 The remaining Corsairs, which carried enough fuel to last until about 1600 hrs., flew south along the chain of Gilbert and Ellice Islands, headed for their first stop, Nanumea, the home base of the USAAF 11th Bomb Group.Nanumea was located approximately halfway along the route to Funafuti.But due to a procedural error among the air operations staff at Hawkins Field, neither Nanumea nor Funafuti had been informed of VMF-422's imminent arrival.