Naval Base Lingayen | |
---|---|
Lingayen Gulf, Luzon, Philippines | |
Coordinates | 16°17′N120°12′E / 16.283°N 120.200°E |
Type | Naval base |
Site information | |
Operator | United States Navy |
Site history | |
Built | 1945 |
Naval Base Lingayen was a United States Navy base built during World War II at Lingayen Gulf on the northwestern Island of Luzon in the Philippines. The base was founded after the Invasion of Lingayen Gulf on January 9, 1945, at Lingayen city and the surrounding gulf. The Naval base was used to support the later operations at Manila and the rest of Luzon Island and then at Okinawa. Lingayen Gulf offered excellent fleet anchorage. [1]
US Navy Seabee pontoon battalion landed with the troops at Lingayen on January 9, 1945. The Seabee task was building pontoon piers out into Lingayen Gulf so the massive about of supplies needed for the invasion could be unloaded quickly. Over 90% of the invasion supplies were unloaded on the pontoon piers. [2] [3] Seabee built a Naval Base Headquarters at the city of San Fernando on the north east side of Lingayen Gulf. A supply depot was built at Lingayen, US Navy Advance Base 6. The US Army had its Headquarters at San Fernando also, called Base M. The Army had a number of camps around Lingayen Gulf. [4] [5] [6]
Lingayen Gulf:
A large PT boat Base was built at Sual Bay's port of Sual at Sual at 16°04′41″N120°06′07″E / 16.078°N 120.102°E . Motor torpedo boat tender USS Wachapreague (AGP-8) help keep the boat supplied and running.
Seaplane base was built in Cabalitan Bay at Cabalitan Island at 16°06′40″N120°07′12″E / 16.111°N 120.120°E The seaplane were served by the seaplane tenders: USS Barataria (AVP-33) and USS Currituck (AV-7). Later the Seaplane base was moved to Sual Bay. The US Navy's VPB-71, Patrol Bombing Squadron 71, operated Consolidated PBY Catalina type PBY-5A, called "Black Cat" out of the seaplane bases. On February 28, 1945, VP-28 arrived operating Martin PBM Mariners. The Black Cat and Martin PBM, did antisubmarine patrols and attacked Empire of Japan shipping in the South China Sea. The USS Tangier (AV-8) took over the seaplane tender duties on March 13. US Navy Seabees built seaplane ramps and bases both at Sual Bay and Cabalitan Island. [8]
The invasion of Lingayen Gulf was costly for the US Navy, from December 14, 1944, to January 13, 1945, 24 ships were sunk and 67 were damaged by kamikaze attack planes. In the attacks, 746 seamen were killed and 1,365 wounded. Most of the ships were with the United States Third Fleet and United States Seventh Fleet, Task Group 77.2. Many of the ships had come from Naval Base Ulithi staging. [13] A few ships were damaged in Lingayen Gulf by small maru-ni boats, that had depth charges. LST-925 and LST-1028 were damaged by a maru-ni boats (US calling them torpedo boats at the time) from Sual. The USS Philip (DD-498), USS Robinson (DD-562) and USS Leutze were able to stop maru-ni boats before they attacked, 45 maru-ni boats were lost in total. [14] [15]
Japan landed and took Lingayen on December 22, 1941. US and Filipino Troops at Lingayen, retreated to Bataan, most becoming prisoners of war and part of the Bataan Death March in April 1942. [16]
With two large Naval Bases on Luzon: Naval Base Manila and Naval Base Subic Bay, Naval Base Lingayen was closed after the war.
Lingayen Gulf is a large gulf on northwestern Luzon in the Philippines, stretching 56 km (35 mi). It is framed by the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union and sits between the Zambales Mountains and the Cordillera Central. The Agno River and the Balili River drain into Lingayen Gulf.
The Shinyo were Japanese suicide motorboats developed during World War II. They were part of the wider Japanese Special Attack Units program.
The Invasion of Lingayen Gulf, 6–9 January 1945, was an Allied amphibious operation in the Philippines during World War II. In the early morning of 6 January 1945, a large Allied force commanded by Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf began approaching the shores of Lingayen from Lingayen Gulf, on the island of Luzon. U.S. Navy and Royal Australian Navy warships began bombarding suspected Japanese positions along the coast of Lingayen from their position in Lingayen Gulf for three days. On "S-Day", 9 January, the U.S. 6th Army landed on a roughly 25 mi (40 km) beachhead at the base of the Gulf between the towns of Lingayen and San Fabian.
The Japanese invasion of Lingayen Gulf was the key point in the Japanese plan for the conquest of the Philippines. Preparations had already been made by the Attack on Clark Field and the landings of Japanese forces at five points in northern and southern Luzon and Mindanao in early/mid December 1941, with the IJAAF seizing air fields and basing aircraft for ground support, and the Imperial Japanese Navy establishing seaplane bases at the Camiguin Island, Legaspi, and Davao. The main landing of Japanese forces targeted Lingayen Gulf, with its proximity to the Philippine capital of Manila, and Lamon Bay on the opposite coast to the south.
Sanuki Maru (Japanese:讃岐丸) was a 1939-built cargo ship, requisitioned as a seaplane tender by the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.
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 was located on the island of Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides, now Vanuatu, in the South Pacific. The base also supported the U.S. Army and Army Air Corps, U.S. Coast Guard, and US Marine Corps. It was the first large advance base built in the Pacific. By the end of the war it had become the second-largest base in the theater. To keep ships tactically available there was a demand for bases that could repair and resupply the fleet at advance locations, rather than return them to the United States. Prior to December 7th, Pearl Harbor was the U.S. fleet's largest advance base in the Pacific. Espiritu became capable of all aspects necessary to support the Fleet's operations from fleet logistics in fuel, food, and ammunition, to transport embarkation for combat operations or returning to the continental United States. The ship repair facilities and drydocks were capable of attending to most damage and routine maintenance. Had it not existed, ships would have had to return to Pearl Harbor, Brisbane, or Sydney for major repairs and resupply. The base became a major R and R destination for the fleet.
Naval Base Ulithi was a 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-hopping Pacific War efforts of the Allied nations fighting the Empire of Japan. In terms of the number of ships at one base, Naval Base Ulithi was the largest naval base in the world in 1944 and 1945, with over 600 ships at times.
US Naval Advance Bases were built globally by the United States Navy during World War II to support and project U.S. naval operations worldwide. A few were built on Allied soil, but most were captured enemy facilities or completely new. Advance bases provided the fleet with support to keep ships tactically available with repair and supply depots of facilities, rather than return them to the continental United States. Before Japan declared war on the United States the U.S. Navy had a single fleet-sized advanced base in the Territory of Hawaii at Naval Station Pearl Harbor. During the war the U.S. Navy Seabees built over 400 advance bases categorized by size. Naval bases were either Lions or Cubs while airfields were either Oaks or Acorns. Lions and Oaks were major facilities while Cubs and Acorns were minor. PT Boats typically would get a Cub and airfields with single runways were Acorns. The larger bases could provide refueling and overhaul; loading of troopship and cargo ships; and preparing amphibious assault ships. Some became major repair depots. The Seabees developed auxiliary floating drydocks were able to repair battle damage and do regular maintenance in the field saving ships trans-pacific trips for repair. A few bases also were developed to be R and R for all U.S. personnel. Most Advance Bases were built by the US Navy's Seabees in Naval Construction Battalions (CBs). At the start of the war civilian contractors were employed in construction. The Seabees in World War II built most of the airfields used by the United States Army Air Forces and United States Marine Corps, as they had the ships and cranes needed to transport the vast amount of equipment needed at the advance bases. The US Army and United States Coast Guard also operated out of many of these facilities. Seabees could build new or repair damaged runways, and with advancements in heavy bomber technology lengthen runways as needed. A few Naval Advance Bases were built for the Korean War and Vietnam War.
Leyte–Samar Naval Base was a large United States Navy base in the Philippines on the Islands of Leyte, Samar and the San Pedro Bay. The base was built during World War II to support the many naval ships fighting and patrolling in the South West Pacific theatre of war as part of the Pacific War. A number of naval facilities were built on the east coast of Leyte island starting October 20, 1944. The first base was built at between the city of Tacloban and Anibong Point, a mile north of the city. Headquarters for the Seventh Fleet was built at Tolosa, 10 miles south of Tacloban on Leyte. The bases were on the large San Pedro Bay in Leyte Gulf which provided safe anchorage for many ships. Due to the lack of dry ground in Tacloban a second base was built on the east side of Leyte Gulf, on the south tip of Samar, on Calicoan Island and Tubabao Island. At Samar, a large Naval Depot was built to support the Pacific War. Samar was about 50 miles across Leyte Gulf from Tacloban. All construction was done by the Navy's Seabees.
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 support the Pacific War had caused overcrowding at the ports on the east coast of Australia. To help, Seabees departed Naval Base Brisbane on June 19, 1943 to set up a new base in Milne Bay. Naval Base Milne Bay headquarters was at Ladava Navy Base. The Royal Australian Navy already had a small base in Milne Bay: HMAS Ladava. Australians were able to defend and keep Milne Bay in the Battle of Milne Bay in 1942. Naval Base Milne Bay was built during World War II to support the many ships and aircraft fighting and patrolling in the South West Pacific theatre of war. Ladava Navy Base provided a large protective US Navy fleet anchorage at Gahora Bay next to Ladava. At Naval Base Milne Bay, Seabees built a large Naval facility.
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Naval Base Okinawa, now Naval Facility Okinawa, is a number of bases built after the Battle of Okinawa by United States Navy on Okinawa Island, Japan. The naval bases were built to support the landings on Okinawa on April 1, 1945, and the troops fighting on Okinawa. The Navy repaired and did expansion of the airfields on Okinawa. United States Navy Seabees built or repaired the facilities on the island. The bases on Okinawa put the United States Armed Forces only 350 miles from Japan's home islands. Most facilities closed after the war, but some are still in use today by all branches of the United States Armed Forces.
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The United States Navy held a number of bases in the Philippines Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Most were built by the US Navy Seabees, Naval Construction Battalions, during World War II. The US Naval Bases in Philippines were lost to the Empire of Japan in December 1941 during the Philippines campaign of 1941–1942. In February 1945 the United States Armed Forces retook the Philippines in the Battle of Manila in 1945. Before the captured US bases on Luzon were retaken the US Navy Seabees built a new large base, Leyte-Samar Naval Base, on the Philippine Island of Leyte, starting in October 1944.
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