Naval Base Adelaide was a

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 ...

base at

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

and

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide city centre, Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is t ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

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 ...

. Northern Australian ports were within reach of Japanese long-range

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. The

bombing of Darwin The Bombing of Darwin, also known as the Battle of Darwin, on 19 February 1942 was the largest single attack ever mounted by a foreign power on Australia. On that day, 242 Empire of Japan, Japanese aircraft, in two separate raids, attacked the ...

on February 19, 1942, demonstrated that a more southern port was needed, with Adelaide, in southern Australia, being distant from the possibility of any current or future attacks. The existing port facilities at Adelaide were large enough to support the staging of future actions. Local civilians were hired to help in the unloading and loading of US Navy, US Army and Merchant Navy ships.

History

Protected by

Fort Largs Fort Largs is a historic defence site in the coastal suburb of Taperoo near Port Adelaide, South Australia, approximately north west of Adelaide's city centre. Fort Largs was built as a coastal battery installment in 1885, responsible for ...

, Port Adelaide was an Army staging port from May 1942 to July 1942, with depots supplying the 32nd Division of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, 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 th ...

. Camps were built from the Port of Adelaide. Japan planned an invasion of Australia, but after their losses at the

Battle of the Coral Sea The Battle of the Coral Sea, from 4 to 8 May 1942, was a major naval battle between the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and naval and air forces of the United States and Australia. Taking place in the Pacific Theatre of World War II, the battle ...

, Japan canceled these plans. In 1944 use of the distant Port of Adelaide lessened as newer bases closer to the action were built. After the war, the US Navy and Army bases were closed.

Adelaide Convoys

*Regular convoys were numbered, with the code letter prefix "CO" being used for the

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

and Adelaide run, from June 1942 to December 1943, with 150 convoys; the reverse trip had the code prefix "OC". *The first CO convoy was CO.1, and departed on June 8, 1942. Ships in the convoy included: ''British Age'', British ''Allara'', ''George M. Livanos'', New Zealand MV ''Hauraki'', British ''Iron Baron'', British ''Macedon'', British ''Meroo'', British ''Scottish Chief'', Greek ''Theofano Livanos'' and Norwegian ''Vito'', escorted by Australian destroyer HMAS ''Arunta'' and corvette/minesweeper HMAS ''Kalgoorlie''. The last convoy was CO.149, which departed December 4, 1943 with ships: British ''Barrosa'', British ''Helen Moller'', Yugoslav ''Olga Topic'', British ''Wear'', and US ''Wilbur Wright'', escorted by Australian corvette/minesweeper HMAS ''Ballarat'' and auxiliary patrol vessel HMAS ''Wilcannia''. *Some ships that ported at Adelaide: USS ''Ancon'', USS ''Briareus'', SS ''America'', MV ''Duntroon'', MS ''West Honaker'', and the SS President Taft,

Supply depot

The US Army set up a supply depot, Base Section 5, outside of Adelaide. The depot was run by the 84th Ordnance for the 32nd Division. The depot supplied remote advance bases. Due to port limitations, the depots were set up inland, and rail lines and trucks were used to move supplies.

South Australian airfields

Both the US Navy and US Army used some of the nearby Australian Airfields: *Ceduna Airfield, now

Ceduna Airport Ceduna Airport is a public airport in Ceduna, South Australia. The airport, which is owned by the District Council of Ceduna is located adjacent to the Eyre Highway, approximately east of the town. It is the westernmost airport that receives ...

*Gawler Airfield, now Gawler Aerodrome *Kingscote Airfield, now

Kingscote Airport Kingscote Airport is located southwest of Kingscote, South Australia, the main town on Kangaroo Island, in the locality of Cygnet River. The airport is the sole airport for Kangaroo Island. The airport is served by regular public transport a ...

*Mallala Airfield, RAAF Base Mallala; now defunct *Mount Gambier Airfield, now Mount Gambier Airport *Oodnadatta Airfield, now Oodnadatta Airport *Parafield Airfield (Adelaide Airfield), now

Parafield Airport Parafield Airport is a public training airport, located on the edge of the residential suburb of Parafield, South Australia. It is north of the Adelaide central business district and adjacent to the Mawson Lakes campus of the University of So ...

*Port Lincoln Airfield, now Port Lincoln Airport *Port Pirie Airfield, now Port Pirie Airport

Post war

*Plaques United States Servicemen, Text on the plaques, located in the

Adelaide Botanic Garden The Adelaide Botanic Garden is a public garden at the north-east corner of the Adelaide city centre, in the Adelaide Park Lands. It encompasses a fenced garden on North Terrace (between Lot Fourteen, the site of the old Royal Adelaide Hospit ...

: at ::''In deep gratitude to the men and women of the United States of America who joined in the defense of Australia during the war of 1939 - 1945''Plaques United States Servicemen
''tracesofwar.com''

Notes

a:. New Zealand-registered MV ''Hauraki'' was captured by Japanese armed merchant cruiser ''Aikoku Maru'' near Ceylon, 12 July 1942. b:. Possibly SS ''Barossa'' c:. For SS ''Wilbur Wright'', see

List of Liberty ships (S–Z) This section of List of Liberty ships is a sortable list of Liberty ships— cargo ships built in the United States during World War II—with names beginning with S through Z. Description The standard Liberty ship (EC-2-S-C1 type) was a car ...

References

External links

youtube MaCarthur In Australia (1942)
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Flickr gallery
{{USWWII Military installations established in 1942 Closed installations of the United States Navy 1942 in Australia Naval Base Adelaide