Naval Base Funafuti

History

The United States Armed Forces started the construction of an airfield on Funafuti before the US entered the war. The US Army had some troops on Funafuti and refused the US Navy's request to have a Naval Base on the island in early 1942. The US Navy requested the base as Fongafale is midway between Hawaii and Australia, a key refueling and communications link. On October 2, 1942, the US Navy landed the United States Marine Corps 5th Defense Battalion and arrived with 11 naval ships, in "Operation Fetlock", which was a secret mission. However, on March 27, 1943, the Empire of Japan discovered the new base. Soon after the Marine Corps landing the US Navy started dredging Te Bua Bua Channel, so ships could anchorage in the island's lagoon. Ellice Islanders helped the building of the base, most spoke English, as they had learned it from the London Missionary Society delegation on the island. USS Terror (CM-5) laid naval mines to the passages the navy was not using to get to the lagoon. The port and base were needed for the planned attacks on the Gilbert Islands (Kiribati) that were occupied by Japanese forces. Funafuti is 700 miles (1,100 km) to the south-east of the Gilbert islands The lagoon offered fleet anchorage for up to 100 ships.

After Japan discovered the new base, they made ten air raids on the new base from Nauru on April 20, 1943, and Japan's Tarawa base on April 22. The 10 raids were from March to November 1943. In Japan's raid the Funafuti base, the US Navy's 90 mm antiaircraft guns were able to shoot down six bombers. By November 1942 the Navy completed a 5,000-foot (1,500-meter) hard-packed coral. runway. US Navy Seabee, 2nd Naval Construction Battalion, extended the runway to 6,600 feet (2,000 meters) in April 1943. VMF-441 a Marine Fighting Squadron, did missions with F4F Wildcat, operated from Funafuti from May to September 1943. The new runway was about to land Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers that bombed Japan's bases on the Gilberts Islands in 1944. The bomders were from the United States Army Air Forces VII Bomber Command.

On December 15, 1942, four VOS float planes (Vought OS2U Kingfisher) from VS-1-D14 arrived at Funafuti to carry out anti-submarine patrols.

In April 1943, a detachment of the 3rd Battalion constructed an aviation-gasoline tank farm on Fongafale`. Funafuti is 1,000 miles (1,600 km) east of the Solomon Islands and 1,200 miles (1,900 km) south of the Marshall Islands. The base was built on three of the nine island atolls of the Ellice islands: Funafuti, Nanomea and Nukufetau. Funafuti is about 13.5 miles (21.7 km) long and 10 miles (16 km) wide. At Funafuti that US Merchant Navy tankers transferred their fuel to US Navy fleet oilers, which transported the fuel into the combat zone to fuel warships. In the lagoon a small seaplane base and PT-boat bases were built.

PBY Catalina flying boats of US Navy Patrol Squadrons were stationed at Funafuti for short periods of time, including VP-34, which arrived at Funafuti on 18 August 1943 and VP-33, which arrived on September 26, 1943.

The Alabama (BB-60) reached Funafuti on 21 January 1944. The Alabama left the Ellice Islands on 25 January to participate in "Operation Flintlock" in the Marshall Islands.

Naval Base Funafuti supported "Operation Catchpole" in the Marshall Islands group during the Battle of Eniwetok from 17-23 February 1944. At Naval Base Funafuti US Merchant Navy tanker ships transferred fuel to US Navy fleet oilers. The fleet oilers would fuel warships ship closer to the combat zone.

By July 1944, the war had moved closer to Japan and much of the base was moved to more forward bases. After the war the airfield became a commercial airport, Funafuti International Airport.