Type Military Airfield Built by Seebees Materials Coral | Condition abandoned In use 1943-5 Year built 1943 | |
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Controlled by United States Army Air Forces, United States Marine Corps | ||
Nanumea Airfield is a former World War II airfield on the island of Nanumea in the Ellice Islands (now known as Tuvalu).
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World War II
Nanumea Airfield was built by United States Navy Seabees as an alternative strip to Nukufetau and Funafuti airfields to allow for further dispersal of aircraft in the Ellice Islands (now Tuvalu).
On 5 September 1943 elements of the 16th Naval Construction Battalion arrived on Nanumea and on 11 September they started work on a 7,000 feet (2,100 m) by 200 feet (61 m) bomber strip. On 7 September 1943 ten Betty bombers of the 755th Kōkūtai (air group) from Tarawa Atoll, Gilbert Islands, drop 20 bombs on Nanumea. The next day Betty bombers again bombed Nanumea.
On 19 September F4F-4s of VMF-441 landed on the strip and continued to use the runway during the remainder of the construction period. The first bombers landed on 12 November. The Seabees also built the camp and operation facilities for the airfield, including an 8,000-barrel tank farm for aviation gasoline.
United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) units based at Nanumea included:
United States Marine Corps (USMC) units based at Nanumea included:
On 11 November 1943 a Japanese air raid on Nanumea resulted in the destruction of one B-24.
On 19 November 1943 B-24 No. 42~72980 of the 27th Bombardment Squadron crashed on landing.
On 27 November 1943 SBD No. 38035 of VMA-331 crashed due to undercarriage failure.
By September 1944 base roll-up and salvage operations had commenced and were completed by the end of March 1945. Wreckage of the aircraft remained on the island.
Postwar
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 runway the land now provides poor ground for growing coconuts.