6 Bases during the Cold War

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ecame a hot issue within Japan, and consideration was given to moving thetroops to the Japanese mainland.U.S. Navy surface fleet bases11The U.S. Navy, throughout the Cold War, utilized a number of major and minorbases for its surface fleets, most importantly, for aircraft carrier battlegroups.Several British ports were regularly used. Before France’s withdrawal fromNATO’s military structure in the 1960s, Villefranche was a frequent port of callfor U.S. ships, as were Barcelona, Livorno, Rota, Piraeus, Souda Bay on Creteand Izmir in Turkey, the latter a regional naval headquarters. Naples and nearbyGaeta provided a homeport and headquarters for the U.S. Sixth Fleet in theMediterranean Sea.In the Persian Gulf, even well before the Iran–Iraq and Desert Storm conflicts,the U.S. homeported a small flotilla and had a headquarters for itsMIDEASTFOR in Bahrain. Naval deployments in and around the Persian Gulfwere upgraded in the late 1980s. Mombasa in Kenya and Djibouti then becameports used frequently by the U.S. Navy.In the Far East, Yokosuka in the Tokyo Bay was long a hub of the U.S.Seventh Fleet, with its extensive drydocking capacity that could handle largenuclear-powered carriers. Sasebo on the Sea of Japan also hosted USN surfacevessels as well as attack submarines. And up to the end of the Cold War, SubicBay in the Philippines was another U.S. Navy main base, which was used tosupport operations in Vietnam and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. Then, duringthe 1980s, the Philippines began to eliminate U.S. use of its long-held naval andair bases. The U.S. considered replacement bases variously at Guam, Taiwan,Thailand and Australia, finally settling on extensive utilization of Singapore’s98 Bases during the Cold Warİ 2007 Robert E. HarkavyBases during the Cold War 99Table 2 Main and secondary surface-ship and submarine operating bases of the U.S.Navy, as of late 1980sHost nation and baseDescriptionFor surface shipsJapanYokosukaMajor navy base, HQ for U.S. Naval ForcesJapan and homeport for aircraft carrier Midwayand about ten other 7th Fleet ships, available forcontingencies in West Pacific; also used bynuclear attack submarines; extensive dockfacilities, naval munitions maintenance andstorage, naval hospital, ship repairs includinglargest USN drydock west of CONUS; supplydepot.SaseboBase used jointly with Japan; naval ordnancefacility, docking storage facilities for 7th Fleet;homeport for a nuclear attack submarine, drydockcapacity for aircraft carriers, large-scale navalfuel storage, munitions storage for USMC.White Beach (Okinawa)Berthing and storage for 7th Fleet ships,occasional use by SSNs.TaiwanKaohsiungOccasional port use by U.S. ships.Guam (U.S. overseas possession)ApraMajor naval base; ship repairs, logistics wharf,explosives and fuel storage; formerly Polarishomeport for eight SSBNs; patrol boats and mineflotilla based here.PhilippinesSubic BayMajor USN base, HQ for U.S. Naval Forces,Philippines, major ship repair facility with fourfloating drydocks which can accommodate all butlargest aircraft carriers; piers and other supportfacilities – support 7th Fleet operationsthroughout West Pacific and Indian Ocean; 60percent of all 7th Fleet repairs performed here.AustraliaCockburn SoundPage 6
Australian base, can accommodate foursubmarines and four destroyers; possibleexpansion to accommodate carriers; U.S.considered homeporting a destroyer here; mostlypotential U.S. base, offered earlier as such byhosts; port calls at Hobart, Melbourne, Sydney,Brisbane, Darwin.ThailandSattahipMilitary port constructed by U.S.; major port ofentry for military supplies to U.S. bases inThailand; peaked at end of Vietnam War.Hong KongPeriodic port calls.SingaporeSembawangSome overhauls, reprovisioning for USN ships,potential for expanded use.İ 2007 Robert E. Harkavy100 Bases during the Cold WarTable 2 continuedHost nation and baseDescriptionSri LankaColomboAlleged use by U.S. for R&R.TrincomaleePort calls.DjiboutiPort calls by U.S. Indian Ocean task force;refueling and reprovisioning, no shore leave; U.S.leases fuel storage for own use.ReunionPort calls.SomaliaBerberaSome use by U.S. Indian Ocean task force;possible storage of matériel for rapid deploymentforce.MogadiscioU.S. improved facilities, port visits; possiblestorage of equipment and supplies for CentralCommand.OmanMuscat(Mina Qaboos)Restricted USN use by Indian Ocean task force;contingent use for Central Command in PersianGulf crisis.Mina RaysuttRestricted U.S. use.MasirahPort calls.BahrainAl JufairU.S. took over British facilities in 1949; nowhomeport for “Mideast Force” of four destroyers,communications, storage, barracks, berth,hangars, co-use of adjacent airfield; resupply ofIndian Ocean task force; low-key use because ofpolitical problems; quiet access for greatlyexpanded U.S. presence in 1987.KenyaMombasaU.S. port visits; possible pre-positioning ofmatériel for use in Southwest Asia.Diego GarciaU.S. naval support facilities; berths CentralCommand’s matériel storage ships; lagoondredged to create sufficient anchorage for acarrier battle group.MauritiusRumored USN port visits; R&R andreprovisioning.Azores (Portugal)Ponta DelgadaFuel storage; breakwaters; frequent visits byNATO warships.Page 7
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6 Bases during the Cold War

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