Pacific Islands Forts

American Forts: West

PACIFIC ISLAND TERRITORIES

American wartime defenses during WWII that were established in several South Pacific island groups
are not listed here, and are beyond the scope of this website.

The Japanese Outer Islands (Bonin Is., Volcano Is., Daito Is., Ryukyu Is., and Marcus I.)
occupied by the U.S. Navy after WWII (1945 - 1972) are also not included on this website.

Last Update: 01/JULY/2007

WAKE ISLAND (United States)
To Hell and Back: Wake During and After WWII by Dirk Spennemann
(1898, 1939 - 1945/present)
The atoll was first claimed by the U.S. in 1840, and reclaimed in 1898 by U.S. Marines on their way to the Philippines. A commercial seaplane base was established in 1935 on Peale Islet. The U.S. Navy built an airstrip on Wake Islet in 1939. Total land area of Wake Atoll (Wake, Peale, Wilkes Islets) is three square miles. Current access is by USAF military aircraft only.
The U.S. Marines hastily defended the atoll in August 1941 with six 5-inch naval guns, twelve 3-inch anti-aircraft guns, eighteen .50-cal. AA machine guns, thirty .30-cal. AA machine guns, and five searchlights. There were no sound locators available. Two planned radar sets (SCR-268 and SCR-270) never arrived from Hawaii. The 5-inch naval guns were emplaced in pairs, one on Wilkes Islet at Kuku Point (Battery C), one on Peale Islet at Toki Point (Battery B), and the other on Wake Islet at Peacock Point (Battery A). The 3-inch AA guns were in quads, one on each islet (Batteries F, D, E respectively). A single 3-inch AMTB gun was emplaced on Wake Islet at the end of the runway on the southern shore. The Marines were encamped at Camp One on the western tip of Wake Islet. The civilian contractors were encamped at Camp Two on the northern tip of Wake Islet. The Wake Island Marine defenders have the distinction of being the only coastal defense force, among all combatants, ever to have held off an enemy amphibious landing during WWII. The Japanese were, however, successful on their second attempt two weeks later.

The Japanese defended the atoll (captured in 1941 after an intense 16-day campaign, and renamed Eneen-Kio or Otori-Shima) with four 203mm (British 8-inch) and four 150mm coast defense guns, eight 127mm twin-mount dual-purpose (coast and AA) guns, one 80mm dual-purpose gun, nine 75mm anti-aircraft guns, twelve 37mm anti-tank guns, twenty-four 25mm twin-mount anti-aircraft guns, and other assorted smaller guns. The four 203mm guns still exist, two at Pigeon Point and two at Peacock Point. All the American guns were scrapped by the Japanese. The atoll was not reclaimed by the United States until after Japan's surrender.

(info provided by Philip Sims and Dirk Spennemann of the Coast Defense Study Group)

JOHNSTON ATOLL (United States)
(1934 - 1949/2002)
Johnston Atoll was claimed by the U.S. in 1858. The U.S. Navy established an air station (seaplanes) in 1934, and was defended by a U.S. Marine Defense Battalion beginning in March 1941. The atoll, originally known as Kalama Island, was ommitted from the Hawaii Statehood bill in 1959, and thus became a separate territory. Johnston Atoll (originally only two islets: Johnston and Sand) had a combined land area of less than one square mile. Akau and Hakina Islets were man-made in the 1960's, and have increased the total atoll land area to about 1.7 square miles.
The Navy built a 5700-foot runway on Johnston Islet in 1941. In December 1941 the Marines emplaced two 5-inch naval guns (Battery Devereux) on concrete mounts, four 3-inch AA guns (Battery Godbold), eight .50-cal. AA MG, and eight .30-cal. AA MG on Johnston Islet. There were numerous Japanese attacks on the atoll that month, but none thereafter. In 1942 another two-gun 5-inch gun battery (Battery Potter), and a four-gun 3-inch AA battery (Battery Seabee), was emplaced on Johnston. In 1943 Battery Godbold was rearmed with four 90mm guns, Battery Seabee was reduced to two guns, and Battery Lewis (four 90mm) was built on Sand Islet. There were also four 40mm AA, eight 20mm AA, nine .50-cal. AA MG, and twenty-one .30-cal. AA MG emplaced in various positions in 1944. An SCR-268 (later an SCR-584) radar station was on Sand Islet. An SCR-270 (later an SCR-271) radar was on Johnston. The Naval base was closed in 1949 and turned over to the Air Force as a nuclear weapons support facility. Later the DOD established a chemical weapons incinerator here. Military operations ceased in 2002, and the island is currently managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a National Wildlife Refuge. No public access.
(info provided by John Bennett of the Coast Defense Study Group)

PALMYRA ISLAND & KINGMAN REEF (United States)
(1940 - 1947)
Palmyra, part of the Line Islands, was once a part of the Kingdom of Hawaii after 1862. It was annexed by the United Kingdom in 1889. It became a separate territory of the U.S. in 1912. A U.S. Naval Air Station was established in 1940 on Cooper Islet with a 6100-foot runway. A second strip was built on Menge Islet, and a third strip was built on Sand Islet. Land area of Palmyra Atoll (a group of 52 islets) is two square miles.
Beginning in March 1941 Palmyra was defended by a U.S. Marine Defense Battalion, which initially had only four 5-inch naval guns emplaced in pairs, four 3-inch AA guns, eight .50-cal. AA MG, and eight .30-cal. AA MG. By the beginning of 1942 there were also twelve 20mm AA, twenty 40mm AA, sixteen more .50-cal. AA MG, thirty more .30-cal. AA MG, and other various weapons. Two additional 5-inch guns were added, as well as four 3-inch naval guns, and four additional 3-inch AA guns. The 5-inch guns were emplaced on Janey Islet (Battery A), Home Islet (Battery B), and Eastern Islet (Battery C). The 3-inch guns were emplaced on Janey, Home, Eastern, Bird (Battery D), and other islets. Twelve 90mm AA guns were later emplaced in four triplets to replace all the 3-inch guns. The Army garrison left in 1944. The Naval base was closed in 1947. The Nature Conservancy obtained the privately-owned island in 2003 and cleared the Cooper Islet runway. The concrete gun emplacements and other runways are overgrown and eroding away. The island is today managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a National Wildlife Refuge. Public access is allowed.

Kingman Reef, the northern-most Line Island, was annexed by the U.S. in 1922, and had no military use. Land area is less than one-half square mile.

(info provided by John Bennett and Al Grobmeier of the Coast Defense Study Group)

JARVIS ISLAND (United States)
Another of the Line Island group, claimed by the U.S. in 1857, annexed by the U.K. in 1889, and a U.S. territory since 1935. It had no military value. Land area is 1.6 square miles.

BAKER & HOWLAND ISLANDS (United States)
(1942 - 1944)
Baker Island, in the Phoenix Island group, was claimed by the U.S. in 1856, settled by Hawaiians in 1935, and a U.S. territory since 1936. Protected by a U.S. Marine Defense Battalion between 1942 and 1944. Land area is one square mile.

Howland Island, also claimed by the U.S. in 1856, had no military use except as a commercial seaplane base in the late 1930's. A civilian airstrip was built in 1937. Land area is one square mile.

ANGLO-AMERICAN CONDOMINIUM (formerly of the UK and US)
(1941 - 1946/1979)
Several small islands once claimed by the United States since 1936, and administered jointly by the U.S. and the United Kingdom after 1939, but since 1980 now part of Kiribati (formerly the British colony Gilbert and Ellice Islands, independent since 1979).

PHOENIX ISLANDS:
Canton Island, also known as Kanton, Abariringa or Mary Island, the largest island in the group, was garrisoned and defended by the U.S. military in WWII. Commercial seaplane facilities were built in 1939. Three crushed-coral landing strips were built by the Army in 1941-1942 to provide an alternate route to Australia bypassing Midway and Wake Islands. Coastal defense was initially provided by two 75mm field guns in January 1942, later replaced with two 155mm guns and four 4-inch naval guns transferred from Hawaii. The 4-inch guns were returned to Hawaii in 1943. Possibly two additional 155mm guns were sent as replacements. The two original 155mm guns were emplaced on Panama mounts in 1943. Two 7-inch naval guns were emplaced in 1942 on concrete mounts on the northwest point near the bomber airstrip. A 50-foot tall wooden tower provided fire-control. An SCR-270 radar was emplaced on the other side of the runway in 1942. Anti-aircraft protection was provided by several .50-cal. AA machine guns, several 37mm guns (later 40mm guns), and four batteries of 90mm guns after 1943. The island was occasionally attacked by the Japanese. The coastal defenses were abandoned in 1944. The U.S Navy Air Facility operated from 1943 to 1946. The Army Air Transport Command also left in 1946. NASA used the island as a tracking station until 1968. The Americans and British left for good in 1979.
(info provided by John Bennett of the Coast Defense Study Group)

Enderbury Island (4 sq. miles) had a civilian airstrip built in the late 1930's, but had no good anchorage or seaplane facilities.

LINE ISLANDS:
Washington (Teraina), Fanning (Tabuaeran) (15 sq. miles), Christmas (Kiritimati) (94 sq. miles), Malden (35 sq. miles), Starbuck, Caroline (6 sq. miles), Vostok, and Flint.
No known American military use, except for Christmas Island which had a military airstrip built in 1941 and was defended.

GALAPAGOS ISLANDS (Ecuador)
WWII Photo Album - 6th US Air Force
(1942 - 1946), Baltra Island *MAP*
The U.S. Army Air Force constructed two airfields on South Seymour (Baltra) Island (aka "the Rock") for medium-range bombers and fighter escorts to protect the western approaches to the Panama Canal. The U.S. Army emplaced a four-gun 155mm gun battery and several 37mm AA batteries to protect the base. Three SCR-271 radar stations were built on Isabela (Albemarle) Island (Albemarle Point, Webb Cove near St. John's Point, Villamil near Tortuga Cove), one on North Seymour Island, and one briefly on Española (Hood) Island. The U.S. Navy established naval and seaplane bases at Aeolian Cove on Baltra Island, Wreck Bay on San Cristóbal (Chatham) Island, and Post Office Bay on Santa Maria (Charles) Island.

Baltra Island, just north of Santa Cruz (Indefatigable) Island, is today an Ecuadorian Naval Base, and the major airport used by tourists to visit the archipelago. Santa Cruz Island is the main population center, and the location of the Galapagos Islands National Park visitors center.
Galapagos Islands.com || Discover Galapagos || Human History of the Galapagos

FRENCH POLYNESIA (France)
(1813, 1942 - 1946)

SOCIETY ISLANDS:
Bora Bora Island was occupied by the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy in 1942 as a rear area supply base on the route to Australia, well away from any Japanese action. A 6000-foot and a 3000-foot runway were built on Motu Mute Islet. The base was defended by four two-gun 7-inch MKII naval gun batteries on concrete mounts, each battery with its own command post and two magazines, and one island harbor defense command post. Battery North was located at Tereia Point, Battery West was located at Pahua Point near the present-day Club Med Resort, Battery South was located on the ridge above Matira Point and the present-day Matira Hotel, and Battery East was located on Fitiiu Point. There were also sixteen 90mm AA guns and thirty-two 37mm AA guns emplaced in various positions, with two SCR-270 radar stations. All 7-inch guns (tubes and carriages) still remain today in the original locations, except one gun tube of Battery North, which was relocated in 1982 to a museum in the village of Povai. The Army garrison was withdrawn in 1944. The Naval base was discontinued in 1946, with the French military acquiring all assets left behind.
(info provided by John Bennett and Al Grobmeier of the Coast Defense Study Group)

MARQUESAS ISLANDS:
Nuku Hiva Island was occupied in October 1813 by American Sailors and Marines from the U.S.S. Essex, under Capt. David Porter, as a temporary base to attack British whalers in the region. This became the United States' first overseas naval base. The Marines, under Lt. John Gamble, built Fort Madison to hold the island. Three captured British whalers, including one rechristened the U.S.S. Greenwich, and the Seringapatam and the Sir Andrew Hammond, remained in port while the Essex left in pursuit of more action. Natives attacked the fort, were put down with help from the British POWs, the POWs then mutinied, the Marines regained control, then left for Hawai'i in the Hammond, only to be then captured by the H.M.S. Cherub.

MARSHALL ISLANDS (former US Trust Territory)
World War II Sites
(1936 - 1945)
Minor Japanese bases were located on Ebon, Majuro, Utirik, Bokak, Kwajalein, Bikini, and Enewetak. Major bases were on Jaluit, Wotje, Mili, and Taroa (Maloelap). Several guns of all types still exist on all the islands, in various stages of condition, along with concrete pillboxes and other structures. All fire control structures on every island have been destroyed.

Jaluit: three 150mm coast defense guns, six 127mm twin-mount dual-purpose guns, four 80mm dual-purpose guns, twenty-four 75mm anti-tank guns, three 25mm twin-mount anti-aircraft guns, and other assorted smaller guns. None seem to have been presently surveyed.

Wotje: four 160mm howitzers, six 150mm coast defense guns, five 150mm field guns, six 127mm twin-mount dual-purpose guns, two 120mm guns, two 100mm mortars, six 37mm anti-tank guns, three 25mm twin-mount anti-aircraft guns, two 20mm anti-aircraft guns, and other assorted smaller guns. All six 127mm guns still exist, and one 120mm gun still exists.

Mili: seven 150mm and three 140mm coast defense guns, four 127mm twin-mount dual-purpose guns, four 80mm dual-purpose guns, nine 75mm anti-aircraft guns, two 37mm anti-tank guns, six 25mm twin-mount anti-aircraft guns, twenty-six 20mm anti-aircraft guns, and other assorted smaller guns. One 150mm gun still exists and one 127mm gun still exists.

Taroa: four 150mm guns and two 127mm twin guns still exist.

Roi-Namur: one 127mm twin gun still exists.

The Marshall Islands were a German colony from 1885 until captured by Japan in 1914. The Japanese legally owned the islands by a League of Nations mandate from 1918 until 1936 when they withdrew from the League. Fortifications were built beginning in 1936. The United States captured the islands in stages from 1943 to 1944. Became part of the United Nations Trust Territory in 1947. During the Cold War, the U.S. used several islands for nuclear weapons testing. Independence came in 1986.
General Information: History || General Information: Nuclear Testing || Welcome to Bikini Atoll.

FEDERATED STATES of MICRONESIA (former US Trust Territory)
(1936 - 1945)
Most of the variety of Japanese guns used in the Marshall Islands were also emplaced in Micronesia. The remains of many bunkers and guns still exist here.

Chuuk (Truk): four 203mm (British 8-inch) turretted guns still exist at Sapuk Point on Moen (Weno) Island. Three 150mm guns still exist in Nefu Cave on Moen Island, four 150mm guns in caves on Fefan Island, two 150mm guns in a cave on Eot Island, four 150mm guns in a cave on Tol Island, two 150mm guns on Tonoas (Dublon) Island, two 150mm guns in a cave on Uman Island, and two 150mm guns on Yawata Reef. Two 140mm guns in caves on Moen Island. Two 127mm twin guns on Eten Island, and two 127mm twin guns on Tonoas Island. Four 120mm dual-purpose guns on Eot Island, two 120mm guns in caves on Fefan Island, two 120mm guns in caves on Tonoas Island, five 120mm dual-purpose guns on Moen Island, one 120mm gun in a cave on Moen Island.

Pohnpei (Ponape): two 150mm guns still exist at Sokehs Rock, two 150mm guns at Mandolenimwh Harbor at Kupwariso, one 150mm gun on Langer Island. Two 127mm twin guns at Sokehs Rock.

Yap: four 120mm dual-purpose guns still existed until recently (?).

Kosrae (Kusaie): unknown or no data.

The Spanish walled the town of Kolonia on Pohnpei in 1887 after a rebellion by the local populace. The wall still exists.

The former Caroline Islands were controlled by the Spanish from 1885 to 1899. They then became a German colony from 1899 until captured by Japan in 1914. The Japanese legally owned the islands by a League of Nations mandate from 1918 to 1936 when they withdrew from the League. Fortifications were built beginning in 1936. The United States captured the islands in stages from 1944 to 1945. Became a part of the United Nations Trust Territory in 1947. Independence came in 1986.

PALAU (former US Trust Territory)
(1936 - 1945)
The remains of bunkers and other structures still exist here.

Peleliu: one 200mm gun still exists in a cave above the airfield, and two 120mm dual-purpose guns in a rock ledge at Ngesbus Island Beach.

Koror: one 120mm gun exists on Rock Island, one 140mm gun on main island, and three 140mm guns on Ngerekebesang Island.

Babeldaob: one 120mm gun still exists.

Also known as Belau, they were part of the German Caroline Islands from 1899 until captured by Japan in 1914. The Japanese legally owned the islands by a League of Nations mandate from 1918 until 1936 when they withdrew from the League. Fortifications were built beginning in 1936. The United States captured the islands in 1945. Became part of the United Nations Trust Territory in 1947. Independence came in 1994.

Special thanks to Dirk Spennemann of the Coast Defense Study Group for providing Japanese gun data for the former Trust Territories. See his websites at Coastal Defense Guns in Micronesia || British Naval Heritage in Micronesia: 1890 - 1937

Thanks also to Colt Denfeld and Glen Williford of the CDSG for providing a current inventory of surviving Japanese guns.

See also Imperial Japanese Artillery