| Henderson Field | |
|---|---|
| Part of thePacific Theater of World War II | |
| Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands | |
 Henderson Field in late August 1942, shortly after the Allies began operations there | |
| Location | |
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| Location of Henderson Field | |
| Coordinates | 09°25′41″S160°03′17″E / 9.42806°S 160.05472°E /-9.42806; 160.05472 (Henderson Field) |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1942 |
| Built by | Japanese Empire (finished by United States) |
Henderson Field is a former military airfield onGuadalcanal, Solomon Islands, duringWorld War II. Originally built by theJapanese Empire, theconflict over its possession was one of the notable battles of thePacific War. Today it isHoniara International Airport.
After the occupation of the Solomon Islands in April 1942, theJapanese military planned to capturePort Moresby inNew Guinea andTulagi in the southern Solomons, extending their southern defensive perimeter and establishing bases to support possible future advances. Seizure ofNauru,Ocean Island,New Caledonia,Fiji, andSamoa would cut supply lines between Australia and the United States, reducing or eliminating Australia as a threat to Japanese positions in the South Pacific.
The airfield on Guadalcanal was first surveyed by Japanese engineers when they arrived in the area in early May, and was known as "Lunga Point", or "Runga Point" to the Japanese, and code named "RXI". The airfield would allow Japanese aircraft to patrol the southern Solomons, shipping lanes to Australia, and the eastern flank of New Guinea.
There were two major construction units involved: 1,379 men in one and 1,145 in another, originally designated to work onMidway Island once it was captured. They arrived on 6 July 1942, commencing work after 9 July. Construction was observed by AlliedCoastwatchers, prompting American plans to capture Guadalcanal and use the airfield.
About the middle of July, 250 civilians of the "Hama Construction Unit" arrived under the command of Inouree Hama, who had had 50 men onGavutu previously. Also, specialists from the 14th Encampment Corps established radio stations on Tulagi, Gavutu and at RXI. Local labor was also used.
Airfield construction went well, and on the night of 6 August 1942, just before the American landing, the construction troops were given an extrasake ration for completing the airfield ahead of schedule.
On 7 August 1942, American forces of the1st and2nd Marine Divisions landed on the islands of Guadalcanal, Tulagi, and Florida in the southern Solomon Islands with the objective of preventing their use against supply and communication routes between the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand. The Allies also intended to use Guadalcanal and Tulagi to support a campaign to capture or neutralize the major Japanese base atRabaul onNew Britain.
The Marines overwhelmed the outnumbered defenders and captured Tulagi and essentially unoccupied Florida, as well as the nearly completed RXI airfield on Guadalcanal. The captured airfield was named Henderson Field in honor of United States Marine Corps MajorLofton Henderson, commanding officer ofVMSB-241 who was killed in theBattle of Midway while leading his squadron against the Japanese carrier forces; he was the first Marine aviator to perish during that battle.
The first aircraft to land on the field was aPBYpatrol bomber on August 12. On August 20, thirty-one Marine aircraft (F4F Wildcatfighters andSBD Dauntlessdive bombers) were launched byUSS Long Island from south of Guadalcanal, forming the field's first permanent air contingent. Repair and improvement was done by the US NavySeabee 6th Naval Construction Battalion.[1] Two days later, a squadron ofU.S. ArmyP-400 Airacobra (P-39 variant) fighters arrived, and in the coming months a number ofB-17s andU.S. Navy aircraft used the base.
Surprised by the Allied attack, the Japanese made several attempts between August and November 1942 to retake Henderson Field. Three major land battles, seven large naval battles (five nighttime surface actions and two carrier battles), occasional heavy bombardment by naval forces includingKongo-class battleships, and continual, almost daily aerial battles culminated in the decisiveNaval Battle of Guadalcanal in early November 1942, during which the last Japanese attempt to bombard Henderson Field from the sea and to land enough troops to retake it was defeated.
In December 1942, the Japanese abandoned their efforts to retake Guadalcanal, conceding the island to the Allies and evacuating their last forces under harassment by the U.S. Army'sXIV Corps, by 7 February 1943.
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Between 10 September and 23 September a large force including carriersShōkaku,Zuikaku and 4 Kongo class battleships depart Truk to assume station in the Solomon Islands north of Guadalcanal.[2]
Between 11 October and 30 OctoberZuikaku,Shokaku,Hiei,Kirishima,Kongo andHaruna with their associated support forces depart Truk to assume station in the Solomon Islands. This operation would eventually lead to theBattle of the Santa Cruz Islands.
| Date | Bombardment Forces | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 23 August | destroyerKagero | [3] |
| 24/25 August | destroyersKagero,Mutsuki,Kawakaze,Yayoi,Isokaze | [4] |
| 6 September | destroyersShikinami,Yūdachi,Ariake,Uranami | intended to intercept convoy, bombard the airfield instead[5] |
| 8 September | light cruiserSendai, 8 destroyers | bombardment of nearby Tulagi[6] |
| 12 September | light cruiserSendai, destroyersFubuki,Shikinami,Suzukaze | supports land forces in theBattle of Edson's Ridge[7] |
| 13 September | destroyersKagero,Uranami,Murakumo,Yūdachi,Ushio,Umikaze,Shirayuki,Kawakaze,Fubuki,Suzukaze,Sazanami | supports land forces in theBattle of Edson's ridge[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] |
| 11/12 October | heavy cruisersFurutaka,Kinugasa,Aoba out of Shortlands | Force is intercepted resulting in theBattle of Cape Esperance |
| 13/14 October | battleshipsKongo,Haruna detached from Kondo's Advance Force out of Truk | 918 14-inch shells fired on the airfield[16] |
| 14/15 October | heavy cruisersKinugasa,Chokai out of the Shortlands | 752 8-inch shells fired on the airfield[17] |
| 15/16 October | heavy cruisersMaya,Myoko from Kondo's Advance Force | 912 8-inch shells fired at the airfield[18] |
| 25 October | light cruiserYura, destroyersAkizuki,Murasame,Harusame,Yūdachi out of the Shortlands | Yura sunk by airstrikes on approach. mission canceled[19] |
| 12/13 November | battleshipsHiei,Kirishima | Force is intercepted resulting in the FirstNaval Battle of Guadalcanal |
| 13/14 November | heavy cruisersMaya,Suzuya | 989 8-inch shells fired on the airfield[20] |
| 14/15 November | battleshipKirishima, heavy cruisersTakao,Atago | Force is intercepted resulting in the SecondNaval Battle of Guadalcanal |
In 1944, specially-fittedLiberator PB4Y-1bombers operated from Henderson Field to carry out reconnaissance onEniwetok and other Japanese-held islands.[21]Royal New Zealand Air Force squadrons were using the air base during October and November 1944 for patrols and searches.[22] The RNZAF providedNo 52 Radar Unit in March 1943 with GCI radar, which (unlike the SCR 270 radar) could provide altitudes of approaching enemy planes.[23]
Henderson Field was abandoned after the war. The field was modernized and reopened in 1969 asHoniara International Airport, the main airport for the Solomon Islands. In the late 1970s the runway was expanded and lengthened.
The airport was previously running for international flights from Nadi via Vila and Santo. I and parents a brother arrived in July 1968 on a Fiji Airways flight in one of their HS 748. However we had to land at the old Kukum Beach fighter grass strip as an unexploded bomb had been found under the runway at Henderson Airfield, closing it. This was next to the golf course and their small club house was used for Customs and Immigration etc.
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This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency