Nukufetau Airfield | |
|---|---|
| Part of Seventh Air Force | |
| Nukufetau, Gilbert and Ellice Islands | |
| Coordinates | 08°03′54″S178°22′38″E / 8.06500°S 178.37722°E (Approximate) |
| Type | Military airfield |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by | United States Army Air Forces United States Marine Corps |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1943 |
| In use | 1943 |
Nukufetau Airfield is a former World War II airfield on the south-eastern side of Nukufetau on Motulalo Island in Tuvalu during the Pacific War.
Nukufetau Airfield was built by United States Navy Seabees on Motulalo island as an alternative strip to Nanumea and Funafuti airfields to allow for further dispersal of aircraft in the Ellice Islands (now Tuvalu). [1] Two intersecting runways formed an "X" shape. On 8 September 1943 the 16th Naval Construction Battalion commenced construction of a fighter strip (3500 feet by 200 feet) and a bomber strip (6100 feet by 220 feet). Nearly 50,000 coconut trees had to be cut down and about 2,000 feet of the runways were built on fill over swamp. [2] The first plane to land on the airfield was a PB4Y Privateer piloted by Major General Charles F. B. Price on October 3, 1943. The general conducted a quick inspection of the new airfield and quickly took off again. The airfield was officially opened on October 6, 1943. [3]
United States Marine Corps (USMC) units based at Nukufetau included:
United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) using the base included:
The debris from a crashed B-24 Liberator remained on the island. [8] After the Pacific War the airfield was dismantled and the land returned to its owners, however as the coral base was compacted to make the runways the land now provides poor ground for growing coconuts. [9]
Tuvalu, formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is an island country in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean, about midway between Hawaii and Australia. It lies east-northeast of the Santa Cruz Islands, northeast of Vanuatu, southeast of Nauru, south of Kiribati, west of Tokelau, northwest of Samoa and Wallis and Futuna, and north of Fiji.
The first inhabitants of Tuvalu were Polynesians, so the origins of the people of Tuvalu can be traced to the spread of humans out of Southeast Asia, from Taiwan, via Melanesia and across the Pacific islands of Polynesia.
Nukufetau is an atoll that is part of the nation of Tuvalu. The atoll was claimed by the US under the Guano Islands Act some time in the 19th century and was ceded in a treaty of friendship concluded in 1979 and coming into force in 1983. It has a population of 597 who live on Savave islet.
Funafuti International Airport is an airport in Funafuti, in the capital city of the island nation of Tuvalu. It is the sole international airport in Tuvalu. Fiji Airways operates between Suva and Funafuti.
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.
Munda International Airport is an international airport adjacent to the town of Munda, Western Province in Solomon Islands.
Motulalo is the largest islet of Nukufetau, Tuvalu. The traditional history of Nukufetau recalls that in order to protect the atoll from raiders from Tonga, Tauasa, an aliki (chief), was given Motulalo. Tauasa would pull up coconut trees and throw them at the raiders.
Carney Airfield is a former World War II airfield on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands in the South Pacific. It is located near Koli Point about six miles from Henderson Field, close to the Metapona River to the east and the Naumbu River to the west. The airfield was abandoned after the war and today is almost totally returned to its natural state.
Central Field or Iwo Jima Air Base is a former World War II airfield on Iwo Jima in the Bonin Islands, located in the Central Pacific. The Bonin Islands are part of Japan. Today, the base is the only airfield on the island, operated by the Japan Self-Defense Forces.
South Field was a World War II airfield on Iwo Jima in the Volcano Islands, located in the Central Pacific. The Volcano Islands are part of Japan. The airfield was located on the southern corner of Iwo Jima located on the Motoyama plateau, to the north of Mount Suribachi. South Field was significant to the overall Battle of Iwo Jima.
East Field is a former World War II airfield on Saipan in the Mariana Islands, part of Naval Advance Base Saipan.
Hawkins Field is a former World War II airfield on Betio, Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands of the Central Pacific.
The 27th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 30th Bombardment Group, based at Kahuku Army Airfield, Hawaii Territory. It was inactivated on 20 March 1946.
This is a list of United States Army Air Forces Consolidated B-24 Liberator units and formations during World War II including variants and other historical information. Heavy bomber training organizations primarily under II Bomber Command in the United States and non-combat units are not included.
Nanumea Airfield is a former World War II airfield on the island of Nanumea in the Ellice Islands.
The 17th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion was an antiaircraft unit in the United States Marine Corps that served during World War II. The battalion was originally formed in 1942 as the 2d Airdrome Battalion and has the distinction of being the last defense battalion formed in the Marine Corps during the war. Its original mission was to provide air and coastal defense for advanced naval bases. During the war the battalion spent significant time defending Nukufetau and took part in combat operations at Tarawa and Tinian. The battalion was decommissioned on December 6, 1945.
The Japanese occupation of the Gilbert Islands was the period in the history of Kiribati between 1941 and 1945 when Imperial Japanese forces occupied the Gilbert Islands during World War II, in the Pacific War theatre.
Naval Base Funafuti was a naval base built by the United States Navy in 1942 to support the World War II effort. The base was located on the Island of Funafuti of the Ellice Islands in the Western Pacific Ocean. The island is now Tuvalu, an island country in the Polynesian. After the surprise attack on Naval Station Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the US Navy was in need of setting up more advance bases in the Pacific Ocean. At Naval Base Funafuti the Navy built a sea port, a small hospital, PT boat base, a seaplane base and an airbase. The United States Marine Corps landed on Funafuti on 2 October 1942 and on Nanumea and Nukufetau in August 1943. The Japanese had already occupied Tarawa and other islands in what is now Kiribati, but were delayed by the losses at the Battle of the Coral Sea.
Naval Base Samoa, codename Operation Straw, was a number of United States Navy bases at American Samoa in the central Pacific Ocean. The bases were used during World War II to support the island hopping Pacific War efforts of the allied nations fighting the Empire of Japan.
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
Citations
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