Pityilu Island

Pityilu Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and part of the Admiralty Islands. It is off the northern coast of Manus Island and is nearly 4.8 km long and varies in width from 76 to 198 metres.

Pityilu Island
Location of the Pityilu Island among the Admiralty Islands
Pityilu Island is located in Papua New Guinea
Pityilu Island
Pityilu Island
Geography
Coordinates01°57′41.91″S 147°13′32.85″E
ArchipelagoAdmiralty Islands
Length4.8 km (2.98 mi)
Width0.19 km (0.118 mi)
Naval Base Administrative United States Navy
1944-1947
Pityilu Island with air base
Map Pityilu Island with air base 1944

History

Pityilu Island was occupied by the Imperial Japanese forces in 1942.

On 30 March 1944, the island was assaulted by the reinforced 1st Squadron of 7th Cavalry of the United States Army. 59 Imperial Japanese were killed and 8 cavalrymen were killed with 6 were wounded in the assault.

Pityilu Island was selected to become an airstrip for the use of the United States Navy with a Rest & Recreation facility designed to accommodate up to 10,000 servicemen. The facilities were constructed by the 140th Naval Construction Battalion in June 1944. Pityilu Airstrip consisted of a single runway, made of crushed coral 5,300 feet (1,600 m) x 150 feet (46 m).[1] that was built by the 71st CB as part of Manus Naval Base. The Navy also had an aircraft carrier fighter plane training base, with storage of 350 spare planes at the base. [2]

Pityilu Airfield
    • Based at Pityilu Airfield was:
    • VPB-146 (PV-1, Lockheed Ventura unit) [3]
    • ACORN 28
    • VJ-2 (JM-1 detachment Able, Martin B-26 Marauder unit)[4]
    • Carrier Aircraft Service Unit 42
    • Carrier Aircraft Service Unit 13

See also

References
  1. Building the Navy's Bases in World War II History of the Bureau of Yards and Docks and the Civil Engineer Corps 1940-1946. US Government Printing Office. 1947. pp. 301–2.
  2. "Pityilu Airfield - Pityilu Island - TracesOfWar.com". www.tracesofwar.com.
  3. "Pacific Wrecks - United States Navy (USN) - PV-1 Ventura". pacificwrecks.com.
  4. "Pacific Wrecks - Utility Squadron 2 (VJ-2) - United States Navy (USN)". www.pacificwrecks.com.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.