Central Field (Iwo Jima)
Central Field (Iwo Jima) Motoyama No. 1 Chidori Field |
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| Part of Twentieth Air Force | |
 Central Field, Iwo Jima, February 1945 |
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| Type | Military Airfield |
| Coordinates | 24°45′55″N 141°17′57″E / 24.76528°N 141.29917°E |
| Built | Prior to 1944 |
| In use | 1944–1955 |
| Controlled by | United States Army Air Forces |
Central Field was a World War II airfield on Iwo Jima in the Volcano Islands, located in the Central Pacific. The Volcano Islands are part of Japan. The airfield was located on the southern corner of Iwo Jima located on the Motoyama plateau, to the north of Mount Suribachi.
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[edit] History
Built by the Japanese, the base included three intersecting runways. On 2 January 1944, more than a dozen B-24 Liberator bombers raided Airfield No. 1 and inflicted heavy damage. Commander of the island, Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi diverted more than 600 men, 11 trucks, and 2 bulldozers for immediate repairs. As a result, the airfield again became operational after only twelve hours.[1] It was used by the Japanese until 19 February 1945 when the United States Marines landed on the island. It was during the fight to secure this airfield that Medal of Honor recipient Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone was killed by a Japanese mortar shell.
The airfield became a battlefield during the Battle of Iwo Jima. It was put into action by the Americans as the battle still raged. On 26 February 1945 the first American aircraft landed on the strip, an OY-1 Sentinel piloted by Lt. Harvey Olson of VMO-4. Later, on 4 March with the battle still raging a B-29 Superfortress named Dinah Might from the 9th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) landed, the first of 2,400 emergency landings by American aircraft at Central Field and North Field on Iwo Jima.[2] After the battle, Central Field was primarily a secondary airfield on the island, although the Twentieth Air Force 15th and 21st Fighter Groups used it for long-range B-29 fighter escort operations with P-51 Mustangs from March until November 1945.
After the war, the 20th Air Force fighter squadrons moved out to Japan, Okinawa or the Philippines and Central Field came under the Jurisdiction of Military Air Transport Service (MATS), becoming a refueling stop for MATS aircraft in the Western Pacific. It hosted various communications, weather as well as Far East Materiel Command units for supply and maintenance activities. It was under the command of the Iwo Jima Base Command, as a satellite of the 6000th Support Wing, Tachikawa Air Base, Japan. It was likely classified as a remote assignment for military personnel, as other than rudimentary medical and personnel living facilities, no family housing or other quality of life facilities were built to accommodate families for accompanied tours.
The USAF 6415th Air Base Squadron garrisoned the base until turning over the facility to the Japanese government on 30 September 1955.[3] Today most traces of the airfield have been removed, and natural vegetation has taken over the landscape. Possibly some small roads remain which are still in use.
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[edit] Notes
[edit] References
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.
- Bibliography
- Hammel, Eric (2006). Iwo Jima: Portrait of a Battle: United States Marines at War in the Pacific. St. Paul, Minn.: Zenith Press. ISBN 0760325200. OCLC 69104268.
- Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0892010924.
- Web
[edit] External links
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