Yap International Airport is an airport on Colonia, the main

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

of the State of Yap in the

Federated States of Micronesia The Federated States of Micronesia (, abbreviated FSM), or simply Micronesia, is an island country in Micronesia, a region of Oceania. The federation encompasses the majority of the Caroline Islands (excluding Palau) and consists of four Admin ...

. The airport is serviced by

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...

from Guam.

Pacific Missionary Aviation Edmund J. Kalau (9 July 1928 – 8 January 2014) was a German aviator, missionary, and pastor. He was a member of the Hitler Youth during his childhood prior to his conversion to Christianity. As an adult, Kalau served as a missionary in Micrones ...

makes periodic trips to the outer island airfields of

Ulithi Atoll Ulithi (, , or ; pronounced roughly as YOU-li-thee) is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about east of Yap, within Yap State. Name The name of the island goes back to Proto-Chuukic ''*úlú-diwo''. Overview U ...

and

Fais Island Fais Island is a raised coral island in the eastern Caroline Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district in Yap State in the Federated States of Micronesia. Fais Island is located approximately east of Ulithi and northeast o ...

. Woleai airfield is currently closed for repairs.

History

Yap International Airport was completed on the island of Waqaab (Yap) and opened in 1988 and currently serves as the only operational airport on the island of Colonia. The former (Old) Yap Airport was originally built by 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 ...

WWII 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 ...

as Yap Airfield, being completed in May 1944. On April 1, 1944,

US 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 ...

aircraft from

Task Force 58 The Fast Carrier Task Force (TF 38 when assigned to Third Fleet, TF 58 when assigned to Fifth Fleet) was a group of ships in World War II. It was the main striking force of the United States Navy in the Pacific War from January 1944 through th ...

sighted Colonia and bombed it. This raid was conducted at the same as air raids were being conducted on the Palau Islands. There were however no aircraft based yet as the 26th Air Flotilla were to based at Colonia after it was completed. In May, there still were no aircraft based. On May 3, the IJN issued Combined Fleet Operations Order No.76, effectively calling for the 265 Kokutai (Air Group), which mainly had Model 21 Zeros and 523 Kokutai with D4Ys to rebase themselves at Yap before the last ten days of May. As part of this, 261 and 263 Kokutai as well as the Kokutai 321 which had night fighters would designate Yap as a dispersal base for them. On May 16, the 202nd and 503rd Kokutai were rebased at Yap. Towards the end of May, half of the Judys from the 523rd were ordered to Colonia. US Navy Task Group 58

A few days after an air raid on the Marinas from US Navy aircraft on the 11th of June, they attacked Colonia. As part of 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 ...

, aircraft from Colonia conducted strikes against the US Carriers. On the 17th, an airstrike of 31 Zeros, 17 Judys and 2 P1Y Frances aircraft were sent to attack ships at the Charan Kanoa area. They damaged LST-84 and despite 44 FM-2 Wildcats in the air, they scored a bomb hit on the escort carrier, USS Fanshaw Bay CVE-70, causing serious damage and killing several onboard. Yap was repeatedly attacked from April 1 on until August 10, 1944 when it was deemed neutralized. After August 2, the remaining 8 usable aircraft were sent to

Palau Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands ...

. Units of the

IJNAS The (IJNAS) was the air arm of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). The organization was responsible for the operation of naval aircraft and the conduct of aerial warfare in the Pacific War. The Japanese military acquired its first aircraft in ...

based at Yap included the: * 202 Kokutai – A6M Zero (Late May 1944 – July 1944) – Disbanded * 261 Kokutai – A6M Zero (Late May 1944 – July 1944) – Disbanded * 265 Kokutai – A6M Zero (Mid June 1944 – July 1944) – Disbanded * 523 Kokutai – D4Y Judy (Late May 1944 – July 1944) – Disbanded * 201 Kokutai Buntai S306 (Formed from the survivors of the 263 and 343 Kokutai) July 16, 1944 – August 2, 1944 – Disbanded

Airlines and destinations

In addition to the listed air services, Asia Pacific Airlines transports cargo (including U.S. mail) to and from Yap from Palau and to Guam, respectively.

References

External links

Yap Visitors Center: Land of Stone Money
*AirNav.com: FAA information fo
PTYA
{{authority control Airports in the Federated States of Micronesia Airports established in 1944

Airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

International airports in the Federated States of Micronesia