Empire of Japan had built up a very strong force on Palau and
Truk. Japan had built two runways in an X pattern on the southern part of the island, now the
Peleliu Airfield. The runways were about 3,900 feet long. Peleliu island is 5 1/2 half miles long and 2 1/2 miles wide. The coast is mostly rocky and has about 2 miles of sandy beaches. On October 12, 1944, Peleliu becomes the Marine island command center. October 20, 1944, the 1st Marine Division on Peleliu was relieved by the
United States Army 81st Infantry Division. Three US Navy Seabee groups were part of the US Marine's landing on Peleliu on September 15, 1944. The 33rd Seabee Battalions and 73rd Seabee Battalions, with Construction Battaltion Detachment 1054 helped get supplies on the beaches. The nature of the reefs around the island made getting supplies ashore difficult. Seabees used 24 self-propelled pontoon
barges to shuttle cargo ashore. Three days after the landing Seabees built a pontoon floating
pier to get out past the reef. On the four days after landing
LST ships started to unload large cargo on the beach. With the airfield secured, Seabees removed debris and mines. On the fifth day after landing Seabees brought the Seabees' construction equipment to the airfield and started repair work. The eighth day after landing, September 23, the 4,000-foot airfield was opened and three squadrons of
fighter planes landed and provided ground support for the troops still fighting.
VMO-1 a Marine Observation Squadron also started operation from the Airfield. Seabees 33rd Battalion started construction of a runway that long-range bombers could use, 6,000 feet long, on September 23. On September 23, the bomber runway was opened and in used 24/7. During this time Seabees also built vast support facilities. At Blue Beach, a pontoon causeway was built for unloading and loading
landing craft tank (LCT), completed on November 1, 1944. On November 16, 1944, Marine
Vought F4U Corsair from Peleliu and
Grumman TBF Avenger from
Ulithi launch an attack on Empire of Japan troops on
Yap Island. Because the captured Peleliu dock was small and not yet a deep enough, amphibious operations continued.
LST-19 and LST-225 were some of the amphibious ships used to shuttle cargo ashore. Between November 4 and 9, 1944 a
typhoon hit Peleliu. Some ships and some facilities were damaged but was quickly repaired. November 27, 1944
VMF-541, a night fighter squadron with
Grumman F6F Hellcat of the United States Marine Corps. move to Leyte, they had been on Peleliu for four months. Peleliu Naval Base lacked a large protected fleet anchorage, thus
Naval Base Ulithi became the US Navy's primary fleet support base in the western Pacific. The Army air base was abandoned in June 1945. Seabees dismantled and boxed up usable structures and goods, shipping them out starting July 11, 1945. The last Marines departed Peleliu Naval Base on July 1, 1947. Naval Base Peleliu did not have a port for fleet anchorage, the US Navy used
Naval Base Kossol Roads at the north tip of Palau. LVT(A)-1 at Peleliu ==Facilities==