U.S. Naval Base Australia comprised several

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 ...

bases in

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 ...

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 ...

. Australia entered World War II on 3 September 1939, being a self-governing nation within the

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 ...

. The

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

formally entered the war on 7 December 1941 after the

Japanese 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 ...

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...

. Following this attack Japanese forces quickly took over much of the

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

and central

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. The United States lost key naval bases including

Naval Base Manila file:CoastalPlanManila.jpg, Map of Manila, Naval Base Manila is at Cavite in Manila Bay Naval Base Manila, Naval Air Base Manila was a major United States Navy base south of the Manila, City of Manila, on Luzon, Luzon Island in the Philippine ...

and Naval Base Subic Bay as a result of the 1941 Japanese invasion of the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, along with

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

and

Wake Island Wake Island (), also known as Wake Atoll, is a coral atoll in the Micronesia subregion of the Pacific Ocean. The atoll is composed of three islets – Wake, Wilkes, and Peale Islands – surrounding a lagoon encircled by a coral reef. The neare ...

. The Allied forces needed new bases in the

South West Pacific Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...

to stage attacks on Japan's southern empire, and these were built in Australia.

History

After the failure of the

American-British-Dutch-Australian Command The American-British-Dutch-Australian (ABDA) Command, or ABDACOM, was the short-lived supreme command for all Allied forces in South East Asia in early 1942, during the Pacific War in World War II. The command consisted of the forces of Austra ...

(ABDACOM) to defend the

Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula is located in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area contains Peninsular Malaysia, Southern Tha ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

and the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

, followed by the fall of the Philippines, Allied forces fell back to Australia. Japanese air attacks in 1942 and 1943 on northern Australia, particularly the

bombing of Darwin The Bombing of Darwin, also known as the Battle of Darwin, on 19 February 1942 was the largest single attack ever mounted by a foreign power on Australia. On that day, 242 Empire of Japan, Japanese aircraft, in two separate raids, attacked the ...

on 19 February 1942, demonstrated the need for ports further south. In addition, there were fears Japan would attempt to invade Australia. There were Japanese plans to invade Australia, but these were cancelled after the Allied strategic victory at the

Battle of the Coral Sea The Battle of the Coral Sea, from 4 to 8 May 1942, was a major naval battle between the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and naval and air forces of the United States and Australia. Taking place in the Pacific Theatre of World War II, the battle ...

. The first bases were built by Australian Allied Works Council civilian contractors and rent was paid under the

Reverse Lend-Lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (),

. Later construction of

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 ...

was performed by U.S. Navy

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 (Naval Construction Battalions). By the end of the war the U.S. Navy had bases on all four shores of Australia, building facilities for ships,

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

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 ...

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, supply depots, training camps, fleet recreation facilities, and ship repair depots. Some of the bases were shared with the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...

and

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 ...

. Supplies were transported by the United States Merchant Navy. By spring 1943, the build up of the U.S. Navy to support 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 ...

had caused overcrowding at the ports on the eastern coast of Australia. The Seabees departed

Naval Base Brisbane Naval Base Brisbane was a major United States Navy base built in the early part of World War II at Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. At first, it operated as a base for patrol aircraft and convoy escort aircraft to protect the last leg of the Paci ...

on 19 June 1943 to set up a new base in

Milne Bay Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, south-eastern Papua New Guinea. More than long and over wide, Milne Bay is a sheltered deep-water harbor accessible via Ward Hunt Strait. It is surrounded by the heavily wooded Stirling Range (Papu ...

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 ...

. There were also U.S. naval facilities in New Zealand, but these were closed in 1944 as the fighting moved further north, followed by the closing of most of the bases in Australia after the end of the war in 1945.US Navy, Bases of World War II
/ref>

Current

The U.S. Navy has only one base currently in Australia: * Naval Communication Station Harold E. Holt in

Exmouth Exmouth is a harbor, port town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and seaside resort situated on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe, southeast of Exeter. In 2011 it had a population of 34,432, making Exmouth the List of settl ...

, Western Australia. * There is one other non-Navy U.S. base in Australia:

Pine Gap Pine Gap is a joint Australian–United States satellite communications and signals intelligence surveillance base and Australian Earth station approximately south-west of the town of Alice Springs. It is jointly operated by Australia and ...

Alice Springs Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...

, in the center of

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

Major bases

Major World War II US Naval bases in Australia: *

** Camp Seabee **

Naval Air Station Brisbane Naval Base Brisbane was a major United States Navy base built in the early part of World War II at Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. At first, it operated as a base for patrol aircraft and convoy escort aircraft to protect the last leg of the Paci ...

** Hamilton repair depot **

Naval Base Sydney Naval Base Sydney was a United States Navy base built during World War II at Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The base was built with Australian civilian contractors. As the US Navy expanded in the Leapfrogging (strategy), Island hopping campa ...

** Rose Bay Seaplane Base * Naval Base Darwin *

Naval Base Melbourne Victoria Barracks, Melbourne HQ for the US and Australian armed forces Naval Base Melbourne was a United States Navy base at Melbourne during World War II. Naval Base Melbourne became the South West Pacific Area Command Headquarters after ...

** Naval Depot Geelong ** Naval Intelligence Center Melbourne * Naval Base Perth *

Fremantle submarine base Fremantle submarine base was the utilisation of Fremantle Harbour as a submarine base in World War II. The submarine base was second only to Pearl Harbor in the Pacific theatre, with US, British and Dutch submarines operating from Fremantle duri ...

Exmouth Submarine Base Exmouth Submarine Base, called Operation Potshot, was a United States Navy base at Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia during World War II. Exmouth Gulf on western Australia was selected as the site for US Naval base as it was thought at the time t ...

Minor bases

Minor World War II US Naval bases in Australia: * Auxiliary Albany Submarine Base * Naval Base Adelaide * Roebuck Bay Seaplane Base * Naval Air Station Palm Island * Thursday Island Submarine Base *

Naval Base Palm Island Naval Base Brisbane was a major United States Navy base built in the early part of World War II at Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. At first, it operated as a base for patrol aircraft and convoy escort aircraft to protect the last leg of the Paci ...

* Naval Base Cairns * Townsville Naval Section Base * Horn Island Seaplane Base *

Toorbul Combined Training Centre Naval Base Brisbane was a major United States Navy base built in the early part of World War II at Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. At first, it operated as a base for patrol aircraft and convoy escort aircraft to protect the last leg of the Paci ...

* Port Stephens amphibious landing training base * Fleet Radio Unit, Melbourne – intelligence unit *Fleet Radio Unit Radio Station Cooktown at

Cooktown, Queensland Cooktown is a coastal town and suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. Cooktown is at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached h ...

. FPO# 813 SF Cooktown

Gallery

File:Pacific_Theater_Areas;map1.JPG, Pacific War Theater Areas map 1942 CampSeabeeNavalBaseBrisbane-fromair.jpg, Camp Seabee at Naval Base Brisbane from the air StateLibQld 1 149299 Dunedin (ship).jpg, ''Dunedin'' at Gardens Reach at

on the Brisbane River. South Brisbane wharves in background SoPacStratSit.gif, Strategic supply chain situation in South Pacific in July 1942 WarShippingAdministrationatWar-1.gif, United States Merchant Navy routes durning World War 2, including Australia File:Pacific War Japanese Advances.jpg, Japanese advances in the Southwest Pacific and Southeast Asia areas during the first five months of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. The proposed offensive on Fiji, Samoa, and New Caledonia is depicted in the lower right corner. File:USS Holland (AS-3) tending submarines at Fremantle, Australia, on 5 March 1942 (AWM 302625).jpg, The

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

with five American submarines at

in 1942 File:USN-SeaplaneBaseNedlands-perth-1943.jpg, US Navy Seaplane Base Nedlands at Naval Base Perth in 1943 File:MA I084436 TePapa Poster He's Coming South.tiff, An Australian propaganda poster from 1942 referring to the threat of Japanese invasion. This poster was criticised for being alarmist when it was released and was banned by the Queensland government. Japan did have a plan. Peter Stanley (2002), pg 3. file:Darwin Harbour (AWM 027334).jpg, Darwin Harbour with the sunken ship MV Neptuna and burnt-out wharf of Naval Base Darwin following the attack on February 19, 1942 File:CampSeabeeNaval_Base_Brisbane.jpg, Camp Seabee gate at

Eagle Farm Eagle Farm is an eastern industrial suburb of the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Eagle Farm had a population of 11 people. The neighbourhood of Whinstanes is located in Eagle Farm (). Geography Eagle Farm is situated no ...

, Brisbane File:CampSeabeeNavalBaseBrisbaneDock.jpg, Camp Seabee Dock on

Brisbane River The Brisbane River (Turrbal language, Turrbal: ) is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia. It flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the ...

File:CampSeabeeNavalBaseBrisbane_buildingtrips.jpg, Camp Seabee Naval Base Brisbane, base building trips map File:Palmislandnavalairstation23.jpg, Seabees building Naval Air Station Palm Island in 1943 File:South Pacific islands 1945.jpg, South Pacific islands in 1945

References

External links

YouTube, Abandoned Navy Base on The Brisbane River

YouTube, World War 2 – Defence of Australia
{{Authority control Australia–United States relations Airfields of the United States Navy Closed installations of the United States Navy Military installations closed in the 1940s Naval Stations of the United States Navy World War II airfields in the Pacific Ocean Theater World War II sites in Australia