Talk:Saipan International Airport

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History

Latest comment: 12 years ago2 comments2 people in discussion

This is the history of the airport as it is written on the wall of the waiting room:

One of the most Important U.S. Airbases In The Pacific Theater during World War II

The Japanese Airfield Aslito was captured in mid-June and renamed Isely Field. Isely Field was immediately used by American fighter aircraft for tactical air-strikes against enemy positions elsewhere on Saipan and on Tinian.

Even while the fighting for Saipan raged, Army Engineering battalions began the job of transforming the former Japanese Airfield into a facility capable of accommodating the Very Long Range B-29 Superfortress bomber. Worked on Isely Field went on 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the next six month.

The first B-29 arrived on Saipan on October 12, 1944. A month later, Isely Field’s twin runway was fully operational. By mid-November, the 73rd Bomb Wing was deployed on Saipan, and B-29 bombing raids against Japan commenced almost immediately.

At the height of combat operations, there were approximately 15,000 air crew and ground support personnel stationed at Isely Field. By war’s end, the 73rd has flown 9,897 combat sorties and dropped 48,532 tons of bombs on enemy targets. The impressible record was complied at the cost of 183 aircrafts lost and 1,033 crewmen killed.

After surrender of Japan, B-29s from Isely Field dropped medical supplies and food to Allied Prisoners of War in Japan. With the departure of combat air groups in late 1945, Isely was used as a refueling facility by the 6253rd Air Base Unit until 1949 when the base was closed.

Following World War II, commercial airlines used a landing facility called Kobler Field, three kilometer from Isely Field. In 1968, it was decided to move the commercial airport to Isely Field. New construction began in 1972 and on December 15, 1975 the first commercial aircraft landed at the renamed Saipan International Airport, initiating a new historic Isely Field.

In recognition of its significance in the prosecution of the Pacific War, Isely Field was designated as a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service in 1985.

Henning Blatt (talk) 22:16, 10 February 2009 (UTC)Reply

At least somebody gets the name right. Nine times out of ten it's rendered "Isley Field", or so it seems to me.--172.190.14.150 (talk) 01:05, 22 June 2012 (UTC)Reply

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