Look! Me island!

[GerritJ9]

Not THAT old, but young enough to to have been there in the 20th century!

[Raptor1]

Originally Posted by akdavis

I know you jest, but you do realize that Trinidad is not uninhabited desert isle, don't you?

Yes, I do, This joke just dragged on too long, sorry...

[DavyJonesFootlocker]

Gerritj9 you lived here? Serious? Cool! Hey. the old DJFL DO NOT live on a backward island! (or maybe not) For that I summon the ghost of Davy Jones to place a curse on your boats- may your bilges stop working and your cook be Richard Simmons!:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

[Schroeder]

Originally Posted by DavyJonesFootlocker

Oh, yeah!? Just you wait. Bwahahaaaa!

Anyway I'm learning some stuff about the u-boat war here at home. Geez, those Germans were far away from home. But I bet they prefer it there than freezing their butts off in some icy sea.

Well, as far as I know German subs did not have air-conditioning units. Therefore they turned to ovens in hot areas. Not a nice place to be. You can always put more clothes on to protect you from cold but what are you going to to in a hot steel pipe?

[DavyJonesFootlocker]

Broiled Kreigsmarine anyone, then?:rotfl:The u-boats would not have made a significant dent later in the war as the RN and the USN had a powerful base here. The aircraft were pretty good at ASW.

[GerritJ9]

DavyJonesFootlocker........ I lived at Orange Grove Estate, Tacarigua from early April 1955 to late October 1966.
The rest of you, there was a large US air base called Waller Field (no doubt used for antisubmarine air patrols) on Trinidad during WW2, one of the areas the US obtained from the UK in exchange for the 50 old Wickes/Clemson destroyers; when I lived in Trinidad it had been abandoned and the runways were part overgrown- probably totally overgrown now I would imagine.

[GerritJ9]

There was also a US naval base at Chaguaramas, near the Dragon's Mouth which was in use until the late 1950s at least- I remember going swimming there (beach at Stobles Bay) and to get there a pass was required.
There apparently was a third US base just south of Chaguanas-Longdenville, but I have absolutely no idea as to what kind of base it was

[DavyJonesFootlocker]

An update. Chaguaramas is used by our Coast Guard now. Wallerfield is used as racing strip for car competitions. I was born in 1965 so you left the year after. Strange enough I lived in Longdenville in the 80s where we had owned land. Orange Grove isn't far from my last place of residence- TrinCity. The area is upscale now. Trinidad has changed a lot since you were here, but it's nice to know you here.

[GerritJ9]

Mission/campaign builders now have some extra info on where the bases were located in Trinidad- but I'll try to put up a screenie later (where X marks the spots on the map ). I never checked T&T out in SH3 or SH4- suppose I'd better do that now.
I have a map of Trinidad dating from 1946 and it shows the areas of Chaguaramas and Waller Field marked as "U.S. Leased Area"; ditto for the third area near Longdenville but I have no info as to what use was made of that- if, indeed, it ever was used in the first place. Perhaps it was earmarked for use, but never actually used..........

Regarding Trincity, I saw the first few houses being built in late 1965 (I think). Previously the area had been part savannah, part sugar cane fields. Looked at the area in Google Earth a few months ago and was shocked at how densely built it has become. Still, managed to recognize the houses where I lived; the sugar factory where my father worked still stands, though it was closed down years ago. The machinery was sold in the early 80s so it's probably only an empty shell now.
Also found my old primary school in St. Augustine- well, the building's still there anyway.......... brings back memories.