The United States at this time was neutral. France was defeated by Nazi Germany in June 1940. The British Overseas Territories had become a lifeline to the UK during the war. The Battle of the Atlantic began on September 3, 1939, and by 1941 the United Kingdom (UK) needed help in protecting shipping from British Overseas Territories. ĭuring that period, many calypsos made reference to the American presence in Trinidad. Today the base headquarter is a hotel and convention center. Troops departed in 1967, the base closed in 1977, and the lease of the land was given up by the US in 1988. Trinidad being a large base and training center did not close after the war, like many other bases. The Bureau of Yards and Docks departed on June 30, 1943. By May 1944 all major construction had been completed and the 11th Construction Battalion was released. The 80th Seabees built a large blimp hangar, a mooring post, and a helium purification plant to support the blimps. Carlsen Field became a US Navy lighter-than-air base in the fall of 1943 when blimps were added to the patrol dues. Both were also used by the Navy as bases for aircraft carrier fighter aircraft and transport services. The US Army built two major airfields, Waller Field and Carlson Field. The Seabees of the 30th, 83rd and 11th Construction Battalion took over the operation and maintenance of the base from the civilian contractors. Seabees arrived at Trinidad on December 30, 1942. A 200 men team worked full-time on a malaria reduction project, due to the swamps in the area. Both bays had major dredging projects done, so the port could support large ships. Carenage Bay was also built up as a major port with the construction of a 500-by-50-foot tender pier. The Gulf of Paria was used for major fleet anchorage. The second task after the port was built, was building a naval air station and a seaplane base at Carenage Bay. Two major land bases were built at Chaguaramus (Chaguaramas Naval Base) and Tucker (Tucker Naval Base). Four bays were used for Naval activities: Carenage, Chaguaramus, Teteron, and Scotland. Later 3,800 more acres were added to the base, but only 1,200 acres were built up. The Naval Base was built on the northwest tip of the island on 7,940 acres, this included the land on five small islands in the Gulf of Paria. Trinidad, off the coast of Venezuela, was key to protecting South American trade routes and the Panama Canal. Over 10,000 Trinidadian workers were hired for the construction projects. The US Navy started construction at Trinidad on January 193, 1941. Trinidad, Bermuda, Santo Domingo and Argentia became major bases. This was done so the US could have tactical bases, patrol aircraft and ships to control the Caribbean Sea. rights to operate Advance Bases in the Atlantic. This name came from the U.S.-British Destroyers for Bases agreement which exchanged older US destroyers for U.S. Naval Base Trinidad and seven other bases in the Caribbean became known as Destroyer Bases. The base also supported emergency advance bases on the northeastern coast of Brazil. Trinidad supported US Navy subbases in St. Naval Base Trinidad also was a training center for troops preparing for war. Much of Naval Base Trinidad was built by private contractors in 1941 and in 1942 expanded by the Seabees of Naval Construction Battalions. The US Navy and US Army landed on Trinidad on September 2, 1940. So Naval Base Trinidad became a key to keeping Panama Canal, Venezuela oil and the Caribbean open.
History Īfter Adolf Hitler’s declaration of war against the United States on December 11, 1941, U-boat operations were extended to East Coast of the United States, Gulf of Mexico, and to the Caribbean. Naval Base Trinidad was commissioned on June 1, 1941, and at its peak it had 135,000 troops on the island. The base also became a repair depot, with auxiliary floating drydocks that were able to repair boats and ships in the field. The base did fueling, loading and unloading of cargo ships. Naval Base Trinidad was a US Naval Advance Base built to protect the shipping lanes to and from the Panama Canal from U-boats attacks, by sea and air. The base also supported the United States Army Air Forces, United States Coast Guard, US Marine Corps and US Army. Naval Base Trinidad was located on the Island of Trinidad in West Indies of the Caribbean Sea. The fighting in the area became known as the Battle of the Caribbean. Naval Base Trinidad, also called NAS Trinidad, NAS Port-of-Spain, was a large United States Navy Naval base built during World War II to support the many naval ships fighting and patrolling the Battle of the Atlantic.
African American Seabees of the 80th Seabees erecting an Airship Hangar at Carlsen Field Trinidad
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