Kualoa Airfield

Kualoa Airfield
Part of Seventh Air Force
Oahu, Hawaii
Coordinates	21°31′00″N 157°50′15″W (Approximate)
Type	Military Airfield
Site information
Controlled by	United States Army Air Forces

Kualoa Airfield is a former wartime airfield on Oahu, Hawaii.

History

Kualoa Airfield was constructed in 1942 and used during World War II on land the military did not own. It was a satellite field for units assigned to Bellows Field and was used mainly for training.

The aircraft ramp was made of perforated high strength steel (Marston mats) that was used extensively by the military during World War II for quickly establishing airfields. Kualoa Field consisted of a single north/south runway. It was depicted as having a single 6,500' hard-surface runway. The road to Ka'a'awa & the north shore crossed over Kualoa's runway, so the cars would have to wait whenever an airplane took off.

The 28th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, operating P-38, F-4 and A-24 aircraft was stationed at Kualoa between 9 Oct 1944 and 8 May 1945.

The 18th Fighter Group, operating P-40’s, also was stationed there briefly.

No evidence suggests that Kualoa was ever paved. The entire runway was formed of pierced steel planking. The steel planking makes a strong case that the military had no plans to keep Kualoa open any longer than it was needed. Following the war the land was returned to the original owners.

The airfield site was labeled as "Kualoa Regional Park". Nothing remains of Kualoa's former runway. The property has become Kualoa State Park & Kualoa Ranch. The only remaining aviation activity at the site is occasional use by a couple of model airplane flyers that use the grass field. A few of the fortified revetments along the shear cliffs above the former airfield still remain intact, as the only remaining indication of this site's military history.

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

• Mauer, Mauer (1969), Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II, Air Force Historical Studies Office, Maxwell AFB, Alabama. ISBN 0892010975