819th Bombardment Squadron - B-24 Liberator

East Field (also known as Kagman Airfield) is a former

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

airfield on

Saipan Saipan () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated Territories of the United States, territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Cens ...

in the

Mariana Islands The Mariana Islands ( ; ), also simply the Marianas, are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, between the 12th and 21st pa ...

, part of

Naval Advance Base Saipan Naval Base Saipan or Naval Advance Base Saipan or Naval Air Base Saipan was a United States Navy Naval base built during World War II to support Pacific Ocean theater of World War II, Pacific Ocean theater of war and the many warships and troop ...

History

Saipan had been occupied by the Japanese since

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and by mid-1944, the Americans had advanced inside the Japanese ring of defense in the

Pacific Theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. By establishing air bases in the

, 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 ...

could establish bases to conduct long-range strategic offensive air operations over the Japanese Home Islands with the new

B-29 Superfortress The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is a retired American four-engined Propeller (aeronautics), propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to ...

, which, during early 1944, was operating ineffectively from bases in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. Bringing the superfortresses into the Central Pacific and stationing them in the Marianas would bring Japan within the range of the B-29, as well as provide the

Twentieth Air Force The Twentieth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) (20th AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming. 20 AF's primary mission is Intercon ...

with reliable means of support from the western ports of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The landings on Saipan began at 07:00 on June 15, 1944, and more than 300 LVTs landed 8,000

United States Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expedi ...

on the west coast of the island. However the liberation of the island was a sad chapter of the tenacious fighting that lie ahead for the Allied forces, with the Japanese mounting a fanatical military defense and the fighting causing numerous civilian deaths. The island was the first objective of the 2nd and 4th Marine Divisions of the 5th Amphibious Corps. In addition to the Marine infantry units, the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

27th Infantry Division was in reserve and went ashore on the south of the island, under heavy Japanese fire. For the next three weeks, Japanese counterattacks and Banzai charges bloodied the US forces as they fought their way to the north. Many of the Japanese civilian population of the island committed mass suicide by jumping off cliffs at Marpi Point or committing suicide with hand grenades in caves. An estimated 22,000 civilians died in the battle. In addition, the Japanese commanders, Lt. General Saito and Navy Admiral Nagumo committed suicide in a cave. It took until July 9, 1944, until sustained combat ended and the island was declared officially secured by the US forces. Once the island was secure, the construction of American large airfields could proceed. By the end of 1944 East Field (also known as Kagman Point Airfield) was built by

Seabees United States Naval Construction Battalions, better known as the Navy Seabees, form the U.S. Naval Construction Forces (NCF). The Seabee nickname is a heterograph of the initial letters "CB" from the words "Construction Battalion". Dependi ...

of the 51st Naval Construction Battalion on the Kagman Peninsula at the eastern end of the island, north of Magicienne Bay (Laulau Bay). The airfield become the headquarters of the

Seventh Air Force The Seventh Air Force (Air Forces Korea) (7 AF) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Osan Air Base, South Korea. The command's mission is to plan and direct air component operations in ...

as well as its subordinate commands, VII Bomber and VII Fighter. This was the first time all of the major command units of the Seventh Air Force were consolidated into one location. The airfield's facilities included a single runway x running east to west (as of December 1944). An extensive taxiway and revetment area was located to the south of the airfield and north of the runway. Tower code was named 'Violet'. Operational units assigned to the station were initially

P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter, and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...

fighter squadrons of the 318th Fighter Group which moved in from

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

in early July to support ground combat units in the Marianas. Also, the

6th Night Fighter Squadron Alec Trevelyan is a fictional character who is the main antagonist in the 1995 James Bond film ''GoldenEye,'' portrayed by actor Sean Bean. Bean's likeness was also used as the model for Alec Trevelyan in the 1997 video game '' GoldenEye 007'' ...

operated

P-61 Black Widow The Northrop P-61 Black Widow is a twin-engine United States Army Air Forces fighter aircraft of World War II. It was the first operational U.S. warplane designed specifically as a night fighter. Named for the North American spider ''Latrodect ...

s to provide night fighter defense against Japanese night air attacks. Over the next few months, Seventh Air Force built up their forces on Saipan, assigning the following units to East Field: * 28th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, July 11, 1944 – May 1945 (F-4 (P-38 Lighting)) * 30th Bombardment Group, August 4, 1944 – February 1945 (B-24 Liberator) * 9th Troop Carrier Squadron, August 4, 1944 – July 1946 (C-47) * 548th Night Fighter Squadron, December 15, 1944 – January 28, 1945 (DET), January 26 – March 5, 1945 (P-61 Black Widow) * 41st Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, January 4 – April 15, 1946 (F-4 (P-38 Lighting)) * 549th Night Fighter Squadron, (Air Echelon), February 20, 1945 – March 20, 1945 (P-61 Black Widow) * 21st Fighter Group, December 4, 1945 – April 17, 1946 (P-51H Mustang) By mid-1946 most USAAF units were reassigned, and the military use of Kagman Point Airfield ended. It was used as an airport until the mid-1960s when it was closed. The land was then redeveloped with housing and a golf course built on the former World War II airfield. Kagman Field 25 April 1945

References

* Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. . * Rust, Kenn C. Twentieth Air Force Story in World War II. Temple City, California: Historical Aviation Album, 1979. .
www.pacificwrecks.com

External links

{{USAAF 7th Air Force World War II Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in the Pacific Ocean theatre of World War II Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces Air Transport Command in the Pacific Ocean Theater Airports established in 1944 Seabees

History

See also

References

External links