former Naval Facility Eleuthera

Bahamas / Eleuthera / Spanish Wells /
 military, abandoned / shut down, United States Navy
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One of the many underwater listening stations that were part of the Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS) and the Integrated Undersea Surveillance System (IUSS), which were used to track Soviet submarines.

Naval Facility Eleuthera, Bahamas was commissioned on 1 September 1957, with a compliment of 150 officers and enlisted men. Approximately twenty Pan-American Airway, RCA and Western Electric personnel and 45 Bohemian employees also supported the base. Eleuthera made history June 30, 1970; it was the first facility to employ women in oceanographic research. As for recreation, Eleuthera is surrounded by warm, crystal clear water filled with fresh fish, making water sports a most popular pursuit. Other entertainment included golfing, spelunking, beach combing, nightly movies, and the “Carib Club.” NAVFAC Eleuthera was decommissioned 31 March 1980 after 23 years of dedicated service.

www.public.navy.mil/subfor/cus/Pages/NAVFAC_Eleuthera.a...
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SOSUS
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   25°16'12"N   76°18'55"W

Comments

  • I SERVED HERE IN 1967-1968 as a 2nd class yeoman. Was ship,s secretary
  • hello, foxie what was the big concrete area near the beach for? It looks like a slanted parking lot. thank you
  • I have a home on Eleuthera and go to the base frequently. I was on the base last Wednesday amd Thursday. The asphalt pad is for water collection and the large pumps and pipes are still present that carried the water to retention tanks on the surface. These are visible on Google earth. I can send anyone pictures that would like to see it present state.
  • I was stationed here from 1970 to summer of 1972. I would love to hear from any shipmates from this time period. Samuel Conklin CYN3
  • We have a facebook site now, you can go on there and fill out the member thing, There are several of us on it with quite a lot of pictures.
  • What was your mission there? The deserted area is very interesting. It is a couple of miles from my house.
  • What is the site called?
  • Do you know a Bahamian lady by the name of Martha Johnson from James Cistern. Or Arthur title weinburger (maybe) was an officer during that time.
  • Show all comments
This article was last modified 3 years ago