Perth was selected as the site for a U.S. Navy base as it was beyond the range of Japanese long-range bombers.

The Seaplane Base was located at the City of Nedlands, just west of Perth, on the north shore of the Swan River.

Deede, Captain Thomas F. Pollock, and one other PBY Catalina flew to Corregidor in the Philippines and rescue 50 key personnel in April 1942.

The rescue at US Corregidor Island Base was codenamed Operation Flight Gridiron.

The PBYs also delivered medicine, Anti-aircraft nose fuses, and radio repair parts to the troops still on Corregidor.

The cargo was loaded at Darwin and Lieutenant commander Edgar Neale joined the operation.

A navite banca, outrigger canoe, guided the planes to a place to hide under overhanging trees.

Removed were blankets, oxygen gear, spare food, and repair tools.

The hole was plugged with clothes and some empty gas drums were roped to the tail to stop it from sinking.

The ground troops used marine glue to patch the two holes with a muslin cloth.

The repairs and clearing of water was a long and difficult task, but at 4:00 pm the plane took off with the bailing party still working.

Captain Fife started a torpedo target range at Albany in Princess Royal Harbour.

Port of Albany offered excellent fleet anchorage and Princess Royal Fortress.

Submarines returned to Port of Albany during the Western Australian emergency of March 1944 out of fear of an attack on Fremantle.

The Royal Australian Navy operated a large refuelling tank farm at Albany.

USS ARD-9, a US Navy auxiliary floating drydock, was at Perth for repairing ships and subs in January 1944, then departed to Naval Base Milne Bay.

To fight the Empire of Japan in Java, 43 Curtiss P-40 Warhawk from Amberley, New Zealand and Bankstown Airport were ordered to fly to Perth to be loaded on the USS Langley (CV-1), the US's first aircraft carrier.

United States Army Air Forces P-40 pilots and P-40 ground crews also boarded the USS Langley.

On February 27, 1942, on her way to Java, nine twin-engine Japanese bombers attacked the USS Langley off of Tilatjap.

During the test problems appeared and the plane turned upside down and nose-dived into the Swan River.