Kahuku Army Air Field is a former wartime airfield in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. It was located in the northern part of the Island of

Oahu Oahu () (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering place#Island of Oʻahu as The Gathering Place, Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over t ...

History

World War II

Possibly developed as an emergency field dating to the 1930s, but it was not until the United States entered

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 ...

that the airfield was developed. Kahuku Army Air Field was classified as an auxiliary field and had a very short life span, from 1942 until it was closed in the late 1940s. Ground troops were stationed in the area to protect the airfield and man the shoreline fortifications. The northern tip of Oahu had three airfields in close proximity during World War II. The Kahuku Point Airfield was located near the tip of Kahuku Point, and was evidently the most elaborate. The Kahuku Army Airfields were used for training of pilots from

Wheeler Army Air Field Wheeler Army Airfield , also known as Wheeler Field and formerly as Wheeler Air Force Base, is a United States Army post located in the Honolulu County, Hawaii, City & County of Honolulu and in the Wahiawa District of the Island of Oahu, O'ahu, ...

for instrument flying on different types of aircraft. The airfield was ideal for training because it had a good approach, runway length, and take off clearance. This field was not over populated like Hickam or Wheeler. It is documented that the 18th Air base Group,

47th Pursuit Squadron The 47th Fighter Squadron is an Air Force Reserve Command unit based at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, where it flies Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft and is assigned to the 442d Operations Group. The squadron was firs ...

was stationed there along with

B-24 The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...

s and

B-17 The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

s that were based at Kahuku for short periods of time during World War II. At the end of World War II, the

27th Bombardment Squadron The 27th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 30th Bombardment Group, based at Kahuku Army Airfield, Hawaii Territory. It was inactivated on 20 March 1946. History Established as a ...

used the airfield for training with B-24's until March 1946. Afterwards the USAAF closed the airfields and returned the Kahuku property to its owners.

Postwar history

No airfields at Kahuku were depicted on the October 1954 Hawaiian Islands Sectional Chart. In the early 1960s prior to the opening of the Campbell Race Course, the Kahuku airfield runways were used for both drag racing and the first Hawaii Grand Prix sports car race. At some point between 1954 and 1977 the former Kahuku Point airfield was apparently reused as a private civil airfield. It was depicted as having a single hard-surface runway.

Current use

Very little remains of the three Kahuku airfields. The

Turtle Bay Resort The Turtle Bay Resort is a resort with cottages on the North Shore of Oahu island in Hawaii. Description The resort is about a 50-minute drive from Honolulu, between Kahuku, Hawaii Kahuku () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Honolulu, H ...

golf courses absorbed two of the runways. This site is typical of a former airfield converted into a golf course. The long runways are ideal for golf fairways. The northwestern portion has been covered by aquaculture equipment built on the runway by a lease tenant. Very little evidence of Kahuku's World War II fortifications remain except one bunker site that is keeping its past military secrets. The entrance to the bunker is buried in sand and brush leaving only two concrete structures exposed. Scattered concrete pillboxes covered by low brush and debris can be found in the surrounding jungle. No historical markers indicating the areas past could be found. , a small privately owned heliport for daytime VFR use only was located at the Turtle Bay Resort next to the main hotel building. The present day Waikane Store, located 17 miles southeast of Kuhuku Army Air Field, is built out of a mess hall that was previously a part of the Army installation. This mess hall was sold as surplus in 1949, disassembled and moved to its current location by private owners.

References

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