Leo Wattimena Airport, formerly known as Pitu Airport is a private airport located on the southern coast of

Morotai Island Morotai Island ( id, Pulau Morotai) is an island in the Halmahera group of eastern Indonesia's Maluku Islands (Moluccas). It is one of Indonesia's northernmost islands. Morotai is a rugged, forested island lying to the north of Halmahera. It ha ...

North Maluku North Maluku ( id, Maluku Utara) is a province of Indonesia. It covers the northern part of the Maluku Islands, bordering the Pacific Ocean to the north, the Halmahera Sea to the east, the Molucca Sea to the west, and the Seram Sea to the south. ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

History

World War II

Morotai island was the final island invasion in

Netherlands New Guinea Dutch New Guinea or Netherlands New Guinea ( nl, Nederlands-Nieuw-Guinea, id, Nugini Belanda) was the western half of the island of New Guinea that was a part of the Dutch East Indies until 1949, later an overseas territory of the Kingd ...

before the liberation of the Philippines. The island was recaptured by the 31st Infantry Division on 15 September 1944, meeting only light opposition.

General MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...

and Rear Admiral Barbey landed on the day of the invasion to make an inspection. At the time, the island had only five hundred Japanese defenders. After the landings, Navy

Seabees United States Naval Construction Battalions, better known as the Navy Seabees, form the U.S. Naval Construction Force (NCF). The Seabee nickname is a heterograph of the initial letters "CB" from the words "Construction Battalion". Depending upon ...

constructed two airfields on the island, Wama and Pitu. Wama was constructed almost along the shoreline and was used as a fighter airfield. It was abandoned after the war. Pitu was built as a bomber airfield to the north inland, and is currently used as a commercial airport. After the war, the island was one of the largest

Fifth Air Force The Fifth Air Force (5 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan. It is the U.S. Air Force's oldest continuously serving Numbered Air Force. The organiza ...

aircraft reclamation center in the Pacific. A smelting operation was established, and USAAF planes from all over the region were flown there to be scrapped. Despite scrapping the island was crammed full of aircraft and vehicles until 1988 when it was cleared in a final scrap drive. The scrap was taken to

Krakatau Steel PT Krakatau Steel (Persero) Tbk (''Krakatau Steel Company Limited'') is the largest steel maker in Indonesia, headquartered in Cilegon, Banten. The factory is set on a plot in the western end of Banten and adjacent to the Sunda Strait, and w ...

Mill in Java.

Allied units stationed on Morotai

* 38th Bombardment Group (15 October 1944 – 29 January 1945) *

310th Bombardment Wing 31 may refer to: * 31 (number) Years * 31 BC * AD 31 * 1931 CE ('31) * 2031 CE ('31) Music * ''Thirty One'' (Jana Kramer album), 2015 * ''Thirty One'' (Jarryd James album), 2015 * "Thirty One", a song by Karma to Burn from the album ''Wild, ...

(18 September-14 November 1944) *

8th Fighter Group 008, OO8, O08, or 0O8 may refer to: * The Streetwear Brand @008us , inspired by Ian Fleming & Virgil Abloh *"030", the fictional 030 Agent of MI6 * '' 038: Operation Exterminate'', a 1965 Italian action film * '' Explosivo 030'' a 1940 Argentine c ...

(19 September – 20 December 1944) * 35th Fighter Group (27 September 1944 – 20 January 1945) * 418th Night Fighter Squadron (28 September – 26 December 1944)

West New Guinea dispute

During the buildup in preparation of

Operation Trikora Operation Trikora was an Indonesian military operation which aimed to seize and annex the Dutch overseas territory of Netherlands New Guinea in 1961 and 1962. After negotiations, the Netherlands signed the New York Agreement with Indonesia on ...

in early 1962, the Indonesian Air Force utilized Morotai airfield as one of the frontline airbases. In late June 1962, the air force deployed four to six

Tu-16 The Tupolev Tu-16 (NATO reporting name: Badger) is a twin-engined jet strategic heavy bomber used by the Soviet Union. It has been flown for almost 70 years, and the Chinese license-built Xian H-6 remains in service with the People's Liberation ...

strategic bombers, six to ten Il-28 medium bombers, two UF-1 Albatross search-and-rescue seaplanes and two Mi-4 helicopters at Morotai.Djati et al. 1996, p. 189 Later the Il-28s were moved to Laha and

Amahai Amahai is a village on the south coast of the Indonesian island of Seram, to the south of Masohi Masohi is a coastal town on the Indonesian island of Seram. It is the capital of the Central Maluku Regency (Kebupaten Maluku Tengah). It was the s ...

due to insufficient range to the

Western New Guinea Western New Guinea, also known as Papua, Indonesian New Guinea, or Indonesian Papua, is the western half of the Melanesian island of New Guinea which is administered by Indonesia. Since the island is alternatively named as Papua, the region ...

.Djati et al. 1996, p. 54 The Indonesian Navy naval aviation also deployed eight

Gannet Gannets are seabirds comprising the genus ''Morus'' in the family Sulidae, closely related to boobies. Gannets are large white birds with yellowish heads; black-tipped wings; and long bills. Northern gannets are the largest seabirds in the ...

anti-submarine aircraft. For the airbase defenses, the air force stationed six

MiG-17 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-17; NATO reporting name: Fresco) is a high-subsonic fighter aircraft produced in the Soviet Union from 1952 and was operated by air forces internationally. The MiG-17 w ...

as interceptor and air defense, a Polish-built Nyasa radar unit as early warning system, an anti-aircraft unit equipped with Hispano-Suiza HS.804 cannons, and a company of base defense troops. The Indonesian Army also stationed an air-defense artillery unit from Pattimura Battalion.Djati et al. 1996, p. 56

Airlines and destinations

References

* Djati, Pungky Purnomo; et al. (1996). ''Perjuangan AURI dalam Trikora'' (Indonesian Air Force's Struggle during Trikora). Jakarta: Indonesian Air Force Headquarters. (in Indonesian) * Maurer, Maurer (1983). ''Air Force Combat Units Of World War II''. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. .

External links

Pitu Airfield at Pacificwrecks.com
Airports in North Maluku Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces Air Transport Command in the South West Pacific Theater World War II sites in Indonesia Indonesian Air Force bases {{Indonesia-airport-stub