Naval Base Brisbane was a major

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 built in the early part of

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 ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

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 ...

. At first, it operated as a base for

patrol aircraft A maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), also known as a patrol aircraft, maritime reconnaissance aircraft, maritime surveillance aircraft, or by the older American term patrol bomber, is a fixed-wing aircraft designed to operate for long durations over ...

and

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

escort aircraft to protect the last leg of 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 ...

to the

Southwest Pacific The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each ...

. As the US Navy expanded in the

island hopping campaign Leapfrogging was an amphibious military strategy employed by the Allies in the Pacific War against the Empire of Japan during World War II. The key idea was to bypass heavily fortified enemy islands instead of trying to capture every island ...

, Naval Base Brisbane expanded to include a

submarine base A submarine base is a military base that shelters submarines and their personnel. Examples of present-day submarine bases include HMNB Clyde, Île Longue (the base for France's Force océanique stratégique), Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, N ...

, repair depot,

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 and other facilities. US Navy operations started on April 14, 1942, and ended after the war in 1945.US Navy, Bases of World War II
/ref>

History

Australia entered World War II on September 3, 1939, being a self-governing nation within the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

. The United States formally entered the war on December 7, 1941, following the Japanese bombing of

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

. On April 14, 1942, the USS ''Griffin'' (AS-13) and a fleet of eleven S-class US submarines arrived at Brisbane's New Farm Wharf. The wharf had a few storage sheds and some other support facilities, which the US Navy rented using the

reverse Lend-Lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (),

program, but a much larger facility was needed as a

staging area A staging area (otherwise staging base, staging facility, staging ground, staging point, or staging post) is a location in which organisms, people, vehicles, equipment, or material are assembled before use. It may refer to: * In aviation, a desi ...

. The US Government hired Australian construction crews to build a new staging area using mostly Australian supplies but with

Quonset hut A Quonset hut is a lightweight prefabricated structure of corrugated galvanized steel with a semi-circular cross-section. The design was developed in the United States based on the Nissen hut introduced by the British during World War I. Hund ...

s shipped in. The S-class submarines' first mission was supporting the

Solomon Islands campaign The Solomon Islands campaign was a major military campaign, campaign of the Pacific War during World War II. The campaign began with the Empire of Japan, Japanese seizure of several areas in the British Solomon Islands and Bougainville Island, B ...

. Later,

Gato-class submarine The ''Gato'' class of submarines were built for the United States Navy and launched in 1941–1943. Named after the lead ship of the class, , they were the first mass-production U.S. submarine class of World War II. The ''Gatos'', along with th ...

s were added to the fleet. By the end of the war the Brisbane submarine fleet had sunk 117 enemy ships, totaling 515,000 tons, and rescued many downed airmen. In the spring of 1943, more space was needed and on March 24, 1943, the US Navy

Seabee 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 ...

's 55th Battalion arrived and built "Camp Seabee", 5 miles north-east of Brisbane, at

Eagle Farm Eagle Farm is an eastern industrial suburb of the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Eagle Farm had a population of 11 people. The neighbourhood of Whinstanes is located in Eagle Farm (). Geography Eagle Farm is situated no ...

. Camp Seabee became a staging camp for Seabees and their equipment in island hopping operations. The first departure was half the Seabees, to build

Naval Base Milne Bay Naval Base Milne Bay, also called Naval Advance Base Milne Bay, was new major United States Navy sea and airbase base built on Milne Bay in Milne Bay Province in south-eastern Papua New Guinea. By spring 1943, the build up of the US Navy to s ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

on May 23, 1943. Some Seabees departed to build an airfield at

Merauke Merauke is a large town (''kelurahan'') and an administrative district (''distrik'') in Merauke Regency of South Papua Province, Indonesia. It is also the administrative centre of Merauke Regency, and is considered to be the easternmost city in I ...

in New Guinea and others to

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...

, New Guinea. Most returned at the end of the construction for R&R. The Brisbane Seabees built a mine depot outside of Brisbane. The next departure was most of the Brisbane Seabees going to Palm Island and

Cairns Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...

. At Palm Island, Seabees built Palm Island Naval Air Station and Palm Island Seaplane Base. Seabees built the Cairns Harbor PT-Boat Base and Cairns Harbor Seaplane Base. At Cairns, Seabees built the Cairns Airfield used for patrols and a staging camp. On June 19, 1943, the Seabee 84th Battalion arrived at Camp Seabee, with half the Battalion departing to continue the expansion at Naval Base Milne Bay. The 55th and 84th Battalion continued to build up Naval Base Brisbane. Seabees built a mine depot, more barracks at Camp Seabee, a Merchant Marine

anti-aircraft 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-ba ...

training camp, and Mobile Navy Hospital No. 9. In May 1943, Seabee 60th Battalion arrived at Camp Seabee. On January 20, 1944, Seabee Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit 544th arrived to service the Naval Base Brisbane Bases. At

Hamilton, Queensland Hamilton is a riverside mixed-use suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the north-east of the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Hamilton is located along the north bank of the Brisbane River. In the , Hamilton had a population of ...

, Seabees built a ship-repair depot. Outside of the base, a

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 was built. The 55th Battalion built and operated a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

. By March 1994 the base had 90,000 square feet of depot warehouse space and 53 acres of open deposit storage. The other large

US Naval Advance Bases US Naval Advance Bases were built globally by the United States Navy during World War 2, World War II to support and project U.S. naval operations worldwide. A few were built on Allies of World War II, Allied soil, but most were captured enemy fa ...

in Australia were at

Naval Base Sydney Naval Base Sydney was a United States Navy base built during World War II at Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The base was built with Australian civilian contractors. As the US Navy expanded in the Leapfrogging (strategy), Island hopping campa ...

and Naval Base Darwin. Unlike Darwin, Brisbane was out of the reach of Japanese bombers. Parts of Naval Base Brisbane began moving to more forward bases in January 1944. Palm Island base was moved on September 1, 1944, and Townsville moved in July 1944.

Bases and facilities

*Brisbane, Queensland Bases: *

United States Seventh Fleet The Seventh Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It is headquartered at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of the ...

Naval Base Brisbane

*Naval Base Brisbane on the

Brisbane River The Brisbane River (Turrbal language, Turrbal: ) is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia. It flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the ...

**Navy Headquarters, from

Naval Base Melbourne Victoria Barracks, Melbourne HQ for the US and Australian armed forces Naval Base Melbourne was a United States Navy base at Melbourne during World War II. Naval Base Melbourne became the South West Pacific Area Command Headquarters after ...

in July 1942. **New Farm Wharf depot, now

New Farm Park ferry wharf New Farm Park ferry wharf is located on the northern side of the Brisbane River serving the Brisbane suburb of New Farm in Queensland, Australia. It is served by RiverCity Ferries and was also served by a Cross River service to Norman Park. ...

AHS Centaur Australian Hospital Ship (AHS) ''Centaur'' was a hospital ship which was attacked and sunk by a Japanese submarine off the coast of Queensland, Australia, on 14 May 1943. Of the 332 medical personnel and civilian crew aboard, 268 died, includi ...

USS Samaritan (AH-10) USS ''Samaritan'' (AH-10) was a hospital ship that served with the US Navy in World War II. Prior to that, she served as a US Navy transport ship under the name USS ''Chaumont'' (AP-5). USS ''Chaumont'', one of twelve 13,400-ton (displacement) H ...

and

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 ships **Brisbane Submarine base ***Some Submarines Base at Brisbane:, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ''Caiman'', ''Pompon'', ''Cod'', ''Raton'', ''Guavina'', ''Bowfin'', ''Grouper'', ''Grouper'', ''Blackfish'', ''Rasher'', ''Balao'', ''Corvina'' **Submarine maintenance depot **Submarine training center **Brisbane Degaussing Station ** Crash boat base **Fleet Post Office FPO# 134 SF Brisbane **Barracks **Supply depot *Ammunition depot, Brisbane Navy 134 at

Mount Coot-tha Mount Coot-tha is a mountain and a suburb of the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Visible from much of the city, Mount Coot-tha is a popular bushland tourist destination including the Mount Coot-tha Lookout, Brisbane Botanic Garden ...

**Mine depot outside of the city **Mobile Explosives Investigation Unit. No.1 * Archerfield shared with Army, just south of Brisbane. *Camp Perry Park, Navy housing unit at Camp Perry Park *Toowoomba Recreation Center, at

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( ), nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar', is a city on the border of South East Queensland and Darling Downs regions of Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital, Brisbane. The urban population of Toowoom ...

west of Brisbane *Coolangatta Recreation Center at

Coolangatta Coolangatta is a coastal suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It is the Gold Coast's southernmost suburb and it borders New South Wales. In the , Coolangatta had a population of 6,491 people. History Coolangatta is situat ...

, south of Brisbane *Transmitting Station at Colmslie

Naval Air Station Brisbane

Naval Air Station Brisbane was based in Colmslie on the Brisbane River. *Naval Base Colmslie *NATS Seaplane Base Colmslie (now Colmslie Recreational Park) *Colmslie Seaplane workshop, repair of Navy

Consolidated PBY Catalina The Consolidated Model 28, more commonly known as the PBY Catalina (U.S. Navy designation), is a flying boat and amphibious aircraft designed by Consolidated Aircraft in the 1930s and 1940s. In U.S. Army service, it was designated as the OA- ...

planes *Navy and

Pan Am Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and more commonly known as Pan Am, was an airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States for ...

radio station, Pan Am used the base for mail and other services. *

Imperial Airways Imperial Airways was an early British commercial long-range airline, operating from 1924 to 1939 and principally serving the British Empire routes to South Africa, India, Australia and the Far East, including Malaya and Hong Kong. Passengers ...

BOAC British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned national airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the ...

RAAF The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the governor-general of Aus ...

and

Qantas Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...

also use the base. **Post war became Barrier Reef Airways base

Hamilton repair depot

*Repair depot *Hamilton repair depot in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

on the Brisbane River. *

Cairncross Dockyard The Cairncross Dockyard was a shipyard beside the Brisbane River at 405 Thynne Road, Morningside, Queensland, Morningside, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It included one of Australia's largest graving docks with an 8.5 metre deep wa ...

*Supply depot *Machine shops *Engineering camp *Chemical Engineering Camp *Some repair ship at Brisbane: * USS Howard W. Gilmore (AS-16) * USS Remus (ARL-40) * USS Clytie * USS Fulton (AS-11) * USS Sperry (AS-12) * USS Wachapreague (AGP-8) * USS Satinleaf (AN-43) * USS Sonoma (AT-12) *

USS Geronimo (ATA-207) USS ''Geronimo'' (ATA-207) an auxiliary ocean tug, was built by the Gulfport Boiler and Welding Works of Port Arthur, Texas, and originally designated ATR-134. Launched 4 January 1945 as ''ATA-207'', she commissioned 1 March 1945. On 16 July ...

USS Wright (AV-1) USS ''Wright'' (AZ-1/AV-1) was a one-of-a-kind auxiliary ship in the United States Navy, named for aviation pioneer Orville Wright. Originally built as a kite balloon tender, she was converted into a seaplane tender after kite balloons were no ...

* USS Coucal (ASR-8) * USS Mataco (AT-86) * USS Portunus (AGP-4) * USS Oyster Bay (AGP-6) *

SS Stratheden SS ''Stratheden'' was a UK-built steam turbine ocean liner. She spent most of her career with the P&O (company), Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, including the World War II, Second World War when she served for six years as a Tro ...

USS Tangier (AV-8) The second USS ''Tangier'' (AV-8) was a Maritime Commission type C-3 cargo ship, converted to a seaplane tender in the United States Navy during World War II. The ship, the first of the C-3s to be launched and significant in a revival of Paci ...

USS Dobbin (AD-3) USS ''Dobbin'' (AD-3) is the name of a United States Navy destroyer tender of World War II, named after James Cochrane Dobbin, the Secretary of the Navy from 1853 to 1857. ''Dobbin'' was launched on 5 May 1921 by the Philadelphia Navy Yard. ...

Camp Seabee

*Camp Seabee at

on the Brisbane River in Brisbane **Camp Seabee **Camp Seabee staging camp and depot **Merchant Marine Anti-aircraft training camp, Wellington Point Gunnery School at

Wellington Point Wellington Point is a residential coastal locality in the City of Redland, Queensland, Australia. It is a popular seaside destination within the Brisbane metropolitan area and is notable for a popular walk along a sandbar to King Island which em ...

**Advanced Base Construction Depot (ABCD) **Mobile Navy Hospital No. 9, with 3,000 beds **Theater **Recreation building **Laundry depot **

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 ...

Decomposed granite Decomposed granite is a kind of granite rock that is weathered to the point that the parent material readily fractures into smaller pieces of weaker rock. Further weathering yields material that easily crumbles into mixtures of gravel-sized parti ...

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 ...

for roads. ** Eagle Farm Airfield, shared with Army ** Allison Engine Testing Area
Camp Seabee was home to the: *19th Construction Battalion Special *20th Construction Battalion *55th Construction Battalion *60th Construction Battalion *77th Construction Battalion *84th Construction Battalion *91st Construction Battalion * Amphibious Construction Battalion 1 - 104th Naval Construction Battalion *115th Construction Battalion *138th Naval Construction Battalion *

Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 11 Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 11 (NMCB 11) is a United States Navy Construction Battalion, otherwise known as a Seabee (US Navy), Seabee Battalion, presently home-ported at the Naval Construction Battalion Center (Gulfport, Mississippi). ...

From the staging at Camp Seabee, Construction Battalions departed to help build: *Naval Base Cairns *Naval Air Station Palm Island *Townsville Naval Section Base *Thursday Island PT Boat Base *

* Naval Base Merauke * KanaKopa PT Boat Base *

Oro Bay Airfield Oro Bay Airfield (also known as Cape Sudest Airfield) is a former World War II airfield in Oro Province, Papua New Guinea. The airfield was abandoned after the war and today is almost totally returned to its natural state. History Oro Bay Airfie ...

* Naval Base Lae -

Landing at Lae The Landing at Lae was an amphibious landing to the east of Lae and then the subsequent advance on the town during the Salamaua–Lae campaign of World War II. Part of Operation Postern, which was undertaken to capture the Japanese base a ...

* Naval Base Mios Woendi at Mios Woendi PT Boat Base and Owi Airfield * Naval Base Woodlark Island *

* Naval Base Finschhafen *

Naval Base Hollandia Naval Base Hollandia was a United States Navy base built during World War II at Yos Sudarso Bay, Humboldt Bay, near the city of Jayapura, Hollandia (now Jayapura) in New Guinea. The base was built by the US Navy Seabees during the Battle of Ho ...

* Kiriwina Airfield * Naval Base Cape Gloucester -

Battle of Cape Gloucester The Battle of Cape Gloucester was fought in the Pacific theater of World War II between Japanese and Allied forces on the island of New Britain, Territory of New Guinea, between 26 December 1943 and 16 January 1944. Codenamed Operation Backh ...

* Naval Base Alexishafen, at

Madang Madang (old German name: ''Friedrich-Wilhelmshafen'') is the capital of Madang Province and is a town with a population of 27,420 (in 2005) on the north coast of Papua New Guinea. History Nicholai Miklukho-Maklai was probably the first Eur ...

* Naval Base Morotai -

Battle of Morotai The Battle of Morotai, part of the Pacific War, began on 15 September 1944, and continued until the end of the war in August 1945. The fighting started when United States and Australian forces landed on the southwest corner of Morotai, a small isl ...

Naval Base Banika Island Naval Base Banika Island was a United States Navy base built during World War II on Mbanika Island in the Russell Islands, part of the Solomon Islands. A larger supply depot was built to support the ships fighting in the Pacific War. Also bu ...

Banika Mbanika or Banika is an island in Solomon Islands; it is located in the Central Province and is the second largest of the Russell Islands Group. The principal settlement is Yandina. As portrayed in the HBO miniseries, ''The Pacific'', episode ...

: **

Renard Field Yandina Airport is an airport on Mbanika in the Solomon Islands. History The 33rd Naval Construction Battalion arrived on Banika Island in late February 1943 and commenced construction of a fighter airfield. By 13 April a basic airfield known a ...

and

Banika Field Banika Field was a World War II airfield on Mbanika in the Russell Islands in the Solomon Islands. Banika Field was built and supported by Naval Base Banika Island. History A US Navy Seebee Naval Construction Battalion began construction for tw ...

Renard Sound Seaplane Base Naval Base Banika Island was a United States Navy base built during World War II on Mbanika Island in the Russell Islands, part of the Solomon Islands. A larger supply depot was built to support the ships fighting in the Pacific War. Also bu ...

Naval Base Saipan Naval Base Saipan or Naval Advance Base Saipan or Naval Air Base Saipan was a United States Navy Naval base built during World War II to support Pacific Ocean theater of war and the many warships and troops fighting the war. The base was on th ...

Naval Base Okinawa Naval Base Okinawa, now Naval Facility Okinawa, encompasses a number of bases built after the Battle of Okinawa by United States Navy on Okinawa Island, Japan. The naval bases were built to support the landings on Okinawa on April 1, 1945, and the ...

* Naval Base Amsterdam Island on Amsterdam Island, West Papua, PT Boat Base * Leyte-Samar Naval Base 60th CB * Naval Base Guadalcanal -

Guadalcanal campaign The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by the United States, was an Allies of World War II, Allied offensive against forces of the Empire of Japan in the Solomon Islands during th ...

61th CB ** Tenaru Camp -

Battle of the Tenaru The Battle of the Tenaru, sometimes called the Battle of the Ilu River or the Battle of Alligator Creek, was a land battle between the Imperial Japanese Army and Allied ground forces that took place on 21 August 1942, on the island of Guada ...

** Koli Point Camp -

Koli Point action The Kali Point action, during 3–12 November 1942, was an engagement between U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Army forces and Empire of Japan, Imperial Japanese Imperial Japanese Army, Army forces around Koli Point on Guadalcanal during the Guadalcan ...

** Naval Base Lunga at

Lunga Point Lunga Point is a promontory on the northern coast of Guadalcanal, the site of a naval battle during World War II. It was also the name of a nearby airfield, later named Henderson Field. is also the name of a United States Navy escort carrier t ...

** Henderson Field 6th CB *

Naval Base Manicani A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations ...

Repair base *Radar Station at

Auki Auki is the provincial capital of Malaita Province, Solomon Islands. It is situated on the northern end of Langa Langa Lagoon on the north-west coast of Malaita. It is one of the largest provincial towns in Solomon Islands. It was established as ...

for RNZA 60th CB * Naval Base Emirau 60th CB on

Emirau Island Emirau Island, also called Emira, is an island in the Bismarck Archipelago located at . Emira is part of what on many maps are charted as the St Matthias Islands, also known as the Mussau Islands, a small group to the northwest of the main island ...

* Naval Base Darwin 84th CB * Naval Base Puerto Princesa at

Palawan Palawan (, ), officially the Province of Palawan (; ), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of . The capital and largest c ...

84th CB * Naval Base Manus *

Naval Base Treasury Islands The Battle of the Treasury Islands was a Second World War battle that took place between 27 October and 12 November 1943 on the Treasury Islands group, part of the Solomon Islands. The battle formed part of the wider Pacific War and involved New ...

Torokina Airfield Torokina Airfield, also known as Cape Torokina Airfield, is a former World War II airfield located at Cape Torokina, Bougainville Island, Bougainville. History World War II The 3rd Marine Division (United States), 3rd Marine Division landed on B ...

Piva Airfield Piva Airfield is a former World War II airfield on Bougainville Island in the Solomon Islands (archipelago), Solomon Islands archipelago. History World War II The 3rd Marine Division (United States), 3rd Marine Division landed on Bougainville o ...

* Naval Base Lingayen - Sual Bay PT Boat Base 104th CB * Naval Base Subic Bay * Olongapo Naval Station Olongapo Camp, 115th CB * NAS Attu 138th CB on

Attu Island Attu (, ) is an island in the Near Islands (part of the Aleutian Islands chain). It is one of the westernmost points of the U.S. state of Alaska. The island became uninhabited in 2010, making it the largest uninhabited island that is part of th ...

Naval Base Auckland A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations ...

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

*Bases in the

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands ( ; ; , "land of the Aleuts"; possibly from the Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', or "island")—also called the Aleut Islands, Aleutic Islands, or, before Alaska Purchase, 1867, the Catherine Archipelago—are a chain ...

138th CB

Other camps

*Camp La Fayette Prison Stockade at Eagle Farm *Camp Whinstanes, Prison

Remote Advanced Bases

CampSeabeeNavalBaseBrisbane_buildingtrips

Naval Base Brisbane built and supported remote advanced bases in Queensland:

Naval Base Cairns

Naval Base Cairns at

, north of Brisbane, closed January 7, 1945 (now HMAS Cairns). Part of the base was on Green Island, offshore. **Cairns Harbor PT-Boat Base, later moved to Milne Bay **Cairns Harbor Seaplane Base **

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 ...

repair base **Escort Base One destroyer repair depot **

US Amphibious Training Base Amphibious Training Base (ATB)(USNATB) Advance Amphibious Training Base are United States Armed Forces bases used for the training of amphibious warfare. Starting with World War II, United States Navy began large-scale amphibious assaults of ...

**Naval mine maintenance depot **Patrol-craft repair depot **Supply depot **Mess hall **Navy hospital **Feet post office FPO# 144 SF Cairns, Australia **Floating drydocks: AFD-10, ARD-7 **600-foot timber wharf **5,000-gallon water tank farm **Ammunition depot outside of camp **Cairns Airfield used for patrols **Cairns staging camp **Trinity Bay, amphibious training, US Army, Navy with US Navy support. **Sheridan Street Camp, Cairns Army Camp located along Sheridan, Dutton and Spence Street. *Naval Air Station Palm Island **Naval Air Station Palm Island, at Palm Island north of Brisbane, started July 6, 1943, closed June 1, 1944. **

VPB-29 VPB-29 was a Patrol Bombing Squadron of the U.S. Navy. The squadron was established as Pacific Air Detachment on 17 January 1923, redesignated Patrol Squadron 14 (VP-14) on 29 May 1924, redesignated Patrol Squadron 1-Naval District 14 (VP-1D14) ...

Patrol Bomber unit ** VP-11 Patrol Squadron with

**Hangars **Seaplane Base Palm Island **Fleet Post Office FPO# 420 SF Palm Island, Australia **Naval Air Station Wallaby Point **60,000 barrels tank farm **Palm Island patrol bombers repair depot **Docks **Radio stations **PT boat bases **Hospitals **Naval mine depot **Power station **Supply base

Townsville Naval Section Base

*Townsville Naval Section Base **North of Brisbane a section base was built a

Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...

closed and moved July 1944. **Rose Bay Townsville Navy hospital, 120-bed **Ammunition depot outside of camp **Fleet Post Office FPO# 143 SF Townsville, Australia **Townsville Navy hospital, 100-bed **Black River Navy hospital **US Navy at Cleveland Bay ** Army camp, staging **Army airfields and Army 12th Station Hospital ** HMAS Magnetic Royal Australian Navy base near US base

Horn Island Seaplane Base

**Horn Island Seaplane Base at small Horn Island, far north of Brisbane **

Horn Island Airport Horn Island Airport is a minor international airport on Horn Island in the Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia. Domestic fixed wing charter flights and scheduled flights are carried out by SkyTrans, Hinterland Aviation, Cape Air Transport, H ...

RAAF

Thursday Island PT Boat Base

*Thursday Island PT Boat Base was built on

Thursday Island Thursday Island, colloquially known as TI, or in the Kalaw Lagaw Ya, Kawrareg dialect, Waiben or Waibene, is an island of the Torres Strait Islands, an archipelago of at least 274 small islands in the Torres Strait. TI is located approximately ...

, far north of Brisbane, by the Seabees. The base opened in February 1943 and closed in September 1945. Thursday Island PT Boat Base had a PT Boat repair depot. The base was shared, HMAS Carpentaria base. The US also stationed some submarine bases at the base.

Toorbul Combined Training Centre

Toorbul Combined Training Centre (CTC) was a joint Army and Navy amphibious training center opened on the summer of 1942 at Toorbul on Toorbul Point, now called Sandstone Point. The center had classrooms, camp, mess hall,

jetties A jetty is a man-made structure that protrudes from land out into water. A jetty may serve as a breakwater, as a walkway, or both; or, in pairs, as a means of constricting a channel. The term derives from the French word ', "thrown", signif ...

, slipway, a mock ship, and workshops.

Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...

also had Radar Station at the base. Fleet PO Box was 146.

Other bases

*Fleet Radio Unit Radio Station Cooktown at

Cooktown, Queensland Cooktown is a coastal town and suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. Cooktown is at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached h ...

. FPO# 813 SF Cooktown *For

Prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

16 camps were built in

by Australians and US. *Mareeba Airfield (Hoevet Field) US Army *Torrens Creek Airfield in Torrens Creek, US Army, now Torrens Creek Airport *Mackay Airport, Mackay Airfield and Mackay recreation facilities at Mackay, Queensland

Post war

*After Victory over Japan Day the base closed and the US Navy started taking Troops home in Operation Magic Carpet. A number of Memorials were built in memory of the World War II activities in Australia: *Catalina Memorial Cairns Esplanade, at Cairns Esplanade near Cairns Harbor. Three white pillars with a model of a Consolidated Catalina atop and a memorial plaque to the crew of Catalina A24-25, at *Cairns War Cemetery, administered by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) at *Cairns Museum *Beck Museum in Mareeba, closed *Milne Bay Military Museum in

*Townsville War Cemetery at *Centaur Park, Memorial plaque and park dedicated to AHS Centaur sunk offshore at in Caloundra. *Bundaberg War Cemetery in Bundaberg at . *Memorial at Bakers Creek in Bakers Creek air crash, Bakers Creek.

Gallery

CampSeabeeNavalBaseBrisbane-fromair.jpg, Camp Seabee at Naval Base Brisbane from the air File:Damaged USS Growler (SS-215) at the submarine base at New Farm, Australia, in February 1943.jpg, Damaged USS Growler (SS-215), USS Growler at the submarine base at New Farm in February 1943 StateLibQld 1 149299 Dunedin (ship).jpg, HMS Dunedin, ''Dunedin'' at Gardens Reach on the Brisbane River. South Brisbane wharves in background BRISBANE, QLD. C.1942. THE DOCK GATE UNDER CONSTRUCTION IN THE UNFINISHED CAIRNCROSS GRAVING DOCK. (NAVAL HISTORICAL COLLECTION).jpg,

in 1942 BRISBANE, QLD. C.1942. THE DRYDOCK UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT CAIRNCROSS GRAVING DOCK, LOOKING TOWARDS THE ENTRANCE. (NAVAL HISTORICAL COLLECTION).jpg, Building Cairncross Dockyard in 1942 StateLibQld 1 79147 Royal Australian Naval ship ML 1322 at Colmslie Naval Base, Brisbane, ca. 1944.jpg, Colmslie Naval Base Brisbane in 1944 SoPacStratSit.gif, Strategic supply chain situation in South Pacific in July 1942

External links

youtube, Abandoned Navy Base on The Brisbane Riveryoutube, World War 2 - Defence of Australia

References

{{USWWII Naval Stations of the United States Navy World War II airfields in the Pacific Ocean Theater Airfields of the United States Navy Military installations closed in the 1940s Closed installations of the United States Navy World War II sites in Australia