MVK Halong
Location
Lat 3° 38' 60S Long 128° 13' 0E Located at Halong on Ambon Island, bordering Ambon Bay. Also known as "Ambon Bay Seaplane Base".
Construction
Marinevliegkamp Halong (MVK-H, naval air facility Halong), on Ambon Bay adjacent to the settlement of Ambon, was under development by the Marineluchtvaartdienst (RNNAS) as one of four medium capacity seaplane operating bases in the Netherlands East Indies.
The base consisted of three large hangers, three underground fuel tanks, workshops and barracks all still under construction when the Pacific War began on December 8, 1941.
Allied Units Based at Halong
GVT 17 (3 x Y-boats, Catalinas) prewar - January 16, 1941
GVT 2 (3 x Do-24K) prewar - January 16, 1941
GVT 5 (3 x Do-24K) prewar - January 16, 1941 Patrol Wing Ten, HQ December 23, 1941- January 8, 1942 Java
Patrol Wing Ten (PBY Catalina) December 23, 1941- January 15, 1942 Java
Wartime History
US Navy PBY Catalinas from Patrol Wing Ten (PW10) was based at Halong during December 23, 1941- January 8, 1942, when PatWing 10 headquarters moved to Java. PW10 Catalinas continued to use Halong for patrol purposes until January 15, 1941 when a Japanese air raid destroyed two PBYs and another damaged.
On January 16, 1941, the RNNAS and PW10 abandoned Halong and transferred to Java. Attempting to base there again temporarily, PW10 more PBYs on January 25 (two plus the one damaged earlier) when the Japanese carrier aircraft attacked again. Dutch ground crews destroyed the remaining fuel stocks. On January 28, two PW10 PBYs from Java returned at dawn to evacuate American and Dutch personnel without interference. Afterwards, the base was abandoned.
U. S. Navy planes lost at Halong / Ambon Bay:
Location
Lat 3° 38' 60S Long 128° 13' 0E Located at Halong on Ambon Island, bordering Ambon Bay. Also known as "Ambon Bay Seaplane Base".
Construction
Marinevliegkamp Halong (MVK-H, naval air facility Halong), on Ambon Bay adjacent to the settlement of Ambon, was under development by the Marineluchtvaartdienst (RNNAS) as one of four medium capacity seaplane operating bases in the Netherlands East Indies.
The base consisted of three large hangers, three underground fuel tanks, workshops and barracks all still under construction when the Pacific War began on December 8, 1941.
Allied Units Based at Halong
GVT 17 (3 x Y-boats, Catalinas) prewar - January 16, 1941
GVT 2 (3 x Do-24K) prewar - January 16, 1941
GVT 5 (3 x Do-24K) prewar - January 16, 1941 Patrol Wing Ten, HQ December 23, 1941- January 8, 1942 Java
Patrol Wing Ten (PBY Catalina) December 23, 1941- January 15, 1942 Java
Wartime History
US Navy PBY Catalinas from Patrol Wing Ten (PW10) was based at Halong during December 23, 1941- January 8, 1942, when PatWing 10 headquarters moved to Java. PW10 Catalinas continued to use Halong for patrol purposes until January 15, 1941 when a Japanese air raid destroyed two PBYs and another damaged.
On January 16, 1941, the RNNAS and PW10 abandoned Halong and transferred to Java. Attempting to base there again temporarily, PW10 more PBYs on January 25 (two plus the one damaged earlier) when the Japanese carrier aircraft attacked again. Dutch ground crews destroyed the remaining fuel stocks. On January 28, two PW10 PBYs from Java returned at dawn to evacuate American and Dutch personnel without interference. Afterwards, the base was abandoned.
U. S. Navy planes lost at Halong / Ambon Bay: