Turtle Bay Airfield or Fighter Field #1 is a former

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

airfield on the island of

Espiritu Santo Espiritu Santo (, ; ) is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of and a population of around 40,000 according to the 2009 census. Geography The island belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region ...

in the New Hebrides Islands at the Espiritu Santo Naval Base.

History

World War II

F6F-3 Hellcats of VF-40 at Espiritu Santo 1944

TBF-1C 30 Sqn RNZAF on Espiritu Santo 1944

The first bases on

were established by the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

as defensive bases to guard the existing facility at

Efate Efate (french: Éfaté) is an island in the Pacific Ocean which is part of the Shefa Province in Vanuatu. It is also known as Île Vate. Geography It is the most populous (approx. 66,000) island in Vanuatu. Efate's land area of makes it Vanu ...

and to support the

Solomon Islands Campaign The Solomon Islands campaign was a major campaign of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign began with Japanese landings and occupation of several areas in the British Solomon Islands and Bougainville, in the Territory of New Guinea, ...

, however its strategic location led to its expansion into one of the largest advance bases in the South Pacific. A group of Seebees from the 3rd Construction Battalion detachment ( 1st Naval Construction Battalion) with an anti-aircraft battery from the

4th Defense Battalion The 4th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion (4th AAA Bn) was a United States Marine Corps antiaircraft unit that served during World War II. Formed in 1940 as the 4th Defense Battalion, its original mission was providing air and coastal defense ...

and a company of

colored ''Colored'' (or ''coloured'') is a racial descriptor historically used in the United States during the Jim Crow Era to refer to an African American. In many places, it may be considered a slur, though it has taken on a special meaning in South ...

infantrymen arrived on Santo on 8 July 1942 to begin work on Turtle Bay airfield to bomb the airfield the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

were building on

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the se ...

. The Seebees were given twenty days in which to construct the airfield, assisted by 295 infantrymen, 90 Marines and 50 natives. Working around the clock, a runway was cleared and surfaced with

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secre ...

within the time given. On 28 July the first fighter squadron came in and was followed the next day by B-17s of the 26th Bombardment Squadron. The planes were fueled from drums and carried out their first attack on Japanese forces on Guadalcanal on 30 July. USAAF units based at Turtle Bay included: *26th Bombardment Squadron with B-17s July–August 1942. US Navy and USMC units based at Turtle Bay included: *

Marine Aircraft Group 11 Marine Aircraft Group 11 is a United States Marine Corps aviation unit based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar that is currently composed of two F-35C squadrons, one F-35B squadron, two F/A-18C squadrons, one fleet replacement squadron, one KC- ...

(MAG-11) **

VMO-251 Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 251 (VMFA-251) was a United States Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet squadron. Known as the "Thunderbolts", the squadron was deactivated on 23 April 2020. If current plans hold, the squadron is to be re-activated by 2025 as ...

with F4Fs August–November 1942 ** VS-3 with

SBDs Ribosome maturation protein SBDS is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''SBDS'' gene. An alternative transcript has been described, but its biological nature has not been determined. This gene has a closely linked pseudogene that is distal ...

September–November 1942 ** VMF-213 with F4Us 8 June 1943 ** VMF-214 with F4Us 7 December 1943 **

VMF-115 Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 115 (VMFA-115) is a United States Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet squadron. Officially nicknamed the "Silver Eagles" and on occasion ''Joe's Jokers'' after their first commanding officer Major Joe Foss, the squadron is b ...

with F4Us 13 June 1944 **

VMF-121 Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 (VMFA-121), also known as the "Green Knights", is a United States Marine Corps aircraft squadron operating the F-35B Lightning II. The squadron is based at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan and falls under ...

with F4Us *

MAG-14 Marine Aircraft Group 14 (MAG-14) is a United States Marine Corps aviation unit based at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina that is currently composed of four AV-8B Harrier squadrons, one F-35C squadron, one UAV squadron, ...

VMF-212 Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 212 (VMFA-212) was a United States Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet squadron. Most recently known as the "Lancers", the squadron was last based at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan and fell under the command of Mar ...

MAG-33 Marine Aviation and Training Support Group 33 (MATSG-33) is a United States Marine Corps aviation training group that was originally established during World War II as Marine Aircraft Group 33 (MAG-33). Fighter squadrons from MAG-33 fought m ...

*RNZAF 3O Squadron On 26 October 1944 PBJ-1D #35152 of VMB-611 crash-landed at Turtle Bay, the plane was written off

Postwar

Fighter One was disestablished on 2 January 1945. NOB Espiritu Santo disestablished on 12 June 1946. The airfield is largely overgrown with vegetation.

References

{{Commons category, Turtle Bay Airfield Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in the Pacific Ocean theatre of World War II Airports in Vanuatu Espiritu Santo Airfields of the United States Navy 1942 establishments in the New Hebrides 1945 disestablishments in Oceania Military installations closed in 1945 Closed installations of the United States Navy

History

World War II

Postwar

See also

References