On August 2, 1943, construction began on Naval Ammunition Depot Earle, named after Rear Admiral Ralph Earle, the chief of the Bureau of Ordnance during World War I. The rural area meant few local residents would be affected. Rail lines could bring in the ammunition from the west, where the majority of ammunition shipments originated. A board was established to locate a suitable site, and chose Sandy Hook Bay, which featured a safe, sheltered, and nearby port where ships could take on ammunition. If the stowed and dockside explosives had detonated at once, in the manner of the great Halifax Explosion, the blast could have damaged parts of Bayonne and even Lower Manhattan. Planning was hastened in early 1943 after the ammunition ship SS El Estero caught fire while moored in Bayonne, New Jersey. World War II operations demanded an ammunition depot near the greater New York metropolitan area but away from high-population sectors. The areas are connected by Normandy Road, a 15-mile (24 km) military road and rail line. The station is divided into two sections: Mainside, located in parts of Colts Neck Township, Howell Township, Wall Township, and Tinton Falls at 40☁5′00″N 74☀9′00″W / 40.25000°N 74.15000°W / 40.25000 -74.15000 and the Waterfront Area (which includes the pier complex), on Sandy Hook Bay, located in the Leonardo section of Middletown Township, at 40☂4′30″N 74☀4′30″W / 40.40833°N 74.07500°W / 40.40833 -74.07500. Its distinguishing feature is a 2.9-mile (4.7 km) pier in Sandy Hook Bay where ammunition can be loaded and unloaded from warships at a safe distance from heavily populated areas. Naval Weapons Station Earle is a United States Navy base in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States.
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