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Barakoma Airfield is a former
On 15 June 1944 the airfield was abandoned and all salvageable materials were dismantled and removed by 12 July 1944.
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 opposin ...
airfield on Vella Lavella
Vella Lavella is an island in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands. It lies to the west of New Georgia, but is considered one of the New Georgia Group. To its west are the Treasury Islands.
Environment
The island of Vella Lavella is lo ...
in the Solomon Islands archipelago
The Solomon Islands (archipelago) is an island group in the western South Pacific Ocean, north-east of Australia. The archipelago is in the Melanesian subregion and bioregion of Oceania and forms the eastern boundary of the Solomon Sea. The ...
.
History
World War II
The U.S. 35th Infantry Regiment landed on Vella Lavella on 15 August 1943 as part of theSolomon Islands campaign
The Solomon Islands campaign was a major campaign of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign began with Japanese landings and occupation of several areas in the British Solomon Islands and Bougainville, in the Territory of New Guinea, ...
. The 58th Naval Construction Battalions landed with the Army and began building support facilities despite frequent Japanese air attacks. In August 1943 the Seebees surveyed and cleared a site for an airfield and began building a coral-surfaced by fighter runway. Airfield facilities such as a signal tower, operations room, aviation-gasoline tanks, and camp for operating personnel, were completed in September and the first landing was made on 24 September. By November 1943 an aviation-gasoline tank farm of six 1,000-barrel tanks, with a sea-loading line was operational.
US Navy units based at Barakoma included:
*VF-40
Fighter Squadron 40 or VF-40 was an aviation unit of the United States Navy. Originally established on 15 June 1943, it was disestablished on 19 November 1945. It was the only US Navy squadron to be designated as VF-40.
Operational history
VF-4 ...
operating F6Fs
USMC units based at Barakoma included:
*VMF-212
Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 212 (VMFA-212) was a United States Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet squadron. Most recently known as the "Lancers", the squadron was last based at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan and fell under the command of Mar ...
operating F4Fs
*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 ...
operating F4Us
*VMF-215
Marine Fighting Squadron 215 (VMF-215) was a fighter squadron of the United States Marine Corps that was commissioned and fought during World War II. Known as "The Fighting Corsairs", the squadron fought in many areas of the Pacific War, including ...
operating F4Us
*VMF-221
Marine Fighting Squadron 221 (VMF-221) was a reserve fighter squadron of the United States Marine Corps. Originally commissioned during the World War II, it flew the Brewster F2A-3, and after reconstitution in 1943, the F4U Corsair. The squadro ...
operating F4Us
*VMF-321
Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 321 (VMFA-321) was a United States Marine Corps fighter squadron consisting of F/A-18 Hornets . Known as "Hell’s Angels", the squadron participated in action during World War II and was then transferred to the Mari ...
operating F4Us
*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 ...
operating PV-1 Venturas
On 15 June 1944 the airfield was abandoned and all salvageable materials were dismantled and removed by 12 July 1944.
Postwar
The airfield is overgrown with vegetation.See also
*Munda Airport
Munda Airport is an international airport adjacent to the town of Munda, Western Province in Solomon Islands.
Originally built by Japanese forces during World War II and further developed by the U. S. Naval Construction Battalions 24 and 73 f ...
*Ondonga Airfield
Ondonga Airfield is a former World War II airfield on New Georgia in the Solomon Islands archipelago.
History
World War II
The Munda Point area was secured on 5 August 1943. While the rehabilitation and expansion of Munda Point Airfield was th ...
* Segi Point Airfield
*United States Army Air Forces in the South Pacific Area
During World War II, the United States Army Air Forces engaged in combat against the Empire of Japan in the South Pacific Area. As defined by the War Department, this consisted of the Pacific Ocean areas which lay south of the Equator between lon ...
References
{{coord, -7.913, 156.706, type:_region:, display=title Airfields in the Pacific theatre of World War II Airfields of the United States Navy Military installations closed in 1944 Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in the Pacific Ocean theatre of World War II Closed installations of the United States Navy