page_title: Naval Station Sangley Point
section_title: Postwar years
hierarchical_section_title: Naval Station Sangley Point / American period / Postwar years
caption_attribution_description: English: An aerial view of the Cavite Peninsula (circa 1963-1966) in Manila Bay, Philippines with the U.S. Naval Station Sangley Point in the foreground and Cavite City behind the base. Bacoor Bay is the body of water at the leftmost center of the picture near the mainland and Cañacao Bay is to the left of the naval base.
context_page_description: Naval 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 Navy Yard across the peninsula. The naval station had a runway that was built after World War II, which was used by U.S. Navy Lockheed P-2 Neptune, Lockheed P-3 Orion, and Martin P4M Mercator maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare aircraft. An adjacent seaplane runway, ramp area and seaplane tender berths also supported Martin P5M Marlin maritime patrol aircraft until that type's retirement from active naval service in the late 1960s. NAS Sangley Point/NAVSTA Sangley Point was also used extensively during the Vietnam War, primarily for U.S. Navy patrol squadrons forward deployed from the United States on six-month rotations. The naval station was turned over to the Philippine government in 1971. It is now operated by the Philippine Air Force and Philippine Navy.
context_section_description: The base maintenance organization was officially designated Naval Air Base, Sangley Point in 1945.  Early in 1955, top echelon planners of the Navy recognized the importance of Sangley Point services and designated it a permanent facility.  Later, after the establishment of Naval Air Station Cubi Point at Subic Bay, the designation was changed to Naval Station Sangley Point in accordance with the treaty with the Philippine government which allowed for only one official naval air station.
  The Naval Station Sangley Point was not large, encompassing an area of only 341 acres (1.38 km²).  Half of which was occupied by its most valuable asset: the 8,000-foot (2,400 m) runway and its associated air-operations facilities and air-navigational aids.  The primary mission of Sangley was to provide maintenance, support, and materials for the regional operations of U.S. Seventh Fleet.
  The base was the headquarters of Commander U.S. Naval Forces Philippines/Commander-in-Chief Pacific Representative Philippines (COMNAVPHIL/CINCPACREPPHIL), which was considered to be the most important activity supported by Naval Station Sangley Point.
  It also supported two patrol squadrons of sea planes, deployed on Sangley on a rotational basis to help fulfill the Mutual Defense Treaty with the Philippines. During the Korean War these were activated Naval Reserve Squadrons.
  The Coast Guard Air Station and the Coast Guard Ship Nettle played a vital role in search-and-rescue operations and in the maintenance of remote long-range aid-to navigation (LORAN) stations located throughout the Philippines.  The Fleet Weather Facility was tasked with furnishing weather information to ships and aircraft operating in the Western Pacific and East China Sea areas.
  Naval Station Sangley Point also provided support for a Fleet Air Wing detachment, a Naval Communications Center, Marine Barracks, a Recruiting Detachment, and Navy Exchange and Commissary Stores.
caption: Sangley Point in the mid-1960s.
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