Seabee Statistics

From a book review of the wonderful Engineers of Victory: The Problem Solvers who Turned the Tide in the Second World War by Paul Kennedy in the current issue of the Economist (The Workshop Heroes) -

"Seabee statistics are still amazing.  In the Pacific alone they built, in the midst of war, 111 major airstrips and 441 piers, tanks for the storage of 100 million gallons of fuel, housing for 1.5 million men and hospitals for 70,000 patients.  The famous photograph of General Douglas MacArthur fulfilling his "I shall return" promise to the Philippines was possible only after skillful Seabees had managed the pontoon bridges and causeway units that brought the army ashore - along with the photographers, of course."

The Pacific War lasted approximately 1,370 days.  The Seabees basically built (and designed) a new "major" airstrip every 13 days.