- Abemama Atoll Airport
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Abemama Atoll Airport IATA: AEA – ICAO: NGTB Summary Airport type Public Serves Abemama Location Tabiang Elevation AMSL 8 ft / 2 m Coordinates 0°29′27″N 173°49′43″E / 0.49083°N 173.82861°E Runways Direction Length Surface ft m 4,081 1,244 Abemama Atoll Airport (IATA: AEA, ICAO: NGTB), often abbreviated Abemama Airport, is the airport serving Abemama, Kiribati. It is located on the north of the atoll, 200 meters northeast of the village of Tabiang.
The airport is served by Air Kiribati from the international airport at South Tarawa on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, a one way ticket costs A$45.00.
Contents
History
Abemama Airport was originally built in late 1943 by the United States Navy Seabees for the United States Army Air Forces. Seventh Air Force assigned the 30th Bombardment Group to the airfield in early January 1944, basing four squadrons of B-24 Liberator heavy bombers on the base. From Abemama, the USAAF attacked Japanese targets in the Marshall Islands in preparation for the Battle of Kwajalein Atoll (29 January-3 February 1944) and the Battle of Eniwetok (17–21 February 1944). For the United States, these battles represented both the next step in its island-hopping march to Japan, and a victory significant for morale, because it was the first time the United States penetrated the "outer ring" of the Japanese Pacific defensive sphere.
In March 1944, the USAAF combat units moved west into the Marshalls, and Abemama became a transport hub for the 9th Troop Carrier Squadron until August. In addition to the Army units, some Naval aviation units used the airfield in 1944. With the movement of the Allied forces west towards Japan, the airfield on Abemama Atoll was abandoned by the Americans, and after the war, was developed into a commercial airport.
Airlines and destinations
Airlines Destinations Air Kiribati Tarawa Coral Sun Airways Maiana[1], Tarawa See also
- USAAF in the Central Pacific
Notes
- ^ Only way back; way there is via Tarawa.
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
External links
Previously: Hawaiian Air Force (1940-1942)Airfields Hawaii Okinawa Ie Shima · YontanPacific USAAF in the Central Pacific · USAAF in the Southwest Pacific
Units Commands VII Bomber · VII FighterWings 7th FighterGroups Bombardment 5th Bombardment · 11th Bombardment · 30th Bombardment · 41st Bombardment · 307th Bombardment · 494th BombardmentFighter Troop Carrier 419th Troop CarrierSquadrons Reconnaissance 28th Reconnaissance · 41st Reconnaissance · 43d ReconnaissanceTransport Night Fighter Categories:- Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in the Pacific Ocean theatre of World War II
- Airports in Kiribati
- Oceanian airport stubs
- Kiribati geography stubs
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