French Frigate Shoals Airport

Last updated
French Frigate Shoals Airport
Nwrternislandair.gif
USFWS aerial image
Summary
Airport typePrivate
Owner U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Serves Tern Island (Hawaii)
Elevation  AMSL 6 ft / 2 m
Coordinates 23°52′11″N166°17′05″W / 23.86972°N 166.28472°W / 23.86972; -166.28472
Map
USA Hawaii island chain location map.svg
Airplane silhouette.svg
French Frigate Shoals Airport
Runways
Direction LengthSurface
ftm
06/243,000914 Coral

French Frigate Shoals Airport( ICAO : PHHF, FAA LID : HFS) is a private use airport on Tern Island in French Frigate Shoals, a coral atoll, in Hawaii, United States. It is owned by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, [1] as part of the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge.

Contents

Although many U.S. airports use the same three-letter location identifier for the FAA and IATA, this airport is assigned HFS by the FAA [1] but has no designation from the IATA (which assigned HFS to Hagfors Airport in Hagfors, Sweden [2] ).

The airfield was completed in 1943 by the Seabees, and used from that time into the 21st century supporting a wide variety of activities at the French Frigate shoals. During WW2 the airstrip provided an emergency landing for various aircraft, including a twin-engine transport aircraft that was close to ditching in the ocean with over 30 passengers but was able to land safely at the airport.

Previously, only seaplanes landed at the French Frigate shoals lagoons or it had to be visited by boat.

Facilities

French Frigate Shoals Airport has one runway designated 06/24 with a coral surface measuring 3,000 by 200 feet (914 x 61 m) at an elevation of six feet (2 m) above mean sea level. The runway is closed, except for emergencies, or with prior permission from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. [1]

During World War 2, the facilities included a barracks, radar tower, and fuel tanks as well as others buildings to support operations there. [3] The station had parking spaces for 18-22 small aircraft at that time, and was a refueling stop between Midway and Hawaii. [3]

History

French Frigate Shoals Airfield, 1961.jpg
The airfield in 1961.
ISS067-E-176670.jpg French Frigate Shoals, including the airport onTern Island.jpg
Panned-out view of the shoals, with the airfield in the lower part of the photo. Taken from the International Space Station on July 4, 2022.

The Seabees in 1942 constructed the airfield. They built a 3,100-foot (940 m) x 275-foot (84 m) runway and a ramp area sufficient for 24 single-engine aircraft, dredging coral to expand the island. Of the 27-acre (11 ha) area of the expanded island, the airfield took up 20 acres (8.1 ha). The Navy designated this airfield as Naval Air Facility French Frigate Shoals, an auxiliary of Naval Station Pearl Harbor. The 1946 Aleutian Islands earthquake generated a tsunami that swept clean Tern Island, and the Navy closed the naval air facility.[ citation needed ]

During WW2 reconnaissance flights were flown from the base each day. [3]

In 1944, a Curtis Commando with over 30 Marines lost one engine, and had to conduct an emergency landing at the airfield. [4] The aircraft was losing altitude with one engine out, and was down to an altitude of about 200 feet when it was near. [5]

In 1952, the United States Coast Guard built a Long Range Navigation (LORAN) beacon tower on the island alongside a 20-man supporting facility. The Coast Guard used the airfield for a weekly mail-and-supply flight. The Coast Guard installation continued in operation until 1979. [6]

After WW2 until the 1960s it was also used for flights for commercial fishing. [3]

In 2009 the islands were evacuated during the approach of Hurricane Neki by landing a USCG C-130 on Tern's coral airstrip. [7]

In 2010 there were 11 flights to the French Frigate Shoals airstrip. [8]

List of aircraft that utilized Tern (WW2)

Many aircraft had to land at the airstrip during WW2 such a need for fuel, mechanical issues, or bad weather. [4] Types of aircraft that landed at the base during the war include: [4]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 FAA Airport Form 5010 for HFS PDF . Federal Aviation Administration. Effective 29 July 2010.
  2. ↑ "HFS / ESOH - Hagfors Airport, Hagfors, Sweden". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
  3. 1 2 3 4 https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-12/documents/ternisland-tsd.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  4. 1 2 3 https://georgehbalazs.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/2012-Part-2-of-3-The-Coral-Carrier-French-Frigate-Shoals-A-History.-A.-Binion-Amerson-Jr.-Author-and-Publisher..pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  5. ↑ Page 105 on The Coral Carrier by Binion
  6. ↑ "French Frigate Shoals Naval Air Facility". Archived from the original on 2014-09-04. Retrieved 2010-08-14.
  7. ↑ "U.S. Coast Guard aircrew rescues 10 from French Frigate Shoals". CoastGuardNews.com. 22 October 2009. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  8. ↑ https://www.oha.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/2013_Permit-Annual-Report_web.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
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