Luganville Airfield or Bomber Field #3 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 the island of

Espiritu Santo Espiritu Santo (, ; ) is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of and a population of around 40,000 according to the 2009 census. Geography The island belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region o ...

in the

New Hebrides Islands New Hebrides, officially the New Hebrides Condominium (french: link=no, Condominium des Nouvelles-Hébrides, "Condominium of the New Hebrides") and named after the Hebrides Scottish archipelago, was the colonial name for the island group ...

at the

Espiritu Santo Naval Base Naval Advance Base Espiritu Santo or Naval Base Espiritu Santo, most often just called ''Espiritu Santo'', was a major advance Naval base that the U.S. Navy Seabees built during World War II to support the Allied effort in the Pacific. The base ...

History

World War II

The

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 ...

of the 40th Naval Construction Battalion arrived on Santo on 3 February 1943 and were tasked with building a third bomber field in dense jungle to the west of Luganville. By July the Battalion had completed a by coral runway, with of taxiways and 75 hardstands. Additional facilities constructed included a tank farm of six 1,000-barrel steel tanks, two truck-loading stations, two repair areas, fifteen by arch-rib warehouses, one by hangar, eighteen quonset huts for living quarters, six mess halls, and all necessary utilities. of two-lane access and supply roads, were cut through dense jungle.

VP-44 VP-44 was a Patrol Squadron of the U.S. Navy. It was established as VP-204 on 15 October 1942, redesignated as Patrol Bombing Squadron VPB-204 on 1 October 1944, redesignated as VP-204 on 15 May 1946, redesignated as VP-MS-4 on 15 November 1946, r ...

operating PBY-5s operated from Luganville from 11 March 1944 until 15 June 1944 when it moved to

Nissan Island Nissan Island (also Green Island or Sir Charles Hardy Island) is the largest of the Green Islands of Papua New Guinea. It is located at , about 200 km east of Rabaul on New Britain and about 200 km north-west of Bougainville. The isl ...

VMF-323 Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 323 (VMFA-323) is an aircraft carrier-based aviation squadron of the United States Marine Corps. The squadron is equipped with the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C Hornet and is based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, ...

was based at Luganville from 29 October 1944 until 23 February 1945 when it moved to Okinawa.

Postwar

NOB Espiritu Santo disestablished on 12 June 1946. The airfield remained in use as a civilian airstrip until the early 1970s however as it was on higher ground it was often clouded in and so it was decided to move all operations to the former Bomber Field No.2 which became Santo-Pekoa International Airport. The field is now largely overgrown with vegetation.

References

{{authority control Airfields of the United States Navy World War II airfields in the Pacific Ocean Theater Airports in Vanuatu Espiritu Santo Military installations closed in 1944 1940s in the New Hebrides 1943 establishments in Oceania 1944 disestablishments in Oceania Closed installations of the United States Navy

History

World War II

Postwar

See also

References