Guiuan Airfield

Guiuan Airfield
Part of Fifth Air Force
Guiuan, Eastern Samar
Aerial view of Guiuan Airfield, Samar, Philippines
Guiuan Airfield
Coordinates	11°0′2.2″N 125°10′0″E / 11.000611°N 125.16667°E / 11.000611; 125.16667
Type	Military airfield
Site information
Controlled by	United States Army Air Forces
Site history
Built	1945
In use	1945

Guiuan Airfield is a World War II airfield located near Guiuan in the province of Eastern Samar, Samar, Philippines. It was closed after the war.

History

The airfield was built by the United States Navy Seebees, 42nd Battalion in January 1945. A single runway made of crushed coral was constructed running ENE to WSW. The runway was 1.5 miles long. Minor repair facilities were available at the airfield. It was used for the duration of the war by Army Air force and Navy aircraft. MAG fighters, B-24s of the 22d Bombardment Group (January 20 – March 12, 1945), and a few PB4Ys were stationed at the airfield.

Today, the runway of the wartime airfield is known as Guiuan Airport, but it is infrequently used.

See also

• USAAF in the Southwest Pacific

The runway was built by the 61st Naval Construction and actually two side by side runways were built through the jungle and were built of coral. The strip was used by corsairs of the marines stationed there as well as the 22nd and 5th bomb groups of the Army Air Force. On one day the two strips hosted the most airplanes of any base in the Pacific. On that day over a thousand Navy Airplanes landed at the base. It was the main carrier force of the Navy as a Typhoon was coming and the carriers got rid of their aircraft. The Navy planes were parked among the B-24s and C-47s. The crews were put into the four-man tents during the Typhoon with half a dozen Navy Airmen sleeping with the Air force crews.

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of 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.
• www.pacificwrecks.com

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