Munda Airfield
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Munda International Airport is an international airport adjacent to the town of Munda,
Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: *Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provinc ...
in
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...
. Originally built by Japanese forces during
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 ...
and further developed by the U. S. Naval Construction Battalions 24 and 73 following its capture. After the war, the airfield became a commercial airport for regional flights. In 2015, a New Zealand government aid and development project significantly upgraded the field to an international airpor

The upgrade included the removal of a large amount of
unexploded ordnance Unexploded ordnance (UXO, sometimes abbreviated as UO) and unexploded bombs (UXBs) are explosive weapons (bombs, shell (projectile), shells, grenades, land mines, naval mines, cluster munition, and other Ammunition, munitions) that did not e ...
left behind by vacating Japanese and US forces. Although there were no international flights scheduled by 2019, the main economic purpose of the upgrade is to serve as an alternate field for international flights to
Honiara International Airport : Honiara International Airport , formerly known as Henderson Field, is an airport in the province of Guadalcanal in the nation of Solomon Islands. It is the primary international airport in the country, the second being Munda Airport in Wester ...
, significantly reducing the fuel load and improving the economics of the flight. For example, prior to the Munda upgrade, a flight from Brisbane to Honiara had to carry sufficient fuel to return to Brisbane because that was the nearest viable alternate. In 2023, a new international terminal building was opened.


Airlines and destinations


World War II

The Munda Point airfield was first built in World War II by Japanese forces. A Japanese directive in late October 1942 called for an air base to be built at Munda Point, about northwest of
Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomons by area and the second- ...
and Henderson Field. Construction began in mid-November with a great emphasis on keeping the
forward airfield Advance airfield and forward airfield are military terms for a relatively primitive ad-hoc airfield used for refueling and re-arming air units as part of forward operations near the enemy. Also called advanced airfield for its advanced position, n ...
secret. The majority of the airfield work was done before clearing the main runway and surfacing it with crushed coral. By wiring the tops of palm trees to keep them in place, allowing work to initially escape detection. Finally the trunks were cut away, and runway completed. Despite these efforts, reports of the strip were relayed to Guadalcanal via a Solomon Island
coastwatcher The Coastwatchers, also known as the Coast Watch Organisation, Combined Field Intelligence Service or Section C, Allied Intelligence Bureau, were Allied military intelligence operatives stationed on remote Pacific islands during World War II ...
resident in Munda, Danny Kennedy, who notified the British Solomon Island Defence Force in Honiara by radio. Subsequent aerial reconnaissance spotted increased barge traffic and evidence of crushed coral being prepared at the strip, but the Japanese succeeded in buying enough time to complete a single by all weather runway for fighters operational on 17 December 1942. Opened on 1 December 1942, it was used by the Japanese Navy and Japanese Army Air Force as a forward operating base. As soon as it was operational, the airfield was hampered by the observation of Australian, New Zealand and Solomon Islander coastwatchers in the area, including Kennedy and D.C. Horton who was observing the airfield from Rendova. It was heavily bombed from the air by the Allies prior to the American landing. Munda airfield, also known as Munda or Munda Point Airfield, was the principal objective of the New Georgia campaign. Following the Allied
Landings on Rendova The Landings on Rendova were amphibious military assaults by United States Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps and United States Navy, Navy forces on Rendova Island in the Solomon Islands on 30 June 1943. The small Japanese garrison wa ...
on 30 June 1943, the Drive on Munda Point during July and the Japanese New Georgia counterattack in Mid-July, Munda airfield was captured by the US Army XIV Corps forces after fierce fighting in the jungle area. The high ground around the airfield was captured on August 5, 1943. Once seized,
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 ...
from the 47th and 63rd Naval Construction Battalions improved and expanded the airbase for U.S. operations. The first American aircraft landed at Munda on August 14, 1943 with landings by
F4U Corsair The Vought F4U Corsair is an American fighter aircraft that saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Designed and initially manufactured by Chance Vought, the Corsair was soon in great demand; additional production contracts ...
s piloted by Robert Owen of VMF-215, a 44th Fighter Squadron (44th FS)
P-40 Warhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter-bomber that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry ...
and a
J2F Duck The Grumman J2F Duck (company designation G-15) is an American single-Reciprocating engine, engine amphibious aircraft, amphibious biplane. It was used by each major branch of the United States Armed Forces, U.S. armed forces from the mid-1930s u ...
with Marine Brigadier General Francis P. Mulcahy aboard. Known American air units stationed at Munda Airfield were: * United States Navy : VC-24 operating SBDs : VC-40 operating TBFs :
VF-33 Fighter Squadron 33 (VF-33) was an aviation unit of the United States Navy. Originally established on 11 October 1948 it was disestablished on 1 October 1993. It was the second U.S. Navy squadron to be designated VF-33. VF-33 History Korean War ...
operating F6Fs : VF-38 operating F6Fs : CASU 14 (
Carrier Aircraft Service Unit US Navy K-class blimp Carrier Aircraft Service Units (CASU) were United States Navy units formed during World War II for the Pacific War to support naval aircraft operations. From 1942 to 1946, 69 Carrier Aircraft Service Units were formed to ...
) : VB-98 operating SBDs : VB-148 operating PV-1s : VB-140 operating PV-1s * United States Army Air Forces : 5th Bombardment Group, 4 February-7 April 1944 :
307th Bombardment Group 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...
, 28 January-29 April 1944 * United States Marine Corps : ComAir New Georgia : VMSB-236 operating SBDs :
VMF-124 Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 124 (VMFA-124) was a flying squadron in the Marine Forces Reserve based out of Naval Air Station Memphis flying the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. They were part of Marine Aircraft Group 42 and were decommissioned on 19 Jun ...
operating F4Us :
VMF-213 Marine Fighting Squadron 213 (VMF-213) was a reserve fighter squadron in the United States Marine Corps. Nicknamed the "Hell Hawks", the squadron fought during World War II in the Philippines and at the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. With i ...
operating F4Us :
VMF-214 Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 214 (VMFA-214) is a United States Marine Corps fighter attack squadron that currently flies the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II. The squadron's home field is Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona, and it is a ...
operating F4Us : VMF-215 operating F4Us :
VMF-221 Marine Fighting Squadron 221 (VMF-221) was a Marine Forces Reserve, reserve fighter squadron of the United States Marine Corps. Originally commissioned during the World War II, it flew the Brewster F2A-3, and after reconstitution in 1943, the F ...
operating F4Us : MABS-1 :
VMSB-142 Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 142 (VMFA-142) was an aviation unit of the United States Marine Corps Reserve that was active from 1942 to 2008. At the time of its inactivation, the squadron was based at Naval Air Station Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. ...
operating SBDs : VMTB-232 operating TBFs : VMSB-341 operating SBDs : VMTB-143 operating TBFs


See also

* Ondonga Airfield * USAAF in the South Pacific


References

* Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. . * ;Specific


External links


Solomon Airlines Routes
{{authority control Airports in the Solomon Islands Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in the Pacific Ocean theatre of World War II