French Frigate Shoals Airfield
| French Frigate Shoals Airfield | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Characteristics | |
| ICAO code | PHFS |
| Coordinates | |
| Height above MSL | 2 m (7 ft ) |
| Basic data | |
| operator | United States Fish and Wildlife Service |
| surface | 8 ha |
| Start-and runway | |
| 06/24 | 914 m × 61 m coral |
The French Frigate Shoals airfield takes up almost all of the space on the island of Tern Island on the French Frigate Shoals atoll belonging to Hawaii .
It was built in 1942 by US soldiers of the 5th Seabee Battalion as a base for the Pacific War during World War II. For this purpose, the island was raised to its present size, so that in addition to the runway, stands for up to 24 single-engine aircraft were set up here. During the main operating hours 188 people were stationed here, who were exchanged for fresh troops from Pearl Harbor every three months . It served as an emergency landing pad for planes flying between Pearl Harbor and the Midway Islands and as a base for reconnaissance missions in the area.
In 1946 the island was washed over by a tidal wave, which caused the Navy to abandon the airfield.
In 1952, the US Coast Guard built a LORAN transmitter on the island and the airfield was used for mail and support flights. The US Coast Guard used the airfield until 1979.
The US Air Force stationed a portable air surveillance system at one end of the island from 1961–1963, operated by the Bendix Radio Company with 6–10 men. The air surveillance belonged to the PMR , the Pacific Missile Range , which not only monitored the Discoverer flights of the US Air Force, but also the Soviet space flights.
Nowadays the airfield serves to supply the rangers of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service stationed on the island .
Web links
- Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields: Western Pacific Islands (English)
- Airport data on World Aero Data ( 2006 )