Naval Advance Base Saipan
World War II base / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Naval Base Saipan or Naval Advance Base Saipan or Naval Air Base Saipan was a United States Navy Naval base built during World War II to support Pacific Ocean theater of war and the many warships and troops fighting the war. The base was on the island of Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands. The base was part of the Pacific island hopping campaign. The base construction started after the Battle of Saipan ended on July 9, 1944.[1] US Naval Advance Base Saipan was constructed by the Seabees Naval Mobile Construction Battalions. The base was under the Commander Naval Forces Marianas. Saipan is 12 miles (19 km) long and 5 miles (8.0 km) wide. About 70% of the island was sugarcane cultivation at the start of the base construction. At the start of the Battle of Saipan, the island's population had about 30,000 Japanese troops and about 20,000 Japanese civilians. The city of Garapan was the administrative center for the Saipan governmental district.[2][3][4]
![]() Tanapag Harbor Saipan, Naval Advance Base Saipan in 1945 | |
Geography | |
---|---|
Location | Pacific Ocean |
Coordinates | 15°13′04″N 145°43′40″E |
Archipelago | Marianas |
Highest elevation | 1,560 ft (475 m) |
Highest point | Mount Tapochau |
Administration | |
United States Armed Forces from 1944 to 1962 | |
Northern Mariana Islands |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f8/Saipan_1944_map.jpg/320px-Saipan_1944_map.jpg)
The Navy used 110 ships to bring troops and equipment to Saipan from Hawaii. Included in the Saipan fleet were 37 troopships (APA and AP), 11 cargo ships (AKA and AK), 5 Dock landing ships, 47 Landing Ship, Tank and 10 Auxiliary ships. For the battle and base, 74,986 tons of cargo was moved, at 7,845,194 cubic feet of cargo.[5][6] After the war, Saipan remained a US Navy base. In 1962 Saipan became the headquarters of the U.S. administered United Nations trust territories of the Pacific Islands till 1986.[7]