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Samarai Advanced Seaplane Base was a pacificwrecks.com. Patrol Squadron 101 (VP-101)
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Samarai Advanced Seaplane Base was a 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 ...
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 ...
base at Samarai Island, Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
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 ...
.
The advanced seaplane base was built by a detachment of the 84th Naval Construction Battalion with help from members of USS San Pablo (AVP-30), a 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 ...
. The base was built within 42 days and included a ramp, small hangar, apron, barrack accommodation for 270 men and four 1,000 barrel aviation fuel tanks.
The seaplane tenders sailors worked around the clock to fuel, repair, arm, control the seaplanes, feed and care for the 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 O ...
crews.
Operations from the base included attacking enemy shipping along the coasts of New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...
, New Britain
New Britain () is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from New Guinea by a northwest corner of the Solomon Sea (or with an island hop of Umboi Island, Umboi the Dampie ...
, New Ireland, and the Bismarck Sea
The Bismarck Sea (, ) lies in the south-western Pacific Ocean within the Papua New Guinea, Papua New Guinean exclusive economic zone. It is located north-east of the island of New Guinea and south of the Bismarck Archipelago. It has coastlines i ...
. Heavy losses were inflicted upon Imperial Japanese
The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From 1910 to 19 ...
inter-island barge traffic and shipping. The aircraft harassed enemy troops with night bombing and strafing missions, conducted photo intelligence operations, provided air-sea search and rescue support for downed allied pilots and sailors of sunken vessels. They also transported high-ranking officers, friendly coast watchers, and native guerrilla units.
Samarai Seaplane Base was located on Samarai Island at . The seaplane base shore facilities were on Sariba Island
Saliba Island is a large island in Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea.
Administration
The island has 2 Wards : Sidudu in the northern part (with adjoining islands), and Sauasauaga on the southern part (which also includes adjoining islands an ...
, just to the east of Samarai Island at . On Sariba Island Seabee built a camp for 270 troops, a small boat pier, communication center, headquarters, mess hall, and aviation-gasoline tank farm, supply depot.
The base also operated a crash boat base at the camp, with Rescue Boat C-9485. The seaplane base was part of Naval Base Milne Bay
Naval Base Milne Bay, also called Naval Advance Base Milne Bay, was new major United States Navy sea and airbase base built on Milne Bay in Milne Bay Province in south-eastern Papua New Guinea. By spring 1943, the build up of the US Navy to s ...
. By May 1945 the base was too far away from the action, and was packed up by the Seabee and moved to more forward bases in the Philippines and Okinawa./ref>
Units Based at Samari Advanced Seaplane Base
* Patrol Squadron Thirty Three (VP-33), Fleet Air Wing 17 (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 O ...
)
* Patrol Squadron Thirty Four (VP-34), Fleet Air Wing 17 (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 O ...
)
* Patrol Squadron One Hundred One (VP-101), Fleet Air Wing 17 (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 O ...
)
* USS San Pablo (AVP-30) (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 ...
)
*USS Half Moon (AVP-26)
USS ''Half Moon'' (AVP-26) was a seaplane tender that in commission in the United States Navy from 1943 to 1946 that saw service in the latter half of World War II. After the war, she was in commission in the United States Coast Guard as the Unit ...
(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 ...
)
See also
* U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay *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 ...
*US Naval Advance Bases
US Naval Advance Bases were built globally by the United States Navy during World War 2, World War II to support and project U.S. naval operations worldwide. A few were built on Allies of World War II, Allied soil, but most were captured enemy fa ...
*Naval Advance Base Saipan
Naval Base Saipan or Naval Advance Base Saipan or Naval Air Base Saipan was a United States Navy Naval base built during World War II to support Pacific Ocean theater of World War II, Pacific Ocean theater of war and the many warships and troop ...
* Battle of Milne Bay order of battle
References
Airfields of the United States Navy Military installations closed in the 1940s Seaplane bases Closed installations of the United States Navy Samarai Advanced Seaplane Base {{US-navy-stub