Yonabaru Airfield
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Infobox military structure
|name=Yonabaru Airfield
|partof =
|location=Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, Japan
|coordinates={{Coord|26|12|26.33|N|127|45|46.41|E}}
|image=Yonabaru airfield.jpg
|image_size=300px
|caption=Aerial view of Yonabaru airfield, Okinawa
|type=Military Airfield
|code=
|built=May–June 1945
|builder=Seebees
|materials=Coral
|height=
|used= 1945-47
|demolished=
|condition=
|ownership=
|controlledby=United States Navy
|garrison=
|commanders=
|occupants=
|battles=
|events=
}}
Yonabaru Airfield or NAB Yonabaru is a former World War II airfield on the Pacific coast of Okinawa. The base was disestablished on 30 June 1947.
History
=World War II=
Yonabaru Airfield was originally established by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force. The airfield was captured on 15 May 1945 during Battle of Okinawa. The 145th Naval Construction Battalion (Seebees) began to improve the airfield for service as a patrol/bomber airstrip in June once the fighting had moved further south. On 15 August 1945 the base with its {{convert|6500|ft}} runway was ready for use by US Navy aircraft.{{Cite book|title=Building the Navy's Bases in World War II History of the Bureau of Yards and Docks and the Civil Engineer Corps 1940-1946| publisher=US Government Printing Office|year=1947|url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/b/building-the-navys-bases.html|page=410}}{{PD-notice}}
VPB-124 operating PB-4Ys was based at Yonabaru from 10 August until 12 December 1945.
The base was severely damaged by Typhoon Louise on 9 October 1945.
=Postwar=
On 27 February 1957, the Deputy Governor announced that the Yonabaru airfield site would be used as a Marine helicopter installation.{{cite web|url=https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1955-57v23p1/d207 |title=Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955–1957 Volume XXIII, Part 1, Japan, Document 207|publisher=US Department of State Office of the Historian|date=15 August 1957|access-date=30 May 2013}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.rememberingokinawa.com/page/1945_yonabaru_nas Photos of the base in 1945-6]
Category:Airfields of the United States Navy