Kahili Airfield

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Kahili Airfield
Buin, Bougainville Island

Zuikaku Zeros at Buin 1943 B.jpg

A6Ms from the Carrier Zuikaku at Kahili in 1943
Coordinates 06°43′48.27″S155°41′1.13″E / 6.7300750°S 155.6836472°E / -6.7300750; 155.6836472
Type Military Airfield
Site information
Controlled by Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service
Condition abandoned
Site history
Built 1942
In use 1942-45
Materials coral and bitumen
Battles/wars Operation I-Go
Bougainville Campaign

Kahili Airfield, also known as Buin Airfield, was an airfield located near Buin, Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea.

Buin, Papua New Guinea city

Buin is a town on Bougainville Island, and the capital of the South Bougainville District, in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, in eastern Papua New Guinea. The island is in the northern Solomon Islands Archipelago of the Melanesia region, in the South Pacific Ocean.

Bougainville Island main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville of Papua New Guinea

Bougainville Island is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville of Papua New Guinea. This region is also known as Bougainville Province or the North Solomons. Its land area is 9,300 km2. The population of the province is 234,280, which includes the adjacent island of Buka and assorted outlying islands including the Carterets. Mount Balbi at 2,700 m is the highest point.

Papua New Guinea constitutional monarchy in Oceania

Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an Oceanian country that occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and its offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean north of Australia. Its capital, located along its southeastern coast, is Port Moresby. The western half of New Guinea forms the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua.

Contents

History

The airfield was constructed by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service in November 1942. The airfield was later neutralized by Allied air bombing from 1943 and was abandoned after the cessation of hostilites.

Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service air arm of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II

The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service was the air arm of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). The organization was responsible for the operation of naval aircraft and the conduct of aerial warfare in the Pacific War.

Japanese Units based at Kahili Airfield included:

Mitsubishi A6M Zero carrier-based fighter aircraft family

The Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" is a long-range fighter aircraft formerly manufactured by Mitsubishi Aircraft Company, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1940 to 1945. The A6M was designated as the Mitsubishi Navy Type 0 carrier fighter, or the Mitsubishi A6M Rei-sen. The A6M was usually referred to by its pilots as the Reisen, "0" being the last digit of the imperial year 2600 (1940) when it entered service with the Imperial Navy. The official Allied reporting name was "Zeke", although the use of the name "Zero" was used colloquially by the Allies as well.

Aichi D3A 1938 dive bomber by Aichi

The Aichi D3A Type 99 Carrier Bomber is a World War II carrier-borne dive bomber. It was the primary dive bomber of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and was involved in almost all IJN actions, including the attack on Pearl Harbor.

See also

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Bougainville Campaign allied reconquest of the island of Bougainville in the South Pacific from the Japanese forces who occupied it in 1942

The Bougainville Campaign was a series of land and naval battles of the Pacific campaign of World War II between Allied forces and the Empire of Japan. It was part of Operation Cartwheel, the Allied grand strategy in the South Pacific. The campaign took place in the Northern Solomons in two phases. The first phase, in which American troops landed and held the perimeter around the beachhead at Torokina, lasted from November 1943 through November 1944. The second phase, in which primarily Australian troops went on the offensive, mopping up pockets of starving, isolated but still-determined Japanese, lasted from November 1944 until August 1945, when the last Japanese soldiers on the island surrendered. Operations during the final phase of the campaign saw the Australian forces advance north towards the Bonis Peninsula and south towards the main Japanese stronghold around Buin, although the war ended before these two enclaves were completely destroyed.

Hiroyoshi Nishizawa pilot for the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service during World War II

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Kenji Yanagiya Japanese flying ace

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Invasion of Buka and Bougainville

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References

<i>Australia in the War of 1939–1945</i> book by Gavin Long

Australia in the War of 1939–1945 is a 22-volume official history series covering Australian involvement in the Second World War. The series was published by the Australian War Memorial between 1952 and 1977, most of the volumes being edited by Gavin Long, who also wrote three volumes and the summary volume The Six Year War.

Australian War Memorial historic national heritage site in Campbell ACT

The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in wars involving the Commonwealth of Australia, and some conflicts involving personnel from the Australian colonies prior to Federation. The memorial includes an extensive national military museum. The Australian War Memorial was opened in 1941, and is widely regarded as one of the most significant memorials of its type in the world.