47 th Naval Construction Battalion

Transcription

1 47 th Naval Construction Battalion Historical Information Construimus, Batuimus We Build, We Fight

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3 llc d, - Vi) l' 1-1 _ - 1 Oct'44 report of 47th CB - located nt ev Georgia during Sep l The 4'7t CB is loc ted t foum"l 8 of 1 ]'lee,'44. (C I>C. dis}) to CO'IS ronole dtd 16 Dec'44). 1'., Dec l report of tbe 7th CB - Batt eparted fro ew G of on 1 ov'44 an arrived at ounte on 19 ov'44. A detachment 'fleers and 175 en h been B.8si~ed to A1!CD Houma ; al o. a. detachnent of 1 officer and 46 can baa been seign to Ship ir Unit t Ue OU. for duty. 1 Oct'44 report of t 37rh CB - ThLs batt ordered. to t nefer II enh te per onnel wh., urived in the are subsecll nt to 1 Sep 43 to the 47th Cl3 at LUnda 5 - J r port of the BCD au enl. peraonn 1 of the 47th OB ha n on t IDp duty enti e onth of Dec I And h be n e plo]' din r -working sid materlal. The enl. per onnel of th s detachment have been quartered and subsisted by BOnD n re under the di ect supervision of 3 officers of the 47th C Jan'45 r ort of the 47th CB - lac ted at Noume lv log. &lld 0 ting various t of bl d lel other meohiner,y as well a malnt intng exiottng facilitie8. 1 i'eb 1 45 report of ~C.DD Nownen - AJ) rox 200 n/were on tempdu with BOnD dur 19 Jan' ~mseron90nac See. ltr Ser, to Comsertorpac dtd 6 Mar'4B - requests that th 47th CB 'be returned to the U.S. when they become surplus in the Sopac ar Har l 45 report of the 47th CB - located at Boume. he detachment of 200 e detail to ABOn to saltage and erate material was ret1d to the Batt tor asslgnnent to other worit. 1 off. and 19 men on telllpdu with XB aplritu. A detachment of about 58 en at IIe ou (Ship Rep Unit). 1 Apr l 45.aport of ths 47th CB - Roll1ne up camp at 11 ou nd J'le t Hosp 107. The!let. f 1 off. and 19 en retd to :Batt fr eplritu Apr' 45 report of.net. loo? men to be trfd from the 47th 0:8 to n t 1007 under the rotation program for Det (exchanp.e of ~ersonnel) pr'45 report of BODD Noumea - The detach of aporox 100 men of the 47th C:S on temp duty at this depot since Nov'44 as trfd to the arent unit 1n Feb :.t.:he t 0:0 is located t Noumea. (Dlrpacdocks S.. c Rep of 15 rt 45)

4 n of the 7th CB rri' d lt8 from O~ rao I 5 to er ) repor\ ot n CD - located a' 10'UlJe&. 190 Apr' tion plan. r..1oul 4eta n v n sigrunent r~a 0 r the t rt to t 5th Brg. ha.bll auon,of p onn 1 of thi b tt, 111 be ceo 1 h d aft r fr1 1 t Guom. (COQ. rvpac oc dltr er dt~ 3 ay'45 to Comsop c) port 0 1 ')7-156,., reed ro the 47th CB on 23 rl 5 0 relieve the ~ir8t t of Det 1007 under the rot tiod pi th OB included in list of vtng d atinat10ns R sign d and ro r y now. (Comso.'c B C disn '45 to Comaervpac) Jun'45 report of the 47th OB - 1oc~ted at Noumea. Orders re on hand to dot ch 142 men under t rotation plan The 47th C] wait hipm~t to S 1 an. (omeer ftc con! disp 0801~~ run to Clncpo p) 6-16-:4~ - Insot! t th 47th 03 t Noume~. Transfer all en! personnel mo have been out -of tate "ont 21 0 by 15 Ju."1 f tr n to \.C. c t for IeI've d r 8 i n ~ent. TraDsi' r r8 1n1n~ prsonnel f~ran8 to 5th 13r. vie Com ervpac hen i ectiv tiod campi te~. (0 9 C ee spdltr 140~' Jun'45 to o~.0 ~o c) e+. eh 47th CB wh n tr<> sp 6lvallEble. Direct them to procflled to ip' d reort to I Com for a.uty. {Coms l"onooti c e epdltr er dtd 6 Jun to ()}j1i oumee) \h cae Mua\er liou Of the Crew (BliP S(6) dtd 23 JUJl'45.tate. that the 47th CB val idactitated as of 23 Jun'45. 47\,h 0.) Jun f 45 report o. t e 7 b OB (Final R art) - 78 men re det ch to 5th Brg tfn. 486 men woo h~d been out ot U.S. cont for 21 mob were deta.ch t n terred. l3att in ctivated. 23 Jun' th CB inp.cti ted on 23 June ra.te ratd to the U;:). 78 r tel tr ~!erred to the 5th Br-. (Co seron pac lee dltr Ber dtd 4 July to Co Ie c)

5 30 ~1.f Oct I J t b' 97 1 ' Apr' MaI"-' Jun l Ul'45 (23 Jun'45) 486 BNP625., 47th Oonstruction Batt lion Ji APi ~~:- ~HI&. ~Q.' Yc. ~. l,soo'a.)'/ "'n-.o.j.1. c.. (r:pl., c ~, c.

6 47TH BATTALION Commissioned at Camp Allen, Norfolk, Va., on the first anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the 47th Battalion was transferred to Camp Peary Dec. 10, Leaving Peary on Jan. 5, 1943, the outfit reached Port Hueneme on J an. 10. A detachment of six officers and 150 men was detached from the outfit to work at Bolinas, Calif., between Jan. 28 and Feb. 28, Meanwhile, the outfit was attached to Acorn Seven Feb. 1, Shipping overseas on April 23, 1943, the outfit arrived in the Russell Islands J une 13, 1943, disembarking enroute at Noum ea, New Caledonia, and at GuadalcanaL Leaving in echelons, starting on June 29, th e last echelon of men arrived at Segi

7 Point, New Georgia, Aug. 2. On Aug. 8, a detachment of men and equipment w ere sent to Enogi Island for duty with the First and Fourth Marine Raiders, returning"to the outfit Sept. 12. Aug. 31, th e first echelon departed for Munda, New Georgia, and as transportation became available the remainder of the Battalion was moved to Munda, the last echelon reporting J an. 15, Between January and October 1944, several detachments were detailed on temporary duty at Ondonga, New Georgia. On Oct. 10, 1944, the Battalion started to m ove to Noumea? New Caledonia, with the movement completed Nov. 19, when the Battalion reported for duty at Navy Base 131. A small detachment was sent to Espiritu Santo for temporary duty between F eb. 9 and March 7, The Battalion served at Noumea until it was inactivated at that base June 23, 1945.

8 ITINERARY OF THE 47TH NAVAL CONSTRUCTION BATTALION, DECEMBER JUNE December The 47th NCB was commissioned at Camp Bradford, the Naval Construction Training Center (NCTC), Norfolk, Virginia. 10 December The battalion moved to Camp Peary, NCTC, Williamsburg, VA, for further training. 5 January The battalion left Camp Peary. 10 January The battalion arrived at Camp Rousseau, the Advance Base Receiving Barracks (ABRB), Port Hueneme, California, for further training and outfitting for deployment overseas. 28 January A detachment of 6 officers and 150 enlisted men departed from Port Hueneme for temporary duty at Bolinas, CA. 1 February The 47th NCB was attached to Acorn 7. An "acorn" included all the personnel and materials needed to build and operate a small air base in a combat zone. The naval base at Port Hueneme was the site of an acorn training activity. 28 February The detachment previously sent to Bolinas returned to Port Hueneme. 23 April The 47th NCB departed from Port Hueneme for the Pacific. 13 May 1943 Arrived at Noumea, New Caledonia. 18 May 1943 Left Noumea, New Caledonia. 21 May 1943 Arrived at Guadalcanal, British Solomon Islands (BSI). 28 May 1943 The battalion started moving to the Russell Islands in echelons. 13 June The last echelon of men and equipment moved from Guadalcanal to the Russells for staging.

9 2. 29 June The first echelon, consisting of 17 officers and 477 enlisted men, left the Russells by LST to participate in the invasion of New Georgia, BSI. 30 June At 10:10 A.M. the first echelon landed at Segi Point, New Georgia Island. They immediately began constructing an airstrip. July Most of the battalion's remaining personnel arrived at Segi Point. In addition to working on the airstrip, they built about 2 miles of road and constructed three LeT wharfs for unloading material. 2 August The last echelon of men and equipment moved from the Russell Islands to Segi Point, New Georgia. August 1943 The battalion continued working on the Segi Point airstrip and road system. 8 August Four men and two bulldozers were detailed to Enogi Inlet for temporary duty with the 1st and 4th Marine Raiders. 31 August One company (193 enlisted men and 4 officers) was transferred to Munda Point, New Georgia, to help complete the airfield there. 12 September The four men and bulldozers detailed to Enogi Inlet in August returned to the battalion. September - November The battalion extended and improved the Segi Point airstrip, built a 30-ton marine railway, and constructed a pontoon pier and a ramp for small landing craft. 1 December About 80 percent of the battalion's personnel were located at Segi Point, New Georgia; the other 20 percent were at Munda Point. December As transportation became available, the battalion began moving to Munda. Sufficient men and equipment remained at Segi Point to help maintain the fighter strip and base facilities. 1 January About 75 percent of the battalion's personnel had moved to Munda; 25 percent remained at SegiPoint for maintenance duty. 15 January The last echelon of men and equipment arrived at Munda, New Georgia. from Segi Point.

10 3. January - October The battalion was headquartered at Munda. It carried out numerous projects, one of the most notable of which was deepening the channel through Munda Bar. January - October Various detachments, ranging in size from 10 to 150 men, were detailed to Ondonga Island near Munda Point for temporary duty. Their most important project was building facilities for the Ondonga base, including offices, a personnel camp, a net depot, and a dispensary. 10 October The battalion's first echelon, consisting of two officers and five chief petty officers, departed from Munda, New Georgia, with a shipload of equipment, bound for Noumea, New Caledonia. 15 October The first echelon arrived at Noumea, New Caledonia. 14 November 1944 The remainder of the battalion left New Georgia. 19 November 1944 The remainder of the 47th NCB arrived at Noumea; and the battalion reported to the u.s. Naval Advance Base, Navy 131, for duty. December June 1945 The battalion was located at Noumea, New Caledonia. Its principal assignment was to dismantle, salvage, and crate various types of Navy buildings and equipment no longer needed in New Caledonia. In addition, it overhauled and repaired motor vehicles and provided maintenance services for the various naval activities at Noumea. December February A detachment consisting of approximately 3 officers and 175 enlisted men was assigned to the Advance Base Construction Depot at Noumea to help close it out. December April A detachment of approximately 1 officer and 50 enlisted men was assigned to the Ship Repair Unit at lie Nou in the Noumea harbor. February - March A detachment consisting of 1 officer and 19 enlisted men was assigned to temporary duty at the U.S. Naval Base, Esp{ritu Santo, New Hebrides Islands. April About 190 enlisted men who had been overseas 21 months or more were detached and returned to the continental U.S. (arrived at Camp Parks, Pleasanton. CA. on 5 May 1945).

11 4. 23 April A detachment of 156 men was transferred to Construction Battalion Detachment 1007 at Esp{ritu Santo for duty. 23 June The 47th Naval Construction Battalion was inactivated at Noumea, New Caledonia. Seventy-eight men were transferred to the 5th Naval Construction Brigade on Guam. About 485 men who had been overseas for at least 21 months were returned to the continental U.S.

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