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Kukum Field also known as Fighter 2 Airfield 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 opposing ...
airfield on Guadalcanal,
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 ...
.


World War II

From the beginning of the Guadalcanal Campaign it was planned that the area would be developed into a major air base. In November 1942 the 6th Naval Construction Battalion began work on a fighter strip at
Lunga Point Lunga Point is a promontory on the northern coast of Guadalcanal, the site of a naval battle during World War II. It was also the name of a nearby airfield, later named Henderson Field. is also the name of a United States Navy escort carrier t ...
. The 6th Battalion was later replaced by the First Marine Aviation Engineers who completed the coral-surfaced runway by 1 January 1943. In June–July 1943 the 46th and 61st Battalions built a second coral-surfaced by runway with shoulders, coral taxiways wide, and 121 hardstands. The 26th Battalion built a tank farm providing storage for of aviation gasoline, of motor gasoline, and of diesel oil. USAAF units based at Kukum included: *
12th Fighter Squadron 012 may refer to: * Tyrrell 012, a Formula One racing car * The dialing code for Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassie ...
operating P-39s from 7 February 1943 – 19 February 1944 *
68th Fighter Squadron The 68th Fighter Squadron was one of the longest-serving fighter squadrons in U.S. Air Force history, remaining active almost continually for 60 years. Known as the "Lightning Lancers", on the morning of 27 June 1950 pilots of the 68th Fighter-A ...
operating P-38s and P-39s from January–December 1943 *
339th Fighter Squadron 339th may refer to: * 339th Aviation Detachment, United States Army Aviation Branch * 339th Bombardment Group, unit of the New York Air National Guard * 339th Bombardment Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit * 339th Fighter Group, unit o ...
operating P-38s from 2 October 1942 (det) - 1 December 1943 and 29 December 1943 - 15 January 1944 USMC units based at Kukum included: *
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. ...
operating F4Us from 12 February–September 1943 Royal New Zealand Air Force units based at Kukum included: * 1 Squadron operating Lockheed Venturas from October 1944 * 2 Squadron operating Venturas from August–October 1944 * 3 Squadron operating Venturas from July–August 1944 * 14 Squadron operating P-40s from 11 June-25 July 1943 * 15 Squadron operating P-40s 26 April–June 1943 and from mid-September-mid-November 1943 * 16 Squadron operating P-40s from 25 July - September 1943 * 17 Squadron operating P-40s from mid-September-20 October 1943


Postwar

Kukum Field remained operational after the war as a civilian airfield until 1969 when Henderson Field was modernized and reopened as
Honiara International Airport : ''For the military history of the airport, see Henderson Field (Guadalcanal)'' Honiara International Airport , formerly known as Henderson Field, is an airport in the province of Guadalcanal in the nation of Solomon Islands. It is the prima ...
. The airfield is now part of the Honiara Golf Course.


See also

*
Carney Airfield Carney Airfield is a former World War II airfield on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands in the South Pacific. It is located near Koli Point about six miles from Henderson Field, close to the Metapona River to the east and the Naumbu River to the wes ...
*
Henderson Field (Guadalcanal) Henderson Field is a former military airfield on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands during World War II. Originally built by the Japanese Empire, the conflict over its possession was one of the great battles of the Pacific War. Today it is Honiara I ...
*
Koli Airfield Koli Airfield (also known as Bomber 3 Field) is a former World War II airfield on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands in the South Pacific, located near Koli Point, eight miles east of Henderson Field, close to the Metapona River to the east and the Na ...
*
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 l ...


References

{{Reflist Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in the Pacific Ocean theatre of World War II United States Marine Corps air stations Aviation in the Solomon Islands Military installations closed in the 1940s