Location
Located in the northern portion of Tinian.
Construction
Built by the Japanese,
it was known as Ushi Point Airfield.
Japanese Usage
Heavily
damaged in the pre-invasion bombardment.
American Usage
After the Marine
landing,
Seabees began repairing the strip, even before the fighting had ended. After 45 days and nights of continuous work, a field
was made ready 11 days ahead of schedule. In that time
the construction of the three 6000' runways involved
the moving of nearly 1,000,000 cu. yds of earth and
coral while 900,000 truck miles were absorbed. A
fourth runway was constructed in May 1945. Hardstands
for 265 B-29 bombers were made as well. The four parallel 8,000 foot runways are oriented
nearly east-west.
Probably one of the most historically
important airfields in the Pacific. This field was the base
for
B-29 Superfortress raids on Japan. Bombers from
Tinian flew 1,500 mile round trip flights to Japan and
back.
Today
Disused since the war, the
crushed coral runways are grayish and weathered-looking,
but very derivable (only some weedy growth
crawling out
onto
it here and there). B-29's still existed
at the field after the war but were melted for scrapped
in 1950. These
runways are still visible today.
The field is abandoned and overgrown, and easily accessible
a few miles traveling north of "San Jose" on "Broadway".
Other than the runways, nothing seemed to be left
of the old facilities. No buildings were to be seen.
The forest
had grown right up to the edges of the runways and
taxiways.
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