Location
Located on the eastern edge of circular Nissan Island.
Construction
The wartime airfield known as "Green Island" was
actually built on Nissan.
Built by USN Sea Bees, there were two parallel runways: Ocean Airdrome and Lagoon Airdrome,
1,000 feet apart.
Wartime History
The airfield was
initally planned to provide land based fighter support
for attacks on Rabaul and Kavieng. Lagoon Airdrome was the fighter runway, on the outer side of the lagoon.
The first plane to land
on the fighter strip was a disabled F4U on March 3, 1944. A note to WWII pilots was: "Not to approach the island less than 1,000
feet when possible, as the atoll is difficult to locate
at low altitude."
US Units based at Green
93rd NCB (Seabees) Feb 15 - Oct 25, 1944
15th NCB (Seabees) Feb 22 - April 3, 1944
33rd NCB (Seabees) March 44 - July & Aug 1944
VMSB 341 (SBD) April - May 1944, July 1 - ?
VMB 223 May 7, 1944 - ?
VBM 433 June - August 20, 1944
VMF-218 (Oct - Dec 1944)
VFM-223 (F4U) March 1944
MB 423 (ground echelon) May 1944
VMB 423 (PBJ/B-25) mid 1944 - June 45 to Emirau
VMB 413 (PBJ/B-25) mid 1944
MAG 24/14
VPB 53 (PBY) ? - July 45 Samar
STAG-1 (TDR) Oct 44
NZ Units based at Green
18 Squadron (Nov 44 - Dec 44)
20 Squadroon (Nov 44 - ?)
14 Squadron (Dec 44 - Jan 45)
16 Squadon (Dec 44 - Feb 45)
17 Squadron (Jan 45 - March 45)
15 Squadron (Feb 45 - April 45)
24 Squadron (March 45 - May 45)
21 Squadron (April - May 45)
Drone Operations
US NAVY had a radio controlled aircraft operation
on the island, called STAG-1 (Special Task Air Group One)
flying TDN's dromes and then upgraded to TDR
Dromes. They flew missions on the following days:
October 5 - four drones against targets
in Rabaul
October 9 - VK-12 four attack causeway at Matupi (mission
failed)
October 15 - VK-11 four attack causeway at Matupi (mission
failed)
October 26 - four drones against Rabaul
Famous People On Green
From May 22 - June 10, 1944, Charles Lindbergh flew 13 combat mission,
escorting TBFs to Rabaul with a Marine F4U squadron
and strafing assigned ground targets while flying from
Green and Emirau islands. Bob
Hope preformed on the island on August 1-2, and Jack Benny
on August 15, 1944 for the troops.
In July 1945, the last troops leave
the island for Guiua, and everything left is destroyed,
and the island returned to Melanesian islanders.
Post War
After
the war a vast quantity of supplies were dumped
and thousands of drums of fuel were sold to locals for
US $0.13 a liter.
Today
This airfield is overgrown and disused since the war.
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