The base became part of Naval Base Samoa. Tents were set up for hospital wards, mess hall, and quarters. Existing buildings became temporary warehouses, offices, and a dispensary. Type B ship barges and native scow barges were used also. The Navy build a floating dock with 3-by-7-pontoon barges to begin unloading cargo. The existing pier and seawall were not able to handle the upcoming needs. On May 10 the US Navy landed 4th Construction Detachment and work began. The first to arrive was the 7th Marine Defense Battalion on April 1, 1942. The US Navy was tasked with building both harbor facilities and an airbase on Upolu. Upolu Island, a Polynesia island, is 708 miles east of Fiji, 2,400 miles (3860 km) to the north-east of Sydney, and 2,300 miles (3700 km) south of Hawaii, giving it a key location for both ships and planes to refuel. Today it is the Faleolo International Airport. Īfter the World War II's Pacific War war the airstrip was converted to civilian use. At Naval Base Upolu the Navy built a sea port, an airbase and a seaplane base. After the surprise attack on Naval Station Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the US Navy was in need of setting up more advance bases in the Pacific Ocean. The base was located on Upolu Island, Samoa in the Western Pacific Ocean, part of the Samoan Islands's Naval Base Samoa. Naval Base Upolu was a naval base built by the United States Navy in 1942 to support the World War II effort.
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