Yonabaru Airfield

Yonabaru Airfield
	Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, Japan
	Aerial view of Yonabaru airfield, Okinawa
Coordinates	26°12′26.33″N 127°45′46.41″E
Type	Military Airfield
Site information
Controlled by	United States Navy
Site history
Built	May–June 1945
Built by	Seebees
In use	1945-47
Materials	Coral

Yonabaru Airfield or NAB Yonabaru is a former World War II airfield on the Pacific coast of Okinawa. The base was disestablished on 30 June 1947.

History

World War II

Yonabaru Airfield was originally established by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force. The airfield was captured on 15 May 1945 during Battle of Okinawa. The 145th Naval Construction Battalion (Seebees) began to improve the airfield for service as a patrol/bomber airstrip in June once the fighting had moved further south. On 15 August 1945 the base with its 6,500 feet (2,000 m) runway was ready for use by US Navy aircraft.[1]

VPB-124 operating PB-4Ys was based at Yonabaru from 10 August until 12 December 1945.

The base was severely damaged by Typhoon Louise on 9 October 1945.

Location of Chimu Airfield

Postwar

On 27 February 1957, the Deputy Governor announced that the Yonabaru airfield site would be used as a Marine helicopter installation.[2]

References

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. p. 410. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
"Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955–1957 Volume XXIII, Part 1, Japan, Document 207". US Department of State Office of the Historian. 15 August 1957. Retrieved 30 May 2013.

External links

Photos of the base in 1945-6

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[1] 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. p. 410. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

[2] "Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955–1957 Volume XXIII, Part 1, Japan, Document 207". US Department of State Office of the Historian. 15 August 1957. Retrieved 30 May 2013.