<Tr> <Th> In use </Th> <Td> Spain 1885--1898 United States 1899--1942, 1945--1992 Japan 1942--1945 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Fate </Th> <Td> Decommissioned in 1992 </Td> </Tr> <P> Naval Base Subic Bay was a major ship - repair, supply, and rest and recreation facility of the Spanish Navy and subsequently the United States Navy located in Zambales, Philippines . The base was 262 square miles, about the size of Singapore . The Navy Exchange had the largest volume of sales of any exchange in the world, and the Naval Supply Depot handled the largest volume of fuel oil of any navy facility in the world . The naval base was the largest overseas military installation of the United States Armed Forces after Clark Air Base in Angeles City was closed in 1991 . Following its closure in 1992, it was transformed into the Subic Bay Freeport Zone by the Philippine government . </P> <P> Subic Bay's famous strategic location, sheltered anchorages, and deep water had first been made known when the Spanish explorer Juan de Salcedo reported the bay's existence to the Spanish authorities upon his return to Manila after Salcedo arrived in Zambales to establish the Spanish crown . It would be a number of years before the Spanish would consider establishing a base there . </P>

In the early 1990s the united states closed clark air force base and subic bay naval station in