Kobler Field is a former a World War II airfield on

Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...

in the

Mariana Islands The Mariana Islands (; also the Marianas; in Chamorro: ''Manislan Mariånas'') are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, betw ...

, part of

Naval Advance Base Saipan Naval Base Saipan or Naval Advance Base Saipan or Naval Air Base Saipan was a United States Navy Naval base built during World War II to support Pacific Ocean theater of war and the many warships and troops fighting the war. The base was on th ...

. It was closed in 1977 and redeveloped as a residential housing area.

History

World War II

Kobler Field was constructed between August and October 1944 near Aslito on the southern end of

as a base for Twentieth Air Force B-29 Superfortresses carrying out the strategic bombing campaign against the Japanese Home Islands. The facility had a runway, repair and maintenance facilities, and hardstanding for 120 aircraft. The airfield was named after Lt. Wayne F. Kobler, a

19th Fighter Squadron The 19th Fighter Squadron is a United States Air Force fighter jet squadron and is a part of the Pacific Air Forces' (PACAF) 15th Wing based at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, Hawaii. The squadron is one of the oldest in the United States Air ...

pilot who was killed on 27 June 1944 while flying his P-47 on a low-level attack mission on Tinian. As Isely Field, North Field, and

West Field Helm Field also called Lemoore Auxiliary Army Airfield A-7 is a former US Army Airfield use for training during World War II. Helm Field was location in the town of Coalinga, California, 70 miles south of Fresno. Helm Field had two 3,000 foot runw ...

on Tinian became operational, Kobler Field was increasingly used by the Twentieth Air Force as an auxiliary field for storage and basing of miscellaneous aircraft. A LORAN navigation station was established at the end of Kobler Field in November 1944, which the United States Coast Guard continued to operate until January 1978. The

819th Bombardment Squadron The 819th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 30th Bombardment Group at Kahuku Army Air Field, Hawaii, where it was inactivated on 30 November 1945. The squadron was first activate ...

flying

B-24 Liberators 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 ...

deployed to Kobler Field in August 1944 to undertake attacks on Japanese islands and shipping. On 22 June 1945, following a raid on Kure Naval Arsenal, a B-29 crashed at Kobler Field while attempting to land on two engines.

Postwar

In the postwar era, Kobler Field was transferred to US Navy administration and remained under US Navy control until placed out of service in the early 1960s. VF-13A flying F4U-4s operated from Kobler Field from 1946 into 1947. VA-12 was shore-based at NAB Kobler Field from 21 August–19 September and November–December 1946. VA-1A was shore-based at NAB Kobler Field from 28 December 1946 until 9 January 1947. Carrier Aircraft Service Unit (CASU) 47 was also based at NAB Kobler Field. On 16 May 1968,

Continental Micronesia Continental Micronesia, Inc. (CMI) was a company which was a wholly owned subsidiary of Continental Airlines. It operated daily flights to Honolulu, Hawaii, as well as international services to Asia, Micronesia and Australia from its base of ...

's first commercial flight, a

Boeing 727-100 The Boeing 727 is an American Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavy Boeing 707, 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter f ...

jet known as ''Ju Ju'', took off from Kobler Field to Honolulu International Airport. Kobler Field operated as the main airfield on Saipan until 25 July 1976, when operations were moved to Saipan International Airport.

Current status

Following its closure, Kobler Field was redeveloped as Koblerville, a residential housing area. One runway is now Beach Road/Koblerville Road. Saipan Southern High School and Koblerville Elementary School are located in the path of the second runway.

References

External links