Naval Base Noumea 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 ...

sea and air base at

Nouméa Nouméa () is the capital and largest city of the French Sui generis collectivity, special collectivity of New Caledonia and is also the largest Francophone city in Oceania. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main i ...

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

. Naval Base Noumea was built at Noumea Harbor. Noumea was picked for a naval base as it was beyond the range of Japanese land-based planes. Noumea is on the east side of the

Coral Sea The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia, interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down t ...

, from

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 ...

, Australia. The base was 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 ...

to support the many ships and aircraft fighting and patrolling in the South West Pacific theatre of war as part 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 ...

. Naval Base Noumea had an anchorage for large ships. Noumea was protected against submarine attack by a ring of islands and naval minefields. At its peak 50,000 troops were stationed at Naval Base Noumea. New Caledonia has been a colony of France since 1853. Nouméa is the capital city of New Caledonia. On November 8, 1942, US Navy South Pacific headquarters moved to Nouméa.

History

In September 1940, New Caledonia joined the

Free France Free France () was a resistance government claiming to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third French Republic, Third Republic during World War II. Led by General , Free France was established as a gover ...

organization, founded June 1940 after the

Fall of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembourg and the Net ...

. In March 1942, an agreement was made between Free France and the United States for a base in New Caledonia. In July and August 1942,

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 arrived and began building the naval base. The first project was building a vast fuel

tank farm Tank Farm (sometimes Tuff Crater) is the name of a volcanic explosion crater (or maar) on the North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand, near the approaches to the Auckland Harbour Bridge. Geology Part of the Auckland volcanic field, it was crea ...

on the Ducos Peninsula, north of Noumea. Naval Base Noumea became the main

fuel oil Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil (bunker fuel), marine f ...

storage depot for the fleet from 1942 to November 1944. The tank farm had storage for 30,000 barrels of fuel oil and 20,000 barrels of

diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine ...

. US Navy and United States Merchant Navy tankers brought 225,000 barrels of fuel oil to be stored at Noumea on the Ducos Peninsula. In August 1942, another 225,000 barrels arrived. USS ''Kanawha'' was one of the US Navy tankers that arrived; she was sunk on April 8, 1943, by a Japanese plane. The USS ''Platte'' and USS ''Sabine'' are some of many ships that loaded fuel oil at Naval Base Noumea to replenish fleet ships. Noumea had a large feet anchorage in Dumbéa Bay,

Gadji Bay Gadji Bay or Baie Gadji is a bay in southwestern New Caledonia. It lies to the north of Noumea and just north of the Dumbéa Bay. Settlements on this stretch of coast include Savanah and Nakutakoin. It contains an island known as "Pine Island" b ...

and Baie de Koutio Kouéta. Aviation, Construction, Ordnance, Repair, Navy (ACORN) arrived at Noumea on September 30, 1942. US Navy

Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 1 Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 1 is a maritime patrol aircraft wing of the United States Navy, responsible to Commander, Naval Air Forces, Pacific. It is located at Misawa Air Base, Japan, a Japan Air Self-Defense Force base. The wing was est ...

arrived on September 19, 1942. Naval Base Noumea also became a major

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 by the fall of 1942 to supply both ships and troops. The next project was building a base on Ile Nou Island, now called Nouville, just east of the City of Noumea. Nouville had an old fort at the north end, Fort Téréka, and a

penal colony A penal colony or exile colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general population by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory. Although the term can be used to refer ...

that closed officially in 1897, with the last convict removed in 1927. Seabees built what locals called ''Half-Moon village'' on the flat south end of the island at . Half-Moon village was named after the shape of the

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

Nissen hut A Nissen hut is a prefabricated steel structure originally for military use, especially as barracks, made from a 210° portion of a cylindrical skin of corrugated iron. It was designed during the First World War by the Canadian-American-British e ...

s built at the site. In 1987, at the site of Half-Moon village, the

University of New Caledonia The University of New Caledonia UNC (''Université de la Nouvelle-Calédonie'') is a French university which is part of the Academy of New Caledonia located in Nouméa and Koné. The university goes back to 1987 when the ''Université Française ...

opened. After the war, about 90 percent of the huts were removed, the other 10% were used for New Caledonia Armed Forces and for low-cost housing, including dance halls and recreation halls. In the center of the island, the Théâtre de l'île was converted into a regrouping center for Japanese civilians on New Caledonia, that were then relocated

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 ...

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 ...

had built a small

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 ...

on Ile Nou. Most Australian Forces returned to Australia and the US Navy took over operations of the seaplane base for Navy patrol planes. Seabees expanded the seaplane base and added more barracks. A

Naval Air Transport Service The Naval Air Transport Service or NATS, was a branch of the United States Navy from 1941 to 1948. At its height during World War II, NATS's totaled four wings of 18 squadrons that operated 540 aircraft with 26,000 personnel assigned. Formation ...

center was built. At the Navy Base, a 75-ton crane was installed for unloading the may cargo ship arriving with both base supplies and supplies for the Troop's moving out to start 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 ...

. At Naval Base Noumea t,he new crane unloaded

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 ...

barges A barge is typically a flat-bottomed vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. Original use was on inland waterways, while modern use is on both inland and marine water environments. The first modern barges were pull ...

, LCT-5's, and

Lockheed P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinc ...

s. On the south side of the island was built 800-foot Nickel Dock for loading and loading ships. Three seven-ton cranes were installed for small cargo. The Navy constructed the Le Grand Quai Dock, spanning 1400 feet, accompanied by a 68,500-square-foot storage depot. Geared towards the Pacific War effort, the infrastructure was instrumental, yet the high demand often led to a backlog of ships waiting to be unloaded. With limited space on the island, construction started on the New Caledonia mainland both north, south, and west of the City of Noumea. At Point Chalix south of the city, the navy built two wharves for unloading barges on a landing. At Point Chalix an aviation supply depot was built. Next construction was in the City of Magenta, to the west of Noumea, two 200-foot wooden piers were built out into

Boulari Bay Boulari Bay or Baie de Boulari is a bay in southwestern New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Over ...

. Also at Magenta, a Navy runway was built, now

Nouméa Magenta Airport Nouméa Magenta Airport (; ) is a domestic airport on the main island of New Caledonia, an Overseas France, overseas collectivity of France in the southwest Pacific Ocean. The airport is east-northeast of the city centre of Nouméa, the capital, ...

at . The main Seabee units at Noumea were the CBMU 536, 3rd Naval Construction Battalion, Construction Battalion 11 and CBMU 537. Admiral

Thomas C. Kinkaid Thomas Cassin Kinkaid (3 April 1888 – 17 November 1972) was an admiral in the United States Navy, known for his service during World War II. He built a reputation as a "fighting admiral" in the aircraft carrier battles of 1942 and commanded th ...

's carrier task force was stationed at Noumea, for the supply and support of the

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 ...

. A large

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 ...

departed Naval Base Noumea for

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomons by area and the second- ...

on November 8, 1942. Admiral

Robert L. Ghormley Vice admiral (United States), Vice Admiral Robert Lee Ghormley (October 15, 1883 – June 21, 1958) was an admiral in the United States Navy who served as commander, South Pacific Area during World War II. Ghormley was long considered to be an in ...

moved his headquarters to Naval Base Noumea on August 1, 1942. On August 28, 1942, the USS Hornet's task group arrived at Naval Base Noumea. Naval Base Noumea became a major Naval train center for the Fleet. On November 8, 1942, a large convoy departed Noumea to set up a Naval Base at

. Many operations on Noumea slowly moved to

Espiritu Santo Naval Base Naval Advance Base Espiritu Santo or Naval Base Espiritu Santo, most often just called ''Espiritu Santo'', was a major advance Naval base that the U.S. Navy Seabees built during World War II to support the Allied effort in the Pacific. The base ...

, which opened in 1942 and was closer to the action. By June 1945, Noumea was only a fueling station. On May 27, 1947, Naval Base Noumea closed.

Ship repair depot

Naval Base Noumea had a major ship repair depot. The battleship USS South Dakota was repaired at Noumea after the

Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, fought during 25–27 October 1942, sometimes referred to as the Battle of Santa Cruz or Third Battle of Solomon Sea, in Japan as the Battle of the South Pacific ( ''Minamitaiheiyō kaisen''), was the fourt ...

. After the sinking of ''USS Hornet (CV-8)'' and USS Porter the 3,000 survivors were stationed at Naval Base Noumea for recovery for a few days. '' USS West Point'' took the survivors back to the States.

Auxiliary floating drydock An auxiliary floating drydock is a type of US Navy List of auxiliaries of the United States Navy, auxiliary Dry dock#Floating, floating dry dock. Floating dry docks are able to submerge underwater and to be placed under a ship in need of repai ...

ARD-2 arrived fall of 1942 with repair ships. ARD-2, and added AFD-9, repaired destroyers, submarines, and landing ships, tank (LST). USS Vulcan supported ship repairs. USS ''Kitty Hawk'' (AKV-1) and USS ''Hammondsport'' (APV-2) unloaded planes and plane parts.

Seaplane base

The expanded seaplane base at Naval Base Noumea had three US Navy

seaplane tender A seaplane tender is a boat or ship that supports the operation of seaplanes. Some of these vessels, known as seaplane carriers, could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are rega ...

s servicing the seaplanes: USS ''Curtiss'', USS ''McFarland'' and USS ''Mackinac''. USS ''Whitney'' ''Dobbin''-class

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 ...

and the USS Argonne a Design 1024

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's List of seas, seas and Ocean, oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. ...

were station at Noumea in support of the many ships passing through Noumea. Navy unit VP-14 and VP-71 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- ...

was stationed at the base.

1st Marine base

At Naval Base Noumea the Navy built the 1st Marine base depot. The 1st Marine Division used Naval Base Noumea as staging before going to

. The 1st Raider Battalion camped at Noumea . The 19th Battalion built a 300 foot large pier and 200foot pier and warehouses. A special ramp for unloading vehicles was built. 1st Marine Amphibious Corps arrived December 1942. Noumea became a depot and staging area for future operations. On August 25, 1943 First Lady

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt ( ; October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, first lady of the United States, during her husband Franklin D ...

visited troops on Noumea.

Facilities

*Large Fleet anchorage *Marine camp *Marine training Center *Ducos Peninsula Tank farm *Naval Base Noumea had a major mine assembly center. *Naval Air Transport Service Headquarters *Naval Fleet hospital MOB 5 with 2,000-bed *Naval Fleet hospital MOB 7 with 2,000-bed *Convalescent camp MOB 7 *Aviation supply 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 ...

*Naval supply depot *

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 ...

Camp *Seabees depot **Advanced Base Construction Depot *Aircraft engine overhaul base *Ship repair depot with

marine railway A patent slip or marine railway is an inclined plane extending from shoreline into water, featuring a "cradle" onto which a ship is first floated, and a mechanism to haul the ship, attached to the cradle, out of the water onto a slip. The mar ...

and ADRs *

Ammunition depot Supply depots are a type of military installation used by militaries to store battlefield supplies temporarily on or near the front lines until they can be distributed to military units. Supply depots are responsible for nearly all other types of ...

*Naval auxiliary field, a single fighter runway on Magenta Bay

*Magenta Bay tank farm *Fleet post office FPO# 131 SF Noumea, New Caledonia * Pontoon assembly depot, with narrow-gauge railway *

Antiaircraft 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 ...

gunnery school *Tank farm for aviation gasoline *Fire-fighting school *

Motion-picture A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of Visual arts, visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are gen ...

exchanges *Gas plants *

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 *

Cinema theater A movie theater (American English) or cinema (Commonwealth English), also known as a movie house, cinema hall, picture house, picture theater, the movies, the pictures, or simply theater, is a business that contains auditoriums for viewing fi ...

*Recreation Center *

Chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

with a bell tower *

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 ...

s * Rock quarry *Rock crushing plant *

Silica Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , commonly found in nature as quartz. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one of the most complex and abundant f ...

pit *

Gravel Gravel () is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally on Earth as a result of sedimentation, sedimentary and erosion, erosive geological processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gr ...

pit * Motorpool *Amphibious boat pool *Small boat pool *Seabees mill and carpenter shop *Radio stations *Montravel camp *Barnes camp *(Koumac Field US Army Air runway at

Koumac Koumac () is a commune in the North Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. History On 5 January 1977 about 46% of the territory of Koumac was detached and became the commune of Poum. The town of Koumac ...

) *(Pier at US Army staging at Neponi, north tip of island) *Tontouta Airfield now

La Tontouta International Airport La Tontouta International Airport, also known as Nouméa – La Tontouta International Airport (; ), is the main international airport in New Caledonia, an Overseas France, overseas collectivity of France in the southwest Pacific Ocean, as well as ...

NAB Noumea - Tontouta Airfield

Tontouta Airfield, was built at Tontouta, 46.6 km north of Noumea at . The Australians and the Free French had built two runways at the site the US expanded the runway and facilities. The Tontouta Airfield is now

. The US Navy,

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 ...

and

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 ...

used the airbase. At Tontouta Airfield were the 43rd Naval Construction Regiment and Naval Construction Maintenance Unit 534 Tontouta Airfield had a 5,000-foot runway. Tontouta Airfield was very busy in 1942 and 1943. Tontouta Airfield refueling depot for planes in route or departing

. Australia was major US Allied Nation in the war. Tontouta Airfield was expanded in early 1943 and Army Air Force Service Command Unit and the 13th Air Depot were stationed there. A

Boeing B-17E Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...

named ''Fiji Foo'', Serial Number 41-9217 crashed landed on October 27, 1943, on to the Tontouta Airfield runway. The crew was unhurt in the crash. U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) stationed at Tontouta Airfield: *347th FG 67th FS (P-39) 1942-1943, then transferred to Kila and Milne Bay *403 TCG, 13 TCS (C-47) 1942-1943 then transferred to

Naval Advance Base Espiritu Santo Naval Advance Base Espiritu Santo or Naval Base Espiritu Santo, most often just called ''Espiritu Santo'', was a major advance Naval base that the U.S. Navy Seabees built during World War II to support the Allied effort in the Pacific. The base ...

*403rd TCG, 64th TCS (C-47) 1942-1943 then transferred to Naval Advance Base Espiritu Santo *USAAF Service Command *VMF-212 (F4F) 1942 then transferred

Efate Efate (), also known as Île Vate (), is an island in the Pacific Ocean which is part of the Shefa Province in Vanuatu. Geography It is the most populous (approx. 66,000) island in Vanuatu. Efate's land area of makes it Vanuatu's third larg ...

*Marine Aircraft Group 25 (MAG-25), Headquarters (C-47) 1944 *13th Air Depot (13th AD) *United States Marine Corps (USMC)

US Army

On March 12, 1942 17,500 troops disembark at Noumea' Nickel peninsula. The headquarters of the 23 rd Infantry Division of the US Army (nicknamed Americal Division or Poppy Force), commanded by General

Alexander Patch Alexander McCarrell Patch (23 November 1889 – 21 November 1945) was a senior United States Army Officer (armed forces), officer who fought in World war, both world wars, rising to rank of General (United States), general. During World War ...

had a headquarters and camp at Anse Vata south of Noumea. brigadier general William I. Rose was also at the headquarters. US Army had two Hospitals, one at Anse Vata and one at

Dumbéa Dumbéa (; ) is a commune in the suburbs of Nouméa in the South Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. The population of the commune was 35,873 according to the 2019 census. From 1904 to 1940 the town ...

2 miles inland on the Dumbéa River. On January 1, 1943 the US Army's 24th Construction Battalion started construction of a 600 foot x 72 foot wood pier north of the Nickel Dock. The Seabees supplied the

pile driver A pile driver is a heavy-duty tool used to drive piles into soil to build piers, bridges, cofferdams, and other "pole" supported structures, and patterns of pilings as part of permanent deep foundations for buildings or other structures. Pili ...

built on a floating crane. The pier was completed January 28. , US Army's 67th Pursuit Squadron operated of 25

Curtiss P-40 Warhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter-bomber that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry ...

Japanese prisoners of war

A camp for

Japanese prisoners of war Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

was set up at Noumea. The camp also had an interrogation center for Japanese sailors and soldiers.

Naval Base Nepoui

North of Noumea, at Népoui, near the Népoui River US Navy Seabees with 87th built a camp for the US Army, starting in September 1944. The US Army supplied the materials for the staging camp. The 87th have 350 men on the project. The materials was unloaded from

Landing Ship, Tank A Landing Ship, Tank (LST) is a ship first developed during World War II (1939–1945) to support amphibious operations by carrying tanks, vehicles, cargo, and landing troops directly onto a low-slope beach with no dock (maritime), docks or pier ...

s and trucked inland to the camp. Seabees built a 4-by-12 pontoon floating pier to help in the unloading of material at Nekoro Bay. With the docks completed the camp construction started on October 12. A sawmill was installed and island forests timber was used. The 82nd Seabees Battalion was at the camp for R&R from September 1944 to May 1945. While at the camp the 82nd built a berthing pier that fit two

Liberty ship Liberty ships were a ship class, class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Although British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost cons ...

s. The staging camp was supported by the nearby

Plaine Des Gaiacs Airfield Plaine Des Gaiacs Airfield is a former World War II airfield on New Caledonia in the Oceania, South Pacific. It is located at Plaine Des Gaiacs near the village of Pouembout. The airfield was also known as De Gaiacs and was named for the Gaiac t ...

. Naval Base Nepoui Fleet Post Office # was 625.

Postwar

After the war, Tontouta Airfield became the New Caledonia Air Force Base for the French military.

Aeronavale French Naval Aviation (often abbreviated in French to: (contraction of ), or , or more simply ) is the naval air arm of the French Navy. The long-form official designation is . Born as a fusion of aircraft carrier squadrons and the naval pat ...

(French Naval Aviation) planes were stationed at the Airfield. Aeronavale operated

Escadrille A flight is a small military unit within the larger structure of an air force, Naval aviation, naval air service, or Army aviation, army air corps; and is usually subordinate to a larger Squadron (aviation), squadron. A military aircraft fligh ...

9S transport and patrol aircraft, including

Avro Lancaster The Avro Lancaster, commonly known as the Lancaster Bomber, is a British World War II, Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to ...

as late as 1969. Aeronavale also operated a Douglas C-54E Skymaster from Tontouta until it crashed on January 21, 1982. At Noumea, in 2013, the Museum of the Second World War opened in a large half-moon hut built in 1943 as a warehouse depot. *''New Caledonia Freedom Memorial'' is an American servicemen was built at Port Moselle at . Noumea holds annual ceremonies for the American servicemen kept them free. *New Caledonia Freedom Memorial reads: ''In Honor Of The U.S. Forces Who By Their Presence During The Pacific War From March 1942 To February 1946 Insured The Freedom Of New Caledonia. Her People Are Deeply Grateful. August 13, 1992''uswarmemorials.org, New Caledonia Freedom Memorial
/ref>

References

External links

youtube Secretary Of The Navy Knox & Party Inspect Noumea SW Pac, 01/1943 youtube Naval Base Noumea 1942youtube Naval Base Noumea, Conversion Of LCIs To GunboatsTourism New Caledonia (South)
*
youtube "They Came To An Island" U.S. Navy Civil Engineer Corps Wwii Seabees Construction Battalions 29564
{{Authority control Airfields of the United States Navy Military installations closed in the 1940s Closed installations of the United States Navy

Naval Base Noumea Naval Base Noumea was a major United States Navy sea and air base at Nouméa, New Caledonia. Naval Base Noumea was built at Noumea Harbor. Noumea was picked for a naval base as it was beyond the range of Japanese land-based planes. Noumea is on t ...