CINCPAC Fleet Headquarters, also known as Commander in Chief Pacific Fleet Headquarters or COMPACFLT Headquarters, is a historic military building on Makalapa Drive in

Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam (JBPHH) is a United States military base on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. It is Joint Base, an amalgamation of the United States Air Force's Hickam Air Force Base and the United States Navy's Naval Station Pearl ...

, on the island of

Oahu Oahu (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northwe ...

in the US state of

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. Built during

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 Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in 1942, it served as the

headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many 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. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

Chester W. Nimitz Chester William Nimitz (; 24 February 1885 – 20 February 1966) was a fleet admiral in the United States Navy. He played a major role in the naval history of World War II as Commander in Chief, US Pacific Fleet, and Commander in Chief, ...

from 1942 through 1945, while he was Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Fleet and Commander-in-Chief,

Pacific Ocean Areas Pacific Ocean Areas (POA) was a major Allied military command in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II. It was one of four major Allied commands during the Pacific War and one of three United States commands in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater. ...

, during

. Commanding

land Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of Earth not submerged by the ocean or another body of water. It makes up 29.2% of Earth's surface and includes all continents and islands. Earth's land sur ...

sea A sea is a large body of salt water. There are particular seas and the sea. The sea commonly refers to the ocean, the interconnected body of seawaters that spans most of Earth. Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order section ...

, and

air An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

forces, Admiral Nimitz had major responsibility for campaigns such as the

Battle of Midway The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II, Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of t ...

, the liberation of Guam, and the seizure of

Saipan Saipan () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated Territories of the United States, territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Cens ...

and

Tinian Tinian () is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). Together with uninhabited neighboring Aguiguan, it forms Tinian Municipality, one of the four constituent municipalities of the Northern ...

in the

Marianas The Mariana Islands ( ; ), also simply the Marianas, are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly Volcano#Dormant and reactivated, dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean ...

. It was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

for this role in 1987.

Description and history

The CINCPAC Fleet Headquarters building is located in the portion of Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam that is between Interstate H1 to the east and the

Kamehameha Highway Kamehameha Highway is one of the main highways serving suburban and rural O‘ahu in the U.S. state of Hawai‘i. Informally known as Kam Highway, it begins at Hawaii Route 92, Nimitz Highway near Pearl Harbor and Hickam Air Force Base in Honolu ...

. It is set on the north side of Makalapa Drive, overlooking the lower reaches of Halawa Stream. It is a reinforced concrete structure, three stories in height and measuring about . Its lower floor functions as a basement, and was bombproof by design when built. The upper floors are ringed by

lanai Lānai is the sixth-largest of the Hawaiian Islands and the smallest publicly accessible inhabited island in the chain. It is colloquially known as the Pineapple Island because of its past as an island-wide pineapple plantation. The island's on ...

s, eliminating the need for indoor corridors. The building was constructed in 1942, as part of a massive wartime construction program at Pearl Harbor. The Makalapa area, where it stands, was developed to house many thousands of naval personnel en route to assignments in the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

. The Navy's plans included three non-residential buildings: this headquarters building, and two nearby that housed intelligence and communications facilities. Admiral Chester Nimitz occupied an office in this building until 1945, when he relocated his headquarters to

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

to more closely manage the later stages of the war. The building now serves again as the headquarters of the US Navy Pacific Fleet.

References

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

br>photographs and retrieved documents
(1966)

External links

* {{National Register of Historic Places National Historic Landmarks in Hawaii History of Oahu Military facilities on the National Register of Historic Places in Hawaii World War II sites in the United States Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Hawaii World War II on the National Register of Historic Places in Hawaii National Register of Historic Places in Honolulu

Description and history

See also

References

External links