The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia
|
| Previous: Edsall Class, U.S. Destroyer Escorts | Table of Contents | Next: Eichelberger, Robert L. |
Efate (168.301E
17.734S) was an island of the New
Hebrides group about 35 miles (56 km) in diameter. The
island is mountainous in
the northwest, with
elevations of up to 2300 feet (700 meters). There is an area of
hot
springs at Quain Hill on the northeast coast, reflecting the
volcanic
origins of the island. The southern part of the island is flat and
well-watered, and various crops, including copra, were cultivated here. It
had a
good
anchorage at Havannah Harbor, with a few commercial piers and
other
primitive port facilities and a
seaplane ramp at
Port-Vila and a population about 400 Europeans and 2000 natives. Havannah
Harbor
remained undeveloped because of its isolation from the rest of the
island by the northwest mountains.
With the fall of
metropolitan France in June
1940,
the resident at Efate declared for the Free French and was
promptly
dismissed by the High Commissioner of New Caledonia. He ignored
his
own dismissal, and when a referendum in September came out in
favor of
the Free French, he briefly relieved the High Commissioner at New
Caledonia in turn.
Located some 300 miles
(480 km) northeast of Noumea,
Efate was a
good
location for a base to cover the supply
route from the U.S.
West
Coast to Australia, and
Admiral King
recommended its
development as early as 18 February 1942. By March 1942, King had
suggested the base could be a starting point "from which a
step-by-step
general advance could be made through the New Hebrides, Solomons and Bismarcks." This
was
essentially how the campaign in the South Pacific unfolded in
1942-1943.
Allied
forces began arriving at Efate on 18 March 1942, beginning with
500 men
from the Americal
Division in New
Caledonia. These were reinforced on 24 May by the ground echelon
of
VMF-212, 4
Marine
Defense
Battalion, and 24 Regiment,
an African-American
unit. The airfield
at Port-Vila had a 6000' (1830 meter) runway ready for combat
operations by the time the Guadalcanal
campaign got under way in August 1942. This was subsequently named
Bauer Field. Flying boats
operated from Havannah Harbor, to which a road was constructed in
1943,
and a 3000' (460 meter) airstrip was completed at Havannah Harbor
in
September 1942 and a 6000' (1830 meter) runway at Quain Hill in
January
1943. However, the base had outlived its usefulness by early 1944,
and
it was closed in February 1946.
References
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2007-2009, 2016 by Kent G. Budge. Index
