Noumea is on the east side of the Coral Sea, 1,469 kilometres (913 mi; 793 nmi) from Brisbane, Australia.

In March 1942, an agreement was made between Free France and the United States for a base in New Caledonia.

The first project was building a vast fuel tank farm on the Ducos Peninsula, north of Noumea.

Naval Base Noumea became the main fuel oil storage depot for the fleet from 1942 to November 1944.

Naval Base Noumea also became a major ammunition depot by the fall of 1942 to supply both ships and troops.

[2][3][4] The next project was building a base on Ile Nou Island, now called Nouville, just east of the City of Noumea.

Seabees built what locals called Half-Moon village on the flat south end of the island at 22°16′05″S 166°25′08″E / 22.268°S 166.419°E / -22.268; 166.419.

Royal Australian Air Force had built a small seaplane base on Ile Nou.

At Naval Base Noumea t,he new crane unloaded PT boats, barges, LCT-5's, and Lockheed P-38 Lightnings.

[7] The Navy constructed the Le Grand Quai Dock, spanning 1400 feet, accompanied by a 68,500-square-foot storage depot.

Geared towards the Pacific War effort, the infrastructure was instrumental, yet the high demand often led to a backlog of ships waiting to be unloaded.

With limited space on the island, construction started on the New Caledonia mainland both north, south, and west of the City of Noumea.

At Point Chalix south of the city, the navy built two wharves for unloading barges on a landing.

Next construction was in the City of Magenta, to the west of Noumea, two 200-foot wooden piers were built out into Boulari Bay.

[8][9][10] Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid's carrier task force was stationed at Noumea, for the supply and support of the Guadalcanal campaign.

On August 28, 1942, the USS Hornet's task group arrived at Naval Base Noumea.

Many operations on Noumea slowly moved to Espiritu Santo Naval Base, which opened in 1942 and was closer to the action.

The battleship USS South Dakota was repaired at Noumea after the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands.

[7] A Boeing B-17E Flying Fortress named Fiji Foo, Serial Number 41-9217 crashed landed on October 27, 1943, on to the Tontouta Airfield runway.

[17] U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) stationed at Tontouta Airfield: On March 12, 1942 17,500 troops disembark at Noumea' Nickel peninsula.

The pier was completed January 28. ,[1] US Army's 67th Pursuit Squadron operated of 25 Curtiss P-40 Warhawk A camp for Japanese prisoners of war was set up at Noumea.

Aeronavale operated Escadrille 9S transport and patrol aircraft, including Avro Lancaster as late as 1969.

[7] At Noumea, in 2013, the Museum of the Second World War opened in a large half-moon hut built in 1943 as a warehouse depot.