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Abemama Airport is the
airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...
serving
Abemama Abemama (Apamama) is an atoll, one of the Gilberts group in Kiribati, and is located southeast of Tarawa and just north of the Equator. Abemama has an area of and a population of 3,299 . The islets surround a deep lagoon. The eastern part of ...
,
Kiribati Kiribati (), officially the Republic of Kiribati ( gil, ibaberikiKiribati),Kiribati
''The Wor ...
. It is located on the north of the atoll, 200 meters northeast of the village of
Tabiang BanabaThe correct spelling and etymology in Gilbertese should be ''Bwanaba'' but the Constitution of Kiribati writes Banaba. Because of the spelling in English or French, the name was very often written Paanapa or Paanopa, as it was in 1901 Ac ...
. The airport is served by
Air Kiribati Air Kiribati (pronounced Air Kiri'bas) is the flag carrier of the Republic of Kiribati and operates scheduled passenger services to 20 atolls spread over an area of 3.5m sq km. It is headquartered at Bonriki International Airport on the island o ...
from the international airport at
South Tarawa South Tarawa ( gil, Tarawa Teinainano) is the capital and hub of the Republic of Kiribati and home to more than half of Kiribati's population. The South Tarawa population centre consists of all the small islets from Betio in the west to Bonriki ...
.


History

Abemama Airport was originally built in late 1943 by the
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 ...
Naval Base Abemama Naval Base Abemama was a naval base built by the United States Navy in 1943 to support the World War II effort. The base was located on Abemama atoll, also called Hopper Atoll, in the Gilbert Islands in the Central Pacific Ocean. The base was ...
Seabee 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 ...
s of the 95th Naval Construction Battalion for the
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 ...
as O’Hare Field.Apememe, 95th Naval Construction Battalion cruisebook, U.S. Navy Seabee Museum, Port Hueneme, C
Seventh Air Force
assigned the 30th Space Wing">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 ...
to the airfield in early January 1944, basing four squadrons of B-24 Liberator heavy bombers on the base. From Abemama, the USAAF attacked Japanese targets in the Marshall Islands in preparation for the Battle of Kwajalein, Battle of Kwajalein Atoll (29 January-3 February 1944) and the
Battle of Eniwetok The Battle of Eniwetok was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought between 17 February 1944 and 23 February 1944, on Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The invasion of Eniwetok followed the American success in the Battle ...
(17–21 February 1944). For the United States, these battles represented both the next step in its island-hopping march to Japan, and a victory significant for morale, because it was the first time the United States penetrated the "outer ring" of the Japanese Pacific defensive sphere. In March 1944, the USAAF combat units moved west into the Marshalls, and Abemama became a transport hub for the
9th Troop Carrier Squadron 009 may refer to: * OO9, gauge model railways * O09, FAA identifier for Round Valley Airport * 0O9, FAA identifier for Ward Field, see List of airports in California * British secret agent 009, see 00 Agent * BA 009, see British Airways Flight 9 * ...
until August. In addition to the Army units, some Naval aviation units used the airfield in 1944. With the movement of the Allied forces west towards Japan, the airfield on Abemama Atoll was abandoned by the Americans, and after the war, was developed into a commercial airport.


Airlines and destinations


See also

* USAAF in the Central Pacific


References

* Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. .
www.pacificwrecks.com


External links

Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in the Pacific Ocean theatre of World War II Airports in Kiribati Seabees {{Kiribati-geo-stub