Banika Field was a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

airfield An aerodrome ( Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for pub ...

Mbanika Mbanika or Banika is an island in Solomon Islands; it is located in the Central Province and is the second largest of the Russell Islands Group. The principal settlement is Yandina. As portrayed in the HBO miniseries, '' The Pacific'', episod ...

in the

Russell Islands :''See also Russell Island (disambiguation).'' The Russell Islands are two small islands ( Pavuvu and Mbanika), as well as several islets, of volcanic origin, in the Central Province of Solomon Islands. They are located approximately northwest o ...

in the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...

. Banika Field was built and supported by Naval Base Banika Island.

History

A US Navy

Seebee , colors = , mascot = Bumblebee , battles = Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Cape Gloucester, Los Negros, Guam, Peleliu, Tarawa, Kwajalein, Saipan, Tinian, Iwo Jima, Philippines ...

Naval Construction Battalion began construction for two airfields on Banika Island in February 1943.

Renard Field Yandina Airport is an airport on Mbanika in the Solomon Islands. History The 33rd Naval Construction Battalion arrived on Banika Island in late February 1943 and commenced construction of a fighter airfield. By 13 April a basic airfield known a ...

, also called South Field, Yandina, was built is still in use as

Yandina Airport Yandina Airport is an airport on Mbanika in the Solomon Islands. History The 33rd Naval Construction Battalion arrived on Banika Island in late February 1943 and commenced construction of a fighter airfield. By 13 April a basic airfield known a ...

. Nearby Banika Field, also called North Field and Sunlight Field was built. Banika Field was had a single

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and ...

4,700-foot by 150-foot runway built for light

bombers A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped from an aircra ...

and

fighter planes Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...

. Banika Field was completed in June 1943. After the war, Banika Field was abandoned.

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

units operating from the base included: *Flying

North American B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in ...

s *2nd BG, HQ (B-25]) October 22, 1943–Aug 7, 44 Hollandia *42nd BG, 390th BS (B-25C) October 21-43–August 22, 1944 *42nd BG, 75th BS (B-25) October 21, 1943–Jan 20, 1944 *42nd BG, 390th BS (B-25) October 22, 1943–Aug 7, 1944 *42nd BG, 69th BS (B-25) November 10, 1943–February 19, 1944
US Navy operating from the base included: *Special Task Air Group One (STAG-1) ( Interstate TDR, TDR-1 Attack Drone) *Base LVT Repair Component E20 #1

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

(USMC) * MAG-21 HQ March 1943 - ? *

VMF-124 Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 124 (VMFA-124) was a flying squadron in the Marine Forces Reserve based out of Naval Air Station Memphis flying the A-4 Skyhawk. They were part of Marine Aircraft Group 42 and were decommissioned on 19 June 1999. ...

(

Vought F4U Corsair The Vought F4U Corsair is an American fighter aircraft which saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Designed and initially manufactured by Chance Vought, the Corsair was soon in great demand; additional production contract ...

-F4U) departed June 17, 1943 *

VMF-213 Marine Fighting Squadron 213 (VMF-213) was a reserve fighter squadron in the United States Marine Corps. Nicknamed the "Hell Hawks", the squadron fought during World War II in the Philippines and at the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. With its ...

(F4U) June 17, 1943–December 9, 1943 *

VMF-214 Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 214 (VMFA-214) is a United States Marine Corps attack squadron consisting of Lockheed Martin F-35B STOVL jets. It is currently in the process of transitioning from its fleet of AV-8B Harrier ( V/STOL) jets. The ...

(F4U) July 21, 1943–September 17, 1943 *

VMF(N)-531 Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 531 (VMFA-531) was a United States Marine Corps fighter squadron consisting of F/A-18 Hornets. Known as the "Grey Ghosts”, the squadron participated in action during World War II and the Vietnam War. They were dec ...

( Lockheed Ventura PV-1) September 11, 1943 - ? * VMSB-144 (

Douglas SBD Dauntless The Douglas SBD Dauntless is a World War II American naval scout plane and dive bomber that was manufactured by Douglas Aircraft from 1940 through 1944. The SBD ("Scout Bomber Douglas") was the United States Navy's main carrier-based scout/di ...

SBD) June 25, 1943–July 30, 1943 Interstate TDR-1

Interstate TDR

The US Navy used Banika Field to test and operated the new

Interstate TDR The Interstate TDR was an early unmanned combat aerial vehicle — referred to at the time as an " assault drone" — developed by the Interstate Aircraft and Engineering Corporation during the Second World War for use by the United States Nav ...

early

Unmanned combat aerial vehicle An unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), also known as a combat drone, colloquially shortened as drone or battlefield UAV, is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that is used for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance ...

, at that time called a ''flying bomb''. The Interstate TDR had one 2,000-pound (910 kg) bomb or one aerial torpedo. This was radio controlled plane. At Banika Field was the first use of the unit in a combat zone. At Banika Field top secret combat test were done. Test were done in June 1944 with troops from Special Task Air Group 1 (STAG-1). The head of the test was Commanding Officer (C. O.) Captain Robert F. Jones.

Renard Sound Seaplane Base

Near Banika Field, in the channel to the east of the runway, the US Navy operated the Renard Sound Seaplane Base. The Base was at Renard Sound Seaplane Base
''tracesofwar.com''

External links

youtube.com US NAVY WWII TDR-1 DRONE OPERATIONAL TESTS IN SOUTH PACIFIC

References

* {{authority control Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in the Pacific Ocean theatre of World War II