Coco Solo

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United States Navy submarine base

title: "Coco Solo" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["panama-canal-zone-townships", "military-installations-of-the-united-states-in-panama", "colón,-panama", "united-states-navy-submarine-bases", "buildings-and-structures-in-colón-province", "military-installations-established-in-1918", "former-installations-of-the-united-states-navy"] description: "United States Navy submarine base" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coco_Solo" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary United States Navy submarine base ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox military structure"]

FieldValue
nameNaval Base Coco Solo
location, Panama
imageNS Coco Solo Panama 1941 NAN7-64.jpg
image_size300px
captionAerial view of the U.S. Naval Station Coco Solo in 1941
typeNaval base
controlledbyUnited States Navy
used1918–1999
::

| name= Naval Base Coco Solo | partof= | location= , Panama | image=NS Coco Solo Panama 1941 NAN7-64.jpg | image_size=300px | caption=Aerial view of the U.S. Naval Station Coco Solo in 1941 | coordinates= | type=Naval base | code= | height= | ownership= | controlledby= United States Navy | condition= | built= | builder= | used= 1918–1999 | materials= | demolished= | battles= | events= | past_commanders= | garrison= | occupants= |ensign= |current_commander= ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Naval_Station_Coco_Solo_with_submarines_1923.jpg" caption="O-class submarines]] at Coco Solo in 1923."] ::

Coco Solo was a United States Navy submarine base and naval air station near the Panama Canal, active from 1918 to the 1960s.

History

The submarine base at Coco Solo was established May 6, 1918. The site corresponds with modern-day Cativá in Panama. It was on the Atlantic Ocean (northwest) side of the Panama Canal Zone, near Colón, Panama. Five C-class submarines were based there during 1914–1919.

United States Senator John McCain was born in 1936 at a small Navy hospital, at Coco Solo Naval Air Station.

The larger Coco Solo Hospital was constructed in the summer of 1941. The area containing it was transferred from the civil part of the Panama Canal Zone to the naval part when Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 8981 on December 17, 1941.

On December 7, 1941, three V-class submarines (Barracuda, Bass and Bonita) were stationed at Coco Solo. During World War II, Coco Solo also served as a Naval Air Facility, housing a squadron of United States Army Air Forces P-38 Lightning aircraft.

On October 31, 1955, a PBM-5 Mariner (registration 59232) crashed on takeoff from Coco Solo, resulting in the deaths of eight personnel. Contemporary news reports indicated a ninth person on the aircraft survived.

By the 1960s, no U.S. Navy vessels remained, only some support staff and housing. At the far end of Randolph Road was Fort Randolph, unused except for military training exercises, and where the Fort Randolph Riding Club was located as used by the Canal Zone Horsemen's Association.

Until the mid-1990s, the town site of Coco Solo was used by the civilian employees of the Panama Canal as a residential area. The nearby Galeta Island U.S. Navy communications facility continued in operation as well. After the turnover of the Panama Canal to Panamanians in 1999, US military activity ceased at both Coco Solo and Galeta Island.

Coco Solo is now the site of two container terminals: Colón Container Terminal and Manzanillo International Terminal, which is the busiest container port in Latin America.

Climate

|location = Coco Solo, 4 m asl (1961–1990 normals) |metric first = yes |single line = yes |Jan record high C = 31.7 |Feb record high C = 30.6 |Mar record high C = 33.3 |Apr record high C = 36.1 |May record high C = 35.0 |Jun record high C = 33.9 |Jul record high C = 34.4 |Aug record high C = 33.9 |Sep record high C = 34.4 |Oct record high C = 34.4 |Nov record high C = 33.3 |Dec record high C = 31.7 |Jan high C = 29.3 |Feb high C = 29.8 |Mar high C = 30.6 |Apr high C = 31.2 |May high C = 31.1 |Jun high C = 30.6 |Jul high C = 31.3 |Aug high C = 30.8 |Sep high C = 30.4 |Oct high C = 30.4 |Nov high C = 29.3 |Dec high C = 29.1 |year high C = |Jan mean C = 27.0 |Feb mean C = 27.5 |Mar mean C = 27.9 |Apr mean C = 28.2 |May mean C = 27.9 |Jun mean C = 27.8 |Jul mean C = 27.8 |Aug mean C = 27.5 |Sep mean C = 27.3 |Oct mean C = 27.4 |Nov mean C = 26.7 |Dec mean C = 27.1 |year mean C = |Jan low C = 24.6 |Feb low C = 25.1 |Mar low C = 25.2 |Apr low C = 25.2 |May low C = 24.7 |Jun low C = 24.9 |Jul low C = 24.3 |Aug low C = 24.1 |Sep low C = 24.3 |Oct low C = 24.3 |Nov low C = 24.1 |Dec low C = 25.0 |year low C = |Jan record low C = 18.9 |Feb record low C = 20.6 |Mar record low C = 18.9 |Apr record low C = 19.4 |May record low C = 20.6 |Jun record low C = 21.7 |Jul record low C = 20.6 |Aug record low C = 21.1 |Sep record low C = 21.7 |Oct record low C = 21.7 |Nov record low C = 21.1 |Dec record low C = 19.4 |precipitation colour=green |Jan precipitation mm = 139.6 |Feb precipitation mm = 35.8 |Mar precipitation mm = 87.0 |Apr precipitation mm = 149.2 |May precipitation mm = 382.2 |Jun precipitation mm = 318.2 |Jul precipitation mm = 404.7 |Aug precipitation mm = 478.4 |Sep precipitation mm = 332.5 |Oct precipitation mm = 397.7 |Nov precipitation mm = 714.6 |Dec precipitation mm = 395.2 |year precipitation mm = |unit precipitation days = 1 mm |Jan precipitation days = 12.33 |Feb precipitation days = 6.73 |Mar precipitation days = 10.55 |Apr precipitation days = 6.55 |May precipitation days = 19.00 |Jun precipitation days = 17.25 |Jul precipitation days = 16.00 |Aug precipitation days = 23.50 |Sep precipitation days = 18.00 |Oct precipitation days = 18.57 |Nov precipitation days = 25.00 |Dec precipitation days = 17.00 |year precipitation days = |source 1= Météo climat stats |source 2= Météo Climat

References

References

  1. Van Wyen, Adrian O.. (1969). "Naval Aviation in World War I". Chief of Naval Operations.
  2. Alexander, Paul. (2002). "Man of the People: The Life of John McCain". [[John Wiley & Sons]].
  3. Dobbs, Michael. (2008-05-20). "The Fact Checker: John McCain's Birthplace". [[The Washington Post]].
  4. Timberg, Robert. (1999). "John McCain: An American Odyssey". [[Touchstone Books]].
  5. Dobbs, Michael. (2008-05-02). "The Fact Checker: Citizen McCain". [[The Washington Post]].
  6. (1941-12-17). "Executive Order 8981 – Navy Hospital Area, Coco Solo, Canal Zone". [[United States Government]].
  7. "US-Fleet Dec 7 1941".
  8. "Accident Martin PBM-5 Mariner 59232".
  9. (November 2, 1955). "Navy Identifies 9 Victims Of Coco Solo Plane Crash". [[The Indianapolis Star]].
  10. "Colón Container Terminal, S.A.". [[Colón Container Terminal, S.A.]].
  11. "Manzanillo International Terminal Case Study". [[Tideworks Technology]].
  12. "Moyennes 1961-1990 Panama (Asie)".
  13. "Météo Climat stats for Coco Solo". Météo Climat.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

panama-canal-zone-townshipsmilitary-installations-of-the-united-states-in-panamacolón,-panamaunited-states-navy-submarine-basesbuildings-and-structures-in-colón-provincemilitary-installations-established-in-1918former-installations-of-the-united-states-navy