Northwest Field
Part ofAndersen Air Force Base
Yigo in Guam, United States
Northwest Field as seen from the air in 2002
Site information
Owner	United States Air Force
Controlled by	Pacific Air Forces
Condition	Operational, in limited use
Location
Northwest Field on a 1988 map
Northwest Field Location in Guam Show map of Guam Northwest Field Northwest Field (Pacific Ocean) Show map of Pacific Ocean
Coordinates	13°37′31″N144°51′29″E / 13.6253°N 144.8580°E /13.6253; 144.8580
Site history
Built	8 January 1945 – 1 June 1945
Built by	25thNaval Construction Battalion 48th Naval Construction Battalion 53rd Naval Construction Battalion 94th Naval Construction Battalion 1886th Engineer Aviation Battalion 1899th Engineer Aviation Battalion
In use	1945–1949 c. 2010–present
Airfield information
Elevation	510 feet (155 m)AMSL
Runways Direction Length and surface 8,000 feet (2,438 m) Paved

Northwest Field (NWF; historicallyNorthwest Guam Air Force Base)^[1] is a military airfield on theWest Pacific island ofGuam. Originally built during World War II, Northwest Field was closed as an airfield in 1949 but has been used for other military activity since, including housing a satellite tracking station, air defenses, and being used for training.

Built from 8 January 1945 to 1 June 1945^[2] as aB-29 Superfortress base^[3] by theU.S. Navy's 25th, 48th, 53rd, and 94thNaval Construction Battalions, as well as theU.S. Army's 1886th and 1899th Engineer Aviation Battalions.^[4]Brigadier GeneralFrank A. Armstrong of theU.S. Army Air Forces was the first to land his B-29 at the newly constructedairfield.^[3]Fleet AdmiralChester W. Nimitz called the airfield's completion "another step along the road to Tokyo".^[3] After its initial use as a bomber base it became a fighter base in 1946.^[5]

Units deployed to the airfield included the315th Bombardment Wing, stationed from 1945 to 1946,^[6] and the23rd Fighter Group, stationed from 1946 to 1949.^[1]

In September 1946, the airfield took severe damage fromTyphoon Querida, with the21st Fighter Group's barracks completely leveled.^[7]

The airfield was closed in 1949.^[2]

In 1949, Northwest Field was one of two locations being considered for the establishment of an international airport on Guam, the other beingHarmon Air Force Base, with the military favoring Northwest Field and airlines favoring Harmon AFB.^[8] Harmon was later consolidated intoNaval Air Station Agana and is now the site ofAntonio B. Won Pat International Airport.

Since 1965, asatellite tracking station has been located at Northwest Field.^[9] As of 2023^[update], the station is operated by Detachment 2 of the21st Space Operations Squadron.^[10]

In 1990, Northwest Field was being considered as a site for aU.S. NavyRelocatable Over-the-Horizon Radar.^[11] The project drew controversy due to the threat it posed to a native bird habitat. In March 1991, the Navy cancelled the project, citing high costs and a reduced threat in the West Pacific.^[12]

Since at least 2001, the Air Force has used Northwest Field for various types of training, including low-levelcargo drops.^[13] Since around 2010, the airfield has also been used for training related to operating at airfields in austere conditions, including being one of the locations to hostCope North exercises.^{[14][15][16][17]} In this capacity, US$9.8 million were awarded by the U.S. military for repairs to the field's northern runway in 2018.^[18]

Since April 2013, aTerminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD)anti-ballisticmissile defense system has been stationed at the field.^{[19][20][21][22]}

Since at least 2012, Northwest Field and adjacentRitidian Point were eyed by the U.S. military as a possible site for aU.S. Marine Corps firing range complex,^[23] becoming the preferred location over other options on Guam by 2013, in part due to its proximity to the site of thenew U.S. Marine Corps base and because the land was already owned by thefederal government.^[24]

The military's plan drew controversy, with locals complaining that part ofGuam National Wildlife Refuge would be closed up to 39 weeks a year, due to being used as the proposed range's safety zone. Ritidian Point is also the site of among other things, ancient burial sites, drawing thousands of tourists to the area each year according to Guamanian politicianJudith Won Pat, who in 2014 asked for the military to consider other options.^[25]

In 2017,Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) awarded a $78 million contract to a local construction company for the construction of a complex consisting of four live-fire training ranges, as well as supporting structures.^[26][27] The proposed location of a fifth range, a "multi-purpose machine gun range", was relocated in 2019 to protect the endangeredSerianthes nelsonii tree.^[28] The $122 million contract for construction of the fifth range was awarded by NAVFAC in 2021, with an expected completion date in October 2024.^[29]

• On 17 May 1947, anAT-6 Texantrainer aircraft crashed south of the airfield, killing both U.S. Army officers on board.^[30]

• US military installations in Guam

Wikimedia Commons has media related toNorthwest Field, Guam.

 This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

• Installations of the United States Air Force
• Defunct airports in the United States
• Airports in Guam
• Military installations of the United States in Guam
• Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II
• Military airbases established in 1945

• Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use American English from April 2022
• All Wikipedia articles written in American English
• Use dmy dates from April 2022
• Coordinates on Wikidata
• Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2023
• All articles containing potentially dated statements
• Commons category link is on Wikidata
• Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Air Force Historical Research Agency