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Tinian Naval Advanced Base was a major
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
sea and air base on
Tinian Tinian () is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). Together with uninhabited neighboring Aguiguan, it forms Tinian Municipality, one of the four constituent municipalities of the Northern ...
Island, part of the
Northern Mariana Islands The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territory and Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States consistin ...
on the east side of the
Philippine Sea The Philippine Sea is a List of seas#Marginal seas by ocean, marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean, Western Pacific Ocean east of the list of islands of the Philippines, Philippine Archipelago (hence the name) and the List of seas#Largest seas ...
in the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, 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 ...
. The base was built 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 ...
to support
bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles. There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strateg ...
s and
patrol aircraft A maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), also known as a patrol aircraft, maritime reconnaissance aircraft, maritime surveillance aircraft, or by the older American term patrol bomber, is a fixed-wing aircraft designed to operate for long durations over ...
in the
Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...
. The main port was built at the city and port of San Jose, also called Tinian Harbor. All construction was carried out by the Navy's
Seabee 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 ...
s 6th Naval Construction Brigade, including the main two airfields:
West Field Helm Field also called Lemoore Auxiliary Army Airfield A-7 is a former US Army Airfield use for training during World War II. Helm Field was location in the town of Coalinga, California, 70 miles south of Fresno. Helm Field had two 3,000 foot run ...
and
North Field North Field can refer to: *North Field (Tinian) on Tinian from which the aircraft were launched to drop the atomic bombs on Japan during World War II *North Field (Iwo Jima) or Iwo Jima Air Base, a World War II airfield on Iwo Jima in the Bonin Isl ...
, serving 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 ...
's long-range
Boeing B-29 Superfortress The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is a retired American four-engined 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 its predecessor, the Bo ...
bombers. The Navy disestablished the Tinian Naval Advanced Base on 1 December 1946.


Background

Tinian, the third of the three largest islands of 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 ...
, is located south of
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 ...
across the 3-mile-wide
Saipan Channel The Saipan Channel is a narrow strait which separates the south coast of Saipan from the north coast of Tinian in the Northern Mariana Islands The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), is ...
. Tinian, north to south, is 12 miles long and east to west 6 miles wide. It has mostly flat terrain, perfect for
runway In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...
s. Along with the other Mariana Islands, Tinian was claimed for Spain by
Ferdinand Magellan Ferdinand Magellan ( – 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese explorer best known for having planned and led the 1519–22 Spanish expedition to the East Indies. During this expedition, he also discovered the Strait of Magellan, allowing his fl ...
in 1521. Guam was seized by the United States in the
Spanish-American War Spanish Americans (, ''hispanoestadounidenses'', or ''hispanonorteamericanos'') are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from Spain. They are the longest-established European American group in the modern United States, with a ...
, and Spain sold the remaining islands to Germany. They were occupied by Japan during
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 became part of Japan's
South Seas Mandate The South Seas Mandate, officially the Mandate for the German Possessions in the Pacific Ocean Lying North of the Equator, was a League of Nations mandate in the " South Seas" given to the Empire of Japan by the League of Nations following W ...
. Japan developed Tinian into a large sugar plantation with a sugar refining plant, and built three small runways on the island. The civilian population was about 18,000 in 1941.
Operation Forager The Mariana and Palau Islands campaign, also known as Campaign Plan Granite II, was an offensive launched by the United States against Imperial Japanese forces in the Pacific between June and November 1944 during the Pacific War. The campaig ...
involved the conquest of the Mariana Islands. It was intended that they would be developed into a major naval base for the surface ships and submarines of the Pacific Fleet, as a staging and training area for ground troops, and as a base from which long-range
Boeing B-29 Superfortress The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is a retired American four-engined 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 its predecessor, the Bo ...
bombers could attack Japan. American forces landed on Tinian on 24 July 1944, and the island was declared secured on 1 August, although there were still many Japanese soldiers holding out in the caves on the southern end of the island. At the time of the landing, there were three Japanese airfields on the island: two in the north, one with a
runway In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...
long and the other long, and one in the west with a runway. There was also a small, incomplete airstrip in the center of the island.


Construction


Early works

Responsibility for construction on Tinian was assigned to the 6th Naval Construction Brigade, under the command of
Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
Paul J. Halloran Paul James Halloran (26 June 1896 – 14 February 1971) was a United States Navy admiral. During World War II he was the construction officer with the V Amphibious Corps in the Battle of Saipan and Battle of Tinian during the Mariana Islands ca ...
. His staff, along with that of the
US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary 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 the United Stat ...
's 64th Engineer Topographic Battalion, drew up plans for the development of Tinian at
Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...
in the months leading up to Operation Forager. These called first for the rehabilitation of the Japanese airstrips in the north and west, then for them to be lengthened to in length so bombers could operate from them, and ultimately for their extension to for the B-29s. For this work, Halloran had the 29th and 30th Naval Construction Regiments. The former, under Commander Marvin Y. Neely, initially consisted of the 18th, 92nd and 107th Naval Construction Battalions, and the 1036th Naval Construction battalion Detachment; the latter, under Commander Jonathan P. Falconer, the 67th, 110th and 121st Naval Construction Battalions. A third regiment, the 49th Naval Construction Regiment, was formed on 2 March 1945 from the 9th, 38th, 110th and 112th Naval Construction Battalions, under Commander Thomas H. Jones. Elements of the 18th and 121st Naval Construction Battalions landed on Tinian with the assault troops on 24 July, with the remainder arriving on 27 July. That day, the 121st commenced the rehabilitation of the airstrip in the north, filling in the bomb and shell craters. By that evening, an airstrip long and wide was ready for use, and it was fully restored to its full length the next day. On 29 July, a P-47 landed and took off again. The 9th Troop Carrier Squadron was brought forward from
Eniwetok Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; , , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with its 296 people (as of 2021) forms a legi ...
, and its
Douglas C-47 Skytrain The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II. During the war the C-47 was used for tro ...
s, together with the
Curtiss C-46 Commando The Curtiss C-46 Commando is a low-wing, twin-engine aircraft derived from the Curtiss CW-20 pressurized high-altitude airliner design. Early press reports used the name "Condor III" but the Commando name was in use by early 1942 in company p ...
s of
VMR-252 Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 252 (VMGR-252) is a United States Marine Corps Lockheed Martin KC-130, KC-130J squadron. They are a part of Marine Aircraft Group 14 (MAG-14), 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (2nd MAW) and provide both fixed-w ...
, delivered 33,000 rations from Saipan on 31 July. On the return trip they carried wounded to hospitals on Saipan. A third battalion, the 67th Naval Construction Battalion, arrived on 2 August. With the island declared secure, the seabees were released from the control of the
V Amphibious Corps The V Amphibious Corps (VAC) was a formation of the United States Marine Corps which was composed of the 3rd, 4th and 5th Marine Divisions in World War II. The three divisions were the amphibious landing force for the United States Fifth Fl ...
to the 6th Naval Construction Brigade, which became operational on 3 August. Additional naval construction battalions arrived over the following weeks and months: the 92nd from Saipan in August and September; the 107th from Kwajalein on 12 September; the 110th from
Eniwetok Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; , , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with its 296 people (as of 2021) forms a legi ...
in September and October; the 13th and 135th on 24 October; the 50th on 19 November, the 9th on 1 December, and the 38th and 112th on 28 December. The Seabees completed and extended the second Japanese airstrip in the north, which became North Field Strip No. 3 in September. They then rehabilitated the severely damaged airstrip in the west as a airstrip for fighter planes. Navy patrol planes commenced operations from the two North Field airstrips, but work to upgrade them to handle the B-29s could not be carried out while they were in use. A new runway was built in the west, which became known as West Field Strip No. 3. The airstrip was completed on 15 November. In addition to the runway, there were of
taxiway A taxiway is a path for aircraft at an airport connecting runways with Airport apron, aprons, hangars, Airport terminal, terminals and other facilities. They mostly have a hard surface such as Asphalt concrete, asphalt or concrete, although sma ...
s, 70
hardstand A hardstand (also hard standing and hardstanding in British English) is a paved or hard-surfaced area on which vehicles, such as cars or aircraft, may be parked. The term may also be used informally to refer to an area of compacted hard surface su ...
s, 345
Quonset hut A Quonset hut is a lightweight prefabricated structure of corrugated galvanized steel with a semi-circular cross-section. The design was developed in the United States based on the Nissen hut introduced by the British during World War I. Hund ...
s, 33 repair and maintenance buildings, 7
magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...
s and a tall
control tower Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled a ...
.


Airfields

Responsibility for the development of North Field was assigned to the 30th Naval Construction Regiment. Falconer divided the work into phases, and designated a battalion as the "lead" on each phase, with overall responsibility for the work in the phase, and the other battalions acting as subcontractors. The first phase, the extension of North Field Strip No. 1 to , along with the construction of the necessary taxiways, hardstands and
apron An apron is a garment worn over other clothing to cover the front of the body to protect from liquids. They have several purposes, most commonly as a functional accessory that protects clothes and skin from stains and marks. However, other typ ...
s, was assigned to the 121st Naval Construction Battalion. The work was completed nine days ahead of schedule, and the first B-29 landed on the completed airstrip on 22 December. The next phase was the extension of North Field Strip No. 3 to . This work was undertaken by the 67th Naval Construction Battalion as the lead battalion, and was completed on a day ahead of schedule on 14 January 1945. The 13th Naval Construction Battalion became the lead on the third phase, the construction of North Field Strip No. 2, between and parallel to the other two runways. The final runway, parallel to the other three, was assigned to the 135th Naval Construction Battalion and was completed on 5 May 1945, five days ahead of schedule. All four strips were widened to . The task would have been easier if the plateau had been wider. As it was, the wide plateau required large amounts of fill. Another complicating factor was the decision to have the B-29 taxi under their own power instead of being towed reduced the maximum taxiway grade from to percent, and required another of earth to be removed. When work was completed on 5 May 1945, North Field had four parallel runways, apart, with of taxiways, 265 hardstands, 173 Quonset huts and 92 other buildings. All runways and taxiways were paved with of
asphalt concrete Asphalt concrete (commonly called asphalt, blacktop, or pavement in North America, and Tarmacadam, tarmac or bitumen macadam in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland) is a composite material commonly used to surface road surface, roads ...
over a
base course The base course or basecourse in pavements is a layer of material in an asphalt roadway, race track, riding arena, or sporting field. It is located under the surface layer consisting of the '' wearing course'' and sometimes an extra ''binder cour ...
of at least of rolled
coral Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important Coral ...
on a
subbase In topology, a subbase (or subbasis, prebase, prebasis) for the topology of a topological space is a subcollection B of \tau that generates \tau, in the sense that \tau is the smallest topology containing B as open sets. A slightly different de ...
of pure coral. Its construction involved of excavations and of fill. The 49th Naval Construction Regiment was assigned responsibility for the construction of the West Field airstrips. This new regiment began activities under a temporary title on 1 January 1945 before it was formally activated on 2 March. Work on West Field commenced on 1 February. Two parallel airstrips were developed, apart, each long and wide. The two runways, of taxiways, 220 hardstands and 251 administration, maintenance and repair buildings. Work on West Field Strip No. 2 was completed on 2 April and West Field Strip No. 1 followed on 20 April. The 9th Naval Construction Battalion detached from the 49th Naval Construction Regiment on 25 May under orders to move to
Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...
, and departed on 19 June, followed by the 112th, which was detached on 5 July and embarked three days later. The 49th Naval Construction Regiment was then absorbed by the 29th Naval Construction Regiment.


Fuel

Initially, fuel had to be supplied in drums. Later,
aviation gasoline Avgas (aviation gasoline, also known as aviation spirit in the UK) is an aviation fuel used in aircraft with spark-ignited internal combustion engines. ''Avgas'' is distinguished from conventional gasoline (petrol) used in motor vehicles, wh ...
was drawn from a barge known as YOGL anchored in Tinian Harbor. Tank farm construction commenced in September 1944 and on 3 November it became the responsibility of the 29th Naval Construction Regiment, with the 18th Naval Construction battalion as the lead battalion. The fuel storage and distribution system was completed by 8 March 1945. This included storage tanks for of
diesel oil Diesel fuel, also called diesel oil, heavy oil (historically) or simply diesel, is any liquid fuel specifically designed for use in a diesel engine, a type of internal combustion engine in which fuel ignition takes place without a spark as a re ...
, of
motor gasoline Gasoline (North American English) or petrol (Commonwealth English) is a petrochemical product characterized as a transparent, yellowish, and flammable liquid normally used as a fuel for spark-ignited internal combustion engines. When formulate ...
and of
aviation gasoline Avgas (aviation gasoline, also known as aviation spirit in the UK) is an aviation fuel used in aircraft with spark-ignited internal combustion engines. ''Avgas'' is distinguished from conventional gasoline (petrol) used in motor vehicles, wh ...
. Fuel was pumped over a submarine pipeline from an
oil tanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk cargo, bulk transport of petroleum, oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quant ...
moored north of Tinian Harbor and distributed over of pipeline. Two dispensing points were provide at West Field and four at North Field.


Harbor

Until work on the harbor was completed in March 1945, nearly cargo was brought ashore by landing craft mechanized (LCM) and
landing craft tank The Landing Craft, Tank (LCT) (or tank landing craft, TLC) was an amphibious assault craft for landing tanks on beachheads. They were initially developed by the Royal Navy and later by the United States Navy during World War II in a series of ver ...
(LCT). Cargo handling was supervised by the Army port superintendent, Major Gordon E. Soruton. Tinian Harbor became operational on 2 August 1944, with the 1036th Naval Construction Battalion Detachment, a two-
company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...
unit, unloading vessels into LCTs in the stream, which were unloaded on the beaches by Army and Marine work parties. The half-strength 27th Naval Construction Battalion (Special) arrived on Tinian on 19 November 1944, and the 1036th Naval Construction Battalion Detachment took over on the beach while unloading in the stream was handled by the two companies of the 27th Naval Construction Battalion (Special) and the Army's 510th Port Battalion. The first three companies of its five companies arrived in November 1944. The beach work parties were relieved, and henceforth the three stevedore units handled all cargo. The 1036th Naval Construction Battalion Detachment was absorbed by the 27th Naval Construction Battalion (Special) on 20 January 1945. Early works on the harbor were carried out by the 50th and 92nd Naval Construction Battalions, which drove of
piling A pile or piling is a vertical structural element of a deep foundation, driven or drilled deep into the ground at the building site. A deep foundation is a type of foundation that transfers building loads to the earth farther down from th ...
that eventually formed part of the south bulkhead, and by the 107th Naval Construction battalion, which built a ramp from the shore to the reef. In November 1944, the 50th Naval Construction Battalion commenced a major project to build permanent harbor facilities that could berth up to eight
Liberty ship Liberty ships were a ship class, class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Although British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost cons ...
s at a time. The new harbor consisted of a south bulkhead, a quay wall, and two piers parallel to the cargo ship bulkhead and connected to it by an causeway. A breakwater was built upon the existing reef consisting of 120 circular sheet piling cells that were in diameter and filled with coral. The task of dredging a deep channel and deep berths was undertaken by the 31st Naval Construction Battalion, which was part of
Service Squadron A Service Squadron (ServRon) was a United States Navy squadron that supported fleet combat ships and US Navy Auxiliary ships. Service Squadrons were used by the US Navy from their inception in 1943 to as late as the early 1980s. At the time of t ...
12. Dredging was completed on 20 January 1945, and the harbor works were completed on 6 March.


Other facilities

The Japanese roads on the island were too narrow for heavy construction vehicles, had inadequate drainage, and lacked
shoulder The human shoulder is made up of three bones: the clavicle (collarbone), the scapula (shoulder blade), and the humerus (upper arm bone) as well as associated muscles, ligaments and tendons. The articulations between the bones of the shoulder m ...
s. They were resurfaced with of pit coral, and drainage and shoulders were added. Due to the shape of the island and the grid layout of its roads bearing a resemblance to those of
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
, the streets were named after those of New York City. The Japanese town of Sunharon became known as the Village because its location corresponded to that of
Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...
, and the open area between North and West Fields became known as
Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...
. Another of new roads were built, with roadways and shoulders. Accommodation was constructed for 12,000 Seabees, 13,000 other navy personnel, and 21,500 Army personnel. A 100-bed tent hospital was erected in September 1944. The 600-bed Navy Base Hospital 19 opened in December. It was subsequently upgraded to a 1,000-bed hospital. The Army's 600-bed 374th Station Hospital opened in March 1945, and the 1,000-bed 48th Station Hospital hospital in June on the camp site of the 135th Naval Construction Battalion after it moved to Okinawa. In August, the 4,000-bed 821st Hospital Center on the South Plateau was under nearing completion. The 18th Naval Construction Battalion handled construction of the Marine Corps's 7th Field Depot, which was subsequently converted to a quartermaster depot for the Army garrison. When complete, it consisted of three camp sites with of warehouse storage, of open air storage and of refrigerated storage. The naval supply depot had of warehouse storage. Construction of an ammunition storage dump commenced in September 1944. On completion in February 1945, it had 254 revetments with coral surfaces and of roads. Work on a bomb dump with 468 revetments commenced in January 1945, and was completed by the middle of the year. To support
Operation Starvation Operation Starvation was a naval mining operation conducted in World War II by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) to disrupt Japanese shipping. Operation The mission was initiated at the insistence of Admiral Chester Nimitz who wanted ...
, the aerial mining campaign against Japan, an aerial mining depot was built with Quonset hut magazines surrounded by revetments. Tinian's porous coral soil provides good drainage, so there are no rivers or creeks on the island, and only one small fresh-water lake, Hagoi (whose name means "lake" in the
Chamorro language Chamorro (, ; orthern Mariana Islandsor
uam UAM or Uam may refer to: Universities *Arturo Michelena University (''Universidad Arturo Michelena''), Valencia, Venezuela *Autonomous University of Madrid (''Universidad Autonóma de Madrid''), Spain *Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Mexico ...
) is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language spoken by about 58,000 people, numbering about 25,800 on Guam and about 32,200 in the Northern Mariana Islands and elsewhere. It is the h ...
). However, the annual rainfall is more than , so the Japanese developed a system of wells and reservoirs.This was rehabilitated by the Seabees, who sunk 17 new wells. Initially water was rationed to per man per day, but eventually a water supply system was developed with a capacity of per day, and water rationing was no longer required.


Operations

US Navy Patrol Wings used PB4Y-1, PB4Y-2, P4M-1 and PV-1 aircraft to patrol from Tinian airfields. Fleet Air Wing Eighteen, a Navy
Patrol Wing A Patrol Wing (PatWing) was a United States Navy aviation unit with the commander of a Patrol Wing known as the Commodore, the ComPatWing or COMPATWING. From 1 November 1942 to 30 June 1973 Patrol Wings were designated "Fleet Air Wings". On 26 ...
moved its headquarters to Tinian on 25 May 1945. Bombing Squadron 102 (VB-2) began patrols from Tinian on 2 August 1944, Patrol Bombing Squadron 111 (VPB-111) on 1 December, Patrol Bombing Squadron 108 (VPB-108) on 4 April 1945, Patrol Bombing Squadron 123 (VPB-123) on 25 May, and Patrol Squadron 1 (VP-1) on 21 June. North Field became operational in February 1945 and West Field the following month. The 313th Bombardment Wing arrived from the United States in December 1944 and was based at North Field. The 58th Bombardment Wing arrived from the China-Burma-India Theater in March 1945 and was based at West Field. Thus, two of the five bombardment wings of 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 ...
were based on Tinian. A third formation, the
509th Composite Group The 509th Composite Group (509 CG) was a unit of the United States Army Air Forces created during World War II and tasked with the operational deployment of nuclear weapons. It conducted the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in ...
, arrived in May 1945 and moved to the Columbia University district, south of 125th Street and adjacent to Riverside Drive, near the strips and hardstands of North Field, and took over the area that had been specially constructed for it. These formations participated in the campaign of
air raids on Japan During the Pacific War, Allies of World War II, Allied forces conducted air raids on Japan from 1942 to 1945, causing extensive destruction to the country's cities and killing between 241,000 and 900,000 people. During the first years of the Pa ...
, including the bombing of Tokyo on 10 March 1945, and the
atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki On 6 and 9 August 1945, the United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively, during World War II. The aerial bombings killed between 150,000 and 246,000 people, most of whom were civili ...
on 6 and 9 August 1945. Altogether, 29,000 missions were flown by Tinian-based aircraft, and of bombs were dropped. A series of
Japanese air attacks on the Mariana Islands During World War II, a series of Japanese air attacks on the Mariana Islands took place between November 1944 and January 1945. These raids targeted United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) bases and sought to disrupt the bombing of Japan by Boeing ...
were mounted between November 1944 and February 1945 destroyed 11 B-29s, caused major damage to 8 and minor damage to another 35. American casualties were 45 dead and over 200 wounded. USAAF fighters and anti-aircraft guns downed about 37 Japanese aircraft during these raids.


Camp Churo

Camp Churo was an
internment Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...
camp for Tinian civilians founded by the
4th Marine Division The 4th Marine Division is a reserve division in the United States Marine Corps. It was raised in 1943 for service during World War II, and subsequently fought in the Pacific against the Japanese. Deactivated after the war, the division was re ...
on the site of the ruined village of Churo. It was chosen as a permanent camp site, and all the civilians on Tinian were subsequently concentrated there. On 16 August 1945, there were 11,465 internees in Camp Churo. Major General James L. Underhill was appointed Island Commander on 1 August 1944. Nine days later, all forces on Tinian were transferred to his command. He was succeeded by Brigadier General Frederick V. H. Kimble on 28 November 1944. The military government was unprepared to cater for the large number of civilians, and there were critical shortages of relief supplies of all kinds. Seabees supervised the erection of tarpaulin shelters. These were gradually replaced by huts made from corrugated iron and timber salvaged from around the island. The internees also salvaged food supplies, and cultivated gardens. When firewood started to become scarce, Seabees made them improvised diesel stoves. Some of the first camp administrators were Japanese language experts, including one who was born in Japan, so they were familiar with the internees' language and customs. The administrators responsible for public safety, education and labor had their offices inside the camp, and so were approachable. The administrators met with each other at weekly staff meetings, ate their meals together in the common
mess hall The mess (also called a mess deck aboard ships) is a designated area where military personnel socialize, eat and (in some cases) live. The term is also used to indicate the groups of military personnel who belong to separate messes, such as the o ...
, and socialized at the officers' club, where African-American sailors waited on them. There were separate Japanese and Korean camps within the camp. The Japanese camp was further divided into nine , each with about 1,000 residents, and the Korean one into three , each of about 800 residents. Initially they were run by officials appointed by the administration but on 26 July 1945, elections were held. Voter turnout was high: 87 percent of the Japanese and 91 percent of the Koreans voted. Ten officials were elected to the council by the camp Japanese camp at large, and then one was elected (mayor) and the others became . This mirrored the organization of a typical Japanese village. Within each there were 15 or huts called that were subdivided into ten dwellings. Each hut housed about 80 people, and there was a leader called a . The were gradually supplemented by other dwellings but the organization remained. Japanese were paid $5 a month by the residents; the Koreans paid theirs $3 to $5 depending on the size of the hut. Houses were constructed from whatever materials the residents could salvage, mostly
corrugated iron Corrugated galvanised iron (CGI) or steel, colloquially corrugated iron (near universal), wriggly tin (taken from UK military slang), pailing (in Caribbean English), corrugated sheet metal (in North America), zinc (in Cyprus and Nigeria) or ...
and timber from
dunnage Dunnage is inexpensive or waste material used to load and secure cargo during transportation; more loosely, it refers to miscellaneous baggage, brought along during travel. The term can also refer to low-priority cargo used to fill out transport ...
. Camp residents were given two meals a day, with the offer to work for pay and extra food. Pay for skilled male workers was 50 cents per eight-hour day; unskilled workers got 35 cents, and women and children 25 cents. Rice and beans were staples, supplemented with canned meat, and fresh fish and vegetables. The ration included two staples of the Japanese diet,
miso is a traditional Japanese seasoning. It is a thick paste produced by fermenting soybeans with salt and kōji (the fungus ''Aspergillus oryzae''), and sometimes rice, barley, seaweed, or other ingredients. It is used for sauces and spreads; p ...
and shoyu. The miso was made from U.S. Navy beans in the camp miso factory and distributed to the kitchens (). Yeast ( was obtained from Japanese stocks found in caves. Boilers to make the shoyu were salvaged from the Tinian sugar mill. Meals were cooked in the ; no cooking was permitted in the huts for fear of a fire. The camp had crops and gardens growing fresh produce. Fish was caught during the April through September fishing season, but had to be eaten straight away, because the camp had no facilities for storing it. The water supply came from Lake Hagoi. Cisterns that had been used as
pillbox Pillbox may refer to: * Pill organizer, a container for medicine * Pillbox hat, a woman's hat with a flat crown, straight upright sides, and no brim * Pillbox (military) A pillbox is a type of blockhouse, or concrete dug-in guard-post, often ...
es were refurbished and had a capacity of . A school for the children was opened on 1 November 1944 by two graduates of the Navy language school at the University of Colorado in Boulder. Eighteen experienced Japanese teachers were found to revise and write texts, but were not permitted to teach. Buildings were provided by the military government administration. Attendance was voluntary. Schooling was provided in eight grades, six days per week and nine months per year. The curriculum included English, but not Japanese. The school had a library, but all the books were in English. Boy and Girl Scout organizations were established. The education section of the military government operated a movie theater in the school auditorium some evenings that showed
United States Office of War Information The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was a United States government agency created during World War II. The OWI operated from June 1942 until September 1945. Through radio broadcasts, newspapers, posters, photographs, films and other ...
(OWI) films, and occasionally feature films. It was attended by 5,000 to 8,000 people. As they were in English, a translator had to explain to the audience what was going on. A market place was established, with barber shops, a Korean shoe repair shop and Japanese handicraft shops. Prices were fixed by the military government. They could not sell goods to military personnel directly, but could sell to a
post exchange An exchange is a type of retail store found on United States military installations worldwide. Once similar to trading posts, today they resemble modern department stores or strip malls. The terminology varies by armed service; some examples includ ...
(PX). The Navy also operated the 100-bed Naval Military Government Hospital No. 204 in the camp; 8 officers and 96 enlisted personnel were assigned to it. In late 1945, Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, the Commander-in-Chief,
Pacific Ocean Areas Pacific Ocean Areas (POA) was a major Allied military command in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II. It was one of four major Allied commands during the Pacific War and one of three United States commands in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater. ...
(CINCPOA), ordered the repatriation of all Japanese and Korean civilians. This was completed by late 1946, and Camp Churo was closed.


Post World War II

In 1947 Tinian was transferred from the U.S. Navy to the
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) was a United Nations trust territory in Micronesia administered by the United States from 1947 to 1994. The Imperial Japanese South Seas Mandate had been seized by the U.S. during the Pacifi ...
, a territory controlled by the United States. In 1962, Tinian was transferred to the administration of Saipan as a sub-district. In 1978, it became a municipality in the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), is an unincorporated territory and commonwealth of the United States consisting of 14 islands in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.Lin, Tom C.W.Amer ...
. West Field became part of Tinian International Airport. North Field was abandoned and fell into disrepair. Part became the
National Historic Landmark District A National Historic Landmark District (NHLD) is a geographical area that has received recognition from the United States Government that the buildings, landscapes, cultural features and archaeological resources within it are of the highest signific ...
. The two bomb pits used to load the
Little Boy Little Boy was a type of atomic bomb created by the Manhattan Project during World War II. The name is also often used to describe the specific bomb (L-11) used in the bombing of the Japanese city of Hiroshima by the Boeing B-29 Superfortress ...
and
Fat Man "Fat Man" (also known as Mark III) was the design of the nuclear weapon the United States used for seven of the first eight nuclear weapons ever detonated in history. It is also the most powerful design to ever be used in warfare. A Fat Man ...
bombs are enclosed with glazed panels. The Navy disestablished the naval advanced base on Tinian on 1 December 1946, but the United States military remained on the island. A fifty-year, lease agreement was signed in 1983, under which the land became the Military Lease Area (MLA). The agreement gave the
U.S. Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, t ...
the option of extending the lease by another fifty years. The U.S. Navy used most of the land area for training exercises at Camp Tinian, a small mostly mobile camp. As part of the lease in the 1980s, one runway at North Field was reactivated so
U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its origins to 1 ...
Lockheed C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 w ...
transports could support of
U.S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...
training exercises. In 2023, concerns that U.S. air bases in Japan and Guam would be vulnerable to cruise and
ballistic missile A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are powered only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) typic ...
s if the U.S. was drawn into a conflict with China led to Tinian being reactivated as an alternative base. The National Defense Authorization Act included $26 million for airfield development, $20 million for fuel tanks, $32 million for parking aprons, $46 million for cargo pad and taxiway extension and $4.7 million for a maintenance and support facility on Tinian in 2024. The U.S. Air Force's
Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineer (RED HORSE) squadrons are the United States Air Force's heavy-construction units. Their combat engineering capabilities are similar to those of the U.S. Navy Seabees and ...
(RED HORSE) began clearing the overgrown old runways and access roads, and on 11 April 2024, it was announced that
Fluor Corporation Fluor Corporation is an American engineering and construction firm, headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is a holding company that provides services through its subsidiaries in three main areas: oil and gas, industrial and infrastructure, government ...
had been awarded a $409 million contract to rebuild the airbase at North Field.


Historical markers

*American Memorial Park, Tinian, contains memorials to US Servicemen and Chamorro and Carolinian civilians who were killed in the
Battle of Saipan The Battle of Saipan was an amphibious assault launched by the United States against the Empire of Japan during the Pacific War, Pacific campaign of World War II between 15 June and 9 July 1944. The initial invasion triggered the Battle of the ...
,
Battle of Tinian The Battle of Tinian was part of the Pacific War, Pacific campaign of World War II. It was fought between the United States and Japan on the island of Tinian in the Mariana Islands from 24 July until 1 August 1944. The battle saw napalm used f ...
, and the
Battle of the Philippine Sea The Battle of the Philippine Sea was a major naval battle of World War II on 19–20 June 1944 that eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions. It took place during the United States' amphibious r ...
in 1944. *The 107th Seabees Monument, a SeaBee Memorial, is on Tinian at 8th Avenue and 86th street, the site of the Seabees camp. *At
Grand Island, Nebraska Grand Island is a city in and the county seat of Hall County, Nebraska, Hall County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 53,131 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Nebraska, 4th most populous ...
, there is a Tinian Island Historical marker. Grand Island is where the
6th Bombardment Group 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'' ...
trained before being deployed to Tinian in December 1944. Historical marker is titled: ''B-29 Superfortress / 6th Bomb Group / Tinian Island'' at at the
Central Nebraska Regional Airport Central Nebraska Regional Airport is three miles northeast of Grand Island, in Hall County, Nebraska. It is owned by the Hall County Airport Authority. The airport sees two airlines, Allegiant Air which flies independently and American Eagle ...
. *At North Field there is the "Marker "No. 1 Bomb Loading Pit" where the ''
Little Boy Little Boy was a type of atomic bomb created by the Manhattan Project during World War II. The name is also often used to describe the specific bomb (L-11) used in the bombing of the Japanese city of Hiroshima by the Boeing B-29 Superfortress ...
'' was loaded into the B-29 Superfortress ''
Enola Gay The ''Enola Gay'' () is a Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber, named after Enola Gay Tibbets, the mother of the pilot, Colonel (United States), Colonel Paul Tibbets. On 6 August 1945, during the final stages of World War II, it became the Atomi ...
'' at . *At North Field there is the Marker "No. 2 Bomb Loading Pit" where the ''
Fat Man "Fat Man" (also known as Mark III) was the design of the nuclear weapon the United States used for seven of the first eight nuclear weapons ever detonated in history. It is also the most powerful design to ever be used in warfare. A Fat Man ...
'' was loaded into B-29 Superfortress ''
Bockscar ''Bockscar'', sometimes called ''Bock's Car'', is the United States Army Air Forces Boeing B-29 Superfortress, B-29 bomber that dropped the Fat Man, Fat Man nuclear weapon over the Japanese city of Nagasaki during World War II in the secondand ...
'' at *The 313th Bombardment Wing has a marker is at the
United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academies, United States service academy in Air Force Academy, Colorado, Air Force Academy Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs. I ...
in Colorado. *The Ushi Point Cross and Memorial is at . *Suicide Cliff in Tinian is the spot where hundreds of Japanese citizens and troops jumped to their death, rather than surrender in 1944, due to Japanese propaganda and brainwashing. Many Japanese residents on Tinian, men, women and children jumped to the coastal rocks and waves below at .


See also

*
XXI Bomber Command The XXI Bomber Command was a unit of the Twentieth Air Force in the Mariana Islands for strategic bombing during World War II. The command was established at Smoky Hill Army Air Field, Kansas on 1 March 1944. After a period of organization and ...
*
US Naval Advance Bases US Naval Advance Bases were built globally by the United States Navy during World War 2, World War II to support and project U.S. naval operations worldwide. A few were built on Allies of World War II, Allied soil, but most were captured enemy fa ...
*
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 ...


Notes


References

* * * * * * * * * * *


External links


Tinian North Field National Historic Landmark
Virtual tour. * {{Authority control Airfields of the United States Navy Military installations closed in the 1940s Closed installations of the United States Navy
Tinian Naval Base Tinian Naval Advanced Base was a major United States Navy sea and air base on Tinian Island, part of the Northern Mariana Islands on the east side of the Philippine Sea in the Pacific Ocean. The base was built during World War II to support bombe ...
Islands of the Northern Mariana Islands People associated with the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki