African American Seabees of the 80th CB erecting an Airship Hangar at Carlsen Field Trinidad

Naval Base Trinidad, also called NAS Trinidad, NAS Port-of-Spain, was a large

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 ...

Naval base 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 naval ships fighting and patrolling the

Battle of the Atlantic The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allies of World War II, ...

. The fighting in the area became known as the Battle of the Caribbean. Naval Base Trinidad was located on the Island of

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

of the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...

. The base also supported the

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 ...

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

, US Marine Corps and

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary 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 the United Stat ...

. Naval Base Trinidad was a US Naval Advance Base built to protect the

shipping lanes A sea lane, sea road or shipping lane is a regularly used navigable route for large water vessels (ships) on wide waterways such as oceans and large lakes, and is preferably safe, direct and economic. During the Age of Sail, they were determined ...

to and from the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

from

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

attacks, by sea and air. The base did fueling, loading and unloading of cargo ships. The base also became a repair depot, with auxiliary floating drydocks that were able to repair boats and ships in the field. Naval Base Trinidad was commissioned on June 1, 1941, and at its peak it had 135,000 troops on the island.

History

After

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

’s declaration of war against the United States on December 11, 1941, U-boat operations were extended to

East Coast of the United States The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the region encompassing the coast, coastline where the Eastern United States meets the Atlantic Ocean; it has always pla ...

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

, and to the Caribbean. So Naval Base Trinidad became a key to keeping

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

oil and the Caribbean open. The US Navy and US Army landed on Trinidad on September 2, 1940. Much of Naval Base Trinidad was built by private contractors in 1941 and in 1942 expanded by the Seabees of Naval Construction Battalions. Naval Base Trinidad also was a training center for troops preparing for war. Trinidad supported US Navy subbases in

St. Lucia Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...

and

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies. It was located on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first known Europeans to encounter Guia ...

. The base also supported emergency advance bases on the northeastern coast of

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. Naval Base Trinidad and seven other bases in the Caribbean became known as ''Destroyer Bases''. This name came from the U.S.-British Destroyers for Bases agreement which exchanged older US

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 ...

s for U.S. rights to operate Advance Bases in the Atlantic. This was done so the US could have tactical bases, patrol aircraft and ships to control the

. Trinidad, Bermuda, Santo Domingo and Argentia became major bases. The US Navy started construction at Trinidad on January 193, 1941. Over 10,000 Trinidadian workers were hired for the construction projects. Trinidad, off the coast of

, was key to protecting South American trade routes and the Panama Canal. The Naval Base was built on the northwest tip of the island on 7,940 acres, this included the land on five small islands in the

Gulf of Paria The Gulf of Paria ( ; ) is a shallow ( at its deepest) semi-enclosed inland sea located between the island of Trinidad and the east coast of Venezuela. It separates the two countries by as little as at its narrowest and at its widest points. T ...

. Later 3,800 more acres were added to the base, but only 1,200 acres were built up. Four bays were used for Naval activities: Carenage, Chaguaramus, Teteron, and Scotland. Two major land bases were built at Chaguaramus (Chaguaramas Naval Base) and Tucker (Tucker Naval Base). The second task after the port was built, was building a naval air station and a seaplane base at Carenage Bay. The Gulf of Paria was used for major fleet anchorage. Carenage Bay was also built up as a major port with the construction of a 500-by-50-foot tender pier. Both bays had major dredging projects done, so the port could support large ships. A 200 men team worked full-time on a

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

reduction project, due to the

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

s in the area. Teteron Bay became a major navy depot. Seabees arrived at Trinidad on December 30, 1942. The Seabees of the 30th, 83rd and 11th Construction Battalion took over the operation and maintenance of the base from the civilian contractors. The US Army built two major airfields, Waller Field and Carlson Field. Both were also used by the Navy as bases for

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 ...

fighter aircraft 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 supremacy, air superiority of the battlespace. Domina ...

and transport services. Carlsen Field became a US Navy lighter-than-air base in the fall of 1943 when

blimp A non-rigid airship, commonly called a blimp (Help:IPA/English, /blɪmp/), is an airship (dirigible) without an internal structural framework or a keel. Unlike semi-rigid airship, semi-rigid and rigid airships (e.g. Zeppelins), blimps rely on th ...

s were added to the patrol dues. The 80th Seabees built a large blimp hangar, a mooring post, and a

helium Helium (from ) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, non-toxic, inert gas, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. Its boiling point is ...

purification plant to support the blimps. By May 1944 all major construction had been completed and the 11th Construction Battalion was released. The Bureau of Yards and Docks departed on June 30, 1943. Trinidad being a large base and training center did not close after the war, like many other bases. Troops departed in 1967, the base closed in 1977, and the lease of the land was given up by the US in 1988. Today the base headquarters are a hotel and convention center. During that period, many calypsos made reference to the American presence in Trinidad.

Background

The

began on September 3, 1939, and by 1941 the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

(UK) needed help in protecting shipping from

British Overseas Territories The British Overseas Territories (BOTs) or alternatively referred to as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs) are the fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom that, ...

. The British Overseas Territories had become a lifeline to the UK during the war. France was defeated by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

in June 1940. The United States at this time was neutral. Thus England, the

British Commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an international association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire The B ...

and

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 ...

was alone in the war against German and Italian

Fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...

. The 50 destroyers, in the base for destroyers deal of September 2, 1940, were , , and . The destroyers were transferred to the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

from the

US 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 ...

. The United States received rent-free 99-year leases of US bases on the British controlled islands of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

, Trinidad, Great Exuma,

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

Antigua Antigua ( ; ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the local population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the most populous island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua ...

, the

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

, and one in

. The deal was done by President

Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

by executive agreement, without congressional approval. West coast of Trinidad with the

was part of the deal. Later in the year the United States transferred ten Lake-class Coast Guard cutters to the Royal Navy to be used as anti-submarine convoy escorts. The large refinery at

Pointe-à-Pierre Pointe-à-Pierre ( ) is a town in Trinidad and Tobago. It lies north of San Fernando and south of Claxton Bay. It is most famous as the site of the country's largest (and now, only) oil refinery which used to be run by Petrotrin, the state-ow ...

on Trinidad a key to winning the war. Pan American Airways developed airports in

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

in the fall of 1940. This was with the support of the United States, the program was called the ''Airport Development Program''. The goal was to increase United States presence should the US enter the war. Once the US entered the war the US Army and US Navy did take over these Pan American Airways airports. Naval Base Santo Domingo was the other large Caribbean Naval Base.

Facilities

*Total of 11,740 acres, with 1,200 acres were developed *Most of the base was on the northwest tip of the island on 7,940 acres *The Base included five small islands in the

. *Maqueripe Bay *

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 ...

depot *Four remote natural bays on the northwest peninsula: Carenage, Chaguaramus, Teteron, and Scotland *Two shore valleys: Chaguaramus and Tucker, both developed *Carlsen Airfield, 80 paved runways, main "Edinburgh" and "Xerxes" runways (used by Army and Navy), became Carlsen Air Force Base *Piarco Airport (Army and some Navy) *Crown Point emergency landing strip *Waller Army Airfield (Army and some Navy) *Chaguanas, Edinburgh Field *

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 ...

* Water treatment plant *Naval harbors for anchoring Carenage Bay *Naval Headquarters at Carenage Bay *Two Naval pairs at Carenage Bay, 350 feet - 600 feet *Naval Hospital in upper Tucker Valley *Two wooden floating drydocks, 3,000-ton and 1,000-ton capacity, built on the site *

Degaussing Degaussing, or deperming, is the process of decreasing or eliminating a remnant magnetic field. It is named after the gauss, a unit of magnetism, which in turn was named after Carl Friedrich Gauss. Due to magnetic hysteresis, it is generally not ...

range on Pelican Island *Radio station - Chaguaramus Valley *

Hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...

s *Ship repair facilities * Net Lying base, support by ''Hopocan'' (YNT-1) and over Net Tender ships * Blimp hangar *

Air traffic control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled air ...

*Chaguaramas training base *Tardieus' land at Scotland Bay recreation area and zoo *Seven-mile road over jungle mountains to Maracas Bay over Mount Pleasant (North Coast Road) * Princess Margaret Highway * AFDM-3-class medium auxiliary floating dry dock *(Fort Read, mostly US Army) *Officers Club * Seaplane base at Carenage Bay *500-by-50-foot tender

pier A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of water and usually juts out from its shore, typically supported by piling, piles or column, pillars, and provides above-water access to offshore areas. Frequent pier uses include fishing, b ...

at Carenage Bay * Motor pool *Malaria reduction depot *

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 ...

*Naval Supply Depot - fleet warehouses * Crash boat base *Aviation Overhaul shop *Quartermaster Laundry *

Torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...

assembly center *PT Boat base *Tank farms for: Fuel oil, aviation fuel, diesel fuel, gasoline *Barracks *Navy Bank *Fleet Post Office FPO# 117 NY Trinidad, British West Indies * Mess halls *Navy Communication Center *Troop store *Military supply depot * AA gun emplacements * Naval Air Transport Service Facilities

Sub-installations

Secondary bases: Naval Base Trinidad headquarters managed and supplied logical support for subsidiary satellite Bases, also called emergency advance bases and NAAF Trinidad. *NAF St. Lucia, on

island north of Trinidad. Port and 221-acres of land at

Gros Islet Gros Islet (English: ''Large Island'') is a community near the northern tip of the island country of Saint Lucia, in the Gros Islet Quarter. Originally a quiet fishing village, it has become one of the more popular tourist destinations in the coun ...

, built Advance base, airbase, seaplane base with tenders. The base was started in February 1941 and had 200 troops based at the camp. The base was decommissioned on September 1, 1943. Base was located at the north end of the island at . *NAF British Guiana was in

. NAF British Guiana had a squadron of seaplanes. The Navy had blimps stationed at the Army air base at Atkinson Field, now Cheddi Jagan International Airport. The base was built by civilian workers. NAF British Guiana was 40 miles up the

Essequibo River The Essequibo River (; originally called by Alonso de Ojeda; ) is the largest river in Guyana, and the largest river between the Orinoco and Amazon River, Amazon. Rising in the Acarai Mountains near the Brazil–Guyana border, the Essequibo flows ...

on a 1400-acres of land at . FPO#12. *NAF Dutch Guiana *NAF Paramaribo and Zandery Field (Army and Navy) at

Paramaribo Paramaribo ( , , ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname's p ...

(now

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

), became Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport. A Paramaribo was a lighter-than-air

base, used for U-boat patrols, the base opened in August 1943 and closed in April 1946. FPO#404. Brazil Emergency advance bases (Naval patrol bases): On the northeastern coast of Brazil 16 bases, from the Brazil-United States Political-Military Agreement, agreed May 23, 1942. FPO# 335. * NAF Fortaleza in

Fortaleza Fortaleza ( ; ; ) is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeastern Brazil. It is Brazil's 4th largest city—Fortaleza surpassed Salvador, Bahia, Salvador in 2022 census with a population of slightly over 2.4 mi ...

Harbor, with Pici Field (on Sítio Pécy farm) and "Adjacent Field". The Naval base support large bombers of the AAFBU Unit Fortaleza. A K-class blimp was used for patrol. Fortaleza Pici Field (Chapada do Pici) at location . Fleet Post Office (FPO) # was 90. Adjacent Field (Adjacento) at location . *NAF Recife and NOF Recife at

Recife Recife ( , ) is the Federative units of Brazil, state capital of Pernambuco, Brazil, on the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of South America. It is the largest urban area within both the North Region, Brazil, North and the Northeast R ...

, with Ibura Airfield that became Recife Airport. NAF Recife opened on October 1, 1943. Most common plane was the PV-1 Ventura used for patrol. One blimp was used for patrol also. The 150-bed Knox Hospital was built in 1942. The base also had a ship repair depot, to keep destroyers at sea. NAF Recife Fleet Post Office FPO# 120 NY and NOB Recife FPO# 1501. The United States Fourth Fleet worked out the base. The large base was closed in November 1945. At location . *NAF Amapá, on the Mapiá Grande River, had two blimps and three patrol bombers. Base started on September 22, 1942. USAAF was given space for

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 desi ...

s. FPO# 328. Early on station at the port were the seaplane tender USS Humboldt (AVP-21) and USS Barnegat (AVP-10) to support VP-94. At location . NAF Amapá was closed June 30, 1945. *NAF Belem at

Belém Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará), often called Belém of Pará, is the capital and largest city of the state of Pará in the north of B ...

harbor, stated on September 22, 1942. Took over Pam American and Brazilian airlines facilities. Naval base with seaplane ramp. Also at the site was the Val de Cans Airfield that became Belém/Val-de-Cans International Airport. Fleet Post Office FPO# 118 NY Belem, Brazil. NAF Belem at location . NAF Belem was closed June 15, 1945. *NAF Parnamirim Field, in Natal became the busiest US air base in 1944. The two runways were the closest to

French West Africa French West Africa (, ) was a federation of eight French colonial empires#Second French colonial empire, French colonial territories in West Africa: Colonial Mauritania, Mauritania, French Senegal, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guin ...

, so medium-range planes could use the route to get to Africa and many then on to Europe. The shorter Northern route was often closed due to bad weather. NAF Parnamirim Field house 6,600 troops and seaplane port. Later became Parnamirim Airport and then Natal Air Force Base. Fleet Post Office FPO# 119 NY Natal, Brazil. At location . * NAF Murcipe, Murcipe, Meireles port in Fortaleza. At location . *NAF Maceio, in Maceio, Salvador. A nearby Lake Lagoa do Norte (North Lake) was used as seaplane base starting on June 1, 1941. A runway was used starting on July 22, 1943. FPO# 407.The base had two blimps. NAF Maceio was at location . *Naval Base Camocim at Camocim, FPO# 411. *Naval Base Canavieiras at Canavieiras, FPO# 329. *NAF Ipitanga at Ipitanga, Salvador, near

Salvador, Bahia Salvador () is a Municipalities of Brazil, Brazilian municipality and capital city of the Federative units of Brazil, state of Bahia. Situated in the Zona da Mata in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of Brazil, Salvador is recognize ...

, Lauro de Freitas on the Ipitinga River and the Port of Aratu. Port and blimps air base, became Salvador Bahia Airport. Was a Pan American Airways port. Feet Post Office FPO# 150 NY Bahia, Brazil. Port of Aratu base FPO# was 412. NAF Ipitanga was at location . NOB Bahia FO# was 1502. *NAF Tirrical at Tirrical, at Sao Luiz de Maranhao, Sao Luiz opened in 1943, Naval port was in the nearby Rio Bacanga River. FPO# 330. Became the Tirirical Airport. NAF Tirrical was at location . *NAF Igarapu, at Igarapu, Assu, in

Cabo de Santo Agostinho Cabo de Santo Agostinho (English: Cape of St. Augustine) is a 448 square kilometer sized municipality located 35 kilometers south of the city of Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil. It is believed by some historians that Vicente Yáñez Pinzón had set a ...

. NAF Igarapu was at location . *NAF Fernando de Noronha, on a small

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...

island at Fernando de Noronha. Opened September 5, 1944 with long runway for planes going to French West Africa. NAF Fernando de Noronha had anti-submarine patrols. NAF Fernando de Noronha was at location . FPO# 92. *NAF Caravellas, at Caravellas opened in January 1944 and closed August 1, 1945. NAF Caravellas had two blimps. The runway was used for supplies and emergency landings. FPO# 331. A nearby river was used as a port. NAF Caravellas was at location . *NAF Victoria, at Victoria Airport, seven miles north the city of Vitória, Espírito Santo. Victoria Airport was built in the 1930s. Blimps pad were added by Navy in April 1944. Fleet Post Office FPO# 153, Box C Victoria, Brazil. After war became Eurico de Aguiar Salles Airport at . *NAF Rio de Janeiro, at

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, after war became Rio de Janeiro/Galeão International Airport also in Rio de Janeiro was seaplane base. Fleet Post Office FPO# 153 NY Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. NOB Rio de Janeiro, Naval Base FPO# was 1505. *NAF Santos Dumont at

Santos Dumont Airport The Santos Dumont Airport is the second major airport serving Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is named after the Brazilian aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont, Alberto Santos Dumont (1873–1932). It is operated by Infraero. History Or ...

, used by US Navy. Fleet Post Office FPO# 153, Box B Santos, Brazil. Santos Dumont Airport located at *NAF São Paulo at

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

and ships at São Paulo harbor with seaplane base. Located at . *Naval Base Ascension Island on

Ascension Island Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island, 7°56′ south of the Equator in the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean. It is about from the coast of Africa and from the coast of South America. It is governed as part of the British Overs ...

in the Atlantic was a naval and air station, it provided anti-submarine warfare operation in the

. FPO# 316. *NOF Rio Grande at

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...

, Brazil, US Navy anchoring and base. Fleet Post Office FPO# 153, Box A Rio Grande, Brazil. Opened Sept. 11, 1944 *Naval Base Santa Cruz at Santa Cruz, Rio de Janeiro. FPO# 332. *Naval Base Iguape at Iguape, FPO# 334. *Centro de Aviação Naval base a Brazil Base at

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...

, was use in part by the US Navy. FPO#153. *NOF Florianopolis at Florianopolis opened Aug. 23, 1944. Fleet Post Office FPO# 153, Box H Florianopolis, Brazil. Now Florianópolis Air Force Base.
Ecuador Emergency advance base *Santa Elena Bay seaplane base was built next to a new Army air base at Salinas, Ecuador. Ships had to anchor more than a mile off shore and transfer supplies to small boats. The seaplane base was built in January 1942. A pontoon pier was built and a seaplane base ramp. FPO# was 413. The base had 1,000-barrel of storage tanks. Honduras advance base *Naval Base Puerto Castilla at Puerto Castilla, Honduras, on Cape Punta Caxinas, the Navy built a base to tender small craft at route to Cristóbal, Colón Panama and to refuel US Navy

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 ...

s. The base also was crash boat station. The base opened November 10, 1942 and closed in February 1946. The seaplane base was a naval auxiliary air facility. Some of the work done at the base was by

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 ...

Naval Construction Battalion Detachment 1012. Colombia advance base *''Naval Air Base Barranquilla at Barranquilla, Colombia was Naval air base, and lighter-than-air base, with a repair shop, the land base patrol bombers also used parts of Soledad International Airport, closed in March 1945. The base was used to protect the Caribbean shipping lanes using the Panama Canal and the Colombian oil ports. Some of the work at the base was done by the Naval Construction Maintenance Unit 555. Panama * Naval Base Panama Canal Zone a number of Navy bases used protect the Panama Canal and the key shipping lanes around the Panama Canal Zone.

Allied convoys

Naval Base Trinidad and its sub-bases had the role of both hunting for submarines and providing air cover for Allied convoys. Convoys traveling from

Key West Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it con ...

Aruba Aruba, officially the Country of Aruba, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in the southern Caribbean Sea north of the Venezuelan peninsula of Paraguaná Peninsula, Paraguaná and northwest of Curaçao. In 19 ...

and Trinidad were give the code WAT. Allied convoy code TAW was given for the Trinidad to Aruba and Key West trips. Convoy code for

Guantánamo Guantánamo (, , ) is a municipality and city in southeast Cuba and capital of Guantánamo Province. Guantánamo is served by the Caimanera port near the site of a U.S. naval base. The area produces sugarcane and cotton wool. These are traditi ...

to Aruba and Trinidad was GAT and the return trip TAG. Allies called the shipping lane between Guiana and Trinidad ''Torpedo Junction '' as it had many Allies merchant ships. Columbus Channel which separates the southwest corner of Trinidad and Tobago from the coast of Venezuela was given the nickname ''Serpent’s Mouth''.

U-Boat threat

German submarine ''U-161'', as part of Operation Neuland, operated off Trinidad. ''U-161''s second tour was in Caribbean Sea. On February 19, 1942 ''U-161'' damaged the SS ''British Consul'' and SS ''Mokihana'' off Trinidad. Next she sank the SS ''Circe Shell'', SS ''Lihue'' and tanker SS ''Uniwaleco'' off St Vincent. At St Lucia she damaged the and ''Umtata'' while in harbor. On March 14, 1942, she sank the SS ''Sarniadoc'' a Canadian Steam merchant off

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...

. The , a mine planter, March 15, 1942, was sunk of

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

. ''U-161'' third tour took her to the Brazilian coast. She sank the SS ''Neuva Altagracia '' on 16 June 1942. On July 3, 1942, she sank the SS ''San Pablo '' in the port of Puerto Limón, Costa Rica. ''U-161'' Fifth tour she sank the SS ''Angelus'' off Bermuda on May 19, 1943. On September 20, 1943 ''U-161'' on her sixth tour she sank the SS ''St. Usk'' and sank the SS ''Itapagé'' on September 26. ''U-161'' was sunk 200 miles of Salvador with loss of all 53 crew menm on September 27, 1943. ''U-161'' was sunk by a PBM Mariner plane from the Salvador Emergency advance bases and the troops of the VP-74. German submarine ''U-129'' sank the tanker SS ''Nordvangen'' off Trinidad on 20 February 10, 1942. On 22 March 1944 ''U-129'' sank the SS ''Anadyr'' off Recife, Brazil. ''U-129'' was one of then U-Boats to not be sunk during the war. German submarine ''U-156'' on June 1, 1942, sank the SS ''Alegrete'' of St. Lucia. On June 3, 1942 ''U-156'' sank the SS Lillian south of Barbados. On May 29, 1942 ''U-156'' sank the SS ''Norman Prince'' off St. Lucia. On May 21, 1942 ''U-156'' sank the SS ''Presidente Trujillo'' off

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

. On February 20, 1942 ''U-156'' sank the SS ''Delplata'' off Martinique. A sea plane sank ''U-156'' on March 8, 1943 off Barbados. German submarine ''U-67'' ''U-67'' sank the SS ''Penelope'' on 14 February 14, 1942 off St. Lucia. ''U-67'' sank six other ships on her next tour off the north coast of South America. On 16 July, U-67 was sunk by a Grumman TBF Avenger with four Mk.7 depth charges.Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 erman U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945 Der U-Boot-Krieg (in German). Vol. IV. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler German submarines U-129, U-502, U-126 also spent time in the Caribbean. Some Italian submarines also patrolled the Caribbean:

Luigi Torelli Luigi Torelli (9 February 1810 – 14 November 1887) was born in Villa di Tirano, in the Valtellina of Lombardy, at the time part of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy. Being a patriot, he took part in the Five Days of Milan, most noted in drivin ...

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested o ...

, Enrico Tazzoli, Giuseppe Finzi and Morosini.

US Navy crews

US Navy Patrol Bombing Squadron or VPB and VP were stationed at the Naval Base Trinidad and the Trinidad secondary bases. Trinidad VPB and VP were: * VPB-213 * VPB-134 * VPB-147 *

VP-133 VP-133 was a Patrol Squadron of the U.S. Navy. The squadron was established as Bombing Squadron 133 (VB-133) on 22 March 1943, redesignated Patrol Bombing Squadron 133 (VPB-133) on 1 October 1944, redesignated Patrol Squadron 133 (VP-133) on 15 ...

* VPB-210 * VPB-34 * VPB-141 * VP-34 *

VPB-105 VPB-105 was a Patrol Bombing Squadron of the U.S. Navy. The squadron was established as Patrol Squadron 10 (VP-10) on 29 May 1924, redesignated Patrol Squadron 2D-15 (VP-2D15) on 21 September 1927, redesignated Patrol Squadron 2-S (VP-2S) on 1 J ...

* VPB-92 * VPB-215 * VPB-125 * VPB-112 * VPB-52 * VP-48 * VPB-113 * VP-44 * VPB-94 * VP-AM-1 * VPB-212 * VP-33 * VP-29 *

VP-2 VP-2 was a Patrol Squadron of the United States Navy. The squadron was established as Bombing Squadron 130 (VB-130) on 1 March 1943, redesignated Patrol Bombing Squadron 130 (VPB-130) on 1 October 1944, redesignated Patrol Squadron 130 (VP-130 ...

* VP-23 *

VP-40 VP-40 was a Patrol Squadron of the U.S. Navy. The squadron was established as Patrol Squadron 55 (VP-55) on 1 August 1940, redesignated Patrol Squadron 74 (VP-74) on 1 July 1941, redesignated Patrol Bombing Squadron 74 (VPB-74) on 1 October 19 ...

* VP-45 * VP-8

External links

Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago Tourism Company official website

Trinidad and Tobago
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The World Factbook ''The World Factbook'', also known as the ''CIA World Factbook'', is a Reference work, reference resource produced by the United States' Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The off ...

''.

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

.
youtube.com ''Emeny Below'', Trinidad destroyer story
*

References

{{Authority control Naval Base Trinidad Military installations established in 1941 Airfields of the United States Navy Military installations closed in the 1970s Military installations closed in 1977 Closed installations of the United States Navy Naval Base Trinidad