Peleliu Airfield

Peleliu Airfield
Part of Seventh Air Force
Coordinates	06°59′54.44″N 134°13′57.98″E
Type	Military Airfield
Site information
Controlled by	United States Army Air Forces
Site history
Built	1944
In use	1944-1945

Peleliu Airfield is a former World War II airfield on Peleliu in the island nation of Palau in the Central Pacific. Today, the airfield is still in operation for light aircraft only.

History

Peleliu Airfield was built by the Japanese in 1944 with a pair of intersecting runways. During the Battle of Peleliu on 15 September 1944, 6,000 Japanese defended the island when the 1st Marine Division assaulted landing on the southwest corner of the island, just to the west of the airfield. On D+1, the 5th Marines moved to capture the airfield and push toward the eastern shore. They quickly raced across the airfield under heavy artillery fire from the highlands to the north, suffering heavy casualties in the process. After capturing the airfield, they rapidly advanced to the eastern end of Peleliu, leaving the island's southern defenders to be wiped out by the 7th Marines. This area was hotly contested by the Japanese, who still occupied numerous pillboxes. Temperatures remained around 115°F (46°C), and the Marines soon suffered high casualties from heat exhaustion. Further complicating their situation, the Marines' only available water supply was contaminated with oil. Still, by D+8 the 5th and 7th Marines accomplished their objectives, holding the airfield and the southern portion of the island.

Having quickly captured the airfield, the U.S. Forces put it to use as early as D+3. The "Grasshoppers" (VMO-1) soon began aerial spotting missions for Marine artillery and Naval gunfire. On September 26 (D+11), the Corsairs of the VMF-114 landed on the airstrip. The Corsairs began dive-bombing missions across Peleliu, and also brought two more useful weapons to the fight against Japanese fortifications. Corsairs fired rockets, to blow open cave entrances for the infantrymen, and also delivered napalm attacks—only the second time the weapon had been used in the Pacific. The napalm proved useful, burning away vegetation hiding spider holes, and killing their occupants.

After liberation, the airfield was quickly repaired it became an American airbase. In December 1944, the two runways measured 6,000' x 300' and 3,900' x 260'. A PBY that took off from Peleliu in August 3, 1945 was the first to locate survivors of the USS Indianapolis a week after it was sunk.

The USAAF Seventh Air Force moved the F-5 (P-38 Lightning)-equipped 28th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron to Peleliu from Kwajalein on 5 Oct 1944 to carry out long-range photographic missions over the Philippines. The recon squadron remained until Apr 1945 when it moved west to Okinawa.

With the end of the war, Pelilu and its airfiled were abandoned by the Americans. Today the vegetation on the island, which was largely destroyed by the battle, has regrown and has replaced the scars of war. If there weren't the occasional pillbox, rusting tank or war memorial to remind you, you could almost forget the island's violent past. Heavily defended by the Japanese, there are still tanks, amtracs, a Zero, canteens, helmets, etc. scattered in the jungle from the war. The airfield still exists, and has limited use with the SW-NE runway still useable, but for light aircraft only.

See also

• USAAF in the Central Pacific

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

• Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0892010924.
• www.pacificwrecks.com