Dyess Army Airfield | |||||||
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Part of Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site | |||||||
Roi-Namur, Kwajalein Atoll in Marshall Islands | |||||||
Coordinates | 09°23′49″N167°28′15″E / 9.39694°N 167.47083°E Coordinates: 09°23′49″N167°28′15″E / 9.39694°N 167.47083°E | ||||||
Site information | |||||||
Owner | United States Army | ||||||
Airfield information | |||||||
Identifiers | ICAO: PKRO, FAA LID: ROI | ||||||
Elevation | 10 feet (3 m) AMSL | ||||||
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Source: Federal Aviation Administration [1] |
Dyess Army Airfield (ICAO : PKRO, FAA LID : ROI, [2] also known as Freeflight International Airport)[ citation needed ] is a military airfield on Roi-Namur, Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands. It is owned by the United States Army. [1] Approximately 60 U.S. personnel reside on the base, with an additional 100 personnel commuting from Bucholz Army Airfield daily by plane. [3]
When the Japanese took control of the island during WWII they built an airfield. It took the form of the number 4. After the 4th Marine Division landed the Seabees of 3rd Battalion 20th Marines and the 109th Naval Construction Battalion made the field operational again. The Japanese designated the runways A, B, & C with A being the vertical leg, B being the diagonal and C intersecting at a right angle to A. The Seabees repaired runways A & C. Today the runway that remains is A.
Dyess Army Airfield is at an elevation of 10 feet (3 m) above mean sea level. The runway is designated 04/22 with an asphalt surface measuring 4,499 by 150 feet (1,371 x 45.5 m). [1]
Kwajalein Atoll is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island, which its majority English-speaking residents often use the shortened name, Kwaj. The total land area of the atoll amounts to just over 6 square miles (16 km2). It lies in the Ralik Chain, 2,100 nautical miles southwest of Honolulu, Hawaii.
The Battle of Kwajalein was fought as part of the Pacific campaign of World War II. It took place from 31 January – 3 February 1944, on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Employing the hard-learned lessons of the Battle of Tarawa, the United States launched a successful twin assault on the main islands of Kwajalein in the south and Roi-Namur in the north. The Japanese defenders put up stiff resistance, although outnumbered and under-prepared. The determined defense of Roi-Namur left only 51 survivors of an original garrison of 3,500.
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Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield is a military use airport located at Fort Drum, in Jefferson County, New York, United States. It is owned by the U.S. Army.
Bucholz Army Airfield is a United States Army airfield located on Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands. Its position is ideal for refueling during trans-Pacific flights, and the airport is available to civilians through Air Marshall Islands and United Airlines.
When World War II broke out the United States Naval Construction Battalions (Seabees) did not exist. The logistics of a two theater war were daunting to conceive. Rear Admiral Moreell completely understood the issues. What needed to be done was build staging bases to take the war to the enemy, across both oceans, and create the construction force to do the work. Naval Construction Battalions were first conceived at Bureau of Yards and Docks (BuDocks) in the 1930s. The onset of hostilities clarified to Radm. Moreell the need for developing advance bases to project American power. The solution: tap the vast pool of skilled labor in the U.S. Put it in uniform to build anything, anywhere under any conditions and get the Marine Corps to train it. The first volunteers came skilled. To obtain these tradesmen, military age was waived to age 50. It was later found that several past 60 had managed to get in. Men were given advanced rank/pay based upon experience making the Seabees the highest paid group in the U.S. military. The first 60 battalions had an average age of 37.
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Casco Cove Coast Guard Station was a military facility and private use airfield on Attu Island, one of the Aleutian Islands in the U.S. state of Alaska. Owned by the United States Coast Guard, Casco Cove CGS is located 1,481 miles (2,383 km) west of Anchorage, Alaska. Also known as LORAN Station Attu, the facility was closed on August 27, 2010, but the airfield remains available for emergency use.
Majuro Airfield or Naval Air Facility Majuro is a former World War II airfield on the island of Delap in the Marshall Islands.
Johnston Atoll Airport is located on the Johnston Atoll in the United States Minor Outlying Islands, in the Pacific Ocean 717 nautical miles southwest of Hawaii. It was an active U.S. military facility during the 20th century, but the airport was shut down in 2005 and the runway is not maintained. Although no longer a diversion airport, it is still considered preferable to a dangerous water landing in an extreme emergency.
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Naval Base Saipan or Naval Advance Base Saipan or Naval Air Base Saipan was a United States Navy Naval base built during World War II to support Pacific Ocean theater of war and the many warships and troops fighting the war. The base was on the island of Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands. The base was part of the Pacific island hopping campaign. The base construction started after the Battle of Saipan ended on July 9, 1944. US Naval Advance Base Saipan was constructed by the Seabees Naval Mobile Construction Battalions. The base was under the Commander Naval Forces Marianas. Saipan is 12 miles (19 km) long and 5 miles (8.0 km) wide. About 70% of the island was sugarcane cultivation at the start of the base construction. At the start of the Battle of Saipan, the island's population had about 30,000 Japanese troops and about 20,000 Japanese civilians. The city of Garapan was the administrative center for the Saipan governmental district.
Tinian Naval Base and Naval Air Facility Tinian was a major United States Navy sea and airbase base on Tinian Island, part of the Northern Mariana Islands on the east side of the Philippine Sea in the Pacific Ocean. The Base was built during World War II to support the many bombers and aircraft fighting and patrolling in the South West Pacific theatre of war as part of the Pacific War. A number of naval facilities were built on the entire island of 101.22 km. The main port was built at the city and port of San Jose, also called Tinian Harbor. All construction was done by the Navy's Seabees Sixth Construction Brigade with minor help from the 64th Army Engineers, including the main two airports: West Field and North Field. United States Army Air Forces operated long-range bombers out of the air base built and maintained by the Seabees.
Peleliu Naval Base was a major United States Navy sea and airbase base on Peleliu island, one of sixteen states of Palau. The United States Marine Corps took the island in the Battle of Peleliu during World War II. Battle of Peleliu was a costly conflict that started September 15, 1944 and ended November 27, 1944. On September 30, 1944 Peleliu is declared occupied. The taking of Peleliu and Morotai gave the sea and air protection needed for the later invasion of the Philippines. US Navy Seabee built a number of facilities at Peleliu Naval Base.