Nanumea 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 the island of

Nanumea Nanumea is the northwesternmost atoll in the Polynesian nation of Tuvalu, a group of nine coral atolls and islands spread over about of the Pacific Ocean just south of the equator and west of the International Date Line. Nanumea is with a pop ...

in the Ellice Islands (now known as

Tuvalu Tuvalu ( or ; formerly known as the Ellice Islands) is an island country and microstate in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. Its islands are situated about midway between Hawaii and Australia. They lie east-nor ...

History

World War II

Nanumea Airfield was built by

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Seabee , colors = , mascot = Bumblebee , battles = Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Cape Gloucester, Los Negros, Guam, Peleliu, Tarawa, Kwajalein, Saipan, Tinian, Iwo Jima, Philippin ...

s during the Pacific War as an alternative strip to

Nukufetau Nukufetau is an atoll that is part of the nation of Tuvalu. The atoll was claimed by the US under the Guano Islands Act some time in the 19th century and was ceded in a treaty of friendship concluded in 1979 and coming into force in 1983. It has ...

and

Funafuti Funafuti is the capital of the island nation of Tuvalu. It has a population of 6,320 people (2017 census), and so it has more people than the rest of Tuvalu combined, with approximately 60% of the population. It consists of a narrow sweep of lan ...

airfields to allow for further dispersal of aircraft in the Ellice Islands (now

). On 5 September 1943 elements of the 16th Naval Construction Battalion arrived on Nanumea and on 11 September they started work on a by bomber strip. On 7 September 1943 ten ''Betty'' bombers of the 755th ''

Kōkūtai A ''Kōkūtai'' () was a term used by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) to designate a military aviation unit, similar to the Air Groups in other air arms and services of the time. (''Group'' in the British Royal Air Force, ''Grupp ...

'' (air group) from

Tarawa Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''

F4F-4s of VMF-441 landed on the strip and continued to use the runway during the remainder of the construction period. The first bombers landed on 12 November. The Seabees also built the camp and operation facilities for the airfield, including an 8,000-barrel tank farm for aviation gasoline.

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

(USAAF) units based at Nanumea included: *

30th Bombardment Group 030 may refer to: * Motorola 68030 * BR-030 * Geographical telephone calling prefixes ** Greater Accra area code, Ghana ** Utrecht, Netherlands ** Berlin, Germany ** Bar Municipality and Ulcinj Municipality of Montenegro ** Province of Brescia ...

headquarters from 11 November 1943 – 4 January 1944 * 27th Bombardment Squadron operating B-24s from 10 November 1943 – 26 February 1944 *

28th Bombardment Squadron 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

operating B-24s from 12 November 1943 – 13 March 1944 *

45th Fighter Squadron The 45th Fighter Squadron is a United States Air Force Reserve unit. It is assigned to the Air Force Reserve Command's (AFRC) 924th Fighter Group and stationed at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The squadron currently flies the Fa ...

operating P-40Ns from 28 November 1943 – 4 January 1944

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

(USMC) units based at Nanumea included: * Marine Fighting Squadron 441 ( VMF-441), flying the

F4F Wildcat The Grumman F4F Wildcat is an American carrier-based fighter aircraft that entered service in 1940 with the United States Navy, and the British Royal Navy where it was initially known as the Martlet. First used by the British in the North Atla ...

, operated from Nanumea from 28 September – December 1943. * Marine Attack Squadron 331 (

VMA-331 Marine Attack Squadron 331 (VMA-331) was an Ground attack aircraft, attack squadron in the United States Marine Corps. The squadron, also known as the “Doodlebugs” and “Bumblebees,” was part of Marine Aircraft Group 31, 2nd Marine Aircraf ...

) flew

Douglas SBD Dauntless The Douglas SBD Dauntless is a World War II American naval scout plane and dive bomber that was manufactured by Douglas Aircraft from 1940 through 1944. The SBD ("Scout Bomber Douglas") was the United States Navy's main carrier-based scout/di ...

dive bombers from Nanumea from 15 November 1943. On 11 November 1943 a Japanese air raid on Nanumea resulted in the destruction of one B-24. On 19 November 1943 B-24 No. 42~72980 of the 27th Bombardment Squadron crashed on landing. On 27 November 1943 SBD No. 38035 of

crashed due to undercarriage failure. By September 1944 base roll-up and salvage operations had commenced and were completed by the end of March 1945. Wreckage of the aircraft remained on the island. F4Fs of VMF-441 at Nanumea

Postwar

After the Pacific War the airfield was dismantled and the land returned to its owners, however as the coral base was compacted to make the runway the land now provides poor ground for growing coconuts.

References

* * {{USAAF 7th Air Force World War II Defunct airports Airfields in the Pacific theatre of World War II Airfields of the United States Navy Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in the Pacific Ocean theatre of World War II History of Tuvalu Military installations closed in the 1940s 1943 establishments in Oceania 1945 disestablishments in Oceania Closed installations of the United States Navy Closed installations of the United States Army

History

World War II

Postwar

See also

References