Naval Air Station Cubi Point
Encyclopedia
U.S. Naval Air Station Cubi Point was a United States Navy
aerial facility located at the edge of Naval Base Subic Bay and abutting the Bataan Peninsula
in the Philippines.
. Admiral
Arthur W. Radford
, Chief of Naval Operations
conceived of the construction of a naval air station at Cubi Point, which was then a rugged and jungle covered finger of land 3 miles (4.8 km) from Subic Naval Base. He pictured the air station as a vital link in the defense of the Southwest Pacific.
In spite of the magnitude of the job and the tremendous difficulties the construction involved, the project was approved by The Pentagon
. Civilian contractors were initially tapped to fulfill the project but after taking seeing the forbidding Zambales Mountains and the maze of jungle at Cubi Point, they claimed it could not be done. The Navy's Seabee
s were then given the project and in 1951, the Seabees began the first phase of the project. The first Seabees to arrive were MCB-3 on October 2, 1951; the second, MCB-5, arrived on November 5, 1951.
The first problem encountered was the transfer of an entire town. The town of Banicain stood on the site of the proposed airfield and so had to be moved to the community of Olongapo where it became New Banicain. The former Banicain now lies under 45 feet (13.7 m) of earth.
The next problem involved the moving of mountains and the building of a 10000 feet (3,048 m) long airstrip that stretches out into Subic Bay, along the waterfront and out into the sea. It was one of the largest earthmoving projects in the world, equivalent to the construction of the Panama Canal
.
In all, it took five years and an estimated 20-million man-hours to build this Navy base. At Cubi Point Seabees cut a mountain in half to make way for a nearly two-mile long runway. They blasted coral
to fill a section of Subic Bay
, filled swampland
, moved trees as much as 150 feet (45.7 m) tall and six to eight feet in diameter, and relocated a native fishing village.
The $100 million facility was commissioned on July 25, 1956 and comprised an air station and an adjacent pier that was capable of docking the Navy's largest carriers.
On December 21, 1972, Naval Air Station Cubi Point honored Radford by changing the name of its airfield to Arthur W. Radford Field. Radford had the unusual honor of being able to make the dedication speech himself. The plaque reads:
"Dedicated in honor of Admiral Arthur W. Radford, whose foresight in founding U.S. Naval Air Station Cubi Point has enabled the United States Navy to provide invaluable support to the Seventh Fleet and to carry out its obligations under the Philippines-United States Mutual Defense Treaty."
At present Naval Air Station Cubi Point has been converted into a civil airport, and is known as Subic Bay International Airport
.
, its jet engine
shop turned out 2 jet engines a day to keep pace with demand.
NAS Cubi Point and Naval Base Subic Bay were also at the front lines during Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield.
In June 1991, when Mt. Pinatubo, which was just 20 miles (32.2 km) from Subic Bay, erupted, NAS Cubi Point was blanketed in ash one-foot thick. After the evacuation of all dependents from the facility, an intense clean-up was begun to return the station to normal operations. Within two weeks, NAS Cubi Point was back in limited operation. Soon most building had electricity and water service restored. By mid-July, service had been restored to most family housing units.
By September, most dependents were back to Subic Bay and Cubi Point, but it was also in September that the Senate of the Philippines
voted to have the United States withdraw from all of its facilities in the Philippines.
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
aerial facility located at the edge of Naval Base Subic Bay and abutting the Bataan Peninsula
Bataan Peninsula
The Bataan Peninsula is a rocky extension of the Zambales Mountains, on Luzon in the Philippines. It separates the Manila Bay from the South China Sea...
in the Philippines.
History
The need for a naval air station was realized during the Korean WarKorean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
Arthur W. Radford
Arthur W. Radford
Arthur William Radford was a United States Navy Admiral, Commander-in-Chief of the United States Pacific Command and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.Arthur Radford was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1896...
, Chief of Naval Operations
Chief of Naval Operations
The Chief of Naval Operations is a statutory office held by a four-star admiral in the United States Navy, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Navy. The office is a military adviser and deputy to the Secretary of the Navy...
conceived of the construction of a naval air station at Cubi Point, which was then a rugged and jungle covered finger of land 3 miles (4.8 km) from Subic Naval Base. He pictured the air station as a vital link in the defense of the Southwest Pacific.
In spite of the magnitude of the job and the tremendous difficulties the construction involved, the project was approved by The Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
. Civilian contractors were initially tapped to fulfill the project but after taking seeing the forbidding Zambales Mountains and the maze of jungle at Cubi Point, they claimed it could not be done. The Navy's Seabee
Seabee
Seabees are members of the United States Navy construction battalions. The word Seabee is a proper noun that comes from the initials of Construction Battalion, of the United States Navy...
s were then given the project and in 1951, the Seabees began the first phase of the project. The first Seabees to arrive were MCB-3 on October 2, 1951; the second, MCB-5, arrived on November 5, 1951.
The first problem encountered was the transfer of an entire town. The town of Banicain stood on the site of the proposed airfield and so had to be moved to the community of Olongapo where it became New Banicain. The former Banicain now lies under 45 feet (13.7 m) of earth.
The next problem involved the moving of mountains and the building of a 10000 feet (3,048 m) long airstrip that stretches out into Subic Bay, along the waterfront and out into the sea. It was one of the largest earthmoving projects in the world, equivalent to the construction of the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
.
In all, it took five years and an estimated 20-million man-hours to build this Navy base. At Cubi Point Seabees cut a mountain in half to make way for a nearly two-mile long runway. They blasted coral
Coral
Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...
to fill a section of Subic Bay
Subic Bay
Subic Bay is a bay forming part of Luzon Sea on the west coast of the island of Luzon in Zambales, Philippines, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila Bay. Its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility named U.S...
, filled swampland
Swampland
In physics, the term swampland is used in contrast to the term "landscape," to indicate physical theories or aspects of such theories which could be true if gravity wasn't an issue, but which are not compatible with string theory...
, moved trees as much as 150 feet (45.7 m) tall and six to eight feet in diameter, and relocated a native fishing village.
The $100 million facility was commissioned on July 25, 1956 and comprised an air station and an adjacent pier that was capable of docking the Navy's largest carriers.
On December 21, 1972, Naval Air Station Cubi Point honored Radford by changing the name of its airfield to Arthur W. Radford Field. Radford had the unusual honor of being able to make the dedication speech himself. The plaque reads:
"Dedicated in honor of Admiral Arthur W. Radford, whose foresight in founding U.S. Naval Air Station Cubi Point has enabled the United States Navy to provide invaluable support to the Seventh Fleet and to carry out its obligations under the Philippines-United States Mutual Defense Treaty."
At present Naval Air Station Cubi Point has been converted into a civil airport, and is known as Subic Bay International Airport
Subic Bay International Airport
-Cargo airlines:As of October 2010, there are no cargo airlines operating in Subic Bay International Airport.FedEx Express closed its hub at Subic Bay on February 6, 2009, this was the first hub to be closed in FedEx's history...
.
Operations
Eventually, NAS Cubi Point served as the primary maintenance, repair and supply center for the 400 carrier-based aircraft of the Seventh Fleet's carrier force. During the Vietnam WarVietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, its jet engine
Jet engine
A jet engine is a reaction engine that discharges a fast moving jet to generate thrust by jet propulsion and in accordance with Newton's laws of motion. This broad definition of jet engines includes turbojets, turbofans, rockets, ramjets, pulse jets...
shop turned out 2 jet engines a day to keep pace with demand.
NAS Cubi Point and Naval Base Subic Bay were also at the front lines during Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield.
In June 1991, when Mt. Pinatubo, which was just 20 miles (32.2 km) from Subic Bay, erupted, NAS Cubi Point was blanketed in ash one-foot thick. After the evacuation of all dependents from the facility, an intense clean-up was begun to return the station to normal operations. Within two weeks, NAS Cubi Point was back in limited operation. Soon most building had electricity and water service restored. By mid-July, service had been restored to most family housing units.
By September, most dependents were back to Subic Bay and Cubi Point, but it was also in September that the Senate of the Philippines
Senate of the Philippines
The Senate of the Philippines is the upper chamber of the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, the Congress of the Philippines...
voted to have the United States withdraw from all of its facilities in the Philippines.
See also
- U.S. Naval Base Subic BayU.S. Naval Base Subic BayU.S. Naval Base Subic Bay was a major ship-repair, supply, and rest and recreation facility of the United States Navy located in Zambales, Philippines. It was the largest U.S...
- U.S. Naval Station Sangley PointU.S. Naval Station Sangley PointNaval Station Sangley Point was a communication and hospital facility of the United States Navy which occupied the northern portion of the Cavite City peninsula and is surrounded by Manila Bay, approximately eight miles southwest of Manila, the Philippines. The station was a part of the Cavite...
- Subic Bay International AirportSubic Bay International Airport-Cargo airlines:As of October 2010, there are no cargo airlines operating in Subic Bay International Airport.FedEx Express closed its hub at Subic Bay on February 6, 2009, this was the first hub to be closed in FedEx's history...
- Military History of the PhilippinesMilitary history of the Philippines-Battle of Mactan:The Battle of Mactan on April 27, 1521, is celebrated as the earliest reported resistance of the natives in the Philippines against foreign invaders. Lapu-Lapu, a Chieftain of Mactan Island, defeated Christian European explorers led by the Portuguese navigator Ferdinand...
- Military History of the United StatesMilitary history of the United StatesThe military history of the United States spans a period of over two centuries. During the course of those years, the United States evolved from a new nation fighting the British Empire for independence without a professional military , through a monumental American Civil War to the world's sole...