Naval Station Hawaii
Naval Station Hawaii was a United States Navy naval base centred on Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu.
I presume that Naval Station Honolulu is the same entity.
During the period leading up to the Great War, the facilities were much smaller than they'd become.
History
Rights to the harbor were obtained in 1887 following intrigue with the Hawaiian Government which is well beyond our scope here. Eminent Domain was used to procure 800 acres of land to accommodate harbor facilities, and in 1902 the bar at the harbor entrance was dredged. The official birthday for the harbor became 13 May 1908 when a naval Act funded the dredging the of entrance channel to admit the largest ships and allowed for the creation of a drydock costing up to $2M, though plans for various scopes of work continued to be discussed. At any event, the dock proved difficult to construct – in February 1913 the floor of the dock failed, requiring an investigation and the hiring of an internationally famous engineer, Alfred Noble, to issue a report on how to proceed.
On 21 August 1919, after fully $4.4M had been spent, Mrs. Josephus Daniels pressed a button to cause a dock 1,002 feet long, 138 feet wide and of 32.5 feet effective depth to be flooded for the first time.
Dredging and caisson construction performed in 1936-7 resulted in creation of Battleship Row.
The Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard achieved independent status on 12 December, 1941.[1]
Commandants
The official name was Naval Station Hawaii until 17 May 1916 when it became the Fourteenth Naval District.
The Commandant, Fourteen Naval District was also the Commandant of the Navy Yard Pearl Harbor from 17 May 1916 until December, 1941.[1]
Dates of appointment given:
- Rear Admiral John F. Merry, 23 May, 1899 – 31 July, 1902
- Captain William H. Whiting, 31 July, 1902 – 23 February, 1903
- Lieutenant Commander Hugh Rodman, 24 February, 1903 – 14 August, 1903
- Lieutenant Commander Albert P. Niblack, 14 August, 1903 – 21 August, 1903
- Rear Admiral Silas W. Terry, 21 August, 1903 – 24 December, 1904
- Rear Admiral Henry W. Lyon, 24 December, 1904 – 24 June, 1906
- Rear Admiral Samuel W. Very, 26 July, 1906 – 24 April, 1908
- Rear Admiral Corwin P. Rees, 17 May, 1916 – 14 August, 1916
- Rear Admiral Walter C. Cowles, 13 December, 1910 – 24 March, 1913
- Rear Admiral Charles B. T. Moore, 24 March, 1913 – 17 July, 1915
- Rear Admiral Clifford J. Boush, 17 July, 1915 – 17 May, 1916
- Rear Admiral Clifford J. Boush, 17 May, 1916 – 14 August, 1916
- Captain George R. Clark, 8 August, 1916 – 13 June, 1918
- Rear Admiral Robert M. Doyle, 13 June, 1918 – 15 May, 1919
- Rear Admiral William B. Fletcher, 15 May, 1919[2] – 6 July, 1920
- Rear Admiral William R. Shoemaker, 14 January, 1921 – 28 June, 1921
- Rear Admiral Edward Simpson, 15 September, 1921 – 7 June, 1923
- Rear Admiral John D. McDonald, 18 July, 1923 – 25 October, 1927
- Rear Admiral George R. Marvell, 25 October, 1927 – 4 August, 1930
- Rear Admiral Yates Stirling, Jr., 16 September, 1930 – 10 June, 1933
- Rear Admiral Harry E. Yarnell, 22 June, 1933 – 5 October, 1936
- Rear Admiral Orin G. Murfin, 14 November, 1936 – 11 April, 1940
- Rear Admiral Claude C. Bloch, 11 April, 1940 – 2 April, 1942
Aides to Commandant
Dates of appointment given:
- Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Benjamin F. Tilley, Jr., 5 December, 1915[3]
Engineer Officers
Dates of appointment given:
- Commander Arthur Crenshaw, 5 February, 1916[4]
See Also
Footnotes
Bibliography
- Command History Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, Management Engineering Division. July 1959. Online here.
