Nanumea Airfield is a former World War II airfield on the island of Nanumea in the Ellice Islands (now known as Tuvalu).
History.
World War II.
Nanumea Airfield was built by United States Navy Seabees during the Pacific War as an alternative strip to Nukufetau and Funafuti airfields, in order to allow for further dispersal of aircraft in the Ellice Islands (now Tuvalu).
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 landing strip. On 7 September 1943, ten "Betty" bombers of the 755th "Kōkūtai" from Tarawa Atoll dropped 20 bombs on Nanumea.
On September 19th, F4F-4s of VMF-441 landed on the strip and continued to use the runway for the remainder of the construction period. The first bombers landed on November 12th. The Seabees also built a camp and operation facilities for the airfield, including an 8,000-barrel tank farm for aviation gasoline.
United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) units based at Nanumea included:
United States Marine Corps (USMC) units based at Nanumea included:
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.
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.
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