Bucholz Army Airfield
| Bucholz Army Airfield | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Military | ||||||||||
| Operator | United States Army | ||||||||||
| Location | Kwajalein | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 9 ft / 3 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 08°43′12″N 167°43′54″E / 8.72000°N 167.73167°E | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
 KWA
KWA
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Bucholz Army Airfield (IATA: KWA, ICAO: PKWA, FAA LID: KWA) is a United States Army airfield located on Kwajalein Island, Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands. Its position is ideal for refueling during trans-Pacific flights, and the airport is available to civilians through Air Marshall Islands and United Airlines.
Since the entire Kwajalein Island is a military base, non-military passengers on commercial flights are transported to and from the neighboring island of Ebeye, the civilian population center of Kwajalein Atoll.
Bucholz Army Airfield was initially built by the Japanese in 1943 as part of a large naval base. It came under heavy air attacks in late 1943 to neutralize the island. The atoll was assaulted by American forces on 31 January 1944. Employing the hard-learned lessons of the Battle of Tarawa, the United States launched a successful twin assault on the main islands of Kwajalein in the south and Roi-Namur in the north. The Japanese defenders put up a stiff resistance though outnumbered and under-prepared. The determined Japanese defense left only 51 survivors of an original garrison of 3,500.
After the seizure from the Japanese, Kwajalein was developed into a major American base and staging area for further campaigns in the advance on the Japanese homeland. After repairing and expanding the Japanese airfield, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) moved Headquarters, Seventh Air Force from Nanumea to the airfield in April 1944, and moved the B-24 Liberator-equipped 11th Bombardment Group from Tarawa and 30th Bombardment Group from Abemama to Bucholz at the beginning of April. From Kwajalein, the heavy bombers struck at enemy targets in the Marshall Islands.
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