Roosevelt Roads Naval Base
| Type | 110 Navy Base | |
| Historical Name of Location | Ceiba, Puerto Rico | |
| Coordinates | 18.238056000, -65.627778000 |
Contributor: C. Peter Chen
ww2dbaseIn 1919, US Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin Roosevelt toured Ceiba, Puerto Rico and recommended the construction of an airfield at that site, but no action would be taken until the start of the European War in Sep 1939, when the United States prepared for a possible entry into the conflict. Roosevelt Roads Naval Base, with an airfield as Roosevelt had recommended years earlier, was opened in 1940. Significant funding was allocated to build a major base on the magnitude of the US Navy base at Norfolk, Virginia, United States, but by 1943 the Axis naval threat in the Western Atlantic had been reduced, and the importance of such a base diminished. It was commissioned as an operations base in Jul 1943, but by Aug its funding was diverted, and the base was downgraded to naval station status. In 1944, it was further downgraded to maintenance status. After the war, it remained commissioned on and off through the next few decades; it was generally used for training, for control of narcotics traffic, and for the control of the region's air space. On 10 Dec 1999, it was made the headquarters of US Naval Forces Southern Command; this command was relocated to Naval Station Mayport in Florida, United States in Jan 2004, and as a result the base was decommissioned for a final time on 31 Mar 2004. The facilities is now the civilian José Aponte de la Torre Airport.
ww2dbaseSources:
GlobalSecurity.org
United States Navy
Wikipedia
Last Major Update: Sep 2014
Roosevelt Roads Naval Base Interactive Map
Photographs
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Roosevelt Roads Naval Base Timeline
| 15 Jul 1943 | Roosevelt Roads Naval Base in Puerto Rico was commissioned as an operations base. |
| 1 Nov 1944 | Roosevelt Roads Naval Base in Puerto Rico was downgraded to naval station status. |
| 1 Feb 1966 | USS Wasp entered Roosevelt Roads Naval Base in Puerto Rico to evaluate damages caused by a storm. |
| 29 Mar 1967 | USS Wasp completed her repairs at Roosevelt Roads Naval Base in Puerto Rico. |
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Visitor Submitted Comments
9 Aug 2022 12:49:18 PM
who built the Roosevelt Roads naval base? Were any Puerto Ricans working for Todd-Pacific Shipbuilders in Tacoma, Washington in 1943?
9 Aug 2022 12:57:00 PM
How could I find if a Puerto Rican of Italian descent had worked at shipyards in Tacoma, Washington, US during WWII? Todd-Pacific Shipbuilders were there. Possibly looking for employee or a sailor (?) who was on a ship that went in for repair, someone who was there in 1943. Thanks, looking for ancestor with Italian DNA who might have been from Puerto Rico - unsure about his citizenship.
All visitor submitted comments are opinions of those making the submissions and do not reflect views of WW2DB.
| WW2-Era Place Name | Ceiba, Puerto Rico |
| Lat/Long | 18.2381, -65.6278 |
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10 Jun 2014 05:20:01 PM
served there in 1966-67 on board YTB 788. under BMC Richard Whalen,EN1 Sumner M. Bowers, and EM2 Gil Sowa. Had a good crew on the 788. was on board, when USS Columbus stbd. anchor took out a port light in the galley. This happened at the British drydock on base.