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Location
Located on the western portion of Roi Island, the western portion of Roi-Namur Island, spanning the length of the island. Also known as Ro-Namur Airfield.
Construction
Built by the Japanese around three intersecting runways: Runway A (running roughly north-east to south-west), Runway B (running roughly north-west to south-east) and Runway C (running roughly east to west). An apron and limited taxiways were located at the base parallel to the runways. Two hangers were constructed on the eastern side of the runways. Defended by light and heavy anti-aircraft gun batteries around the entire airfield.
American Missions Against Roi
December 21, 1943 - February 1, 1944
Battlefield
Occupied by the Americans after eight hours of fighting on February 2, 1944. All the war related wreckage was bulldozed onto the reef, including the remains of damaged Japanese aircraft captured on the airfield.
American Usage
The airfield was quickly repaired for American use, only the Runway A (4,400' x 260' as of December 1944) and Runway C (3,550' x 200' as of December 1944) were maintained during the American usage.
Naming Honor
Renamed Dyess Field in 1944, in honor of Lt. Col Aquilla James Dyess who was killed in action on February 2, 1944 on northern Namur Island, and earned the medal of honor for his actions in the battle.
American based at Roi-Namur
VMF-311 (F4U) 1944
Today
Used by the Americans since the war. Today, it is known as Dyess AAF. It is off limits to visitors as it is used by the US military as
a radar station and tracking center. The present day runway in use is in roughly the same location as the Japanese built Runway A.
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Last Updated
October 1, 2009
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