinawa, Japan 1945 Sq_Radars_MPS-5_and_Lil'_Abner,_1940s.jpg, Sq Radars MPS-5 and Lil' Abner, 1940s Kenneth Glueck USMC-110629-M-IV598-032.jpg, The Cornerstone of Peace Memorial with names of all military and civilians from all countries who died in the Battle of Okinawa Okinawa Islands map.png, Okinawa Islands map Former Mace missile sites on Okinawa.png, Former Mace missile sites on Okinawa

External links

youtube U S Naval Hospital, Okinawa touryoutube Board, Search And Seizure Training White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawayoutube White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawayoutube "They Came To An Island" U.S. Navy Civil Engineer Corps Wwii Seabees Construction Battalions 29564

References

{{Empire of Japan 1945 in Japan Military history of Okinawa Prefecture Japan campaign Battle of Okinawa World War II operations and battles of the Pacific theatre