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{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2017}}
{{Infobox military structure
{{Infobox military installation
|name=Nukufetau Airfield
|name=Nukufetau Airfield
|ensign=Seventh Air Force - Emblem (World War II).svg
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'''Nukufetau Airfield''' is a former [[World War II]] airfield on the south-eastern side of [[Nukufetau]] on [[Motulalo|Motulalo Island]] during the [[Pacific War]].
'''Nukufetau Airfield''' is a former [[World War II]] airfield on the south-eastern side of [[Nukufetau]] on [[Motulalo|Motulalo Island]] in [[Tuvalu]] during the [[Pacific War]].


==History==
==History==
[[File: 8-28-20 - 40mm on beach covering unloading beach.jpg|250px|thumb| 40mm antiaircraft gun from the [[17th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion|United States Marine Corps' 2d Airdrome Battalion]] defending the LST offload at Nukufetau on August 28, 1943.]]
Nukufetau Airfield was built by [[United States Navy]] [[Seabee (US Navy)|Seabee]]s on Motulalo island as an alternative strip to [[Nanumea Airfield|Nanumea]] and [[Funafuti International Airport|Funafuti]] airfields to allow for further dispersal of aircraft in the Ellice Islands (now [[Tuvalu]]).<ref name=Bases>{{Cite book|last=|first= |title=Building the Navy's Bases in World War II History of the Bureau of Yards and Docks and the Civil Engineer Corps 1940-1946| publisher=US Government Printing Office|year=1947|url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/b/building-the-navys-bases.html|isbn=|page=236}}{{PD-notice}}</ref> 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.<ref name="NAB">{{cite web| last =McKillop | first = Jack| work= Funafuti, Naval Advance Base |title= Ellice Islands |date = |url= http://www.pacific-war.com/bases/ellice.html| accessdate=8 June 2015}}</ref> The airfield was made operational before November 1943 to aid in the [[Battle of Tarawa]].
Nukufetau Airfield was built by [[United States Navy]] [[Seabee (US Navy)|Seabee]]s on Motulalo island as an alternative strip to [[Nanumea Airfield|Nanumea]] and [[Funafuti International Airport|Funafuti]] airfields to allow for further dispersal of aircraft in the Ellice Islands (now [[Tuvalu]]).<ref name=Bases>{{Cite book|title=Building the Navy's Bases in World War II History of the Bureau of Yards and Docks and the Civil Engineer Corps 1940-1946| publisher=US Government Printing Office|year=1947|url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/b/building-the-navys-bases.html|page=236}}{{PD-notice}}</ref> 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.<ref name="NAB">{{cite web| last =McKillop | first = Jack| work= Funafuti, Naval Advance Base |title= Ellice Islands |url= http://www.pacific-war.com/bases/ellice.html| access-date=8 June 2015}}</ref> The first plane to land on the airfield was a [[Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer|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.{{sfn|Henry|Bartlett|1985|pp=37}}


[[United States Marine Corps]] (USMC) units based at Nukufetau included:
[[United States Marine Corps]] (USMC) units based at Nukufetau included:
* Navy Bombing Squadron 108 ([[VP-28|VB-108]]), operating [[Consolidated B-24 Liberator#PB4Y-1|PB4Y-1 Liberators]], landed on 7 November 1943<ref name="Sherrod">{{cite book| last = Sherrod | first = Robert | authorlink = | coauthors =| year = 1952 | chapter =| title = History of Marine Corps Aviation in World War II | url = https://archive.org/details/historyofmarinec00sher | url-access = registration | publisher = Combat Forces Press| location = Washington, D.C.| id =| isbn = 0-89201-048-7}}</ref><ref name="MCA">{{cite web| last = | first = | work= Marine Aviation Western Pacific |title= Marine Corps in WWII Vol IV - Western Pacific Operations |date = |url= http://www.marines.mil/Portals/59/Publications/History%20of%20the%20U.S.%20Marine%20Corps%20in%20WWII%20Vol%20IV%20-%20Western%20Pacific%20Operations%20%20PCN%2019000262700_3.pdf| accessdate=8 June 2015}}</ref>
* Navy Bombing Squadron 108 ([[VP-28|VB-108]]), operating [[Consolidated B-24 Liberator#PB4Y-1|PB4Y-1 Liberators]], landed on 7 November 1943<ref name="Sherrod">{{cite book| last = Sherrod | first = Robert | year = 1952 | title = History of Marine Corps Aviation in World War II | url = https://archive.org/details/historyofmarinec00sher | url-access = registration | publisher = Combat Forces Press| location = Washington, D.C.| isbn = 0-89201-048-7}}</ref><ref name="MCA">{{cite web| work= Marine Aviation Western Pacific |title= Marine Corps in WWII Vol IV - Western Pacific Operations |url= http://www.marines.mil/Portals/59/Publications/History%20of%20the%20U.S.%20Marine%20Corps%20in%20WWII%20Vol%20IV%20-%20Western%20Pacific%20Operations%20%20PCN%2019000262700_3.pdf| access-date=8 June 2015}}</ref>
* Marine Attack Squadron 331 ([[VMA-331]]), operating [[Douglas SBD Dauntless]] dive bombers, arrived on 15 November 1943<ref name="Sherrod"/><ref name="MCA"/>
* Marine Scout Bomber Squadron 331 ([[VMA-331|VMSB-331]]), operating [[Douglas SBD Dauntless]] dive bombers, arrived on 15 November 1943<ref name="Sherrod"/><ref name="MCA"/>
* [[17th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion|2d Airdrome Battalion]] - responsible for air defense of the base from August 1943 - March 1944.{{sfn|Henry|Bartlett|1985|pp=34-39}}
* [[17th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion|2d Airdrome Battalion]] - responsible for air defense of the base from August 1943 - March 1944.{{sfn|Henry|Bartlett|1985|pp=34-39}}


[[United States Army Air Forces]] (USAAF) using the base included:
[[United States Army Air Forces]] (USAAF) using the base included:
*[[26th Bombardment Squadron]] operating [[Consolidated B-24 Liberator|B-24s]] from 11 November 1943 – 25 January 1944<ref name="USAFmm">{{cite book |last1=Maurer, Maxwell AFB|first1= |authorlink1= |title= Air Force Combat Units Of World War II |url= |format= |accessdate= |year= 1983 |publisher= Alabama: Office of Air Force History|location= |language= |isbn=0-89201-092-4|oclc= |doi= |id= |page= |pages=|chapter=|chapterurl= |quote= |ref= |bibcode= }}</ref>
*[[26th Bombardment Squadron]] operating [[Consolidated B-24 Liberator|B-24s]] from 11 November 1943 – 25 January 1944<ref name="USAFmm">{{cite book |last1=Maurer, Maxwell AFB|title= Air Force Combat Units Of World War II |year= 1983 |publisher= Alabama: Office of Air Force History|isbn=0-89201-092-4}}</ref>
*[[98th Bombardment Squadron]] operating B-24s from 11 November 1943 – 20 January 1944<ref name="USAFmm"/>
*[[98th Bombardment Squadron]] operating B-24s from 11 November 1943 – 20 January 1944<ref name="USAFmm"/>


===Postwar===
===Postwar===
The debris from a crashed B-24 Liberator remained on the island.<ref name="BB75">{{cite web|first= Bill |last= Bartsch |title = War Relics in Tuvalu and Kiribati | date =|url=http://www.nanumea.net/PDF%20files%20used%20in%20NEA%20website/Bartsch%20Article%201%20downsized%20using%20xara.pdf |publisher=South Pacific Bulletin (1975) |accessdate=7 April 2014}}</ref> 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.<ref name="TAH18">{{cite book |last1=Melei Telavi |first1= Hugh Laracy (ed.) |authorlink1= |title= Tuvalu: A History |url= |format= |accessdate= |year= 1983 |publisher= Institute of Pacific Studies, University of the South Pacific and Government of Tuvalu |location= |language= |isbn=|oclc= |doi= |id= |page=143 |pages=|chapter=Chapter 18 - War|chapterurl= |quote= |ref= |bibcode= }}</ref>
The debris from a crashed B-24 Liberator remained on the island.<ref name="BB75">{{cite web|first= Bill |last= Bartsch |title = War Relics in Tuvalu and Kiribati |url=http://www.nanumea.net/PDF%20files%20used%20in%20NEA%20website/Bartsch%20Article%201%20downsized%20using%20xara.pdf |publisher=South Pacific Bulletin (1975) |access-date=7 April 2014}}</ref> 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.<ref name="TAH18">{{cite book |editor-last1=Melei Telavi |editor-first1= Hugh Laracy |title= Tuvalu: A History |year= 1983 |publisher= Institute of Pacific Studies, University of the South Pacific and Government of Tuvalu |page=143 |chapter=Chapter 18 - War}}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==

{{Portal|World War II}}
* [[United States Army Air Forces in the Central Pacific Area|USAAF in the Central Pacific]]
* [[United States Army Air Forces in the Central Pacific Area|USAAF in the Central Pacific]]
*[[Funafuti International Airport|Funafuti Airfield]]
*[[Funafuti International Airport|Funafuti Airfield]]
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==References==
==References==
{{Air Force Historical Research Agency}}
{{Air Force Historical Research Agency}}

{{refbegin}}
{{refbegin}}
'''Citations'''
⚫
{{reflist}}

'''Bibliography'''
'''Bibliography'''
* {{cite book|editor=Maurer, Maxwell|title=Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II|origyear=1969|url= http://media.defense.gov/2010/Dec/02/2001329899/-1/-1/0/AFD-101202-002.pdf |edition= reprint|year=1982|publisher=Office of Air Force History|location=Washington, DC|isbn=0-405-12194-6|oclc=72556|lccn=70605402|pages= }}
* {{cite book|editor=Maurer, Maxwell|title=Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II|orig-year=1969|url= http://media.defense.gov/2010/Dec/02/2001329899/-1/-1/0/AFD-101202-002.pdf |edition= reprint|year=1982|publisher=Office of Air Force History|location=Washington, DC|isbn=0-405-12194-6|oclc=72556|lccn=70605402}}

'''Journal'''
'''Journal'''
*{{cite journal |last1= Henry|first1=Charles|last2= Bartlett|first2=Tom|date=1985|title=One of a Kind|url= |journal=Leatherneck |volume=LXVIII |issue=6 |pages=34-39|doi= |access-date=}}
*{{cite journal |last1= Henry|first1=Charles|last2= Bartlett|first2=Tom|date=1985|title=One of a Kind|journal=Leatherneck |volume=LXVIII |issue=6 |pages=34–39}}

'''Web'''
'''Web'''
* [http://www.pacificwrecks.com/airfields/tuvalu/motulalo/index.html Pacific Wrecks index: Nukufetau Airfield]
* [http://www.pacificwrecks.com/airfields/tuvalu/motulalo/index.html Pacific Wrecks index: Nukufetau Airfield]
{{refend}}
{{refend}}

==References==
⚫
{{reflist|30em}}


{{USAAF 7th Air Force World War II}}
{{USAAF 7th Air Force World War II}}


[[Category:Defunct airports]]
[[Category:Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in the Pacific Ocean theatre of World War II]]
[[Category:Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in the Pacific Ocean theatre of World War II]]
[[Category:Airfields in the Pacific theatre of World War II]]
[[Category:Airfields in the Pacific theatre of World War II]]
[[Category:History of Tuvalu]]
[[Category:1940s in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands]]
[[Category:1943 establishments in Oceania]]
[[Category:Airports established in 1943]]


{{Oceania-airport-stub}}

Latest revision as of 21:31, 27 August 2024

Nukufetau Airfield
Part of Seventh Air Force
Nukufetau, Gilbert and Ellice Islands
Coordinates08°03′54″S 178°22′38″E / 8.06500°S 178.37722°E / -8.06500; 178.37722 (Approximate)
TypeMilitary airfield
Site information
Controlled byUnited States Army Air Forces
United States Marine Corps
Site history
Built1943
In use1943

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.

History

[edit]
40mm antiaircraft gun from the United States Marine Corps' 2d Airdrome Battalion defending the LST offload at Nukufetau on August 28, 1943.

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:

Postwar

[edit]

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]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

Citations

  1. ^ Building the Navy's Bases in World War II History of the Bureau of Yards and Docks and the Civil Engineer Corps 1940-1946. US Government Printing Office. 1947. p. 236.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. ^ McKillop, Jack. "Ellice Islands". Funafuti, Naval Advance Base. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  3. ^ Henry & Bartlett 1985, pp. 37.
  4. ^ a b Sherrod, Robert (1952). History of Marine Corps Aviation in World War II. Washington, D.C.: Combat Forces Press. ISBN 0-89201-048-7.
  5. ^ a b "Marine Corps in WWII Vol IV - Western Pacific Operations" (PDF). Marine Aviation Western Pacific. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  6. ^ Henry & Bartlett 1985, pp. 34–39.
  7. ^ a b Maurer, Maxwell AFB (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
  8. ^ Bartsch, Bill. "War Relics in Tuvalu and Kiribati" (PDF). South Pacific Bulletin (1975). Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  9. ^ Melei Telavi, Hugh Laracy, ed. (1983). "Chapter 18 - War". Tuvalu: A History. Institute of Pacific Studies, University of the South Pacific and Government of Tuvalu. p. 143.

Bibliography

Journal

  • Henry, Charles; Bartlett, Tom (1985). "One of a Kind". Leatherneck. LXVIII (6): 34–39.

Web


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