Santo International Airport

Santo International Airport
IATA: SON ICAO: NVSS
Summary
Operator	Airports Vanuatu Limited
Location	Luganville, Vanuatu
Elevation AMSL	184 ft / 56 m
Coordinates	15°30′21″S 167°13′17″E
Map
SON Location of airport in Vanuatu
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 12/30 6,523 1,988 Asphalt
Sources: World Aero Data, Great Circle Mapper

Pekoa Airfield
Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides Islands
Coordinates	15°30′18.12″S 167°13′11.07″E
Type	Military Airfield
Site information
Controlled by	United States Army Air Forces United States Navy
Condition	abandoned
Site history
Built	1942
Built by	Seebees
In use	1942-5
Materials	Coral

Boeing B-17F 41-24457 (Aztec's Curse), 11th Bomb Group, 31st Bombardment Squadron from Pekoa Airfield, Espiritu Santo, flying over Rendova, Solomon Islands 5 October 1942 after a raid of Japanese-held positions on Gizo Island.

Santo International Airport is an airport in Luganville on Espiritu Santo in Vanuatu (IATA: SON, ICAO: NVSS). The airport used to be called Santo-Pekoa International airport until it was renamed in the Vanuatu AIPV amendment released on 16 June 2021. Airports Vanuatu Limited provides aviation services for the airport.

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
Air Vanuatu	Gaua, Longana, Maewo, Mota Lava, Norsup, Port Vila, Sara, Sola
Solomon Airlines	Honiara, Port Vila

History

World War II

The 7th Naval Construction Battalion arrived on Santo on 11 August 1942 to begin construction of more extensive Espiritu Santo Naval Base air facilities to support the Guadalcanal Campaign. After completing a second fighter airfield at Turtle Bay they began constructing two bomber fields, one at Palikulo Bay known as Bomber Field No. 1 and the other at Pekoa, known as Bomber Field No. 2. Working in cooperation with a company of the US Army 810th Engineer Aviation Battalion, the 7th CB cleared, graded, and surfaced a 5,000 feet (1,500 m) by 150 feet (46 m) coral runway on the site of a prewar plantation. The 15th CB arrived on Santo on 13 October 1942 and extended the runway to 7,000 feet (2,100 m) with pierced steel planking over a coral base, and built taxiways, revetments, and miscellaneous structures. The completed airfield was operational in December 1942 and was known as "Bomber Field No. 2" or "Pekoa Field".

The Thirteenth Air Force was based at Pekoa from 13 January 1943 until 20 January 1944 when it moved to Carney Airfield on Guadalcanal. Units assigned were:

• Headquarters, XIII Bomber Command, 13 January-20 August 1943
• Headquarters, XIII Fighter Command, 22 January–December 1943
• 5th Bombardment Group, 1 December 1942 – 19 August 1943
• 11th Bombardment Group, 22 July 1942 – 8 April 1943
• 18th Fighter Group, 11 March-17 April 1943
• 4th Reconnaissance Group, 23 January 1943 – 6 May 1944
• 403d Troop Carrier Group, 13 September 1943 – 30 August 1944

As the war moved further north, Pekoa Airfield was closed on 8 February 1945 and all traffic routed to Palikulo Bay Airfield.

Postwar

Luganville Airfield was used as a civilian airstrip until the early 1970s, however as it was on higher ground it was often clouded in and so it was decided to move all operations to the former Pekoa Airfield/Bomber Field No.2 which became Santo-Pekoa International Airport.

Of the four wartime airfields on Espiritu Santo: Turtle Bay Airfield, Palikulo Bay Airfield, Luganville Airfield and Pekoa; Pekoa is the only wartime airfield still in use.

See also

• Luganville Airfield
• Luganville Seaplane Base
• Palikulo Bay Airfield
• Turtle Bay Airfield
• USAAF in the South 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 0-89201-092-4.
• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556.

External links

• Airports Vanuatu Ltd.