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| Naval Station Long Beach (decommissioned) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Naval Station Long Beach (decommissioned) |
| Location | Long Beach, California |
| Country | United States |
| Type | Naval base (decommissioned) |
| Ownership | United States Navy |
| Built | 1940s |
| Used | 1940s–1997 |
| Fate | Closed and redeveloped |
Naval Station Long Beach (decommissioned) was a United States Naval Station located in Long Beach, California on the Los Angeles Harbor. Established during the World War II era, the facility served as a major Pacific Ocean-facing base for surface ships, aviation units, and logistics through the Cold War and into the post‑Cold War period, before closure in the late 20th century. Its waterfront piers, airfield access, and proximity to San Pedro Bay made it a strategic point for naval deployments tied to operations in the Pacific Theater, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and numerous Cold War contingencies.
The installation traces origins to pre‑World War II expansions of the United States Navy presence in Southern California, undertaken alongside developments at Naval Base San Diego, Naval Air Station North Island, and the industrial growth of Los Angeles County. During World War II, the station supported convoy escorts, anti‑submarine efforts tied to the Battle of the Atlantic logistics chain, and forward deployments to the Aleutian Islands Campaign and the Pacific War. In the early Cold War period the site supported fleet operations connected to the United States Seventh Fleet and task groups responding to crises such as the Korean War and events involving the Taiwan Strait crisis. Throughout the 1950s–1970s the station interfaced with maritime programs overseen by the Secretary of the Navy, shipbuilding activities at Bethlehem Steel yards, and maritime logistics networks that included commercial ports like the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach. In the 1980s and 1990s strategic shifts following the Reagan administration naval buildup and later post‑Cold War drawdowns led to reassessment by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission.
The station encompassed multiple piers, berthing spaces, and maintenance areas adjacent to Pier B (Long Beach), with waterfront assets integrated into the Los Angeles Harbor. Aviation tie‑ins enabled access to regional airfields and coordinated operations with units previously based at Naval Air Station Los Alamitos and Huntington Beach Naval Air Station-era facilities. Shore support included supply depots, ordnance magazines, fuel piers compatible with replenishment missions, and technical workshops similar to those found at Naval Shipyard complexes such as Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. The base layout featured administrative buildings, family housing zones reminiscent of Naval Housing standards, and training ranges that connected to regional ranges like San Clemente Island and Camp Pendleton amphibious training areas. Access corridors linked the station to interstate infrastructure including Interstate 710 and rail lines serving the Southern Pacific Railroad networks.
The station hosted a rotating mix of surface combatants, amphibious ships, and support vessels, often including elements assigned to fleets and squadrons analogous to those in the United States Pacific Fleet. Homeported and transient ships supported by the station included destroyer squadrons, cruiser task groups, and logistics elements working with Military Sealift Command functions. Aviation detachments and helicopter units operating in coordination with Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron elements staged aboard nearby carriers and amphibious assault ships. The station also accommodated reserve units from the United States Navy Reserve, personnel from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and shore commands aligned with the Office of Naval Intelligence and logistics components of the Naval Supply Systems Command.
Across its service life the installation was a staging and maintenance point for deployments to the Pacific War, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, as well as contingency operations during Cold War confrontations tied to the Soviet Union and crises in East Asia. Ships and personnel supported transits to forward bases such as Guam, Subic Bay Naval Base, and Yokosuka Naval Base while participating in multinational exercises with partners like the Royal Australian Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. The station’s logistical role extended to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions coordinated with agencies and commands including the United States Pacific Command and allied logistic networks responding to regional emergencies.
In the post‑Cold War reductions the Base Realignment and Closure Commission identified several installations for realignment, and the station was officially closed and its functions redistributed to other West Coast facilities, including expanded operations at Naval Base San Diego and logistics consolidation with Military Sealift Command hubs. After decommissioning, portions of the former naval property were transferred to municipal and commercial authorities for redevelopment, shifting lands toward uses coordinated with the City of Long Beach planning agencies, port authorities like the Port of Long Beach, and private developers involved in waterfront revitalization projects. Redevelopment initiatives paralleled similar conversions at former bases such as Naval Station San Diego ancillary properties and the reutilization patterns seen at former Naval Air Station Alameda.
Closure required environmental remediation overseen by federal and state agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency and the California Environmental Protection Agency frameworks, with cleanup actions addressing contaminated sediments, fuel storage impacts, and ordnance removal comparable to remediation efforts at Naval Station Roosevelt Roads and Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Investigations targeted petroleum hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls from electrical equipment, heavy metals in soil, and legacy munitions in restricted zones, with remediation governed by laws and programs linked to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act and state hazardous waste statutes. Long‑term monitoring and community engagement involved local stakeholders, environmental organizations, and regulatory entities coordinating redevelopment with ecological restoration along the Los Angeles River watershed and coastal habitats.
Category:Installations of the United States Navy Category:Military installations closed in 1997