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 Pacific War to the Southwest Pacific. As the US Navy expanded in the island hopping campaign, Naval Base Brisbane expanded to include a submarine base, repair depot, seaplane base and other facilities. US Navy operations started on April 14, 1942, and ended after the war in 1945.

History

on September 3, 1939, being a self-governing nation within the British Empire. The United States formally entered the war on December 7, 1941, following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. On April 14, 1942, the USS Griffin and a fleet of eleven S-class US submarines arrived at Brisbane's New Farm Wharf. The wharf had a few storage sheds and some other support facilities, which the US Navy rented using the reverse Lend-Lease program, but a much larger facility was needed as a staging area. The US Government hired Australian construction crews to build a new staging area using mostly Australian supplies but with Quonset huts shipped in.
The S-class submarines' first mission was supporting the Solomon Islands campaign. Later, Gato-class submarines were added to the fleet. By the end of the war the Brisbane submarine fleet had sunk 117 enemy ships, totaling 515,000 tons, and rescued many downed airmen. In the spring of 1943, more space was needed and on March 24, 1943, the US Navy Seabee's 55th Battalion arrived and built "Camp Seabee", 5 miles north-east of Brisbane, at Eagle Farm. Camp Seabee became a staging camp for Seabees and their equipment in island hopping operations. The first departure was half the Seabees, to build Naval Base Milne Bay in New Guinea on May 23, 1943. Some Seabees departed to build an airfield at Merauke in New Guinea and others to Port Moresby, New Guinea. Most returned at the end of the construction for R&R. The Brisbane Seabees built a mine depot outside of Brisbane. The next departure was most of the Brisbane Seabees going to Palm Island and Cairns. At Palm Island, Seabees built Palm Island Naval Air Station and Palm Island Seaplane Base. Seabees built the Cairns Harbor PT-Boat Base and Cairns Harbor Seaplane Base. At Cairns, Seabees built the Cairns Airfield used for patrols and a staging camp. On June 19, 1943, the Seabee 84th Battalion arrived at Camp Seabee, with half the Battalion departing to continue the expansion at Naval Base Milne Bay. The 55th and 84th Battalion continued to build up Naval Base Brisbane. Seabees built a mine depot, more barracks at Camp Seabee, a Merchant Marine anti-aircraft training camp, and Mobile Navy Hospital No. 9. In May 1943, Seabee 60th Battalion arrived at Camp Seabee. On January 20, 1944, Seabee Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit 544th arrived to service the Naval Base Brisbane Bases. At Hamilton, Queensland, Seabees built a ship-repair depot. Outside of the base, an ammunition depot was built. The 55th Battalion built and operated a sawmill. By March 1994 the base had 90,000 square feet of depot warehouse space and 53 acres of open deposit storage. The other large US Naval Advance Bases in Australia were at Naval Base Sydney and Naval Base Darwin. Unlike Darwin, Brisbane was out of the reach of Japanese bombers. Parts of Naval Base Brisbane began moving to more forward bases in January 1944. Palm Island base was moved on September 1, 1944, and Townsville moved in July 1944.

Bases and facilities

  • Brisbane, Queensland Bases:
  • United States Seventh Fleet:

    Naval Base Brisbane

  • Naval Base Brisbane on the Brisbane River
  • *Navy Headquarters, from Naval Base Melbourne in July 1942.
  • *New Farm Wharf depot, now New Farm Park ferry wharf
  • *AHS Centaur, USS Samaritan and USS Comfort Hospital ships
  • *Brisbane Submarine base
  • **Some Submarines Base at Brisbane:,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Caiman, Pompon, Cod, Raton, Guavina, Bowfin, Grouper, Grouper, Blackfish, Rasher, Balao, Corvina
  • *Submarine maintenance depot
  • *Submarine training center
  • *Brisbane Degaussing Station
  • *Crash boat base
  • *Fleet Post Office FPO# 134 SF Brisbane
  • *Barracks
  • *Supply depot
  • Ammunition depot, Brisbane Navy 134 at Mount Coot-tha
  • *Mine depot outside of the city
  • *Mobile Explosives Investigation Unit. No.1
  • Archerfield shared with Army, just south of Brisbane.
  • Camp Perry Park, Navy housing unit at Camp Perry Park
  • Toowoomba Recreation Center, at Toowoomba west of Brisbane
  • Coolangatta Recreation Center at Coolangatta, south of Brisbane
  • Transmitting Station at Colmslie

    Naval Air Station Brisbane

Naval Air Station Brisbane was based in Colmslie on the Brisbane River.
  • Naval Base Colmslie
  • NATS Seaplane Base Colmslie
  • Colmslie Seaplane workshop, repair of Navy Consolidated PBY Catalina planes
  • Navy and Pan Am radio station, Pan Am used the base for mail and other services.
  • Imperial Airways, BOAC, RAAF and Qantas also use the base.
  • *Post war became Barrier Reef Airways base

    Hamilton repair depot

  • Repair depot
  • Hamilton repair depot in Hamilton on the Brisbane River.
  • Cairncross Dockyard
  • Supply depot
  • Machine shops
  • Engineering camp
  • Chemical Engineering Camp
  • Some repair ship at Brisbane:
  • USS Howard W. Gilmore
  • USS Remus
  • USS Clytie
  • USS Fulton
  • USS Sperry
  • USS Wachapreague
  • USS Satinleaf
  • USS Sonoma
  • USS Geronimo
  • USS Wright
  • USS Coucal
  • USS Mataco
  • USS Portunus
  • USS Oyster Bay
  • SS Stratheden
  • USS Tangier
  • USS Dobbin

    Camp Seabee

  • Camp Seabee at Eagle Farm on the Brisbane River in Brisbane
  • *Camp Seabee
  • *Camp Seabee staging camp and depot
  • *Merchant Marine Anti-aircraft training camp, Wellington Point Gunnery School at Wellington Point
  • *Advanced Base Construction Depot
  • *Mobile Navy Hospital No. 9, with 3,000 beds
  • *Theater
  • *Recreation building
  • *Laundry depot
  • *Power station
  • *Decomposed granite quarry for roads.
  • *Eagle Farm Airfield, shared with Army
  • *Allison Engine Testing Area
Camp Seabee was home to the:
  • 19th Construction Battalion Special
  • 20th Construction Battalion
  • 55th Construction Battalion
  • 60th Construction Battalion
  • 77th Construction Battalion
  • 84th Construction Battalion
  • 91st Construction Battalion
  • Amphibious Construction Battalion 1 - 104th Naval Construction Battalion
  • 115th Construction Battalion
  • 138th Naval Construction Battalion
  • Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 11
From the staging at Camp Seabee, Construction Battalions departed to help build:
Naval Base Brisbane built and supported remote advanced bases in Queensland:

Naval Base Cairns

Naval Base Cairns at Cairns, north of Brisbane, closed January 7, 1945. Part of the base was on Green Island, offshore.
  • *Cairns Harbor PT-Boat Base, later moved to Milne Bay
  • *Cairns Harbor Seaplane Base
  • *PT Boat repair base
  • *Escort Base One destroyer repair depot
  • *US Amphibious Training Base
  • *Naval mine maintenance depot
  • *Patrol-craft repair depot
  • *Supply depot
  • *Mess hall
  • *Navy hospital
  • *Feet post office FPO# 144 SF Cairns, Australia
  • *Floating drydocks: AFD-10, ARD-7
  • *600-foot timber wharf
  • *5,000-gallon water tank farm
  • *Ammunition depot outside of camp
  • *Cairns Airfield used for patrols
  • *Cairns staging camp
  • *Trinity Bay, amphibious training, US Army, Navy with US Navy support.
  • *Sheridan Street Camp, Cairns Army Camp located along Sheridan, Dutton and Spence Street.
  • Naval Air Station Palm Island
  • *Naval Air Station Palm Island, at Palm Island north of Brisbane, started July 6, 1943, closed June 1, 1944.
  • *VPB-29 Patrol Bomber unit
  • *VP-11 Patrol Squadron with Consolidated PBY Catalina
  • *Hangars
  • *Seaplane Base Palm Island
  • *Fleet Post Office FPO# 420 SF Palm Island, Australia
  • *Naval Air Station Wallaby Point
  • *60,000 barrels tank farm
  • *Palm Island patrol bombers repair depot
  • *Docks
  • *Radio stations
  • *PT boat bases
  • *Hospitals
  • *Naval mine depot
  • *Power station
  • *Supply base