U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay was a major ship-repair, supply, and rest and recreation facility of the
United States NavyThe United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
located in
ZambalesZambales is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is Iba. Zambales borders Pangasinan to the north, Tarlac and Pampanga to the east, and Bataan to the south. The province lies between the South China Sea and the Zambales Mountains. With a land area of...
,
PhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. It was the largest U.S. Navy installation in the Pacific and was the largest overseas military installation of the
United States Armed ForcesThe United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
after
Clark Air BaseClark Air Base is a former United States Air Force base on Luzon Island in the Philippines, located 3 miles west of Angeles City, about 40 miles northwest of Metro Manila. Clark Air Base was an American military facility from 1903 to 1991...
in
Angeles CityThe City of Angeles , located within the province of Pampanga in the Philippines, is locally classified as a first-class, highly-urbanized city. Its name is derived from El Pueblo de los Ángeles in honor of its patron saints, Los Santos Ángeles de los Custodios , and the name of its founder, Don...
was closed in 1991.
Spanish period
Subic BaySubic Bay is a bay forming part of Luzon Sea on the west coast of the island of Luzon in Zambales, Philippines, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila Bay. Its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility named U.S...
's famous strategic location, sheltered anchorages, and deep water was first made known when the
SpanishSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
explorer
Juan de SalcedoJuan de Salcedo was a Spanish conquistador. He was born in Mexico in 1549 and he was the grandson of Miguel López de Legazpi and brother of Felipe de Salcedo. Salcedo was one of the soldiers who accompanied the Spanish colonization of the Philippines in 1565...
reported its existence to the Spanish authorities upon his return to
ManilaManila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
after Salcedo arrived in Zambales to establish the Spanish crown but it would be a number of years before the Spanish would consider establishing a base there.
CaviteCavite is a province of the Philippines located on the southern shores of Manila Bay in the CALABARZON region in Luzon, just 30 kilometers south of Manila. Cavite is surrounded by Laguna to the east, Metro Manila to the northeast, and Batangas to the south...
, which had been home to most of the Spanish fleet in the Philippines, suffered from unhealthy living conditions and was vulnerable in time of war and bad weather because of its shallow water and lack of shelter. Because of these, a military expedition was sent to Subic Bay in 1868 with orders to survey the bay to find out if it would be a suitable site for a naval yard. The Spanish explored the entire bay and concluded that it had much promise and thus reported their findings to Cavite. This report was not well-accepted in Manila as the Spanish command was reluctant to move to the provincial isolation of Subic. Finally, in 1884, a Royal Decree declared Subic Bay as a naval port.
On March 8, 1885, the
Spanish NavyThe Spanish Navy is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces, one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Armada is responsible for notable achievements in world history such as the discovery of Americas, the first world circumnavigation, and the discovery of a maritime path...
authorized construction of the
Arsenal en Olongapo and by the following September, work started at Olongapo. Both the harbor and its inner basin were dredged and a drainage
canalCanals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
was built, as the Spanish military authorities were planning to make Olongapo and their Navy yard an "island." This canal also served as a line of defense and over which the bridge at the base's Main Gate passes. When the Arsenal was finished, the
Caviteño, the
Santa Ana, and the
San Quentin, all of which were
gunboatA gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...
s, were assigned for its defense. To complement these gunboats,
coastal artilleriesCoastal artillery is the branch of armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications....
were planned for the east and west ends of the station, as well as on Grande Island.
SeawallA seawall is a form of coastal defence constructed where the sea, and associated coastal processes, impact directly upon the landforms of the coast. The purpose of a seawall is to protect areas of human habitation, conservation and leisure activities from the action of tides and waves...
s,
causewayIn modern usage, a causeway is a road or railway elevated, usually across a broad body of water or wetland.- Etymology :When first used, the word appeared in a form such as “causey way” making clear its derivation from the earlier form “causey”. This word seems to have come from the same source by...
s and a short railway were built across the
swampA swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...
y tidal flats. To finish these projects, thousands of tons of dirt and rock from Kalalake in Olongapo had to be brought in to be used as fill. The magnitude of this quarrying was so huge that a hill eventually disappeared and became a lagoon in the area now known as Bicentennial Park.
The main entrance to the Arsenal was the West Gate, which still stands at present. This gate was equipped with gunports and also served as a
jailA jail is a short-term detention facility in the United States and Canada.Jail may also refer to:In entertainment:*Jail , a 1966 Malayalam movie*Jail , a 2009 Bollywood movie...
. This gate was connected to the South Gate, which was near the water front, by a high wall of locally quarried stone.
Inside the Arsenal, the Spanish constructed a
foundryA foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron...
, as well as other shops, which were necessary for the construction and repair of ships. The buildings were laid out in two rows on Rivera Point, a sandy patch of land jutting into the bay, and named after the incumbent Captain-General of the Philippines,
Fernando Primo de RiveraFernando Primo de Rivera y Sobremonte, 1st Marqués of Estella, 12th Count of Peña Vélez, 17th Count of Torres Rovellas, 23rd Count of Sobremonte was a Spanish politician, and soldier....
. The Arsenal's showpiece was the station
commandantCommandant is a senior title often given to the officer in charge of a large training establishment or academy. This usage is common in anglophone nations...
's headquarters, which was a one-storey building of molave and
narraNarra may refer to:* Timber trees in the genus Pterocarpus, also known as padauk** Pterocarpus indicus, a common species referred to as Narra...
, and stood near today's Alava Pier and had colored glass windows.
The Spanish navy yard was constructed in the area that was last occupied by the U.S. Naval Ship Repair Facility.
Battle of Manila Bay
On April 25, 1898,
CommodoreCommodore was an early title and later a rank in the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard and a current honorary title in the U.S. Navy with an intricate history. Because the U.S. Congress was originally unwilling to authorize more than four ranks until 1862, considerable importance...
George DeweyGeorge Dewey was an admiral of the United States Navy. He is best known for his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War...
, Commander of the U.S. Asiatic Fleet, received word that
war with SpainThe Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
had been declared and was ordered to leave
Hong KongHong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and attack the Spanish fleet in
Manila BayManila Bay is a natural harbor which serves the Port of Manila , in the Philippines.The bay is considered to be one of the best natural harbors in Southeast Asia and one of the finest in the world...
.
In the Philippines,
Rear AdmiralRear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
Patricio MontojoAdmiral Patricio Montojo y Pasarón was a career Spanish naval officer most known for his defeat at the Battle of Manila Bay by Admiral George Dewey, a decisive battle of the Spanish-American War....
, realizing that Subic Bay would provide a more defensible position than Cavite, ordered his smaller ships and the batteries in Manila Bay to resist the Dewey's fleet and deny them the entrance to Manila Bay. His other units would then use Subic Bay as a
sally portThe primary modern meaning for sally port is a secure, controlled entryway, as at a fortification or a prison. The entrance is usually protected in some way, such as with a fixed wall blocking the door which must be circumvented before entering, but which prevents direct enemy fire from a distance...
, with which he could attack the American fleet's rear and cut off its supplies. On the April 26, Montojo arrived at Subic Bay aboard the
Reina Christina, with seven other ships.
On the morning of the April 27, the
Castilla was towed northeast of Grande Island to help control the western entrance to Subic Bay. The eastern entrance, which was between Grande and Chiquita Islands, had been blocked by the scuttling of the
San Quentin and two other vessels. On Grande Island, the four six-inch (15.2 cm) guns that had been shipped from Sangley Point were not yet installed. Meanwhile, a cable-laying ship, which was commandeered to lay mines ended up putting only four of the 15 available mines in place.
In Hong Kong, Dewey purposely delayed his sailing until he received news from the U.S.
ConsulConsul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
at Manila, Oscar F. Williams, about information about the strength and positions of the Spanish fleet. Williams told Dewey that Montojo and his fleet had sailed to Subic Bay.
On April 30, Dewey sighted the islands of
LuzonLuzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
and thus ordered the
BostonThe fifth USS Boston, a protected cruiser, was launched 4 December 1884 by John Roach & Sons, Chester, Pennsylvania, and commissioned 2 May 1887, Captain Francis M. Ramsay in command....
and the
ConcordUSS Concord was a member of the of steel-hulled, twin-screw gunboats in the United States Navy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She was the second U.S. Navy ship named in honor of the town of Concord, Massachusetts, site of the Battle of Concord in the American Revolutionary War.The...
to sail at full speed to Subic Bay to hunt for enemy ships. After seeing no enemy vessels at Subic, the
Boston and the
Concord signaled the
OlympiaUSS Olympia is a protected cruiser which saw service in the United States Navy from her commissioning in 1895 until 1922. This vessel became famous as the flagship of Commodore George Dewey at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War in 1898. The ship was decommissioned after...
of their findings and rejoined the squadron underway to Manila.
DawnDawn is the time that marks the beginning of the twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the presence of weak sunlight, while the sun itself is still below the horizon...
of May 1, 1898, the American fleet entered Manila Bay and once the ships closed to within 5000 yards (4,572 m) of the Spanish fleet, Dewey ordered the Captain, Charles Gridley, of the
Olympia You may fire when you are ready Gridley. Montojo’s fleet was totally destroyed, losing 167 men and wounding 214. The Americans only suffered a handful of wounded.
In June 1898, nearly a thousand Spanish nationals left Olongapo and took refuge at Grande Island. By July, Dewey ordered the
RaleighUSS Raleigh was a United States Navy protected cruiser commissioned in 1894 and in periodic service until 1919.The second ship named Raleigh, C-8 was laid down on 19 December 1889 at the Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia; launched 31 March 1892; sponsored by Mrs. Alfred W. Haywood; and...
and the
Concord to sail for Subic Bay to demand the surrender of Grande Island. When the American ships arrived, they saw the German cruiser
Irene at the island. But as the Americans cleared for action and started to head for the Irene, she fled around the other end of Grande. The Spanish garrison on the island did not resist and immediately surrendered to Captain
Joseph CoghlanRear Admiral Joseph Bulloch Coghlan was an officer in the United States Navy during the American Civil War and the Spanish–American War.-Biography:...
of the
Raleigh.
Philippine-American War
During the
Philippine-American WarThe Philippine–American War, also known as the Philippine War of Independence or the Philippine Insurrection , was an armed conflict between a group of Filipino revolutionaries and the United States which arose from the struggle of the First Philippine Republic to gain independence following...
, the Americans focused on using the Spanish naval station at Sangley Point and largely ignored Subic Bay and the arsenal was occupied by Filipino forces. The Filipinos constructed a gun battery on top of a ridge using one of the six-inch (15.2 cm) guns on Grande Island.
In the summer of 1899, gunboats started patrolling Subic Bay and after realizing that the patrols would not stop, the Filipinos started to prepare to confront the Americans. During a routine patrol, the supply ship
Zafiro entered Subic Bay and came under fire from the newly constructed battery. The
Zafiro withdrew to Cavite and reported the incident to headquarters. The cruiser
CharlestonThe second USS Charleston was a United States Navy protected cruiser — the first US protected cruiser to be built. Lacking experience in building steel cruisers, the design was commissioned from the British company W. Armstrong, Mitchell and Co...
was then sent to Subic to silence the battery, but as she was withdrawing, the battery gave out one last shot, provoking the Americans.
On September 23, 1899, the
Charleston, the
Concord, the
MontereyThe second USS Monterey was a Monterey-class monitor. Laid down by Union Iron Works, San Francisco, California, 20 December 1889; launched 28 April 1891; sponsored by Miss Kate C...
, and the
Zafiro sailed into Subic Bay to destroy the battery. Upon clearing Kalaklan Point, the
Monterey, equipped with 10- and 12-inch (25.4 and 30.5 cm) guns, opened fire. Under this barrage, the battery was only able to fire one shot.
The
Charleston then sent a signal for 180 sailors and 70
MarinesThe United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
to land on Subic. Meanwhile the other ships continued firing. The Filipinos then deployed into the town of Olongapo, returning fire with small arms. When the entire landing force was ashore, the ships ceased firing and the landing party entered the battery. In all, three charges of guncotton were placed on the battery, completely destroying it. The party then went back to their ships and sailed for Manila. While the battery was destroyed, the Filipino forces still held the navy yard as well as Olongapo.
In December 1899, the
U.S. ArmyThe United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
launched an operation to clear the countryside of Filipinos who were resisting American rule; 90 soldiers from the 32d U.S. Volunteers set out to capture Olongapo. As the soldiers were entering Santa Rita, just outside of Olongapo, they met a pocket of resistance but after returning fire, the armed Filipinos quickly scattered. The soldiers then proceeded to capture the navy yard.
When Rear Admiral John C. Watson learned of this action against the navy yard, he set out for Subic aboard the
BaltimoreThe fourth USS Baltimore was a United States Navy cruiser, the second protected cruiser to be built by an American yard. Like the previous one, , the design was commissioned from the British company of W...
, accompanied by the
OregonUSS Oregon was a pre-Dreadnought of the United States Navy. Her construction was authorized on 30 June 1890, and the contract to build her was awarded to Union Iron Works of San Francisco, California on 19 November 1890. Her keel was laid exactly one year later...
. When the ships arrived, Watson was surprised that the U.S. Army was in complete possession of the navy yard. Watson then ordered Marine Captain John Myers ashore with 100 marines to secure the navy yard.
When the marines found the highest flagpole on the navy yard, which was in front of the hospital, they immediately raised the American flag on December 10, 1899, one year after the
Treaty of ParisThe Treaty of Paris of 1898 was signed on December 10, 1898, at the end of the Spanish-American War, and came into effect on April 11, 1899, when the ratifications were exchanged....
was signed. The Marines then took responsibility for the navy yard while the Army took over administrative and operational control of Olongapo.
Drinking waterDrinking water or potable water is water pure enough to be consumed or used with low risk of immediate or long term harm. In most developed countries, the water supplied to households, commerce and industry is all of drinking water standard, even though only a very small proportion is actually...
was not available on the navy yard and so water details had to be sent to the village of Binictican, near the mouth of the river of the same name. Early during the occupation of Olongapo, the town was offered as a place of refuge for Filipinos who were sympathetic to the Americans. After an ambush of seven Marines, the inhabitants of the villages of Binictican and Boton were ordered to move into Olongapo or be declared outlaws. Those people who owned property in the two villages were given houses in Olongapo. Six days after the villagers settled in Olongapo, the
NashvilleUSS Nashville , a gunboat, was the only ship of its class. It was the third ship of the United States Navy to hold the name Nashville....
shelled Binictican and Boton and later 100 Marines completed the destruction.
The Marines then exercised civil authority over Olongapo and ordered municipal elections, appointed local policemen, gave away food to supplement poor harvests, supplied medical care and supplies, and set up a school for the teaching of the
English languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
.
In 1900, the
General Board of the United States NavyThe General Board of the United States Navy was an advisory body of the United States Navy, effectively a naval general staff. The General Board was established by general order 544, issued on March 13, 1900 by John Davis Long. The order was officially recognized by Congress in 1916...
made a thorough study of the naval base building program and decided that the American fleet in the Philippines could be easily bottled up in either the Manila or Subic bays. They instead recommended
Guimaras IslandGuimaras is an island of the Philippines.It is the main island of Guimaras Province....
, south of
ManilaManila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
, as the most suitable site for the main American naval base in the Philippines.
Admiral of the NavyAdmiral of the navy is a senior-most rank of a naval service.Some navies use the term admiral of the navy as a title bestowed upon a fleet admiral or other senior naval official...
George DeweyGeorge Dewey was an admiral of the United States Navy. He is best known for his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War...
and Admiral
George C. RemeyGeorge Collier Remey was a rear admiral of the United States Navy, serving in the Civil War and the Spanish–American War.-Biography:...
, Commander of the Asiatic Fleet, disagreed. They thought Subic Bay held the greatest potential.
The Navy then called for another study with Remey as the senior member. This board then decided that Subic Bay was the most suitable and practicable place to build a naval base. A board of officers under Rear Admiral Henry C. Taylor was then appointed to develop a plan for the naval station. Extensive plans for fortifications, dockyards, drydocks, workshops, a hospital, a railroad linking Olongapo with Manila and storage facilities for 20,000 tons (18,000 metric tons) of coal were drawn up and submitted to the
CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
.
The board requested an appropriation of $1 million ($ in dollars) to begin building the naval station.
PresidentThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Theodore RooseveltTheodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
, a strong supporter of the establishment of a naval station at Subic Bay, issued an Executive Order establishing the Subic Bay Naval Reservation.
Because of the establishment of the Subic Bay Naval Reservation in November 1901 more troops were assigned to Subic. When the Samar force returned at the beginning of March 1902, its personnel were divided between Olongapo and Cavite. Cavite, however, still continued to have the largest number of Marines anywhere in the Philippines and continued to be the headquarters of the U.S. Navy because of its proximity to Manila.
In December 1902, Rear Admiral Robley D. Evans, Commander of the Asiatic Fleet, directed the first fleet exercise in Asian waters. An expeditionary force of 200 Marines occupied and erected guns on Grande Island. The channels on each side of the island were mined, while vessels of the fleet operated in the bay itself. The exercise was highly successful and confirmed the Admiral's opinion of the strategic advantage of Subic Bay.
The value of Subic Bay as a training area was recognized as the Marines practiced movements in wild and difficult environment. Their building of bridges and roads was also considered to be excellent training.
In June 1907, as tensions with Japan mounted, orders were secretly issued for Army and Navy forces in the Philippines to concentrate at Subic Bay. A large supply of
coalCoal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
and certain advanced base materials including coastal defense guns were to be moved from Cavite. This plan, however, would be opposed by other military leaders and by Governor-General
Leonard WoodLeonard Wood was a physician who served as the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Military Governor of Cuba and Governor General of the Philippines. Early in his military career, he received the Medal of Honor. Wood also holds officer service #2 in the Regular Army...
. An acrimonious debate would emerge and plans to build a major base in the Philippines would be discarded. Roosevelt would be disappointed by this, wrote that the aforementioned decision was a humiliating experience, and instead pushed for the development of
Pearl HarborPearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
in
HawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
.
World War I and Inter-War Years
In 1917, as the United States was drawn into
World War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, all the Navy's shipyards including Subic Bay began working at a feverish pace to prepare ships for sea. American and Filipino workers would take pride in their workmanship such that destroyers that were overhauled in Subic Bay became the vanguard of Admiral
William SimsWilliam Sowden Sims was an admiral in the United States Navy who sought during the late 19th and early 20th centuries to modernize the Navy. During World War I he commanded all United States naval forces operating in Europe...
's convoy.
The
Washington Naval TreatyThe Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was an attempt to cap and limit, and "prevent 'further' costly escalation" of the naval arms race that had begun after World War I between various International powers, each of which had significant naval fleets. The treaty was...
of 1922 called for the limitation of naval armaments and included provisions that facilities for the repair and maintenance of American naval forces in the Philippines would be reduced. Shops were dismantled at the navy yard at Subic Bay and
Fort WintFort Wint was part of the harbor defenses of Manila and Subic Bays built by the Philippine Department of the United States Army between 1907 and 1920 in response to recommendations of the Taft Board prior to the non-fortification clause of the Washington Naval Treaty...
was reduced to caretaker status and personnel levels were cut.
The
Japanese governmentThe Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
kept a close eye on activities in the Philippines for violations of the 1922 treaty. During the typhoon season of 1928, VT Squadron Five which operated
MartinThe Glenn L. Martin Company was an American aircraft and aerospace manufacturing company that was founded by the aviation pioneer Glenn L. Martin. The Martin Company produced many important aircraft for the defense of the United States and its allies, especially during World War II and the Cold War...
torpedo aircraft out of Manila, arrived in Subic Bay on a routine training flight. A typhoon suddenly veered toward Subic Bay and the plane crews had to lay down ramps to haul the seaplanes up on the beach. The pontoons were filled with water and the planes lashed down. When the typhoon had passed, the undamaged planes were refloated and returned to their tenders at Manila.
Within three weeks, the squadron commander was informed of a Japanese complaint that the Navy had violated the treaty by increasing the facilities for plane handling at Subic Bay. The squadron commander was to provide all facts concerning the incident to the Office of the Governor-General of the Philippines so that a response could be made to the
Tokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
government.
Even though the facilities at Subic Bay were greatly reduced under the
CoolidgeJohn Calvin Coolidge, Jr. was the 30th President of the United States . A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state...
administration, some ship repair capability remained, including the
Dewey DrydockUSS Dewey was a floating dry dock built for the United States Navy in 1905, and named for American Admiral George Dewey. The drydock was towed to her station in the Philippines in 1906 and remained there until scuttled by American forces, to prevent her falling into the hands of the invading...
. An earthquake on August 30, 1923, devastated Yokohama, Japan and in 72 hours, the transport ship
Merritt set sail from Subic Bay, loaded with Red Cross relief supplies and 200 Filipino nurses.
In the 1930s a tree-planting program was begun, transforming the naval station into a virtual tropical garden, with streets lined with coconut palms,
hibiscusHibiscus is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is quite large, containing several hundred species that are native to warm-temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world...
, and
gardeniaGardenia is a genus of 142 species of flowering plants in the coffee family, Rubiaceae, native to the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, southern Asia, Australasia and Oceania....
s. Outside activities and sports were also promoted, with a
golf courseA golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...
being laid out where Lowry Hall last stood.
World War II
By mid-1940, the Nazis had overrun Europe and Japan was beginning to flex its military muscle. The
United States CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
therefore authorized the release of funds with which to update the Coast Defenses of Manila and Subic Bays. President
Franklin D. RooseveltFranklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
would complement this by ordering the integration of Filipino military forces into the newly created U.S. Army Forces in the Far East. General
Douglas MacArthurGeneral of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...
, who had been serving as a military advisor to the government of the
Commonwealth of the PhilippinesThe Commonwealth of the Philippines was a designation of the Philippines from 1935 to 1946 when the country was a commonwealth of the United States. The Commonwealth was created by the Tydings-McDuffie Act, which was passed by the U.S. Congress in 1934. When Manuel L...
and was also Field Marshal of the Philippines, was ordered back to active duty with the rank of
Lieutenant GeneralIn the United States Army, the United States Air Force and the United States Marine Corps, lieutenant general is a three-star general officer rank, with the pay grade of O-9. Lieutenant general ranks above major general and below general...
with the title of Commander of the United States Army Forces in the Far East.
To prepare for eventual war, Dewey Drydock, which had been at Subic Bay for 35 years was towed to Mariveles Harbor, on the tip of the
Bataan PeninsulaThe Bataan Peninsula is a rocky extension of the Zambales Mountains, on Luzon in the Philippines. It separates the Manila Bay from the South China Sea...
, and scuttled there on April 8, 1942 to prevent the Japanese from deriving benefit from it.
The 4th Marine Regiment, which had been withdrawn from Shanghai in
ChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, was ordered to withdraw to the Philippines. The first members of the regiment disembarked from the
President Madison at Subic Bay early in the morning of November 1, 1941. The remainder arrived on December 1. The marines were housed in temporary wooden
barracksBarracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
and in tents at the naval station and the rifle range.
The freshly arrived Marines were assigned to provide land defense for Subic Bay. Seaward defenses included the batteries at
Fort WintFort Wint was part of the harbor defenses of Manila and Subic Bays built by the Philippine Department of the United States Army between 1907 and 1920 in response to recommendations of the Taft Board prior to the non-fortification clause of the Washington Naval Treaty...
on Grande Island and a minefield, which had been laid off the entrance to Subic Harbor. As the Marines built beach defenses,
Consolidated PBY-4 CatalinasThe Consolidated PBY Catalina was an American flying boat of the 1930s and 1940s produced by Consolidated Aircraft. It was one of the most widely used multi-role aircraft of World War II. PBYs served with every branch of the United States Armed Forces and in the air forces and navies of many other...
from VP101 and VP-102 of Patrol Wing 10, which was stationed at Subic Bay, were conducting daily patrols off Luzon as a response to rumors that the Japanese were approaching the Philippines. On December 11, seven Catalinas had just returned from patrol when
Japanese ZeroesThe Mitsubishi A6M Zero was a long-range fighter aircraft operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service from 1940 to 1945. The A6M was designated as the , and also designated as the Mitsubishi A6M Rei-sen and Mitsubishi Navy 12-shi Carrier Fighter. The A6M was usually referred to by the...
appeared and strafed the aircraft. One
ensignAn ensign is a national flag when used at sea, in vexillology, or a distinguishing token, emblem, or badge, such as a symbol of office in heraldry...
was killed and all Catalinas sank to the bottom of Subic Bay's inner basin.
As the Japanese continued their advance through Luzon,
telephoneThe telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
and telegraph lines between Manila and Olongapo were sabotaged; as a result, all Japanese in Olongapo were rounded up and turned over to the
Provost MarshalThe Provost Marshal is the officer in the armed forces who is in charge of the military police .There may be a Provost Marshal serving at many levels of the hierarchy and he may also be the public safety officer of a military installation, responsible for the provision of fire, gate security, and...
. A
priestA priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
had also been questioning Marines and Filipinos about sensitive matters such as troop positions and strength and after the Marines became suspicious, a search of the priest's belongings was ordered and a shortwave radio was found. Right there and then, the battalion commander convened a hearing and after intense interrogation, the priest confessed to being a member of the
German-American BundThe German American Bund or German American Federation was an American Nazi organization established in the 1930s...
and had been a spy for the Japanese. The man was then brought to the back of the church and shot by a Marine firing squad.
By December 24, the situation at Subic had become hopeless and an order to destroy the station and withdraw was given. All buildings on the station were torched while Filipinos burned the entire town of Olongapo. All that remained on Subic was the former
New YorkUSS New York was a United States Navy armored cruiser. The fourth Navy ship to be named in honor of the state of New York, she was later renamed Saratoga and then Rochester ....
, and she was towed into a deep part of the bay and scuttled. All Marines withdrew to
BataanBataan is a province of the Philippines occupying the whole of the Bataan Peninsula on Luzon. The province is part of the Central Luzon region. The capital of Bataan is Balanga City and it is bordered by the provinces of Zambales and Pampanga to the north...
and eventually to Corregidor where they made their last stand.
Fort Wint, under the command of
ColonelColonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Napoleon Boudreau of the U.S. Army, was evacuated on December 25. All equipment and supplies were destroyed. On January 10, 1942, soldiers of the Japanese Imperial Army's 14th Infantry Division marched into Olongapo and on the 12th, the Japanese commandeered native fishing boats to seize Grande Island. Subic Bay Naval Station was established with four companies of soldiers and a company of
KempeitaiThe was the military police arm of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1881 to 1945. It was not an English-style military police, but a French-style gendarmerie...
.
Within one week of the Japanese's occupation of Subic Bay and Grande Island, American
PT BoatPT Boats were a variety of motor torpedo boat , a small, fast vessel used by the United States Navy in World War II to attack larger surface ships. The PT boat squadrons were nicknamed "the mosquito fleet". The Japanese called them "Devil Boats".The original pre–World War I torpedo boats were...
s at Cavite were ordered to attack a Japanese ship, which was anchored at Subic Bay, that was shelling American positions. PT-31 and PT-34 entered the bay separately. PT-31 suffered engine trouble and ran aground on a
reefIn nautical terminology, a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water ....
. She was abandoned and destroyed. PT-34 entered undetected and sunk a 5,000-long-ton (5,000-metric-ton) transport that was off-loading supplies. She was then taken under heavy fire but managed to escape undamaged.
PT-32 was then ordered into Subic Bay and attacked and hit a light cruiser on February 1. On the 17th, PT-34 made a final but unsuccessful attack at Subic Bay after which all PT Boats were ordered to leave the Philippines.
To protect Subic Bay, the Japanese garrisoned Fort Wint with anti-aircraft artillery and automatic weapons but did not repair the American guns nor build permanent fortification.
The Japanese then started shipbuilding at Subic Bay and began constructing wooden auxiliary vessels. Several hundred workers from occupied-China and
FormosaTaiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
were brought in as laborers, in addition to 1,000 Filipinos. Nine ships were built and shipped to Cavite for engine installation, however, none of the ships would see active service as they were destroyed by U.S. Navy aircraft.
One of the few buildings that were left standing from the bombing and subsequent torching of the station was the Catholic Church. The Japanese removed all religious articles and converted it into a
movie theaterA movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
and was later used to imprison
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
s and
FilipinosThe Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....
that had been captured. Those who died were buried behind the church in a common cemetery. When all the prisoners were shipped to Manila, the Japanese used the church as a stable for horses.
On October 20, 1944, four U.S. Army divisions aboard 650 U.S. Navy vessels landed at
Palo, LeytePalo is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Leyte, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 47,982 people in 9,272 households.-Barangays:Palo is politically subdivided into 33 barangays.* Anahaway* Arado* Baras...
, fulfilling MacArthur's promise to return to the Philippines. On December 13, the Japanese began evacuating civilians and non-essentials from Manila aboard the
Oryoku Maru and four other merchant ships. As the ship was heading for Japan,
fighter aircraftA fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
from the
HornetUSS Hornet is a United States Navy aircraft carrier of the Essex class. Construction started in August 1942; she was originally named , but was renamed in honor of the , which was lost in October 1942, becoming the eighth ship to bear the name.Hornet was commissioned in November 1943, and after...
attacked the ships and left hundred of Japanese dead or wounded. The Oryoku Maru, heavily damaged with a destroyed steering gear, pulled into Subic Bay. Throughout the night, the Japanese disembarked while the American and Allied prisoners, that were carried below decks, were left aboard.
The next morning, Japanese guards ordered the prisoners to come up on deck. As Navy aircraft began to strafe the ships, the prisoners started frantically running about. As the pilots approached, they recognized the white shapes as Americans or Allies and sharply pulled up, rocking their wings in recognition. Afterwards, the 1,360 surviving Allied prisoners were forced to strip and swim ashore where they were crowded into a fenced
tennis courtA tennis court is where the game of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the center. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles.-Dimensions:...
near the Spanish Gate.
Early the succeeding morning, three fighters scored two direct hits on the Oryoku Maru and she burst into flames. After burning for two hours, she settled into the water about 100 yards (91.4 m) off Alava Pier.
When the planes had left the Japanese served the prisoners their first meal since leaving Manila 2 days before: 2 teaspoons of dry, raw rice. There was only one faucet from which the water trickled out so slowly that a prisoner was lucky if he managed one drink every 18 hours. Roll call was taken each morning. Those that had died during the night were buried in an improvised cemetery next to the seawall. After four days at Subic, only 450 survived the makeshift prison; they were subsequently sent to the labor camps in Japan.
By January 1945, the Japanese had all but abandoned Subic Bay. The U.S.
Fifth Air ForceThe Fifth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan....
had dropped 175 tons of bombs on Grande Island evoking only light fire from the skeleton Japanese force manning the anti-aircraft guns. The commander of Japanese forces in the Philippines, General
Tomoyuki YamashitaGeneral was a general of the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II. He was most famous for conquering the British colonies of Malaya and Singapore, earning the nickname "The Tiger of Malaya".- Biography :...
, had withdrawn his forces into defensive mountain positions and ordered Colonel Sanenbou Nagayoshi to block Highway 7 near Subic Bay.
On January 29, 40,000 American troops of the 38th Division and 34th Regimental Combat Team came ashore without resistance at
San Antonio, ZambalesSan Antonio is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Zambales in the Philippines. According to the latest Philippine census, it has a population of 32,494 people in 6,483 households in an area of 18,812 hectares...
, by the site of what became known as the San Miguel Naval Communications Station. The column advanced toward Subic Bay, meeting their first resistance at the bridge spanning the Kalaklan River near the Olongapo Cemetery. The Japanese, knowing that they would imminently lose the town, decided to destroy Olongapo. Eventually, the Japanese evacuated the town and the 34th Regiment took over.
The following day, Grande Island was taken and Navy
minesweepersA minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...
began clearing the bay. Engineers of the 38th Division remained in Olongapo to begin reactivation of Subic Bay Naval Station. Bridges, buildings and the water distilling plant were repaired and the beaches and streets were cleared. Soon enough,
LSTLanding Ship, Tank was the military designation for naval vessels created during World War II to support amphibious operations by carrying significant quantities of vehicles, cargo, and landing troops directly onto an unimproved shore....
s were making dry-ramp landings near the town of
SubicSubic is a 1st class municipality in the province of Zambales, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 77,118 people in 13,882 households....
.
While Army engineers were busy around Subic Bay, the remaining troops moved east along Highway 7, planning to cross the base of Bataan to meet elements of the Army's XIV Corps, which were moving west on the same road. On the morning of January 31, 1945, the Americans began climbing the forested hills of Zig Zag Pass and into a hornet's nest of Japanese.
In the first three days at Zig Zag Pass the U.S. 152nd had more casualties than during 78 days of combat in Leyte. General Henry L. C. Jones was relieved and command of the 38th was given to General Roy W. Easley who used P-47s for air support. The planes began an intensive strafing and bombing of the jungle and dropped
napalmNapalm is a thickening/gelling agent generally mixed with gasoline or a similar fuel for use in an incendiary device, primarily as an anti-personnel weapon...
on the Japanese positions.
After 15 days of fighting the enemy positions were finally overrun. The Japanese had succeeded in their mission to slow the American advance but lost more than 2,400 troops. American losses had been 1,400 killed.
After the war
Immediately after the liberation of the Philippines, Subic Bay was designated Naval Advance Unit No. 6, housing a
submarineA submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
and a
motor torpedo boatMotor Torpedo Boat was the name given to fast torpedo boats by the Royal Navy, and the Royal Canadian Navy.The capitalised term is generally used for the Royal Navy boats and abbreviated to "MTB"...
base unit. Grande Island was reoccupied and garrisoned with 155 mm. guns and anti-aircraft guns but was never developed again as a permanent coastal defense fort. In 1963, most of the remaining guns were moved back to the United States to be displayed in coastal defense parks. A few years after the war and until Subic Bay was handed over to the Philippine government, Grande Island was used as a fleet recreation area.
Marines destined for the occupation of Subic Bay landed at Manila on September 26, 1945. They were designated as the 26th Provisional Company and assumed naval base security duties from the Army.
In July 1945 a naval supply depot was established at Maquinaya, about 3 miles (5 km) from the main base, along with an Advance Base Construction Depot and the 115th Seabees. These combined activities boosted the number of civilian personnel to a peak of 9,000 in 1946.
The town of Olongapo was re-established across the drainage canal on its present site, about 1000 yards (914.4 m) inland from where it stood before the War. The town was patterned after an American town with streets laid out along straight lines, both horizontally and vertically. Even though Philippine Independence was granted on July 4, 1946, Olongapo remained under the administration of the U.S. Naval Reservation. The
Commanding OfficerThe commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
of the Naval Station was also chairman of the town council, the school board, the hospital board and other governing bodies.
On March 14, 1947 the Military Bases Agreement was signed granting the United States a 99-year lease for 16 bases or military reservations including Subic Bay as well as the administration of the town of Olongapo.
The need for a naval air station was realized during the
Korean WarThe Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
.
AdmiralAdmiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
Arthur W. RadfordArthur William Radford was a United States Navy Admiral, Commander-in-Chief of the United States Pacific Command and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.Arthur Radford was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1896...
,
Chief of Naval OperationsThe Chief of Naval Operations is a statutory office held by a four-star admiral in the United States Navy, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Navy. The office is a military adviser and deputy to the Secretary of the Navy...
conceived of the construction of a naval air station at Cubi Point, which was then a rugged and jungle covered finger of land 3 miles (5 km) from Subic Naval Base. He pictured the air station as a vital link in the defense of the Southwest Pacific.
In spite of the magnitude of the job and the tremendous difficulties the construction involved, the project was approved by
The PentagonThe Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
. Civilian contractors were initially tapped to fulfill the project but after seeing the forbidding Zambales Mountains and the maze of jungle at Cubi Point, they claimed it could not be done. The Navy's
SeabeeSeabees are members of the United States Navy construction battalions. The word Seabee is a proper noun that comes from the initials of Construction Battalion, of the United States Navy...
s were then given the project and in 1951, the Seabees began the first phase of the project. The first Seabees to arrive were MCB-3 on October 2, 1951; the second, MCB-5, arrived on November 5, 1951.
The first problem encountered was the transfer of an entire town. The town of Banicain stood on the site of the proposed airfield and so had to be moved to the community of Olongapo where it became New Banicain. The former Banicain now lies under 45 feet (13.7 m) of earth.
The next problem involved the moving of mountains and the building of a 10000 feet (3,048 m) long airstrip that stretches out into Subic Bay, along the waterfront and out into the sea. It was one of the largest earthmoving projects in the world, equivalent to the construction of the
Panama CanalThe Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
.
In all, it took five years and an estimated 20-million man-hours to build this Navy base. At Cubi Point Seabees cut a mountain in half to make way for a nearly two-mile (3.2 km) long runway. They blasted
coralCorals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...
to fill a section of
Subic BaySubic Bay is a bay forming part of Luzon Sea on the west coast of the island of Luzon in Zambales, Philippines, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila Bay. Its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility named U.S...
, filled
swamplandIn physics, the term swampland is used in contrast to the term "landscape," to indicate physical theories or aspects of such theories which could be true if gravity wasn't an issue, but which are not compatible with string theory...
, moved trees as much as 150 feet (45.7 m) tall and six to eight feet in diameter, and relocated a native fishing village.
The $100 million facility ($ in dollars) was commissioned on July 25, 1956 and comprised an air station and an adjacent pier that was capable of docking the Navy's largest carriers.
By the mid-1950s Olongapo grew rapidly as the naval station expanded in response to the communist threat in Southeast Asia. The Navy began a $1.5 million construction plan for the development of the town.
It was also during the 1950s that Subic Bay became home to the major medical facility, the
U.S. Naval Hospital, Subic BayU.S. Naval Hospital, Subic Bay was the main medical facility of the U.S. Naval Forces, Philippines. In 1992, after the Philippine government decided not to renew that agreement with the U.S. for bases, the Subic Bay Naval Base were abandoned by the U.S.- History :U.S...
. On 13 July 1956, the hospital first opened its doors as U.S. Naval Station Hospital, Subic Bay and was designated for 90 operating beds with facilities for expansion to 141 beds, covering all primary clinical specialties.
At the same time, a growing number of Filipinos, both in Olongapo and Manila, began to call for the separation of Olongapo from the naval reservation and return the town to Filipino control. They felt that Olongapo, for all practical purposes, was American territory where the 60,000 Filipino inhabitants were aliens. As a result of negotiations, certain reforms were instituted:
- Olongapo High School was turned over to the Philippine government, and
- membership in the town council was made elective.
On December 7, 1959, under provisions of the RP-US Military Bases Agreement, the United States relinquished Olongapo to the Philippine government. Included in the turnover were water, electrical and telephone systems valued at $6 million.
The Vietnam War
The
Vietnam WarThe Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
placed tremendous workload on Subic Bay. The base became the service station and
supermarketA supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
for the U.S. Seventh Fleet after the
Gulf of Tonkin incidentThe Gulf of Tonkin Incident, or the USS Maddox Incident, are the names given to two incidents, one fabricated, involving North Vietnam and the United States in the waters of the Gulf of Tonkin...
in 1964. From an average of 98 ship visits a month in 1964, the average shot up to 215 by 1967, with about 30 ships in port on any given day. A new record was set in October 1968 with 47 ships in port.
More than $63 million of construction projects were contracted between 1964 and 1968. The Main Exchange and recreation complex near the main gate as well as 100 housing units were constructed. The 4,224,503 sailors who visited Subic Bay in 1967 helped the Navy Exchange record the largest volume of sales of any exchange in the world, more than $25 million.
Although the American military and civilian population totaled about 4,300 and Filipino workers numbered more than 15,000, the Ship Repair Facility (SRF) was neither outfitted or manned for the increasing workload and emergency peaks generated by the war. SRF workers worked 12-hour shifts for an average of over 60 hours per week. The physical plant consisted of
quonset hutA Quonset hut is a lightweight prefabricated structure of corrugated galvanized steel having a semicircular cross section. The design was based on the Nissen hut developed by the British during World War I...
s, which were put up after World War II, and workers used obsolete tools and equipment. To increase the capabilities of the repair facility, the number of repair ships and tenders was increased from 2 to 3. When the New York Navy Yard was decommissioned, it provided a quick source of needed machine tools and equipment and additional floating drydocks were activated.
The fire-ravaged
Forrestal was repaired in August 1967 before her return to the United States for a complete overhaul. Destroyers
O'BrienUSS O'Brien , an , was the 4th ship of the United States Navy to be named after Captain Jeremiah O'Brien and his five brothers, Gideon, John, William, Dennis and Joseph, who captured HMS Margaretta on 12 June 1775 during the American revolution.The fourth O'Brien was laid down by Bath Iron Works,...
,
OzbournUSS Ozbourn was a Gearing-class destroyer in the United States Navy during the Korean War and the Vietnam War. She was named for Marine Private Joseph W...
,
Turner JoyUSS Turner Joy was one of 18 s of the United States Navy. She was named for Admiral Charles Turner Joy USN . Commissioned in 1959, she spent her entire career in the Pacific...
and
EdsonUSS Edson was a of the United States Navy, named for Major General Merritt “Red Mike” Edson USMC , who was awarded the Medal of Honor while serving as Commanding Officer of the First Marine Raider Battalion on Guadalcanal, and the Navy Cross and Silver Star for other actions in world War...
, damaged by
North VietnamThe Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
ese shore batteries, were repaired, as were amphibious assault craft, river patrol boats and other small craft. A 600-foot (183 m) extension to Alava pier was completed in 1967 significantly increasing berthing capacity.
The
Royal Australian NavyThe Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
destroyer
Hobart was repaired at Subic following the attack by USAF aircraft on June 17, 1968.
The Naval Supply Depot (NSD) handled the largest volume of fuel oil of any Navy facility in the world, with more than 4 Moilbbl of fuel oil processed each month. An offshore fueling terminal began operation in September 1967, allowing commercial tankers to unload fuel oil and aviation gas without docking at the busy fuel pier. The depot also supplied
Clark Air BaseClark Air Base is a former United States Air Force base on Luzon Island in the Philippines, located 3 miles west of Angeles City, about 40 miles northwest of Metro Manila. Clark Air Base was an American military facility from 1903 to 1991...
with aviation fuel through a 41-mile (66 km)
pipelinePipeline transport is the transportation of goods through a pipe. Most commonly, liquids and gases are sent, but pneumatic tubes that transport solid capsules using compressed air are also used....
. In addition to its fuel operations, NSD also stocked over 200,000 various items for use by the fleet. In June 1968 a fire of unknown origin destroyed a warehouse with the loss of 18,000 line items worth more than $10 million.
NAS Cubi Point served as the primary maintenance, repair and supply center for the 400 carrier based aircraft of the Seventh Fleet's carrier force. The
jet engineA jet engine is a reaction engine that discharges a fast moving jet to generate thrust by jet propulsion and in accordance with Newton's laws of motion. This broad definition of jet engines includes turbojets, turbofans, rockets, ramjets, pulse jets...
shop turned out two jet engines a day to keep pace with the demands of the air war in Vietnam.
Harbor Clearance Unit One was activated at Subic Bay in 1966 with the mission of salvaging ships from the rivers and harbors of
VietnamVietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
. Two of the biggest jobs were the salvaging of the
Baton Rouge Victory from the
Saigon RiverThe Saigon River is a river located in southern Vietnam that rises near Phum Daung in southeastern Cambodia, flows south and south-southeast for about 140 miles and empties into the Nha Be River, which in its turn empties into the South China Sea some 20 km north-east of the Mekong Delta.The...
and the raising of the 170 feet (51.8 m) dredge
Jamaica Bay from the Mỹ Tho River. Both jobs were accomplished despite continuous harassment by enemy sniper fire.
On June 3, 1969 the
Royal Australian NavyThe Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
carrier HMAS
Melbourne was involved in a collision with USS
Frank E. Evans about 240 miles (386.2 km) southwest of Manila. The
USS KearsargeUSS Kearsarge was one of 24 s completed during or shortly after World War II for the United States Navy. The ship was the third US Navy ship to bear the name, and was named for a Civil War-era steam sloop. Kearsarge was commissioned in March 1946...
brought 196 of the 199 survivors to Subic Bay. A Joint Australian/U.S. Board of Inquiry convened on June 9 in the library of George Dewey High School, the same day the stern section of the Evans arrived under tow by a tug. It was stripped and towed to sea as a gunnery target.
On June 12, 1968 General
William WestmorelandWilliam Childs Westmoreland was a United States Army General, who commanded US military operations in the Vietnam War at its peak , during the Tet Offensive. He adopted a strategy of attrition against the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam and the North Vietnamese Army. He later served as...
visited Subic Bay and thanked its personnel for their support while he was the commander of the American forces in Vietnam. During the first six months of 1968, Subic Bay had supplied allied ships in Vietnam that had fired 600,000 rounds of
naval ordnanceNaval artillery, or naval riflery, is artillery mounted on a warship for use in naval warfare. Naval artillery has historically been used to engage either other ships, or targets on land; in the latter role it is currently termed naval gunfire fire support...
at the enemy. A total of 5,077 underway replenishments had been performed by supporting ships out of Subic Bay.
Following the fall of
SaigonHo Chi Minh City , formerly named Saigon is the largest city in Vietnam...
in the summer of 1975 hundreds of thousands of refugees fled Vietnam. Thousands of these refugees were rescued at sea by U.S. Navy ships and taken to Subic Bay. A temporary processing center that handled thousands of refugees was set up on Grande Island in 1975. They were later taken to the
Philippine Refugee Processing CenterThe Philippine Refugee Processing Center was a large facility near Morong, Bataan, Philippines, which was used as the final stop for Indochinese refugees making their way to permanent resettlement in other nations....
in
Morong, BataanMorong is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Bataan, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 27,119 people in 4,204 households. Subic Bay International Airport is located in this town...
.
The Military Bases Agreement of 1947 was amended in 1979, changing the role of the Americans at Subic Bay from landlord to guest. The amendment confirmed Philippine sovereignty over the base and reduced the area set aside for U.S. use from 244 to 63 square kilometres. Philippine troops assumed responsibility for the perimeter security of the base to reduce incidents between U.S. military and Philippine civilians. The unhampered operation of U.S. forces was assured. The U.S. granted the Philippines $500 million in military sales credits and supporting assistance.
Closure
On June 15, 1991,
Mount PinatuboMount Pinatubo is an active stratovolcano located on the island of Luzon, near the tripoint of the Philippine provinces of Zambales, Tarlac, and Pampanga. It is located in the Tri-Cabusilan Mountain range separating the west coast of Luzon from the central plains, and is west of the dormant and...
, just 20 miles (32 km) from Subic Bay, exploded with a force 8 times greater than the
Mount St. HelensMount St. Helens is an active stratovolcano located in Skamania County, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is south of Seattle, Washington and northeast of Portland, Oregon. Mount St. Helens takes its English name from the British diplomat Lord St Helens, a...
eruption. Day turned to night as volcanic ash blotted out the sun. Volcanic earthquakes and heavy rain, lightning and thunder from
Typhoon YunyaTropical Storm Enrique formed in the eastern Pacific basin, where it reached it's peak intensity as a category 1 Hurricane, becoming Hurricane Enrique. Enrique lasted for 6 days before becoming a remnant low, shortly after entering in the central Pacific....
passing over northern Luzon made Black Saturday a 36-hour nightmare.
By the morning of June 16, when the volcano's fury subsided, Subic Bay lay buried under 1 foot (0.3048 m) of rain-soaked, sandy ash.
Buildings everywhere collapsed under the weight of the coarse gray ash. Two girls, one a nine-year-old American and the other a Filipino citizen, died when trapped under a falling roof at George Dewey High School. In the city of Olongapo, more than 60 volcano-related deaths were reported, including eight who were crushed when part of Olongapo General Hospital collapsed.
That night, the threat of continued eruptions combined with the lack of water and electricity led to the decision to evacuate all dependents. U.S. warships and cargo planes began the emergency evacuation of thousands of Navy and Air Force dependents. Seven Navy ships sailed Monday, June 17, with 6,200 dependents. A total of 17 ships, including the aircraft carriers,
USS Abraham LincolnUSS Abraham Lincoln , is the fifth Nimitz-class supercarrier in the United States Navy. She is the second Navy ship named after former president Abraham Lincoln. Her home port is Everett, Washington.-Construction:...
and
USS MidwayUSS Midway may refer to:, which was the Oritani and then the Tyree before being chartered as a general auxiliary in 1942, renamed to Panay in 1943, and returned to her owner in 1946...
evacuated all 20,000 dependents over the next few days. The evacuees were taken by ship to
Mactan Air BaseMactan Air Base was a facility of the United States Air Force located on Mactan Island in Cebu, Philippines.-Location:Mactan Air Base is located on Mactan Island, off Cebu City in the province Cebu in the south central Philippines...
and then were airlifted by U.S. Air Force
C-141 StarlifterThe Lockheed C-141 Starlifter was a military strategic airlifter in service with the Air Mobility Command of the United States Air Force...
s to
Andersen Air Force BaseAndersen Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately northeast of Yigo in the United States territory of Guam....
at
GuamGuam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
.
After the dependents were evacuated, an intense clean-up was begun. All hands, American service members and Filipino base employees, worked around the clock to restore essential services.
Clark Air BaseClark Air Base is a former United States Air Force base on Luzon Island in the Philippines, located 3 miles west of Angeles City, about 40 miles northwest of Metro Manila. Clark Air Base was an American military facility from 1903 to 1991...
, much closer to Mount Pinatubo, was declared a total loss and plans for a complete closure were started.
Within two weeks NAS Cubi Point was back in limited operation. Soon, most buildings had electricity and water restored. By mid-July service had been restored to most family housing units. The dependents began returning September 8, 1991 and by the end of the month almost all were back at Subic Bay from the United States.
Many months before the expiration of the Military Bases Agreement of 1947 intense negotiations between the governments of the United States and the Philippines began. These negotiations resulted in the Treaty of Friendship, Peace and Cooperation between the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the Republic of the Philippines. This would have extended the lease of the American bases in the Philippines.
On September 13, 1991, the
Philippine SenateThe Senate of the Philippines is the upper chamber of the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, the Congress of the Philippines...
rejected the ratification of this treaty, citing a number of reasons for the rejection. This was a devastating blow to the Aquino administration, who were strongly pro-treaty and even called for a referendum by the Filipino people; a move that was declared unconstitutional.
In December 1991, the two governments were again in talks to extend the withdrawal of American forces for three years but this broke down as the United States refused to detail their withdrawal plans or to answer if
nuclear weaponA nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
s were kept on base. Finally on December 27, President Corazon Aquino, who had previously fought to delay the U.S. pullout to cushion the country's battered economy, issued a formal notice for the U.S. to leave by the end of 1992. Naval Station Subic Bay was the U.S.'s largest overseas defense facility after
Clark Air BaseClark Air Base is a former United States Air Force base on Luzon Island in the Philippines, located 3 miles west of Angeles City, about 40 miles northwest of Metro Manila. Clark Air Base was an American military facility from 1903 to 1991...
was closed.
During 1992, tons of material including drydocks and equipment, were shipped to various Naval Stations. Ship-repair and maintenance yards as well as supply depots were relocated to other Asian countries including
JapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and
SingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. Finally, on November 24, 1992, the American Flag was lowered in Subic for the last time and the last 1,416 Sailors and Marines at Subic Bay Naval Base left by plane from NAS Cubi Point and by the
USS Belleau WoodUSS Belleau Wood , nicknamed "Devil Dog", was the second ship named after the battle of Belleau Wood in World War I. Her keel was laid down on 5 March 1973 at Pascagoula, Mississippi, by Ingalls Shipbuilding. She was launched on 11 April 1977, and commissioned on 23 September 1978, with Captain T.C...
. This withdrawal marked the first time since the 16th century that no foreign military forces were present in the Philippines.
See also
Other former United States Navy installations::
- Naval Air Station Cubi Point
U.S. Naval Air Station Cubi Point was a United States Navy aerial facility located at the edge of Naval Base Subic Bay and abutting the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines.- History :...
- U.S. Naval Hospital, Subic Bay
U.S. Naval Hospital, Subic Bay was the main medical facility of the U.S. Naval Forces, Philippines. In 1992, after the Philippine government decided not to renew that agreement with the U.S. for bases, the Subic Bay Naval Base were abandoned by the U.S.- History :U.S...
- U.S. Naval Radio Facility Bagobantay
U.S. Naval Radio Facility Bagobantay was a communications facility of the United States Navy that was located in Quezon City, The Philippines.- History :...
- U.S. Naval Station Sangley Point
Naval Station Sangley Point was a communication and hospital facility of the United States Navy which occupied the northern portion of the Cavite City peninsula and is surrounded by Manila Bay, approximately eight miles southwest of Manila, the Philippines. The station was a part of the Cavite...
- San Miguel Naval Communications Station
- Mount Santa Rita Naval Link Station
Mount Santa Rita was a facility of the United States Navy in the Zambales Mountains in the Philippines. It was the US Naval Link Station within the Philippines. There were approximately 15 people that were permanently attached to this station at any given time, while there were also 7 Marine...
Current:
- Subic Bay Freeport Zone
Subic Bay Freeport Zone , which is known simply as Subic Bay, is the Philippines' first success case of a into a tax- and duty-free zone similar to Hong Kong and Singapore, operated and managed by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority or SBMA. It covers the fenced area of the former U.S...
External links