| Yonabaru Airfield | |
|---|---|
| Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, Japan | |
 Aerial view of Yonabaru airfield, Okinawa | |
| Coordinates | 26°12′26.33″N127°45′46.41″E / 26.2073139°N 127.7628917°E |
| Type | Military Airfield |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by | United States Navy |
| Site history | |
| Built | May–June 1945 |
| Built by | Seebees |
| In use | 1945-47 |
| Materials | Coral |
Yonabaru Airfield or NAB Yonabaru is a former World War II airfield on the Pacific coast of Okinawa. The base was disestablished on 30 June 1947.
Yonabaru Airfield was originally established by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force. The airfield was captured on 15 May 1945 during Battle of Okinawa. The 145th Naval Construction Battalion (Seebees) began to improve the airfield for service as a patrol/bomber airstrip in June once the fighting had moved further south. On 15 August 1945 the base with its 6,500 feet (2,000 m) runway was ready for use by US Navy aircraft. [1]
VPB-124 operating PB-4Ys was based at Yonabaru from 10 August until 12 December 1945.
The base was severely damaged by Typhoon Louise on 9 October 1945.
On 27 February 1957, the Deputy Governor announced that the Yonabaru airfield site would be used as a Marine helicopter installation. [2]
The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Army and United States Marine Corps forces against the Imperial Japanese Army. The initial invasion of Okinawa on 1 April 1945 was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific Theater of World War II. The Kerama Islands surrounding Okinawa were preemptively captured on 26 March by the 77th Infantry Division. The 82-day battle lasted from 1 April until 22 June 1945. After a long campaign of island hopping, the Allies were planning to use Kadena Air Base on the large island of Okinawa as a base for Operation Downfall, the planned invasion of the Japanese home islands, 340 mi (550 km) away.
Nakagusuku Bay is a bay on the southern coast of Okinawa Island on the Pacific Ocean in Japan. The bay covers 220 square kilometres (85 sq mi) and ranges between 10 metres (33 ft) to 15 metres (49 ft) deep. The bay is surrounded by the municipalities of Uruma, Kitanakagusuku, Nakagusuku, Nishihara, Yonabaru, Nanjō, all in Okinawa Prefecture. In 1852, while visiting the Ryukyu Kingdom, Commodore Matthew Perry mapped Okinawa and labeled Nakagusuku Bay as "Perry's Bay". During the final months of World War II, the bay became a United States Navy forward base and was nicknamed "Buckner Bay".
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1945:
Kadena Air Base is a United States Air Force base in the towns of Kadena and Chatan and the city of Okinawa, in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It is often referred to as the "Keystone of the Pacific" because of its highly strategic location. It is located 650 km (400 mi) off the coast of China and at a distance of 770 km (480 mi) from Shanghai, a major economic hub. It is home to the USAF's 18th Wing, the 353rd Special Operations Wing, reconnaissance units, 1st Battalion, 1st Air Defense Artillery Regiment, and a variety of associated units. Over 20,000 American servicemembers, family members, and Japanese employees live or work at Kadena Air Base. It is the largest and most active U.S. Air Force base in East Asia.
Operation Inmate was an attack by the British Pacific Fleet against Japanese positions on Truk Atoll in the central Pacific Ocean during the Second World War. The attacks against the isolated islands on 14 and 15 June 1945 were conducted to provide combat experience for the aircraft carrier HMS Implacable and several of the fleet's cruisers and destroyers ahead of their involvement in more demanding operations off the Japanese home islands.
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.
USS Kenneth Whiting (AV-14) was the lead ship of her class of seaplane tenders in the United States Navy.
Yontan Airfield is a former military airfield located near Yomitan Village on the west coast of Okinawa. It was closed in July 1996 and turned over to the Japanese government in December 2006. Today it is home to the Yomitan Village Office and community complex, including baseball fields, running tracks, and community facilities.
Naha Air Base, formally known as the Kōkū Jieitai Naha Kichi (航空自衛隊那覇基地), is an air base of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force formerly under control of the United States Air Force. It is located at Naha Airport on the Oroku Peninsula in Naha, Okinawa, Japan.
Naval Air Station Agana is a former United States Naval air station located on the island of Guam. It was opened by the Japanese Navy in 1943 and closed by the United States government in 1995. During and after its closure, it was operated alongside Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport.
USS Gardiners Bay (AVP-39) was a United States Navy seaplane tender in commission from 1945 to 1958 that saw service in the latter stages of World War II and in the Korean War. After her decommissioning, she was transferred to Norway, and she served in the Royal Norwegian Navy as the training ship HNoMS Haakon VII (A537) from 1958 to 1974.
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.
Motobu Airfield is a World War II airfield on the Motobu Peninsula of Okinawa, near the East China Sea coast. The airfield was deactivated after 1945.
Chimu Airfield or NAB Chimu is a former World War II airfield on the Pacific coast of Okinawa. The airfield was inactivated after October 1945.
Awase Airfield or NAB Awase is a former World War II airfield on the Pacific coast of Okinawa.
VP-HL-3 was a Heavy Patrol Squadron (Landplane) of the U.S. Navy. The squadron was established as Bombing Squadron 138 (VB-138) on 15 March 1943, redesignated Patrol Bombing Squadron 138 (VPB-138) on 1 October 1944, redesignated Patrol Bombing Squadron 124 (VPB-124) on 15 December 1944, redesignated Patrol Squadron 124 (VP-124) on 15 May 1946, redesignated Heavy Patrol Squadron (Landplane) 3 (VP-HL-3) on 15 November 1946 and disestablished on 22 May 1947.
US Naval Advance Bases were built globally by the United States Navy during World War II to support and project U.S. naval operations worldwide. A few were built on Allied soil, but most were captured enemy facilities or completely new. Advance bases provided the fleet with support to keep ships tactically available with repair and supply depots of facilities, rather than return them to the continental United States. Before Japan declared war on the United States the U.S. Navy had a single fleet-sized advanced base in the Territory of Hawaii at Naval Station Pearl Harbor. During the war the U.S. Navy Seabees built over 400 advance bases categorized by size. Naval bases were either Lions or Cubs while airfields were either Oaks or Acorns. Lions and Oaks were major facilities while Cubs and Acorns were minor. PT Boats typically would get a Cub and airfields with single runways were Acorns. The larger bases could provide refueling and overhaul; loading of troopship and cargo ships; and preparing amphibious assault ships. Some became major repair depots. The Seabees developed auxiliary floating drydocks were able to repair battle damage and do regular maintenance in the field saving ships trans-pacific trips for repair. A few bases also were developed to be R and R for all U.S. personnel. Most Advance Bases were built by the US Navy's Seabees in Naval Construction Battalions (CBs). At the start of the war civilian contractors were employed in construction. The Seabees in World War II built most of the airfields used by the United States Army Air Forces and United States Marine Corps, as they had the ships and cranes needed to transport the vast amount of equipment needed at the advance bases. The US Army and United States Coast Guard also operated out of many of these facilities. Seabees could build new or repair damaged runways, and with advancements in heavy bomber technology lengthen runways as needed. A few Naval Advance Bases were built for the Korean War and Vietnam War.
Tinian Naval Advanced Base was a major United States Navy sea and air 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 bombers and patrol aircraft in the Pacific War. The main port was built at the city and port of San Jose, also called Tinian Harbor. All construction was carried out by the Navy's Seabees 6th Naval Construction Brigade, including the main two airfields: West Field and North FieldUnited States Army Air Forces's long-range Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers. The Navy disestablished the Tinian Naval Advanced Base on 1 December 1946.
Naval Base Okinawa, now Naval Facility Okinawa, is a number of bases built after the Battle of Okinawa by United States Navy on Okinawa Island, Japan. The naval bases were built to support the landings on Okinawa on April 1, 1945, and the troops fighting on Okinawa. The Navy repaired and did expansion of the airfields on Okinawa. United States Navy Seabees built or repaired the facilities on the island. The bases on Okinawa put the United States Armed Forces only 350 miles from Japan's home islands. Most facilities closed after the war, but some are still in use today by all branches of the United States Armed Forces.
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