Honiara airport
| Honiara International Airport | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Characteristics | |
| ICAO code | AGGH |
| IATA code | HIR |
| Coordinates | |
| Height above MSL | 9 m (30 ft )
|
| Start-and runway | |
| 06/24 | 2200 m × 45 m asphalt |
The Honiara International Airport is the international airport of the capital of the Solomon Islands , Honiara on the island of Guadalcanal . It is located just outside the capital district in the Guadalcanal province . Until November 2003 he was known under the name Henderson Field .
history
After the Solomon Islands fell into the hands of the Japanese during the Second World War in the Pacific War, the Japanese began to build a small military airfield near Honiara, which they named Lunga Point after the nearby river delta of the same name . This airfield meant control of the South Solomon Islands for the Japanese Navy . The Australian supply routes and New Guinea could be reached from here.
The construction of the airfield was not hidden from the American scouts and so it came into the focus of further American action against the Japanese in 1942. At the beginning of August the battle of Guadalcanal began , which lasted until February 1943 and many American and Japanese soldiers cost life.
After the Americans successfully captured the airfield, they renamed it Henderson Field after Major Lofton Henderson , who had died shortly before in the Battle of Midway . In the course of the fighting the Japanese tried again and again unsuccessfully to recapture the airfield. As early as August 20, 1942, the SeaBees - an American reconstruction battalion - repaired all damage and enabled flight operations. The first machine to land here was a Consolidated PBY Catalina .
In a further expansion stage, a second runway was built under the identifier Fighter2 near Kukum on the north coast of Guadalcanal. In April of this railway started in 1943 , the P-38 Lightnings , the Japanese Admiral Yamamoto south of Bougainville shot down (→ Operation Vengeance ).
After the end of the war, the Solomon Islands continued to use Fighter2 as the main airport on the islands. In 1969 Fighter2 was closed. Today there is a golf course and a spacious industrial area.
Henderson Field was almost completely dismantled after the war, only to be expanded into a new international airport by 1969. The tower is still the original building from 1943. In the mid-1980s, the runway was lengthened and widened to allow more modern aircraft to take off and land.
Since December 2003 the airport has been officially called Honiara International Airport . American military units are still stationed at Honiara International Airport .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Fighter 2 (Kukum Field). PacificWrecks.com, accessed February 6, 2013 .