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flying boats operated from jetties on the northern, sheltered side of Gan. Large oil tanks were built on Gan, and on
Hitaddu Island on the western edge of the atoll; vital elements for a naval base. These were visible from a long distances at sea, but this was unavoidable, given the atoll's low
565:, but was raised and towed to Addu for use as an oil storage vessel); this was a long-range shot from outside the atoll through a gap in the anti-torpedo nets. Although seriously damaged, the tanker did not sink. She was not fully repaired but kept as a
601:
Most of the employees who had experience working for the
British military spoke fluent English. When the base at Gan was closed for good, they turned to the nascent tourism industry for employment. As a result, there was an influx of
457:
established a base ("Port T"). An isolated island base with a safe, deep anchorage in a suitably strategic position was required, and Addu met the requirements. Once available, its facilities were used extensively by the Fleet.
376:
Gan is the second largest island of the atoll, after
Hithadhoo, and measures 2.2561 square kilometres (0.87 sq mi) in area. Gan was formerly inhabited, but its inhabitants were moved to neighbouring islands after the
1225:
152:
542:
in April 1942. Later in the war, submarine reconnaissance established the base’s existence. Despite openings into the lagoon being permanently closed by anti-submarine nets, the German
515:
Coast
Defence Regiment, manning shore batteries and anti-aircraft guns. To facilitate the defence, causeways were built connecting the western islands of Gan, Eyehook (Abuhera),
569:
Oil Fuel
Storage Vessel. There was significant oil pollution after this incident and British personnel were used to clean the lagoon, but they were only partially successful.
496:
that included Addu in a number of bases that they serviced regularly. Three times these ships replenished forty or more ships of the
Eastern Fleet. Several large
576:
was scuttled southeast of
Hithadhoo Island in the Addu Atoll lagoon. Despite the fact that she is still leaking oil, she has become a popular diving location.
1233:
617:
After the
British military left, the airstrip was neglected and remained almost unused for many decades. Recently it has been developed into what is now
626:
214:
527:. Addu was an unpopular posting due to the hot, humid climate, lack of recreational facilities and lack of socialising with the local population.
1229:
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143:
437:. Gan's ruins were the remains of the southernmost Buddhist site of the Maldives. The mound, as well as the foundations of the nearby
86:
555:
58:
165:
562:
65:
1200:
1135:
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was the head island and a
Buddhist place of learning in Addu. There were large cultivated fields of yams, manioc and
105:
39:
1279:
497:
433:
ruins there. These included the foundations of a temple (vihara) and a mound or a low hill which was a very ruined
181:
642:
389:
157:
Addu Atoll seen from space. Gan lies at the end of the continuous reef fringing Addu from the west and southwest
72:
43:
505:
54:
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Gan now has a hotel catering to tourists and is connected by causeways to the neighbouring islands of
618:
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520:
414:
32:
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79:
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Ship's supplies for the fleet were provided from a pair of
Australian refrigerated ships,
388:
was built. It has had continuous human habitation since very ancient times and during the
8:
1284:
1123:
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595:
462:
119:
591:. The base remained in intermittent service until 1976, when British Forces withdrew.
1131:
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123:
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477:
450:
351:
1128:
The Maldive Islanders, A Study of the Popular Culture of an Ancient Ocean Kingdom.
580:
535:
1120:
Reprint Colombo 1940. Council for Linguistic and Historical Research. Male’ 1989
622:
378:
1204:
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656:
Climate data for Gan, (elevation 1.8 m (5.9 ft), 1991−2020 normals)
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remained unaware of the base’s existence until their plans for expansion in
559:
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1259:
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1118:
The Maldive Islands; Monograph on the History, Archaeology and Epigraphy.
396:
trees on this island. There were a few mosques in the village. A former
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362:(also known as Seenu Atoll), as well as the southernmost island of the
359:
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had come to nothing, even during their carrier raids in the
402:
at island's east end had to be removed to build the runway.
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501:
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type were launched from a pad at 0°41' S and 73°9' E.
500:
troop convoys also refueled at Addu on their way from
614:and also looking for education for their children.
46:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
523:and, much later in the war, they were linked by a
511:The six major islands were garrisoned by the 1st
429:visited this island and investigated the ancient
1271:
468:to clear and construct airstrips on Gan for the
461:Royal Navy engineers landed in August 1941 from
1230:National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
579:In 1957, the naval base was transferred to the
558:(she had been previously torpedoed and sunk at
366:. It is relatively large by Maldive standards.
170:1976 map of Addu Atoll showing Gan and airfield
338:
441:, were bulldozed when the airport was built.
106:Learn how and when to remove this message
1190:at uboat.net; retrieved 12 November 2019
129:Inhabited island in Addu Atoll, Maldives
1145:
594:From Gan Island several rockets of the
369:The origin of the word "Gan" is in the
1272:
282:2.256 km (0.871 sq mi)
44:adding citations to reliable sources
15:
1218:
355:
13:
649:) with heavy rainfall year-round.
14:
1296:
1252:
1203:. Astronautix.com. Archived from
610:seeking employment in the nearby
373:word "Grama", meaning "village".
1258:
358:) is the southernmost island of
187:
180:
164:
151:
20:
1226:"Gan Climate Normals 1991–2020"
587:, it was used as an outpost as
444:
269:258.48 km (160.61 mi)
31:needs additional citations for
1193:
1179:
420:
1:
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303:0.330 km (0.205 mi)
295:1.000 km (0.621 mi)
1266:travel guide from Wikivoyage
506:Fremantle, Western Australia
7:
1093:
989:Average precipitation days
845:Mean daily minimum °C (°F)
705:Mean daily maximum °C (°F)
639:tropical rainforest climate
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10:
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619:Gan International Airport
567:Ministry of War Transport
498:Australian Imperial Force
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324:490/km (1,300/sq mi)
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1141:Royal Navy on Addu Atoll
583:. From 1957, during the
118:Not to be confused with
1280:Islands of the Maldives
551:torpedoed the tanker
55:"Gan" Addu Atoll
1207:on September 4, 2003
449:In 1941, during the
321: • Density
230:0.69444°S 73.15500°E
201:Location in Maldives
40:improve this article
1236:on 29 February 2024
1124:Xavier Romero-Frias
1100:Gan (Huvadhu Atoll)
775:Daily mean °C (°F)
572:On 5 January 1946,
292: • Length
226: /
120:Gan (Huvadhu Atoll)
1158:on January 3, 2006
472:. In the interim,
313: • Total
300: • Width
279: • Total
235:-0.69444; 73.15500
1105:Gan (Laamu Atoll)
1090:
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345:
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124:Gan (Laamu Atoll)
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1232:. Archived from
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1154:. Archived from
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451:Second World War
357:
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266:Distance to Malé
256:Geographic atoll
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1187:British Loyalty
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627:Equator Village
621:and also has a
581:Royal Air Force
574:British Loyalty
553:British Loyalty
536:South-east Asia
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390:pre-Islamic era
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1253:External links
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96:September 2013
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1136:84-7254-801-5
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1116:H.C.P. Bell,
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1036:Mean monthly
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917:precipitation
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556:in March 1944
554:
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541:
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528:
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525:light railway
522:
518:
514:
509:
507:
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494:
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488:
482:
479:
475:
471:
470:Fleet Air Arm
467:
466:
459:
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452:
442:
440:
436:
432:
428:
427:H. C. P. Bell
418:
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211:Coordinates:
209:
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107:
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88:
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78:
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71:
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60:
57: –
56:
52:
51:Find sources:
45:
41:
35:
34:
29:This article
27:
23:
18:
17:
1238:. Retrieved
1234:the original
1220:
1209:. Retrieved
1205:the original
1201:"Kookaburra"
1195:
1186:
1181:
1160:. Retrieved
1156:the original
1149:
1127:
1117:
919:mm (inches)
646:
636:
616:
600:
593:
578:
573:
571:
560:Diego Suarez
552:
547:
540:Indian Ocean
529:
513:Royal Marine
510:
492:
486:
483:
464:
460:
448:
445:British base
424:
404:
397:
375:
368:
347:
346:
102:
93:
83:
76:
69:
62:
50:
38:Please help
33:verification
30:
1240:29 February
563:in May 1942
421:Archaeology
233: /
221:073°09′18″E
1285:Addu Atoll
1274:Categories
1211:2013-09-23
1162:2006-10-08
1111:References
991:(≥ 0.1 mm)
637:Gan has a
606:people to
596:Kookaburra
478:Sunderland
455:Royal Navy
360:Addu Atoll
308:Population
287:Dimensions
260:Addu Atoll
218:00°41′40″S
66:newspapers
521:Hithadhoo
481:profile.
415:Hithadhoo
335:UTC+05:00
330:Time zone
1094:See also
1083:Source:
1078:2,735.3
984:(89.89)
915:Average
585:Cold War
532:Japanese
517:Maradhoo
474:Catalina
465:Guardian
431:Buddhist
425:In 1922
371:Sanskrit
364:Maldives
250:Maldives
982:2,283.3
979:(8.88)
974:(9.24)
969:(9.60)
964:(8.80)
959:(7.70)
954:(7.78)
949:(5.66)
944:(9.56)
939:(6.79)
934:(4.74)
929:(3.12)
924:(8.02)
910:(77.2)
905:(76.6)
900:(76.5)
895:(76.6)
890:(76.6)
885:(76.5)
880:(76.8)
875:(77.5)
870:(77.7)
865:(77.9)
860:(77.9)
855:(78.1)
850:(77.4)
840:(82.8)
835:(82.0)
830:(82.0)
825:(82.2)
820:(82.0)
815:(82.2)
810:(82.4)
805:(83.1)
800:(83.5)
795:(83.8)
790:(83.7)
785:(83.5)
780:(82.6)
770:(87.6)
765:(86.9)
760:(86.9)
755:(87.1)
750:(87.1)
745:(87.3)
740:(87.4)
735:(88.2)
730:(88.3)
725:(88.9)
720:(88.9)
715:(88.2)
710:(87.3)
633:Climate
612:resorts
589:RAF Gan
493:Taiping
487:Changte
399:havitta
394:coconut
386:airbase
379:British
352:Dhivehi
246:Country
80:scholar
1134:
1130:1999,
1075:229.2
1072:224.2
1069:219.1
1066:196.6
1063:211.2
1060:204.6
1057:217.4
1054:231.3
1051:245.3
1048:267.1
1045:247.9
1042:241.4
1031:138.3
661:Month
643:Köppen
544:U-boat
453:, the
439:vihara
411:Maradu
82:
75:
68:
61:
53:
1173:Notes
1148:"The
1028:14.4
1025:15.2
1022:14.6
1019:12.8
1016:11.8
1013:11.6
1007:13.4
1004:11.7
995:10.6
977:225.5
972:234.8
967:243.8
962:223.6
957:195.5
952:197.6
947:143.7
942:242.9
937:172.5
932:120.5
922:203.7
700:Year
548:U-183
435:stupa
407:Feydu
382:naval
316:1,104
87:JSTOR
73:books
1242:2024
1132:ISBN
1085:NOAA
1010:9.3
1001:7.1
998:5.8
927:79.2
908:25.1
903:24.8
898:24.7
893:24.8
888:24.8
883:24.7
878:24.9
873:25.3
868:25.4
863:25.5
858:25.5
853:25.6
848:25.2
838:28.2
833:27.8
828:27.8
823:27.9
818:27.8
813:27.9
808:28.0
803:28.4
798:28.6
793:28.8
788:28.7
783:28.6
778:28.1
768:30.9
763:30.5
758:30.5
753:30.6
748:30.6
743:30.7
738:30.8
733:31.2
728:31.3
723:31.6
718:31.6
713:31.2
708:30.7
697:Dec
694:Nov
691:Oct
688:Sep
685:Aug
682:Jul
679:Jun
676:May
673:Apr
670:Mar
667:Feb
664:Jan
608:Malé
604:Addu
530:The
519:and
502:Aden
490:and
476:and
463:HMS
413:and
384:and
356:ގަން
274:Area
59:news
1264:Gan
504:to
348:Gan
339:MST
195:Gan
136:Gan
122:or
42:by
1276::
1228:.
1126:,
647:Af
645::
629:.
625:,
508:.
417:.
409:,
354::
1244:.
1214:.
1165:.
1152:"
641:(
350:(
341:)
337:(
126:.
109:)
103:(
98:)
94:(
84:·
77:·
70:·
63:·
36:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
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