| Naval Base Coco Solo | |
|---|---|
| Cativá, Panama | |
 Aerial view of the U.S. Naval Station Coco Solo in 1941 | |
| Type | Naval base |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by |  United States Navy |
| Site history | |
| In use | 1918–1999 |
Coco Solo was a United States Navy submarine base and naval air station, active from 1918 to the 1960s.
The submarine base at Coco Solo was established May 6, 1918. [1] The site corresponds with modern-day Cativá in Panama. It was on the Atlantic Ocean (northwest) side of the Panama Canal Zone, near Colón, Panama. Five C-class submarines were based there during 1914–1919.
United States Senator John McCain was born in 1936 at a small Navy hospital, [2] [3] at Coco Solo Naval Air Station. [4] [5]
The larger Coco Solo Hospital was constructed in the summer of 1941. [3] The area containing it was transferred from the civil part of the Panama Canal Zone to the naval part when Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 8981 on December 17, 1941. [6]
On December 7, 1941, three V-class submarines (Barracuda, Bass and Bonita) were stationed at Coco Solo. During World War II, Coco Solo also served as a Naval Air Facility, housing a squadron of United States Army Air Forces P-38 Lightning aircraft. [7]
By the 1960s, no U.S. Navy vessels remained, only some support staff and housing. At the far end of Randolph Road was Fort Randolph, unused except for military training exercises, and where the Fort Randolph Riding Club was located as used by the Canal Zone Horsemen's Association.
Until the mid-1990s, the town site of Coco Solo was used by the civilian employees of the Panama Canal as a residential area. The nearby Galeta Island U.S. Navy communications facility continued in operation as well. After the turnover of the Panama Canal to Panamanians in 1999, US military activity ceased at both Coco Solo and Galeta Island.
Coco Solo is now the site of two container terminals: Colón Container Terminal [8] and Manzanillo International Terminal, which is the busiest container port in Latin America. [9]
| Climate data for Coco Solo, 4 m asl (1961–1990 normals) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 31.7 (89.1) | 30.6 (87.1) | 33.3 (91.9) | 36.1 (97.0) | 35.0 (95.0) | 33.9 (93.0) | 34.4 (93.9) | 33.9 (93.0) | 34.4 (93.9) | 34.4 (93.9) | 33.3 (91.9) | 31.7 (89.1) | 36.1 (97.0) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 29.3 (84.7) | 29.8 (85.6) | 30.6 (87.1) | 31.2 (88.2) | 31.1 (88.0) | 30.6 (87.1) | 31.3 (88.3) | 30.8 (87.4) | 30.4 (86.7) | 30.4 (86.7) | 29.3 (84.7) | 29.1 (84.4) | 30.3 (86.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 27.0 (80.6) | 27.5 (81.5) | 27.9 (82.2) | 28.2 (82.8) | 27.9 (82.2) | 27.8 (82.0) | 27.8 (82.0) | 27.5 (81.5) | 27.3 (81.1) | 27.4 (81.3) | 26.7 (80.1) | 27.1 (80.8) | 27.5 (81.5) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 24.6 (76.3) | 25.1 (77.2) | 25.2 (77.4) | 25.2 (77.4) | 24.7 (76.5) | 24.9 (76.8) | 24.3 (75.7) | 24.1 (75.4) | 24.3 (75.7) | 24.3 (75.7) | 24.1 (75.4) | 25.0 (77.0) | 24.7 (76.4) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 18.9 (66.0) | 20.6 (69.1) | 18.9 (66.0) | 19.4 (66.9) | 20.6 (69.1) | 21.7 (71.1) | 20.6 (69.1) | 21.1 (70.0) | 21.7 (71.1) | 21.7 (71.1) | 21.1 (70.0) | 19.4 (66.9) | 18.9 (66.0) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 139.6 (5.50) | 35.8 (1.41) | 87.0 (3.43) | 149.2 (5.87) | 382.2 (15.05) | 318.2 (12.53) | 404.7 (15.93) | 478.4 (18.83) | 332.5 (13.09) | 397.7 (15.66) | 714.6 (28.13) | 395.2 (15.56) | 3,835.1 (150.99) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1 mm) | 12.33 | 6.73 | 10.55 | 6.55 | 19.00 | 17.25 | 16.00 | 23.50 | 18.00 | 18.57 | 25.00 | 17.00 | 190.48 |
| Source 1: Météo climat stats [10] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: Météo Climat [11] | |||||||||||||
The Panama Canal Zone, also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated and organized territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the territory of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending five miles (8 km) on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón. Its capital was Balboa.
Colón is a city and seaport in Panama, beside the Caribbean Sea, lying near the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal. It is the capital of Panama's Colón Province and has traditionally been known as Panama's second city. Originally it was located entirely on Manzanillo Island, surrounded by Limon Bay, Manzanillo Bay, and the Folks River; however, since the disestablishment of the Panama Canal Zone, the city's limits have been redefined to include Fort Gulick, a former U.S. Army base, as well the former Panama Canal Zone towns of Cristobal, Margarita, and Coco Solo.
Balboa is a district of Panama City, located at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal.
USS S-46 (SS-157) was a third-group (S-42) S-class submarine of the United States Navy.
USS S-11 (SS-116) was a second-group S-class submarine of the United States Navy.
USS S-13 (SS-118) was a second-group S-class submarine of the United States Navy.
USS S-20 (SS-125) was a first-group S-class submarine of the United States Navy in commission from 1922 to 1945. She saw duty in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and during World War II operated off New England.
Cristóbal is a port town and corregimiento in Colón District, Colón Province, Panama. The corregimiento has a population of 49,422 as of 2010. The town is located on the western edge of Manzanillo Island, on the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal. Cristóbal Colón is the Spanish translation for Christopher Columbus, the Genovese explorer for whom these places were named.
USS Thrush (AM-18) was a Lapwing-class minesweeper acquired by the United States Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.
USS Brambling (AMc-39) was an Accentor-class coastal minesweeper acquired by the U.S. Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.
The second USS Hazel (AN-29/YN-24) was an Aloe-class net laying ship which was assigned to serve the U.S. Navy during World War II with her protective anti-submarine nets.
Manzanillo International Terminal is located east of the Atlantic opening of the Panama Canal on Manzanillo Bay, Colón Province, Panama.
USS Breakwater (SP-681) was a United States Navy patrol vessel, minesweeper, and tug in commission from 1917 to 1920.
Fort Randolph in Panama was a Coast Artillery Corps fort built to defend the northern end of the Panama Canal in conjunction with Fort Sherman.
Sheppard James Shreaves was a Dockmaster and foreman shipwright for the Panama Canal Mechanical Division, as well as a qualified diver and supervisor of the Panama Canal's salvage and diving crew. At age 38, Sheppard Shreaves was awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal for his heroic efforts in raising of the sunken submarine USS O-5 (SS-66) with two men trapped in the torpedo room. Working against time, Shreaves enabled the rescue of Lawrence Brown and Henry Breault from the bottomed submarine. His being underwater and in his diving suit for almost 24 hours set a new record for the longest duration dives up to that time.
Due to the American-controlled Panama Canal cutting across the center of the country, Panama was of major strategic importance to the Allied war effort, as well as the most important strategic location in Latin America during World War II. It provided an invaluable link between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans that was vital to both commerce and the defense of the Western Hemisphere. Therefore, the defense of the Canal Zone was the United States' chief concern in the American Theater. Panama never received Lend-Lease assistance, but in return for the rights to build military infrastructure within Panamanian territory, the United States undertook large-scale public works projects, which did much to modernize the country and boost the economy.
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 July 1931, redesignated Patrol Squadron 2-F (VP-2F) on 17 July 1933, redesignated Patrol Squadron 2 (VP-2) on 1 October 1937, redesignated Patrol Squadron 31 (VP-31) on 1 July 1939, redesignated Bombing Squadron 105 (VB-105) on 15 May 1943, redesignated Patrol Bombing Squadron 105 (VPB-105) on 1 October 1944 and disestablished on 27 June 1945.
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 1944, redesignated Patrol Squadron 74 (VP-74) on 15 May 1946, redesignated Medium Patrol Squadron (Seaplane) 10 (VP-MS-10) on 15 November 1946, redesignated Patrol Squadron 40 (VP-40) on 1 September 1948 and disestablished on 25 January 1950.
Naval Base Panama Canal Zone refers to a number of United States Navy bases used during World War II to both protect the Panama Canal and the key shipping lanes around the Panama Canal Zone. Bases were built and operated on the Atlantic Ocean side and the Pacific Ocean side. The main Naval Base at the Panama Canal was the Naval Station Coco Solo that had been in operation since 1918.
