North Field (Iwo Jima)

Central Field (Iwo Jima) Motoyama No. 2 Airfield No. 2
Part of Twentieth Air Force
P-51Ds of the 21st Fighter Group at Central Field Iwo Jima 1945, Note Mount Suribachi in the background.
Coordinates	24°47′05″N 141°19′27″E / 24.78472°N 141.32417°E / 24.78472; 141.32417
Type	Military airfield
Site information
Controlled by	United States Army Air Forces (1945–1953) Japan Self-Defense Forces (1953–present) (IATA: IWO, ICAO: RJAW)
Site history
Built	Prior to 1944
In use	1944–present

Iwo Jima Air Base Iwoto Field Iwoto Airport 硫黄島飛行場 Iōtō Hikōjō
IATA: IWO ICAO: RJAW
Summary
Airport type	Military
Owner	Ministry of Defense, Japan
Operator	JMSDF
Location	Iwo Jima, Ogasawara, Tokyo
Elevation AMSL	384 ft / 117 m
Coordinates	24°47′03″N 141°19′21″E / 24.78417°N 141.32250°E / 24.78417; 141.32250Coordinates: 24°47′03″N 141°19′21″E / 24.78417°N 141.32250°E / 24.78417; 141.32250
Map
Location in Japan
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 07/25 2,650 8,694 Asphalt
Source: Japanese AIP at AIS Japan

Central Field or Iwo Jima Air Base (IATA: IWO, ICAO: RJAW) is a World War II airfield on Iwo Jima in the Bonin Islands, located in the Central Pacific. The Bonin Islands are part of Japan.

Today, the base is the only airfield on the island, operated by the Japan Self-Defense Forces.

Located south and west of the midpoint between Tokyo and Saipan, the island of Iwo Jima was needed by the United States Army Air Forces Twentieth Air Force as an emergency landing facility for its B-29 Superfortress strategic bombing campaign against the Empire of Japan.

United States Marines landed on Iwo Jima February 19, 1945. The first day saw 2,400 American casualties. During the battle U.S. Marines, sailors and soldiers killed an estimated 20,000 Japanese and captured over 1,000 prisoners. On March 25 the Battle of Iwo Jima was declared over and the island secured, although mopping up continued until July. United States Army units, including the 147th Infantry also participated in the battle.

Central Field was one of three Japanese airfields built on Iwo Jima. Reconstruction and expansion work was held up by the protracted land battle, on 16 March it too was operational, with the east-northeast to west-southwest runway graded to 5,200-feet (1,585-meters) and the east-west runway to 4,800-feet (1,463-meters). A second runway parallel to the east-northeast to west-southwest runway was also built; both were built to accommodate B-29s. By 7 July 1945, the first B-29 runway had been paved to 8,500 feet (2,591-meters) and placed in operation. During the day, 102 B-29s, returning from a raid on Japan, landed on the field. Several sub-grade failures occurred in the construction because of ground water and soft spots in the sub-grade. In some places the paving sealed off steam which had been generated below the surface and when the steam condensed, the sub-grade became saturated. By 12 July, the B-29 runway had been completed and paved for a length of 9,800-by-200-feet (2,987-by-61-meters). The parallel runway was eventually lengthened to 9,400-feet (2,865-meters), both with a width of 200-feet (61-meters). The east-west runway built by the Japanese was developed into a fueling strip, 6,000-by-570-feet (1,829-by-174-meters), with 60 fueling outlets. For normal operations, this field could accommodate 120 P-51s and 30 B-24s and 20 B-29s.