Kukum Field
| Kukum Field | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Pacific Theater of World War II | |
| Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands | |
Aerial view of Kukum Field
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| Coordinates | 09°25′34″S 160°00′39″E / 9.42611°S 160.01083°ECoordinates: 09°25′34″S 160°00′39″E / 9.42611°S 160.01083°E |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by |
USAAF Royal New Zealand Air Force |
| Condition | abandoned |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1942-3 |
| Built by | Seebees/Marine Aviation Engineers |
| In use | 1943-69 |
| Materials | Coral |
Kukum Field also known as Fighter 2 Airfield is a former World War II airfield on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands.
From the beginning of the Guadalcanal Campaign it was planned that the area would be developed into a major air base. In November 1942 the 6th Naval Construction Battalion began work on a fighter strip at Lunga Point, the 6th Battalion was later replaced by the First Marine Aviation Engineers who completed the coral-surfaced runway by 1 January 1943. In June–July 1943 the 46th and 61st Battalions built a second coral-surfaced 4,000 feet (1,200 m) by 150 feet (46 m) runway with 75 feet (23 m) shoulders, coral taxiways 80 feet (24 m) wide, and 121 hardstands. The 26th Battalion built a tank farm providing storage for 2,000,000 US gallons (7,600,000 l; 1,700,000 imp gal) of aviation gasoline, 1,000,000 US gallons (3,800,000 l; 830,000 imp gal) of motor gasoline, and 42,000 US gallons (160,000 l; 35,000 imp gal) of diesel oil.
USAAF units based at Kukum included:
USMC units based at Kukum included:
Royal New Zealand Air Force units based at Kukum included:
Kukum Field remained operational after the war as a civilian airfield until 1969 when Henderson Field was modernized and reopened as Honiara International Airport. The airfield is now part of the Honiara Golf Course.
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.
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