naval base
A naval base, navy base, or military port is a military base, where warships and naval ships are docked when they have no mission at sea or need to restock. Ships may also undergo repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that usu ...
s built by the
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 ...
in 1943 to support the
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 ...
effort. The bases were located on in the
Gilbert Islands
The Gilbert Islands (;Reilly Ridgell. ''Pacific Nations and Territories: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia.'' 3rd. Ed. Honolulu: Bess Press, 1995. p. 95. formerly Kingsmill or King's-Mill IslandsVery often, this name applied o ...
in the
Central Pacific Ocean
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
. The bases were built as part of the many advance bases in the
island-hopping
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 in ...
campaign towards the
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...
. The largest base was the
Naval Base Tarawa
Naval Base Tarawa was a naval base built by the United States Navy in 1943 to support the World War II effort. The base was located on Tarawa atoll in the Gilbert Islands in the Central Pacific Ocean. The base was built as one of many advance ...
. At
Tarawa
Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati ''
seaport
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manc ...
, supply depots, a small ship repair depot,
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 ...
,
seaplane base
An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...
and two airbases. Construction started after the
Battle of Tarawa
The Battle of Tarawa was fought on 20–23 November 1943 between the United States and Japan on Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands, and was part of Operation Galvanic, the U.S. invasion of the Gilberts. Nearly 6,400 Japanese, Koreans, and Am ...
ended on November 23, 1943, part of
Operation Galvanic
The Battle of Tarawa was fought on 20–23 November 1943 between the United States and Imperial Japanese Navy, Japan on Tarawa, Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands, and was part of Operation Galvanic, the U.S. invasion of the Gilberts. Nearly ...
. The bases were built by the US Navy's
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 ...
Naval Base Tarawa
Naval Base Tarawa was a naval base built by the United States Navy in 1943 to support the World War II effort. The base was located on Tarawa atoll in the Gilbert Islands in the Central Pacific Ocean. The base was built as one of many advance ...
, a very large base.
**Tarawa Seaplane base
*** VP-13 with
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- ...
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 ...
Bonriki International Airport
Bonriki International Airport is an international airport in Kiribati, serving as the main gateway to the country. It is located in its capital, South Tarawa, which is a group of islets in the atoll of Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands, precisely on ...
Naval Base Abemama
Naval Base Abemama was a naval base built by the United States Navy in 1943 to support the World War II effort. The base was located on Abemama atoll, also called Hopper Atoll, in the Gilbert Islands in the Pacific Ocean Areas, Central Pacific O ...
Abemama Airport
Abemama Airport is the airport serving Abemama, Kiribati. It is located on the north of the atoll, 200 meters northeast of the village of Tabiang.
The airport is served by Air Kiribati from the international airport at South Tarawa.
History ...
File:Pacific_Theater_Areas;map1.JPG, Pacific War Theater Areas map 1942
File:South Tarawa (separated to north and south).svg, South Tarawa, Tarawa Atoll
File:GilbertGroupofIslands.jpg, Map Gilbert Group of Islands
File:Tarawa Atoll aerial photo Sept 1943.jpg, Aerial view of Betio Island, Tarawa Atoll before invasion of the island by U.S. Marines, 18 September 1943.
File:80-G-57390 (18414744362).jpg, Seabee building Hawkins Field
File:80-G-57388 (17798244333).jpg, Seabee building Hawkins Field
File:USMC-M-Tarawa-3.jpg, Map of runway on Betio and landing plans
File:Hawkins Field Betio Tarawa March 1944.jpg, Long range aircraft at
Hawkins Field (Tarawa)
Hawkins Field is a former World War II airfield on Betio, Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands of the Central Pacific.
The airfield was named in honor of USMC 1st Lt. William Dean Hawkins who was killed in the battle to recapture Tarawa, and earned t ...
, March 1944
File:Tarawa aerial view 24 Nov 1943.jpg, Aerial view of Betio, Tarawa Atoll, 24 November 1943, looking north toward "The Pocket", the last place of Japanese resistance. An emplacement just onshore with two 12.7 mm anti-aircraft guns is visible near the left edge of the photograph.
File:Gilbert Islands Aerial Imagery, 1943.jpg, Gilbert Islands 1943
File:Cemetery at Tarawa.jpg, The largest of 37 cemeteries on Tarawa
8 Map of Abemama, Kiribati.jpg, Map of Abemama
File:Abemama Map.jpg, Map of Abemama
File:South Pacific islands 1945.jpg, South Pacific islands in 1945
See also
*
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 ...
Naval Base Tarawa
Naval Base Tarawa was a naval base built by the United States Navy in 1943 to support the World War II effort. The base was located on Tarawa atoll in the Gilbert Islands in the Central Pacific Ocean. The base was built as one of many advance ...