Map Majuro and Arno Atolls Majuro_Atoll-USA-P-Gilberts-15

Naval Base Majuro 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 on Majuro Atoll, in the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. The territory consists of 29 c ...

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 ...

efforts 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 base was built after the Battle of Majuro-Kwajalein ended 3 February 1944. Majuro was found to be unoccupied and abandoned when 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 ...

arrived. The US Navy built airfields, a seaport, and other facilities on the captured islands. The base was part of the vast Naval Base Marshall Islands.

History

When the US Army arrived they found abandoned at Darrit Island a 400-foot timber pier, a seaplane ramp, and warehouses, as well as a 5,800-foot runway at Dalop Island. US Navy Seabees of the 100th Construction Battalion began improvement projects at the base. On

Delap Delap (also called Dalap; Marshallese: , ) is an island district in the Marshall Islands. It is located in the east of Majuro Atoll. Along with Uliga and Djarrit it forms what is known as the "Delap-Uliga-Djarrit". During World War II was the s ...

the 5,800 feet (1,800 m) by 445 feet (136 m) runway was repaired and paved in

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 ...

. The complete Majuro Airfield became home to a number of units: two Marine dive-bomber squadrons, half a Marine patrol squadron, and staging a

United States Army Air Forces 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 ...

fighter group. The Navy used the Airfield for its Naval Air Transport Service and patrols. The Majuro Atoll offered excellent fleet anchorage in the large protected

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') an ...

. The lagoon has depths of 150 to 210-feet, with only a few

coral head Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oce ...

s. The lagoon islands had some sand beaches used for boats,

landing craft Landing craft are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as boats and barges, used to convey a landing force (infantry and vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. The term excludes landing ships, which are larger. ...

and tank landing ships. On Calanin Island, at the entrance to the lagoon Seabees built a

signal station A signal station is a form of Navigational aid, Aids to Navigation that is defined by the International Hydrographic Organization, IHO simply as "A signal station is a place on shore from which signals are made to ships at sea". While this broad de ...

and a harbor entrance control station. Seabees built and manned at Acorn 8 Naval

dispensary A dispensary is an office in a school, hospital, industrial plant, or other organization that dispenses medications, medical supplies, and in some cases even medical and dental treatment. In a traditional dispensary set-up, a pharmacist dispense ...

. Seabees used both new construction

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 and captured buildings in their projects. Seabees built a 150-bed hospital. For the airfield, Seabees built a 12,000-barrel fuel depot for aviation gasoline storage on Bigariat Island and 4-inch pipe system to bring it to the airfield. For freshwater Seabees installed a water distillation plant. The 21 distillation stills turned seawater into 50,000 gallons of fresh water per day. The water was stored in a system of tanks and plumbing with a total of 180,000 gallons for all the islands in the base. Water tank trucks were used for long runs. The one captured pier was not able to keep up with the demands of the growing base, Seabees installed a deep-water 25 by 28 foot pontoon floating pier. Seabees used coral to pave 10 miles of road and the top of 11,000 feet of causeways, making

Delap-Uliga-Djarrit Delap-Uliga-Djarrit (DUD, ) is an urban area in Majuro, the capital and the largest city of the Marshall Islands, with 15,846 people out of Majuro's 23,676 (as of 1999). It consists of the districts of Delap, Uliga, and Djarrit (islets connected ...

. The causeways were built to connect the many small base islands together. A large Seabee camp, repair shops, and supply depot were built. For the troop

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 ...

mess hall The mess (also called a mess deck aboard ships) is a designated area where military personnel socialize, eat and (in some cases) live. The term is also used to indicate the groups of military personnel who belong to separate messes, such as the o ...

s, bomb-proof shelters, and recreation facilities were constructed by the Seabees. Almost all of Dalop Island was taken up by the airfield, so the islets of

Uliga Uliga ( Marshallese: , ) is an island district in the Marshall Islands, located in the eastern portion of Majuro Atoll. Along with Delap and Djarrit, it forms a town known as "Delap-Uliga-Djarrit Delap-Uliga-Djarrit (DUD, ) is an urban area ...

, Laura, Rairok, and others of the Majuro Atoll were used. In February 1944 the 100th Battalion was relieved with the arrival of Construction Battalion Detachment 1034. On 18 June 1944 the 60th Seabee Battalion was relieved with the arrival of Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit (CBMU) 591. Unlike most Pacific Navy bases, Naval Base Majuro was moved to a more forward location as the fighting moved towards Japan's homeland. On V-J Day,

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 2 September 1945 the base was still in full operation. USS Bushnell AS-15 1947

Majuro Submarine Base

The demand for

submarine bases 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, Naval ...

during World War 2 was so great that bases were built around special ships called

submarine tender A submarine tender, in British English a submarine depot ship, is a type of depot ship that supplies and supports submarines. Development Submarines are small compared to most oceangoing vessels, and generally cannot carry large amounts of foo ...

s. Submarine Tenders carried fuel for the submarines, food for the crew, and living quarters for the crew to rest while the sub was being serviced. The Tender's depot had all the supplies that the submarine needed to get back on patrol. Submarine base had limited land facilities such Naval Base Majuro operated as an advanced submarine base. Sub-crews enjoyed the 750-man submarine base camp and fleet recreation center at the base. Majuro Submarine Base was supported by the submarine tenders: USS Howard W. Gilmore (AS-16), USS Bushnell (AS-15), USS Argonne (AS-10), and USS Sperry (AS-12).

Majuro Destroyer Base

To keep US Navy

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

in the war and not at faraway bases, Majuro became a Destroyer Base. US Navy

destroyer tender A destroyer tender or destroyer depot ship is a type of depot ship: an auxiliary ship designed to provide maintenance support to a flotilla of destroyers or other small warships. The use of this class has faded from its peak in the first half of ...

s provided food, fuel, and

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 ...

to the destroyer. Minor repair work was also done at the base. The crew was able to enjoy the fleet recreation center at the base during this time. The base was made with stationed destroyer tenders: USS Prairie (AD-15) and USS Markab

Airfields

US Navy Seabees built two airfields at Naval Base Majuro : * Majuro Airfield, called Naval Air Facility Majuro Majuro Airfield
'pacificwrecks.com'' *Uliga Airfield on Uliga Island
A number of bombers and fighter squadrons operated from the airfields. For aircraft navigation, a

loran LORAN (Long Range Navigation) was a hyperbolic navigation, hyperbolic radio navigation system developed in the United States during World War II. It was similar to the UK's Gee (navigation), Gee system but operated at lower frequencies in order ...

transmitting station was built.
The Naval stations at the Marshall Islands had stationed: *

Vought F4U Corsair The Vought F4U Corsair is an American fighter aircraft that saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Designed and initially manufactured by Vought, Chance Vought, the Corsair was soon in great demand; additional production con ...

Grumman F6F Hellcat The Grumman F6F Hellcat is an American Carrier-based aircraft, carrier-based fighter aircraft of World War II. Designed to replace the earlier Grumman F4F Wildcat, F4F Wildcat and to counter the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero, it was the United St ...

with VF-39 *

Douglas TBD Devastator The Douglas TBD Devastator is a retired American torpedo bomber of the United States Navy. Ordered in 1934, it first flew in 1935 and entered service in 1937. At that point, it was the most advanced aircraft flying for the Navy, being the firs ...

Grumman TBF Avenger The Grumman TBF Avenger (designated TBM for aircraft manufactured by General Motors) is an American World War II-era torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and eventually used by several air and naval a ...

* Curtiss XBTC for Scouting bombing (VSB) * Utility-Transport (VJR) planes, like the Douglas R4D and Douglas R5D
At Majuro Airfield the Navy supported the installment of the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing and the Marine Aircraft Group 13 in March 1944. The Seabees constructed two 750-man camps, shops and storage facilities for the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

.
The Navy decided to place a pool of

fighter planes 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 superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the air ...

ready to replace losses on

Aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...

at Naval Base Majuro. As Majuro Airfield did not have the space for the new air base, Seabees built a new 4,000 foot by 175-foot runway on Uliga Island. Uliga Island was connected to Dalop by the built two-lane causeway. Two

Carrier Aircraft Service Units 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 ...

were based as the airfields to support the many Navy planes at the base.

Post war

* Marshall Islands War Memorial Park on Delap

Gallery

File:80-G-425529.jpg,

fighters at Majuro File:Majuro Satellite.PNG, Majuro Atoll Satellite photo File:MH -map A.png, Map of the Marshall Islands File:SBD-5 VMSB-321 Majuro Aug1944.jpg,

Douglas SBD Dauntless The Douglas SBD Dauntless is a World War II American naval scout plane and dive bomber that was manufactured by Douglas Aircraft from 1940 through 1944. The SBD ("Scout Bomber Douglas") was the United States Navy's main Carrier-based aircraft, ...

dive bomber at Majuro USS Essex (CV-9) at Majuro Atoll on 2 March 1944.jpg,

USS Essex (CV-9) USS ''Essex'' (CV/CVA/CVS-9) was an aircraft carrier and the lead ship of the 24-ship built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was the fourth US Navy ship to bear the name. Commissioned in December 1942, ''Essex'' partic ...

at Majuro Atoll on 2 March 1944.jpg File:Local Traffic Regulations.png, Majuro road built by US Navy File:SBDs VMSB-231 Majuro 1944.jpg, SBD Dauntless with VMSB-231 at Majuro in 1944

External links

youtube.com Airport to Uliga Majuro Atoll Marshall Islandyoutube.com Majuro Atoll Marshall Islandyoutube.com Task Force At Majuro Atoll Marshall Island

References

{{USWWII Naval Stations of the United States Navy Closed installations of the United States Navy 1944 establishments in Oceania Military installations established in 1944

Naval Base Majuro Map Majuro and Arno Atolls Naval Base Majuro was a major United States Navy base built on Majuro Atoll, in the Marshall Islands to support the World War II efforts in the Pacific War. The base was built after the Battle of Majuro-Kwajalein en ...