In 1954 the U.S. Navy established a hydrographic research station on the northern promontory of Grand Turk, overlooking the strategic passage from the Atlantic Ocean. Quonset huts were erected to accommodate eleven officers and one-hundred enlisted men, and a large water catchment stood within the base. Known officially as the U.S. Facility for Oceanographic Research, it was created to improve knowledge of oceanographic and acoustic conditions after the U.S. had found during World War II that better knowledge of ocean conditions was needed to deal with enemy submarines. After the facility was established, U.S. atomic submarines frequently sailed off Grand Turk, and another U.S. installation, the Guided Missle Base, was constructed on the island's southern end at around the same time. The number of American personnel and families resident on the island at one time exceeded three hundred. On March 31, 1980, the U.S. Facility for Oceanographic Research was officially closed and turned over to the Turks and Caicos Islands Government, and it currently serves as the Grand Turk Community College.

Photo: AGS Media

Photo: Mike Stroud

Photo: Mike Stroud

Photo: AGS Media

Photo: Bobby G. Bristoe

Photo: Mike Stroud

Photo: Max Henke

Photo: Max Henke

Photo: Mike Stroud

Photo: Donald Barry Ratsch

Photo: Mike Stroud