Peleliu Naval Base was a major

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

sea and airbase base on

Peleliu Peleliu (or Beliliou) is an island in the island nation of Palau. Peleliu, along with two small islands to its northeast, forms one of the sixteen states of Palau. The island is notable as the location of the Battle of Peleliu in World War II. ...

island, one of sixteen states of

Palau Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the Ca ...

. The

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through ...

took the island in the

Battle of Peleliu The Battle of Peleliu, codenamed Operation Stalemate II by the US military, was fought between the United States and Japan during the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign of World War II, from September 15 to November 27, 1944, on the island of ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Battle of Peleliu was a costly conflict that started September 15, 1944, and ended November 27, 1944. On September 30, 1944, Peleliu is declared occupied. The taking of Peleliu and

Morotai Morotai Island ( id, Pulau Morotai) is an island in the Halmahera group of eastern Indonesia's Maluku Islands (Moluccas). It is one of Indonesia's northernmost islands. Morotai is a rugged, forested island lying to the north of Halmahera. It ha ...

gave the sea and air protection needed for the later

invasion of the Philippines Philippines campaign may refer to various military campaigns that have been fought in the Philippine Islands, including: Spanish colonial period (1565–1898) *Numerous revolts against Spain during the Spanish colonial period; see Philippine revo ...

. US Navy

Seabee United States Naval Construction Battalions, better known as the Navy Seabees, form the U.S. Naval Construction Force (NCF). The Seabee nickname is a heterograph of the initial letters "CB" from the words "Construction Battalion". Depending upon ...

built a number of facilities at Peleliu Naval Base.

History

Empire of Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent for ...

had built up a very strong force on Palau and Truk. Japan had built two runways in an X pattern on the southern part of the island, now the

Peleliu Airfield Peleliu Airfield is a small airfield on Peleliu, one of the islands of Palau. It also served as an airfield during World War II. History Peleliu Airfield was built by the Japanese in 1944 with a pair of intersecting runways. During the Battle of ...

. The runways were about 3,900 feet long. Peleliu island is 5 1/2 half miles long and 2 1/2 miles wide. The coast is mostly rocky and has about 2 miles of sandy beaches. On October 12, 1944, Peleliu becomes the Marine island command center. October 20, 1944, the 1st Marine Division on Peleliu was relieved by the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

81st Infantry Division. Three US Navy Seabee groups were part of the US Marine's landing on Peleliu on September 15, 1944. The 33rd Seabee Battalions and 73rd Seabee Battalions, with Construction Battaltion Detachment 1054 helped get supplies on the beaches. The nature of the reefs around the island made getting supplies ashore difficult. Seabees used 24 self-propelled pontoon

barges Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...

to shuttle cargo ashore. Three days after the landing Seabees built a pontoon floating

pier Seaside pleasure pier in England.html" ;"title="Brighton, England">Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century. A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of water and usually juts out ...

to get out past the reef. On the four days after landing LST ships started to unload large cargo on the beach. With the airfield secured, Seabees removed debris and mines. On the fifth day after landing Seabees brought the Seabees' construction equipment to the airfield and started repair work. The eighth day after landing, September 23, the 4,000-foot airfield was opened and three squadrons of

fighter planes Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing 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 airspace above a battlefield p ...

landed and provided ground support for the troops still fighting. VMO-1 a Marine Observation Squadron also started operation from the Airfield. Seabees 33rd Battalion started construction of a runway that long-range bombers could use, 6,000 feet long, on September 23. On September 23, the bomber runway was opened and in used 24/7. During this time Seabees also built vast support facilities. At Blue Beach, a pontoon causeway was built for unloading and loading

landing craft tank The Landing Craft, Tank (LCT) (or Tank Landing Craft TLC) was an amphibious assault craft for landing tanks on beachheads. They were initially developed by the Royal Navy and later by the United States Navy during World War II in a series of ve ...

(LCT), completed on November 1, 1944. On November 16, 1944, Marine

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

from Peleliu and

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 ...

from

Ulithi Ulithi ( yap, Wulthiy, , or ) is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about east of Yap. Overview Ulithi consists of 40 islets totaling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest ...

launch an attack on Empire of Japan troops on

Yap Island Yap ( yap, Waqaab) traditionally refers to an island group located in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, a part of Yap State. The name "Yap" in recent years has come to also refer to the state within the Federated States of Micr ...

. Because the captured Peleliu dock was small and not yet a deep enough, amphibious operations continued. LST-19 and LST-225 were some of the amphibious ships used to shuttle cargo ashore. Between November 4 and 9, 1944 a

typhoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...

hit Peleliu. Some ships and some facilities were damaged but was quickly repaired. November 27, 1944

VMF-541 Marine Fighter Squadron 541 (VMF-541) was a reserve fighter squadron of the United States Marine Corps. Originally commissioned during World War II as a night fighter unit flying the F6F-5N Hellcat, the squadron participated in combat action ove ...

, a night fighter squadron with

Grumman F6F Hellcat The Grumman F6F Hellcat is an American carrier-based fighter aircraft of World War II. Designed to replace the earlier F4F Wildcat and to counter the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero, it was the United States Navy's dominant fighter in the second ...

of the United States Marine Corps. move to Leyte, they had been on Peleliu for four months. Peleliu Naval Base lacked a large protected fleet anchorage, thus

Naval Base Ulithi Naval Base Ulithi was major United States Navy base at the Ulithi Atoll in the Caroline Islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea during World War II. The base was built to support the island hoping Pacific war ef ...

became the US Navy's primary fleet support base in the western Pacific. The Army air base was abandoned in June 1945. Seabees dismantled and boxed up usable structures and goods, shipping them out starting July 11, 1945. The last Marines departed Peleliu Naval Base on July 1, 1947. Naval Base Peleliu did not have a port for fleet anchorage, the US Navy used

Naval Base Kossol Roads Palau on the globe, Kossol Roads is at the north end of islands in redNaval Base 1944–1945 Naval Base Kossol Roads also called Naval Base Kossol Passage was major United States Navy base at Kossol Roads in northern Palau in the western Ca ...

at the north tip of Palau. American World War II Tank at Peleliu Battle of Peleliu map

Facilities

*Peleliu dock at *

captured September 17, 1944 *Concrete-block pier *Seabees Camp *Seabees depot *Aviation shop *Naval supply depot *Army supply depot *Headquarters *Fleet Post Office FPO# 3252 SF Peleliu, Palau Islands *Barracks – tent cities *Tank farm for

aviation fuel Aviation fuels are petroleum-based fuels, or petroleum and synthetic fuel blends, used to power aircraft. They have more stringent requirements than fuels used for ground use, such as heating and road transport, and contain additives to enhance ...

*Tank farm for gasoline *Tank farm for

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 ...

*Naval hospital No. 20 *Army Evacuation Hospital, 17th Army *Hospital *Dispensaries *Improved LCT landing beach *

Marine railway The 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 ...

Dry dock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

*Small-boat repair shop *

Ammunition Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weapo ...

magazine depot *16 miles of main roads *Crash boat base *Motor pool *Mess halls *Navy Communication Center *Power stations

Naval Base Angaur

Angaur , or in Palauan, is an island and state in the island nation of Palau. History Angaur was traditionally divided among some eight clans. Traditional features within clan areas represent important symbols giving identity to families, clans and ...

is a small island 9 miles south of Peleliu, taken over after the

Battle of Angaur The Battle of Angaur was a major battle of the Pacific campaign in World War II, fought on the island of Angaur in the Palau Islands from 17 September—22 October 1944. This battle was part of a larger offensive campaign known as Operati ...

. The US Army and Seabee built some facilities on the island: * US Army 7,000-foot airstrip,

Angaur Airstrip Angaur Airstrip ( Japanese: アンガウル飛行場, Hepburn: Angauru hikōjō, ) is a small airstrip on Angaur, one of the islands of Palau. It also served as an airfield during World War II. History World War II The day the island was declar ...

* Hardstands for 120 planes * Tank farm – 1,000-barrel aviation gasoline, 20,000-barrel diesel, 5,000-barrel motor gasoline *Aviation Barracks – quonset-huts *coral breakwater small boat harbor *70-foot pier *Boat shop *30-ton marine railway *Aircraft boneyard at airstrip **Angaur Troops *US Army Air Force

494th Bombardment Squadron The 494th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit, assigned to the 344th Bombardment Group, The squadron was activated in September 1942, and until July 1943 served as a Replacement Training Unit. It then began tra ...

, 864th BS (B-24) September 30, 1944 – June 24, 1945 *US Army Air Force 494th BG, 865th BS (

Consolidated B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models ...

, B-24) September 30, 1944 – June 24, 1945 *US Army Air Force 494th BG, 866th BS (B-24) Barking Sands September 30, 1944 – June 24, 1945 *US Army Air Force 494th BG, 867th BS (B-24) Barking Sands September 30, 1944 – June 24, 1945 *US Army Air Force

22nd Bombardment Group The 22nd Operations Group is the operational flying component of the United States Air Force 22nd Air Refueling Wing. It is stationed at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas, and is part of Air Mobility Command (AMC)'s Eighteenth Air Force. The gr ...

, HQ, 33rd BS (B-24) November 26, 1944 – June 24, 1945 *US Army Air Force 22nd BG, 2nd BS (B-24) November 28, 1944 – January 20, 1945 *US Army Air Force 22nd BG, 408th BS (B-24) December 1, 1944 – January 14, 1945 *US Army Air Force 22nd BG, 19th BS (B-24) December 3, 1944 – January 27, 1945 *US Army Air Force 419th TCG (

Douglas C-47 Skytrain The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remain ...

detachment) January 31, 1945 *US Marine Corps VMF-114 *US Marine Corps

VMF-121 Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 (VMFA-121), also known as the "Green Knights", is a United States Marine Corps aircraft squadron operating the F-35B Lightning II. The squadron is based at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan and falls under ...

*US Marine Corps

VMF-122 Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 122 (VMFA-122) is a United States Marine Corps fighter attack squadron flying the F-35B Lightning II. The squadron is based out of Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, AZ and falls under the command of Marine Aircraft Gro ...

Troops

Some Troop stationed at Peleliu: *US Army Air Force, 28th PRS (F-5), Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, September 24, 1944 – April 1, 1945, departed to

Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a commonwealth of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 est ...

* US Army Air Force, 421st Night Fighters, NFS (6

Northrop P-61 Black Widow The Northrop P-61 Black Widow is a twin-engine United States Army Air Forces fighter aircraft of World War II. It was the first operational U.S. warplane designed as a night fighter, and the first aircraft designed specifically as a night figh ...

) January 1945 – February 1945 *US Marine Corps, VMF(N)-541 (F6F-3N) September 24, 1944 (Night fighter

) *US Marine Corps, MABS-1, Marine Air Base Squadron 1, May 1945 *US Navy, VR-13 (R4D), Patrol Squadron 1945 *US Navy,

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 ...

(NATS) 1945

Post War

75th Commemoration of the Battle of Peleliu

Armed Forces Cemetery dedication ceremonies on Peleliu

In 1947, Peleliu was officially put under United States the control, with United Nations approval. It became a part of the

Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) was a United Nations trust territory in Micronesia administered by the United States from 1947 to 1994. History Spain initially claimed the islands that later composed the territory of the Trus ...

. In 1978 Palau became an independent Nation, and Peleliu a state in the nation. *Lieutenant Ei Yamaguchi and 33 of his troops hid out on Peleliu not knowing the war had ended. In March 1947, the troops attacked US Marines on Peleliu. To stop the attacks an admiral of Japan came and talk to them, they then knew the war was over. Ei Yamaguchi and his men surrendered in April 1947. *Peleliu World War II Memorial Museum is near white beach one at . Peleliu World War II Memorial Museum had artifacts and information from the 1944 Battle of Peleliu. The Peleliu World War II Memorial Museum was built in a damaged Japanese warehouse. *Peleliu Peace Memorial Park is on the south tip of the island at , near Scarlet Beach1. Built to remember the troops who lost their lives at the Battle of Peleliu in 1944. *

1st Marine Division The 1st Marine Division (1st MARDIV) is a Marine division of the United States Marine Corps headquartered at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. It is the ground combat element of the I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF). It is the ...

Memorial at Scarlet Beach1 at . *81st Infantry Division Memorial near Orange Beach Two at , east of Peleliu Airfield. *Monument to the 323rd Infantry Regiment, a coral obelisk at Bloody Nose Ridge (Umurbrogol), for the 323rd Regiment of the U.S. Army's 81st Infantry Division at . *Bloody Nose Ridge 1st Marine Division Memorial, Peliliu US Military Monument, near Shinto Shrinea at . *Japanese Memorial Graveyard is 1.5 km south of the city of

Kloulklubed Kloulklubed, also spelled Klouklubed, is the main settlement on the Palau island of Peleliu. It is situated at the northern end of the island, located near Imelchol Village and Koska. The village was a centre of Japanese operations during Worl ...

at . *

Peleliu Battlefield Peleliu (or Beliliou) is an island in the island nation of Palau. Peleliu, along with two small islands to its northeast, forms one of the sixteen states of Palau. The island is notable as the location of the Battle of Peleliu in World War II. ...

is a National Register of Historic Places listings in Palau * There was a large US Military Cemetery on Peliliu. Since then, were moved to other Cemeteries. At the former US Military Cemetery on Peleliu, is a cross and marker of the former cemetery. * Over the island are a number of artifacts from the war: Japanese Tank type 95,

Bomb shelter A bomb shelter is a structure designed to provide protection against the effects of a bomb. Types of shelter Different kinds of bomb shelters are configured to protect against different kinds of attack and strengths of hostile explosives. Air ...

s, Japanese 200 mm Cannon, Bulldozer Wreck, Ei Yamaguchi Hideout, Thousand Man Cave hideout, US Marines

Landing Vehicle Tracked The Amphibious Vehicle, Tracked (LVT) is an amphibious warfare vehicle and amphibious landing craft, introduced by the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. (The USN and USMC use "L" to designate Amphibious vessels, also c ...

, crashed Avenger Aircraft atop Hill 100, crashed Japanese

Zero fighter The Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" is a long-range carrier-based fighter aircraft formerly manufactured by Mitsubishi Aircraft Company, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and was operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1940 to 1945. The A6M was ...

and more.

External links

youtube, Peleliu remains planes and landing craftyoutube PACIFIC WAR (WWll) Island of Peleliu Island, Palauyoutube "They Came To An Island" U.S. Navy Civil Engineer Corps Wwii Seabees Construction Battalions 29564

References

{{Authority control Airfields of the United States Navy Military installations closed in the 1940s Closed installations of the United States Navy Palau in World War II Angaur