World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseThe United States purchased the islands of Saint Croix, Saint John, Saint Thomas, and other surrounding smaller islands from Denmark in Mar 1917. The territory was collectively named as Virgin Islands of the United States. In 1927, those who resided in the US Virgin Islands were given US citizenship. The island of Saint Thomas, with the area of about 32 square miles, several bays on the southern coast, two of which, Lindbergh Bay and Gregerie Channel, were developed for US Navy use. During WW1, a radio station and a submarine base were built (the submarine base would be abandoned by the WW2-era), followed by the addition of the US Marine Corps air base Bourne Field in 1935. In 1940, the main east-west runway at Bourne Field was extended to a length of 4,800 feet, the hangar was expanded by 100 feet, and additional buildings were constructed, all of which in order to make the field suitable to house a permanent squadron of 18 aircraft. An additional concrete ramp, a hangar, and other structures were also built at Lindbergh Bay to expand the seaplane base. On 8 Jul 1941, additional contracts were granted to expand the air station and to rebuild a submarine base in the Gregerie Channel. In Oct 1941, three new 150-foot steel radio towers and a reinforced-concrete transmitter building were built to replace the obsolete WW1-era station. After the United States entered WW2 in Dec 1941, patrol flights were regularly launched from Saint Thomas to detect, in particular, Axis submarines. Between 1944 and 1950, the small Water Island of the US Virgin Islands was used by the US Army to test chemical warfare agents, including Agent Orange which would gain notoriety during the Vietnam War. US Virgin Islands remain a unincorporated organized territory of the United States to this day.

US Virgin Islands in World War II Interactive Map