Naval Base Guadalcanal
One of the primary functions of Naval Base Guadalcanal was to support the construction of the airfield later known as Henderson Field. The first aircraft landed at Henderson Field on August 12, 1942. The base also supported the large number of Allied troops stationed on Guadalcanal and served as a staging area for subsequent operations.
The waters off Naval Base Guadalcanal, particularly Savo Sound, became known as Ironbottom Sound because of the numerous ships and aircraft sunk during Operation Watchtower. On July 28, 1942, the USN and the United States Marine Corps conducted a practice amphibious landing at Naval Base Fiji on Koro Island. This exercise was intended to prepare troops for the forthcoming landings on Guadalcanal, which marked their first major offensive of the war. On July 31, 1942, the invasion force departed Fiji for Guadalcanal.
The Guadalcanal invasion force lacked many of the innovations that would later be developed during the Pacific War. Notably, it did not have specialized landing vessels for deploying troops and armored vehicles onto hostile beaches, such as the LST or LCT. Instead, supplies were transferred from ship cargo holds to small landing craft, which transported them to the beaches, where they were unloaded by hand.
Prior to the Allied landings, the Empire of Japan had established a base at Tulagi, a smaller island north of Guadalcanal. After its capture, the USN repaired and expanded the facility. The Guadalcanal bases were assigned the code names Bevy and Cactus, later renamed Mainyard. The codename Ringbolt was used for the operations that captured the Florida Islands, Tulagi, Gavutu, and Tanambogo.
One of the reasons Guadalcanal was selected for amphibious landings was the discovery on June 20, 1942, of a Japanese airfield under construction near Lungga Point. An operational airfield at that location could have threatened maritime supply routes between the United States and naval bases in Australia. Establishing an Allied airbase on Guadalcanal both protected these shipping lanes and enabled attacks against Japan's major base at Rabaul in the northern Solomon Islands.
Both Allied and Japanese forces suffered from chronic supply shortages during the Guadalcanal campaign. In response, the USN improved its logistical supply system, which later contributed to the effectiveness of the island-hopping campaign. [4]
The 6th Naval Construction Battalion arrived on Guadalcanal on August 10, 1942, from Naval Station Norfolk via Naval Base Espiritu Santo, thirteen days after the first United States Marine Corps units had landed. The Seabees discovered an unfinished 3,800-foot runway begun by Japanese forces. They extended the runway by 1,300 feet and surfaced it with Marston matting due to poor soil conditions and heavy rainfall. Construction was frequently interrupted by bombing raids, sniper fire, and artillery shelling. When enemy fire subsided, the Seabees established a camp and constructed a power station, freshwater system, and mess hall.
Supplies were initially unloaded from cargo ships into Higgins boats, tank lighters, and pontoon barges, which delivered materials directly to the beach. Later, three timber piers were constructed to facilitate unloading operations. [5] A pier was also built at Lung Lagoon and named Jennings Landing in honor of Chief Shipfitter Jennings. Roads, bridges, and fuel tank farms were constructed as the base expanded.
The 6th Naval Construction Battalion was relieved by Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 26 on January 5, 1943, and departed aboard the USS Hunter Liggett for rest and recuperation in Auckland, New Zealand. While in Auckland, the battalion worked on the Victoria Park camp and a USN mobile hospital before departing on March 12, 1943, for Naval Base Noumea. [6]
Construction Battalion 26 continued to improve Naval Base Guadalcanal, building gun mounts and emplacements, tunnels, approximately 6,000 feet of railroad track, multiple docks, more than 35 miles of primary roadway, 10 bridges, and two radio stations with 150-foot transmitter towers. The battalion departed on March 2, 1944. [7]
The 58th Naval Construction Battalion arrived on December 12, 1944, and conducted work on Vella Lavella and the Russell Islands before departing on March 11, 1945. [8] The 14th Naval Construction Battalion operated on Guadalcanal from November 4, 1942, to November 9, 1943. [9]
The Fleet Post Office for Naval Base Guadalcanal was designated FPO 145. [10] [11]
History
Following the Battle of Tulagi and Gavutu–Tanambogo in August 1942, naval bases were constructed throughout the Solomon Islands by the 6th and 26th Seabee units. At Tanambogo, an airfield known as Torokina Airfield was built. The Landings at Cape Torokina, designated as Operation Cherry Blossom, took place on November 1, 1943. At Tulagi, the United States Navy established a PT boat base, while a seaplane base was constructed in the Florida Islands.
The United States bases in the Solomon Islands were intended to disrupt the Tokyo Express, the Allied term for Japan's nighttime supply and reinforcement routes from Rabaul to Guadalcanal. US Navy Seabees constructed naval bases and airfields and provided support for amphibious landings across the region. Following the end of World War II and Victory over Japan Day, these bases were closed. Several of the former military airfields were later converted into civilian airports. [12] [13]
Except for some units retained to build, garrison, operate, and defend the base at Tulagi, most of the United States Marine Corps forces that had assaulted Tulagi and the nearby islets were soon redeployed to Guadalcanal. There, they assisted in the defense of the airfield at Lunga Point, later named Henderson Field by Allied forces. [14]
