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Hawkins Field is a former
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 Betio
Betio is the largest township of Kiribati's capital city, South Tarawa, and the country's main port. The settlement is located on a separate islet at the extreme southwest of the atoll.
Betio Post Office opened on 5 April 1957 and closed in 1964. ...
, Tarawa
Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''
The airfield was built during the
/ref> Initially the USAAF moved the 41st Bombardment Group to Hawkins which operated four squadrons of
As the battles moved further towards Japan, the airfield was abandoned and after the war, the island was redeveloped using much of the materiel left by the Americans during the war. Today, the roads on the island reflect the outlines of the airfield and supporting roads of the wartime facilities. US Naval fleet PO box for Hawkins Field was 907.
www.pacificwrecks.com
''
Gilbert Islands
The Gilbert Islands ( gil, Tungaru;Reilly Ridgell. ''Pacific Nations and Territories: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia.'' 3rd. Ed. Honolulu: Bess Press, 1995. p. 95. formerly Kingsmill or King's-Mill IslandsVery often, this n ...
of the Central Pacific.
The airfield was named in honor of USMC 1st Lt. William Dean Hawkins who was killed in the battle to recapture Tarawa, and earned the Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...
.
History
The airfield was built during the Japanese occupation of the Gilbert Islands
The Japanese occupation of the Gilbert Islands was the period in the history of Kiribati between 1941 and 1945 when Imperial Japanese forces occupied the Gilbert Islands during World War II, in the Pacific War theatre.
From 1941 to 1943, Impe ...
in 1943. There was a turnaround at the eastern end of the runway and a taxiway with revetments in the middle between the runway and the taxiway. The Japanese had Zeros, Vals Vals is the word for waltz in many European languages.
Vals or VALS may also refer to:
* Peruvian waltz
* Venezuelan waltz
* Vals (dance), a dance related to Argentine tango
* VALS, "Values And Lifestyles," a psychographic segmentation tool
Place ...
, Nells and Bettys operating from this base. During the Battle of Tarawa
The Battle of Tarawa was fought on 20–23 November 1943 between the United States and Japan at the Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands, and was part of Operation Galvanic, the U.S. invasion of the Gilberts. Nearly 6,400 Japanese, Koreans, an ...
(November 20 – 23, 1943), United States Marines
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 com ...
seized the airfield as a target of the operation, to enable USAAF land-based air operations against the Japanese in the Marshall Islands
The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...
.
After the battle, US Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...
Seebee
, colors =
, mascot = Bumblebee
, battles = Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Cape Gloucester, Los Negros, Guam, Peleliu, Tarawa, Kwajalein, Saipan, Tinian, Iwo Jima, Philippines ...
s from the 2nd Battalion 18th Marines, 74th and 98th Naval Construction Battalions bulldozed all the debris off the airfield and extended the runway right to the western end and coral surfaced it.Chapter XXVII, Bases in the Central Pacific, Building the Navy's Bases in World War II, History of the Bureau of Yards and Docks and the Civil Engineer Corps, Volume I, 1940-1946. p. 31/ref> Initially the USAAF moved the 41st Bombardment Group to Hawkins which operated four squadrons of
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 ...
medium bombers from the airfield starting in December.
In January 1944, Hawkins became the headquarters of the 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 ...
VII Bomber Command
The VII Bomber Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Seventh Air Force, based on Okinawa. It was inactivated on 31 March 1946.
It engaged in patrol operations from Hawaii from January 1942. On the n ...
, directing operations against Japanese forces in the Marshall Islands
The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...
. The USAAF then stationed the B-24 Liberator-equipped 11th Bombardment Group
An international call prefix, international dial-out code or international direct dial code (IDD code) is a trunk prefix that indicates an international phone call. In the dialling sequence, the prefix precedes the country calling code (and, fur ...
at Hawkins, however the length of the runway was marginal for the bombers, and instead the USAAF units moved to Bairiki (Mullinix) Airfield on nearby Bonriki
Bonriki is a settlement on Tarawa atoll, Kiribati, near Temwaiku and is part of the municipality of South Tarawa. It is in the south-east of South Tarawa. Bonriki International Airport, one of two international airports in Kiribati, is located h ...
Islet which had a longer runway. By late January, the USAAF moved both groups over to Bonriki and Hawkins was then used by Naval fighters, light aircraft and as an emergency landing airfield for Mullinix.
As the battles moved further towards Japan, the airfield was abandoned and after the war, the island was redeveloped using much of the materiel left by the Americans during the war. Today, the roads on the island reflect the outlines of the airfield and supporting roads of the wartime facilities. US Naval fleet PO box for Hawkins Field was 907.
See also
* USAAF in the Central Pacific *Naval Base Gilbert Islands
Naval Base Gilbert Islands were naval bases built by the United States Navy in 1943 to support the World War II effort. The bases were located on in the Gilbert Islands in the Central Pacific Ocean. The bases were built as part of the many advan ...
References
* Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. .www.pacificwrecks.com
External links
{{authority control Defunct airports Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in the Pacific Ocean theatre of World War II Airports in Kiribati Seabees