Majuro Airfield

Majuro Airfield or Naval Air Facility Majuro (NAF Majuro) is a former World War II airfield on the island of Delap in the Marshall Islands. The facility was supported by a large base, Naval Base Majuro.^[1][2]

Majuro Airfield
Delap, Marshall Islands
SBDs of VMSB-231 taxiing on Majuro Airfield in 1944
Coordinates	7°05′25″N 171°22′53″E
Type	Military Airfield
Site information
Controlled by	United States Navy
Condition	abandoned
Site history
Built	1942
Built by	Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service/Seabees
In use	1942-72
Materials	Coral

History

World War II

Majuro Airfield was originally established by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service in 1942. The island was captured on 31 January 1944 during Battle of Kwajalein by the V Amphibious Corps' Marine Reconnaissance Company and the 2nd Battalion, 106th Infantry Regiment who found it to be unoccupied. The 100th Naval Construction Battalion began to improve the airfield creating a coral-surfaced 5,800 feet (1,800 m) by 445 feet (136 m) runway covering most of Delap Island. By mid-March the airfield was in limited operation and by 15 April the airfield, taxiways, aprons, housing, shops, and piers were fully operational. The Seabees also constructed roads and causeways linking Delap to the adjacent islands. The carrier replacement plane pool was subsequently located at Majuro and a new 4,000 feet (1,200 m) by 175 feet (53 m) runway was built on Uliga Island and a two-lane causeway connecting Uliga and Delap was constructed. An 800 feet (240 m) by 150 feet (46 m) apron was cleared and paved adjacent to the main runway to facilitate transport operations.^[3]

Fourth Marine Air Wing headquarters and Marine Air Group 13 (MAG-13) relocated to Majuro Atoll in mid-March 1944. Units stationed at Majuro included VF-39 operating the F6F Hellcat, VMF-155 and VMF-224 operating F4Us and VMSB-231 operating SBDs.

B-25s of the 41st Bombardment Group operating out of Bairiki (Mullinix) Airfield, Tarawa, staged through Majuro for bombing raids on Maloelap, Wotje Mili Atoll and Jaluit during March and April 1944.

Vought F4U-1A/D Corsair fighters warming up at Majuro

Postwar

The airfield was reduced to inactive status on 1 January 1947 and disestablished on 1 June 1947.^[4]

In the postwar period the airfield continued to serve as the airport for Majuro, however by the mid-1960s the runway surface was deteriorating and it was becoming unsuitable for use by modern aircraft, so it was decided to relocate the airport to its current location west of Rairok and to utilize the area on Delap for industrial, commercial and residential development.^[5] Marshall Islands International Airport opened in 1972 and Majuro Airfield ceased operation.

References

1. "Marshall Islands -- Building the Navy's Bases -- Majuro Naval Base". marshall.csu.edu.au.
2. Majuro Atollpacificwrecks.com
3. Building the Navy's Bases in World War II History of the Bureau of Yards and Docks and the Civil Engineer Corps 1940-1946. US Government Printing Office. 1947. pp. 318–320. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
4. Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons - Volume 2. Naval Historical Center. p. 762. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
5. "Non-traditional settlement patterns and typhoon hazard on contemporary Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands". Digital Micronesia. Retrieved 2 June 2013.