Battle of Midway:
Ewa Field Became America’s Important “Battle for Hawaii” Frontline Combat Airfield
Ewa Field Became America’s Important “Battle for Hawaii” Frontline Combat Airfield
by John M. Bond, Ewa historian
"Never was so much owed by so many to so few" was a wartime speech made by the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill on 20 August 1940, referring to the ongoing efforts of the Royal Air Force crews who were at the time fighting the Battle of Britain, the pivotal air battle with the German Luftwaffe with Britain expecting an invasion.
In Britain the RAF had Spitfires against the German Luftwaffe while at Midway American pilots were fighting with mostly outdated, out classed aircraft against superior Japanese naval forces.
Actual early recorded Hawaii histories of 1942 present a picture of great fear and almost panic in the Hawaiian Islands after the December 7, 1941 Japanese air attack. Martial law was declared, tanks rolled through the streets, gasmasks were required of every citizen, even babies. Machinegun positions and air raid shelters began appearing everywhere. At Ewa Field near Pearl Harbor everyone carried loaded rifles and personal weapons. False alerts were constant including nighttime gunfire and reports of Japanese air and sea landings. Tension could not be any higher as the Navy decided all efforts would be made to turn Ewa Field into a total air defense base ringed with Army Anti-Aircraft guns, machine gun nests and 180 attack resistant sandbag and concrete aircraft revetments.
1942 Ewa Field Predates 1943 NAS Barbers Point
Ewa Field has often been confused with NAS Barbers Point. In fact many people believed, prior to Ewa Field’s Dec 7 battlefield nomination, that it was NAS Barbers Point that was attacked on December 7, 1941. Part of this confusion was due to Ewa Field being an early Navy auxiliary airfield in 1925 before WW-II and partly due to its absorption into NAS Barbers Point properties when MCAS EWa closed in 1952. Naval Air Station Barbers Point command histories often don’t make it clear that Ewa Field was actually operational as a carrier air group base before NAS Barbers Point and most of what happened in the early Pacific war carrier battles came through Ewa Field planes and pilots. And in some naval histories Ewa Field is called NAS Ewa, which was a discussed Navy topic but never made official.
On December 7, 1941, Ewa Field was strafed and but not bombed like other airfields because Japanese intelligence was not aware of its new hangar going up just weeks before the Pearl Harbor attack. It’s runways were still very serviceable after the raid even though the airplanes were not. Many people also forget that many of Ewa Field’s best planes were on two aircraft carriers for delivery to Wake Island and Midway. Ewa Field almost immediately became a temporary Army airfield for Army Pursuit Squadrons until runways at Wheeler Field could be repaired.
Just two weeks after the Japanese attack, construction crews were pulled from the Barbers Point Naval Air Station construction project and put to work expanding Ewa, lengthening and widening the two existing runways and adding two huge new parking ramps. Ewa Field as a joint front line Navy-Marine combat air base was assigned working up carrier air groups and squadrons for carrier deployment in combat areas further west.
While the Navy went ahead and officially established NAS Barbers Point in April 15, 1942 it was not actually operational until 1943.
Most History Archives Wrong: Barbers Point - Ewa Field Timeline. NAS Barbers Point not Air Group operational in 1942
Ewa Field is very often mistaken by many histories and historians as NAS Barbers Point, when in fact Navy and Marine command histories and air photos show Barbers Point did not base and service Navy air groups until 1943. Unfortunately many previous published histories confused early Ewa Field and Barbers Point being the same place apparently because air group histories wind up with aircraft carriers and air groups, not attached to land bases like Ewa. This is why so many photos and so many documents have been misfiled in archives everywhere.
This chronological narrative provides the outline for the very important 1941 through 1942 period of the Pacific War when Ewa Field and Navy and Marine aircraft from the revetments directly supported Pacific naval battles. The Navy was largely in control of the airfield by virtue of being the major carrier air group tenant. However this was never officially resolved until September 1, 1942 when MCAS Ewa was formally created. NAS Barbers Point was not carrier air group operational until early 1943. By then its mission and construction work had been further expanded to support four aircraft carrier air groups.
The really famous historic Marine airfield- which sprung directly from Ewa Field - was Henderson Field with Ewa Field squadrons forming the Cactus Air Force, after a ferocious land and air battle in late 1942 secured the former unfinished Japanese airfield. Further below is official Marine aviation history excerpted from official Marine WW-II command history.
Ewa Field Navy Tenant Timeline
CASU-2 was commissioned at Ewa Field and resided there until NAS Barbers Point facilities were usable. The Ewa Field chronology of CASU-2 and Navy air groups is here:
13 Apr 1942 First commanding officer, Capt HF MacComsey USN, assumed command.
6 May 1942 CASU-2 Commissioned. Ensign William R. Bentley, A-V(N), U.S. Naval Reserve, Commanding
15 May 1942 First meal was served at the General Mess this morning. All hands except officers quartered on east side of Ewa Field. Serviced VP-44 with gasoline and oil.
27 May 1942 Groups from USS Hornet and USS Yorktown serviced.
2 Jun 1942 CASU-2 inspected by Rear Admiral Noyes, Commander Carriers, Pacific Fleet.
13 Jun 1942 Air Group from USS Hornet (Yorktown-class) arrived
28 Jun 1942 Air Group from USS Hornet (Yorktown-class) departed
29 Jun 1942 Saratoga Air Group arrived.
30 Jun 1942 Compliment of CASU-2 enlisted personnel: 309.
7 Jul 1942 Air Group from USS Saratoga departed.
1 Aug 1942 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Preparation of site, including filling and grading.
10 Aug 1942 Lt William H. Hilands, U.S. Navy, assumed command of CASU-2, relieving Ensign David R. Flynn, USNR.
1 Sept 1942 MCAS Ewa formally commissioned.
15 Sep 1942 CASU-2 moved from Ewa Mooring Mast to Barbers Point.
16 Sep 1942 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Permanent Officer-of-the-Day watch established (However NAS Barbers Point not Navy Air Group operational until 1943.)
One of the last untold stories of the early Pacific War and Battle of Midway
In fact many important new discoveries have been made finding artifacts of early 1942 AA gun batteries, aircraft revetments, ammunition bunkers and operations areas, including 1942 ramps where Battle of Midway planes left in late May 1942. The reason why so much has been preserved is due to the fact that MCAS Ewa was largely abandoned after closing officially in 1952 and attached to NAS Barbers Point. It still continued to exist, after many wooden structures were taken down, because much of the then very rural Oahu Naval Air Station Barbers Point was largely still preserved at the time of closing in 1999.
180 Revetments built at what COULD have become Naval Air Station Ewa after December 7, 1941
Ewa Field was intended for 2 aircraft carrier groups with 180 revetments constructed.
The history is being recently uncovered since Ewa Field was placed on the National Historic Register in May, 2016. The real history of Ewa Field, January 1942 to January 1943 has been known only through sporadic and largely disassociated Pacific battles, famous pilots, planes and aircraft carrier groups. All of these famous elements are known only through books, articles and oral histories except for one major fact: The Ewa Field aircraft revetments of the battles of Coral Sea, Midway and Guadacanal- Henderson Field STILL EXIST.
After Dec 7, 1941 a firehose of money, manpower and material immediately directed to 1942 Ewa Field
In early 1942 the huge already allotted NAS Barbers Point construction budget of money, manpower and material in a Pacific Naval Airbase contract pipeline was suddenly shifted by top command directives to Ewa Field. The work was done immediately as amendments to the just beginning construction of NAS Barbers Point. Major runway and parking ramp additions were made for Navy aircraft carrier groups.
Ewa Field by Pearl Harbor became a front line combat airfield. Machinegun positions, air raid shelters were built everywhere. Navy and Marine pilots carried loaded sidearms everywhere, even into Honolulu. Sentries had shoot to kill orders. Ewa Field planes after Dec 7 had been pushed into the airfield perimeter and covered in cut tree limbs, often with Marines under the wings with belted 50 Cal machineguns. Conditions were not much different than Wake Island, which had been overrun by Japanese marines in late December, and Midway Island which was expecting an attack at any time. Ewa Field needed bomb and strafe resistant aircraft shelters immediately.
180 Aircraft Revetments were constructed for two Navy Aircraft Carrier Groups at Ewa Field. The construction was done as amendments to the just beginning construction of NAS Barbers Point. The massive changes to Ewa Field began almost immediately as air photos show a phenomenal expansion underway in the first months of 1942. This also caused a major identity crisis for both Marine and Navy commanders as no one was certain as to exactly who was in charge and whether Ewa was now a Navy or Marine airfield.
13 Apr 1942 Barbers Point NAS: First CO, Capt HF MacComsey USN, assumed command.
15 Apr 1942 Barbers Point Naval Air Station commissioned
Compounding the identity problem was the Navy establishing NAS Barbers Point as a command in April 1942 when in fact there were no actual operational Navy carrier air groups at NASBP until 1943. There was constant changes and rotations of planes, pilots, squadron elements responding to the major pressure of pending Japanese air attacks and advances throughout the Pacific and Asia.
Ewa Field a product of airships and aircraft carriers
Ewa Field was a product of airships and aircraft carriers. There was virtually nothing except a vast empty ancient coral reef largely devoid of modern human existence, mostly just open range wild cattle, when in 1925 the a huge circle was cleared and constructed for a Navy airship mooring mast. In its day this was the Navy’s big new defense concept – “Lighter Than Air.” Then in January 1941
Ewa Field Early History
Ewa Field was created in 1925 as a “lighter than air” mooring mast airship port for the US Navy airship program, then viewed as a major new naval air defense system. In 1935 Ewa Field was further modified with a shortened mooring mast and a circular railway for a new generation of airships. Eventually the airship program for Ewa was abandoned and in 1941 after determining a new use for the auxiliary airfield, the Navy sent Marine Air Group 21 to Ewa Field to establish a new forward operations base from the Marine Expeditionary command in San Diego.
Command history air photo of NAS BP in August 1942
Naval Air Station Barbers Point had not yet been built and the Navy immediately needed large aircraft carrier ramp parking and maintenance areas after the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. While NAS Barbers Point on paper had been designed initially to be a two aircraft carrier group auxiliary field, the attack on Pearl Harbor forced an immediate shift in priorities to Ewa Field as the close by auxiliary Navy airfield to Ford Island, before becoming a Marine Corps air station later in 1942. In the meantime Carrier Air Service Unit (CASU) One from Pearl Harbor were brought over to operate Ewa Field as a Navy “Coral Aircraft Carrier.”
Navy and Marine planes and pilots were continuously formed up and dispatched to Midway with a huge defensive buildup underway in early 1942.
By June 1942 Ewa Field was comparable to a Battle of Britain situation housed many of the famous pilots, squadrons and carrier air groups of the major 1942 Pacific War battles. It was effectively a naval air station, almost becoming NAS Ewa. Because carrier air groups moved around all the time, a definitive history of the air groups and CASU at Ewa can only be determined by scanning through many different books about Midway and related early battles to learn that Ewa Field was where many were and left for Midway in late May, early June in 1942.
The “Clamshell” revetments were built in the broader scope of the near desperation of early 1942. imminent air attack, coastal bombardment, invasion This was a time of major fear and near panic by civilians who wanted to get out of Hawaii to the mainland. These structures weren't just built for airplane parking, they were ringed with bomb shelters, 50 cal. machinegun positions, ammunition bunkers and Army AA gun batteries. These were the front lines in 1942. They are absolutely major still existing testimony to these unique times that are comparable to the "Battle of Britain" for the United States. The fact that 75 revetments were built as heavy concrete bomb resistant structures only at Ewa Field during the Pacific War indicates how very important Ewa Field was to Oahu air defense and the Navy in 1942.
James M. D’Angelo, Chairman and Founder of the International Midway Memorial Foundation was the keynote speaker at Ewa Field Battlefield’s- 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Midway Commemoration on June 4, 2017 and presented reasons why the Battle of Midway is likely the single most important battle of World War II for the United States.
D’Angelo: Victory at Midway: The Battle That Changed the Course of World War II."
Historical Perspective -
The Battle of Midway, which took place from June 3-7, 1942, was a battle of historic proportions and the turning point of World War II in the Pacific. After the Battle of Midway, Japan was never able to go on the offensive again. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto’s decision to include the islands of Midway in his strategic plan against the United States was flawed and thus paved the way to a U.S. victory. Historians now believe that the victory at Midway had significant effects on the outcome of World War II in Europe:
Allowed the United States to take its first offensive---that of invading North Africa--- which ultimately resulted in the destruction of the German African Corps; Japan’s defeat meant that Russia was able to transfer its troops from Manchuria to the east to bolster the defense of Stalingrad against German forces; and guaranteed the timetable for the Allied invasion of Normandy.
For these reasons alone, Midway should have a functioning National Memorial and public visitation. But beyond its significance in the course of historical events, the Battle of Midway represents the courage, determination and sacrifice of the men who fought to retain Midway, and deserves to be memorialized throughout time by preserving Midway’s history and by mandating a permanent policy of public visitation to the Atoll.
There should be a National Pacific Battlefield Memorial at Ewa Field
In November 2000 a National Memorial was established for Midway but the island is administered by the US Fish and Wildlife which has an extremely small budget and relatively little time or interest in Midway history preservation. The same is true for Wake Island battle history directly connected with Ewa Field. And Henderson Field directly connected with Ewa Field. In the rapidly growing “second city” of Ewa Kapolei West Oahu a National Pacific Battlefield Memorial would be a major visitor attraction that should be part of the WW-II Valor in the Pacific National Monument.
Unfortunately there isn’t a National Pacific Battlefield Memorial in Hawaii. The histories of the Doolittle Raid, Wake, Midway, Coral Sea and Guadalcanal-Henderson Field are all scattered everywhere and not presented and told at a single location that most visitors today could actually see and comprehend. The 1942 aircraft revetments that stored and serviced the aircraft that participated in these actual 1942 battles still exist.
Preservation efforts opposing development include advocacy for having the airfield declared a Historic Landmark and/or a Historic Battlefield Site. Some of the first shots of the Japanese raid were fired at Ewa, yet it remains the only facility attacked that is not listed as a Historic Landmark nor is it included in the National Park Service WW-II Valor in the Pacific National Monument. Even though next to Pearl Harbor it is also not included in the Pearl Harbor landmark.
Because so MANY were lost in a battle at sea means no "sacred ground" - however Ewa Field and the revetments ARE that "sacred ground" for all those lost at Wake and Midway. This is why many today forget about this very important battles - because there is NO PLACE TO VISIT. That place should be Ewa Field and the revetments.
Like Ewa Field, the important contributions to the Battle of Midway have only recently been recognized
In most Navy circles, strategic thinking held that carriers were to be used in support of ships-of-the-line: scouting, range-finding, and defensive air cover. The battleship, since coming of age at Jutland in 1916, was indisputably ruler of the seas. However, a few forward-thinking American officers, and many of Japan's naval leaders, saw the carrier as an offensive weapon, its air groups as potent weapons with many times the range of the huge 14" and 16" guns mounted by the fleet's proud battleships.
Only until 2017 was the major extremely important contribution of Joe Rochefort officially recognized the Navy and its CNO in a Midway battle speech aboard the USS Midway in San Diego. By far Ewa Field’s contribution to Midway and other early Pacific battles of 1942 remains perhaps the last unknown, poorly documented history. It took 74 years before Ewa Field was finally and officially recognized as a December 7, 1941 battlefield. The airfield’s direct ties to many important chapters of 1942 Pacific battles, air groups and pilots are now being officially documented and prepared for national recognition in an National Register nomination document.
Air Photos Prove NAS Barbers Point Non Operational Most Of 1942
The actual history of NAS BP happens at Ewa Field during 1942
0141 26 April 1942 Navy Command History says BPNAS base commissioned in 15 April, 1942 - which totally confuses historians and authors about the real history of Ewa Field in 1942. In fact many Navy carrier air groups operated out of Ewa Field before leaving for major 1942 battles. Book histories contain segments of this accurate air group history but others and general historic records still very inaccurate.
0163 9 May 1942 Battle of Coral Sea NASBP not operational
0166 9 May 1942 Battle of Coral Sea NASBP not operational
0169 26 May 1942 Just days before Battle of Midway NASBP not operational
0142 15 July 1942 Still no hangars at NAS BP, runway under construction
Torpedo Squadron 8 was based at Ewa Field prior to leaving for the Battle of Midway
0143 31 July 1942 Ewa Field with 180 protected aircraft revetments and Army AA gun batteries. This includes approx 77 sandbag concrete, 75 Clam Shell concrete and 27 additional sandbag concrete in groups of 9 by the tower ramp. Also one additional early prototype Calm Shell revetment by the control tower. (180 = 2 carrier air groups.)
Air photos from 2016 Ewa Field Battlefield nomination archive, NARA research collection, John Bond, Ewa Battlefield historian
0145 25 Aug 1942 Battle of the Eastern Solomons - third carrier battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II. NASBP not operational
September 1, 1942 Ewa Field becomes MCAS Ewa. Navy CASU-1 moves to Barbers Point, becomes officially CASU-2 but the base really isn't carrier aircraft operational until early 1943 according to records.
MCAS Ewa Field, Pacific War Excerpts from Official USMC Command History
http://ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-Chron1935-1946/index.html
1940 24 Dec The 1st Marine Aircraft Wing completed movement to the West Coast. (Sherrod, p. 47).
1941 3 Feb HAWAIIAN ISLANDS: A Marine Corps airfield was established at Ewa when planes of Marine Aircraft Group 2 arrived from Ford Island. Oahu. (Sherrod, p. 44l).
1941 27 May CONTINENTAL U.S.: President Roosevelt proclaimed an unlimited state of national emergency. (Langer, p. 1137).
1941 Spring CONTINENTAL U.S.: An American war plan was promulgated, making almost the whole of the Pacific an American strategic responsibility; it provided for the capture of the. Caroline and Marshall Islands and the development of bases at Midway, Johnston, Palmyra, Samoa, and Wake, all having Marine garrisons. (OpHist, pp. 63, 64).
1941 23 Jun WASHINGTON: Admiral Stark, CNO, directed that elements of the 1st Defense Battalion, Fleet Marine Force, be established at Wake "as soon as practicable." (OpHist, v. 1, p. 96).
1941 1 Aug MIDWAY: Naval Air Station, Midway, under Commander Cyril T. Simard, USN, was commissioned. (Heinl (2), p. 8).
1941 15 Oct WAKE: Major Lewis A. Hohn was relieved as Marine Detachment commander by Major James P. S. Devereux who also became Island Commander. (OpHist, v. 1, p. 99).
1941 3 Nov JAPAN: The Chief of the Japanese Naval General Staff, Admiral Osami Nagano, IJN, approved the draft plan for an attack against the U.S. Pacific Fleet base at Pearl Harbor, (OpHist, v. 1, p. 62).
1941 19 Nov MIDWAY: A ground echelon from Marine Aircraft Group 21 was sent to prepare the island for aircraft. (Heinl (3), p. 45).
1941 8 Nov HAWAIIAN ISLANDS: The air echelon of Marine Fighter Squadron 211, on secret orders, flew 12 F4F-3 fighters from Ewa to Ford Island for further transfer to USS Enterprise and then to Wake. (OpHist, v. 1, p. 101).
1941 WAKE: Commander W. S. Cunningham, USN, relieved Major J.P.S Devereux as Wake Island Commander; nine Navy officers and 58 bluejackets arrived as the initial detachment of the Naval Air Station. (OpHist, v. 1, p. 103; Morison, v. VIII, p. 228).
1941 29 Nov WAKE: Major Walter L. J. Bayler arrived with a detachment of Marines from Marine Aircraft Group 21 to set up air base communication facilities. (OpHist, v. 1, p. 102).
1941 1 Dec JAPAN: Japanese Destroyer Division 7 sailed from Tokyo with orders to proceed via a carefully planned route to Midway; this force and a small task unit of the larger fleet on its way to Pearl Harbor were provisionally designated as the Midway Neutralization Unit. (Heinl (3), p. 10).
1941 4 Dec WAKE: Twelve F4F-3's of Marine Fighter Squadron 211 arrived on board the USS Enterprise. (OpHist, v. 1, p. 101).
1941 5 Dec WAKE: Personnel of Marine Fighter Squadron 211 began daily dawn to dusk patrols from the atoll. (OpHist, v. 1, p. 102).
1941 7 Dec HAWAIIAN ISLANDS: A Japanese carrier force inflicted heavy casualties on the American forces at Pearl Harbor; 2,280 persons were killed and 1,109 wounded, 188 planes were destroyed, and 19 ships sunk. Marine losses on the islands included 111 men killed or missing and 75 wounded and 33 aircraft destroyed and 12 damaged. (OpHist, v. 1, pp. 73. 74; Williams, p. 3; Statistics Unit).
1941 MIDWAY: Japanese destroyers Akebono and Ushio bombarded the atoll; the Marine garrison suffered 14. casualties and considerable damage to equipment. (Heinl (3), p. 4.5).
1941 8 Dec WASHINGTON: The U.S. declared war on Japan. (Langer, p. 1138).
1941 17 Dec MIDWAY: Seventeen SB2U-3's from Marine Scout-Bomber Squadron 231 arrived unexpectedly from Ewa Field, Hawaii; these obsolescent aircraft executed the longest massed flight overwater of single engine land planes on record (1,137 miles) (OpHist, v. 1, p. 216).
1941 20 Dec WAKE: A U.S. Navy PBY arrived from Midway with information about the relief expedition which included Marine Fighter Squadron 221 and units from the 4th Defense Battalion; this was the atolls first physical contact with friendly forces since the start of the war. (OpHist, v. 1, p. 126).
1941 21 Dec WAKE: A U.S. Navy PBY departed with the last U.S. personnel to leave the atoll. Japanese air raids seriously damaged Battery D's position on Peale Island. (OpHist, v. 1, p. 127).
1941 21 Dec WAKE: Japanese dive bombers escorted by fighters from the Soryu-Hiryu carrier division destroyed all Marine Fighter Squadron 211 planes in commission. (OpHist, v. 1, p. 128).
1941 23 Dec WAKE: The Maizuru Second Special Naval Landing Force executed a predawn landing on the south shore of Wake and Wilkes Islands while carriers Soryu and Hiryu launched air strikes against Wilkes, Peale, and Wake Islands in support of the landing force. After almost 12 hours fighting, all islands had been surrendered. The relief expedition, Task Force 14, was recalled. (OpHist, v. 1, pp. 132-149; Heinl (1), pp. 52, 68).
1941 25 Dec MIDWAY: The air echelon of Marine Fighter Squadron 221 arrived from the USS Saratoga retiring from the abortive attempt to relieve Wake Island and immediately began a daily schedule of air search and patrol. (OpHist, v. 1, p. 216).
1941 26 Dec MIDWAY: The island's garrison was augmented by Battery B of the 4th Defense Battalion, an aviation contingent constituting the ground echelon of Marine Fighter Squadron 221, and additional equipment including radar. (OpHist, v. 1, p. 21).
1942 1 Feb PACIFIC: Task Forces 8 and 17 launched air attacks against Japanese installations in the Gilberts and Marshalls. (OpHist, v. 1, p. 207).
1942 1 Mar MIDWAY: -Marine Aircraft Group 22 was organized on Midway from Marine Scout-Bomber Squadron 231 and Marine Fighter Squadron 221. (OpHist, v. 1, p. 217).
1942 10 Mar MIDWAY: Twelve Marine fighters, commanded by Captain Robert M. Haynes, intercepted a Japanese Kawanishi 97 flying boat in the first test of Marine fliers on Midway against enemy aircraft. This sighting gave added weight to Cincpac's estimate that the Japanese planned a new offensive toward Hawaii. (OpHist, v. 1, p. 216).
1942 3 Apr PACIFIC: Admiral Nimitz, CinCPac, was confirmed as CinCPOA to comprise North, Central, and South Pacific. (OpHist, v. 1, p. 87; Williams, p. 30).
1942 18 Apr PALMYRA: Marine Fighter Squadron 211 flew onto the island from the USS Lexington. (Sherrod, p. 49).
1942 4 May CORAL SEA: The Battle of the Coral Sea. Planes from. Task Force 17 struck the new Japanese garrison at Tulagi, Solomon Islands, and Japanese ships still in the area. (OpHist, v. 1, p. 210).
1942 5 May CORAL SEA: The Battle of the Coral Sea. Task Force 17 moved to intercept the Japanese Port Moresby Invasion Group. (Naval Chronology, p. 24).
1942 8 May CORAL SEA: The Battle of the Coral Sea. U.S. and Japanese aircraft struck the other's carriers at nearly the same time. Although the U.S. sustained heavier damage and casualties than the Japanese, the Japanese invasion of Port Moresby was forestalled. The battle was the first major naval engagement in history where opposing surface forces neither saw nor fired at each other. (OpHist, v. 1, pp. 210-213; Naval Chronology, p. 24).
1942 26 May MIDWAY: The 3d Defense Battalion's 3-inch antiaircraft group, a light tank platoon for mobile reserve, and 16 SBD-2's and seven F4F-3's arrived from the USS Kittyhawk. (OpHist, v. 1, p. 219).
1942 26 May JAPAN: The Carrier Striking Force of the Japanese Fleet, composed of four carriers plus an escort of battleships and lesser ships, sortied from the Inland Sea of Japan for Midway Atoll. (Heinl (3), pp. 25. 26).
1942 2 Jun MIDWAY: Rear Admirals Raymond A. Spruance and F. J. Fletcher, USN, commanding Task Forces 16 and 17, respectively, rendezvoused about 325 miles northeast of Midway. (Morison, p. 97).
1942 3 Jun MIDWAY: The Battle of Midway. Nine Midway based B-17s attacked elements of an approaching Japanese force but inflicted no damage. Task Forces 16 and 17 changed course to gain an advantageous position for the impending battle. (OpHist, v. 1, p. 221).
1942 3 Jun ALASKA: Japanese planes from two light carriers of the Second Mobile Force struck Dutch Harbor to cover diversionary Japanese landings in the western Aleutians and to distract attention from their attack on Midway. (OpHist, v. 1, pp. 214. 215).
1942 4 Jun MIDWAY: The Battle of Midway. The Japanese Striking Force launched the first attack wave against Midway; sea-plane hangers were set aflame and a large fire started in the fuel oil tanks on Sand Island, and Marine buildings including the powerhouse were destroyed on Eastern Island. Two groups of 12 and 13 planes from Marine Fighter Squadron 221 received heavy damage in an attempt to intercept the approaching force. Twenty-one Marine bombers together with aircraft from three U.S. carriers attacked the Japanese force; carriers Kaga and Soryu were sunk and Akagi. and Hiryu set afire and later sunk by the Japanese. U.S. carrier Yorktown was severely damaged and abandoned. (OpHist, v. 1, pp. 223-230).
1942 5 Jun MIDWAY: The Battle of Midway. Admiral Yamamoto, IJN, Commander in Chief of the Japanese Combined Fleet, abandoned the Midway venture. U.S. aircraft attacked the withdrawing force, crippling two cruisers. (OpHist, v. 1, pp. 228, 229).
1942 6 Jun MIDWAY: The Battle of Midway. Planes from Task Force 16 sank one crippled Japanese cruiser withdrawing from Midway and critically damaged another; the USS Yorktown was sunk by torpedoes from a Japanese submarine. (OpHist, v. 1, p. 230; Williams, p. 40).
1942 7 Aug USMC: Marine Aircraft Wings, Pacific, was organized in accordance with a dispatch directive from the Commandant. (FMFPac, p. 33).
1942 7 Aug The 5th Marines (less the 2d Battalion) landed on Red Beach, Guadalcanal, followed by the 1st Marines in reserve. The 1st and 5th Marines crossed the Tenaru River and moved unopposed toward the Ilu. Major General Alexander A. Vandegrift, commanding the Guadalcanal-Tulagi forces, ordered the occupation of the airfield and the establishment of a defensive line along the Lunga River. (OpHist, v. 1, pp. 256-258).
1942 20 Aug GUADALCANAL: The forward echelon of Marine Aircraft Group 23 (19 F4F's of VMF-223 and 12 SBD-3's of VMSB-232) arrived on Henderson Field. (OpHist, v. 1, p. 279).
1942 22 Aug USMC: The 4th Marine Aircraft Wing was commissioned at Ewa, Hawaii, as the 4th Marine Base Defense Air Wing and charged with providing air defense for bases, search and patrol, air-sea rescue, and shipping escorts in the Hawaiian area. (Sherrod, p. 438).
1942 24 Aug GUADALCANAL: Eleven Navy dive bombers arrived at Henderson Field. (OpHist, v. 1, p. 280).
1942 25 Aug SOLOMONS: The Battle of the Eastern Solomons. Planes from Marine Scout-Bomber Squadron 232 at Henderson Field assisted in an attack on a Japanese task force carrying Guadalcanal reinforcements. A Japanese destroyer and transport were sunk, and many men of the Special Naval Landing Force were killed. (OpHist, v. 1, pp. 292, 293).
1942 30 Aug GUADALCANAL: The rear echelon of Marine Aircraft Group 23 (VMF-221 and-231) arrived on Henderson Field. (Sherrod, p. 445; Zimmerman, p. 74).
1942 30-31 Aug GUADALCANAL: More than 6,000 Japanese troops of the Kawaguchi Force landed in the Tasimboko area west of Lunga Point near Kokumbona in an attempt to strike at the Marine perimeter. (OpHist, v. 1, pp. 301, 302).
1942 1 Sep GUADALCANAL: Seabees landed on the island to assist in developing the airfield. (Naval Chronology, p. 33).
1942 5 Sep PACIFIC: Admiral Nimitz, CinCPac, requested the relocation of the Marine Aircraft Wings, Pacific, from San Diego to Pearl Harbor. (FMFPac, p. 34).
1942 11 Sep GUADALCANAL: Japanese bombers and zeroes attacked Henderson Field. F4F's from the USS Saratoga arrived on the field from Espiritu Santo. (OpHist, v. 1, p. 302).
1942 14 Sep GUADALCANAL: The Battle of the Ridge. The Marine line on Edson's Ridge repulsed an attempt by the Kawaguchi Force to penetrate the Henderson Field perimeter. (OpHist, v. 1, pp. 306 -308).
1942 4 Oct HAWAIIAN ISLANDS: The Headquarters Squadron, Marine Air-craft Wing, Pacific, arrived at Ewa. (FMFPac, p. 34).
1942 9 Oct GUADALCANAL: Marine Fighter Squadron 121, commanded by Major Leonard K. Davis, and the rear echelon of the 2d Marines, 2d Marine Division, arrived on the island. (OpHist, v. 1, p. 326; Williams, p. 58).
1942 14 Oct GUADALCANAL: Japanese night bombers struck Henderson Field damaging 42 of the 90 operable planes and causing heavy casualties; air operations were moved to Fighter 1. Later, Japanese cruisers bombarded the field, while six transports, carrying Lieutenant General M. Maruyama, 2d Division, moved to Tassafaronga. (OpHist, v. 1, p. 327).
1942 5 Oct GUADALCANAL: SBD's of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, supported by planes from Espiritu Santo, attacked the Japanese force unloading troops and supplies at Tassafaronga. About 3,000-4,000 men of the 230th and 16th Infantry Regiments as well as 80% of the ships' cargo were taken ashore before the Japanese were forced to flee up Sealark Channel; these troops, the last the Japanese were able to land before their concentrated attack on Henderson Field, brought the Japanese strength on the island to about 20,000 men. (OpHist, v. 1, p. 328).
1942 5 Jun MIDWAY: The Battle of Midway. Admiral Yamamoto, IJN, Commander in Chief of the Japanese Combined Fleet, abandoned the Midway venture. U.S. aircraft attacked the withdrawing force, crippling two cruisers. (OpHist, v. 1, pp. 228, 229).
1942 6 Jun MIDWAY: The Battle of Midway. Planes from Task Force 16 sank one crippled Japanese cruiser withdrawing from Midway and critically damaged another; the USS Yorktown was sunk by torpedoes from a Japanese submarine. (OpHist, v. 1, p. 230; Williams, p. 40).
1942 7 Aug USMC: Marine Aircraft Wings, Pacific, was organized in accordance with a dispatch directive from the Commandant. (FMFPac, p. 33).
1942 7 Aug The 5th Marines (less the 2d Battalion) landed on Red Beach, Guadalcanal, followed by the 1st Marines in reserve. The 1st and 5th Marines crossed the Tenaru River and moved unopposed toward the Ilu. Major General Alexander A. Vandegrift, commanding the Guadalcanal-Tulagi forces, ordered the occupation of the airfield and the establishment of a defensive line along the Lunga River. (OpHist, v. 1, pp. 256-258).
1942 20 Aug GUADALCANAL: The forward echelon of Marine Aircraft Group 23 (19 F4F's of VMF-223 and 12 SBD-3's of VMSB-232) arrived on Henderson Field. (OpHist, v. 1, p. 279).
1942 22 Aug USMC: The 4th Marine Aircraft Wing was commissioned at Ewa, Hawaii, as the 4th Marine Base Defense Air Wing and charged with providing air defense for bases, search and patrol, air-sea rescue, and shipping escorts in the Hawaiian area. (Sherrod, p. 438).
1942 24 Aug GUADALCANAL: Eleven Navy dive bombers arrived at Henderson Field. (OpHist, v. 1, p. 280).
1942 25 Aug SOLOMONS: The Battle of the Eastern Solomons. Planes from Marine Scout-Bomber Squadron 232 at Henderson Field assisted in an attack on a Japanese task force carrying Guadalcanal reinforcements. A Japanese destroyer and transport were sunk, and many men of the Special Naval Landing Force were killed. (OpHist, v. 1, pp. 292, 293).
1942 30 Aug GUADALCANAL: The rear echelon of Marine Aircraft Group 23 (VMF-221 and-231) arrived on Henderson Field. (Sherrod, p. 445; Zimmerman, p. 74).
1942 30-31 Aug GUADALCANAL: More than 6,000 Japanese troops of the Kawaguchi Force landed in the Tasimboko area west of Lunga Point near Kokumbona in an attempt to strike at the Marine perimeter. (OpHist, v. 1, pp. 301, 302).
1942 1 Sep GUADALCANAL: Seabees landed on the island to assist in developing the airfield. (Naval Chronology, p. 33).
1942 5 Sep PACIFIC: Admiral Nimitz, CinCPac, requested the relocation of the Marine Aircraft Wings, Pacific, from San Diego to Pearl Harbor. (FMFPac, p. 34).
1942 11 Sep GUADALCANAL: Japanese bombers and zeroes attacked Henderson Field. F4F's from the USS Saratoga arrived on the field from Espiritu Santo. (OpHist, v. 1, p. 302).
1942 14 Sep GUADALCANAL: The Battle of the Ridge. The Marine line on Edson's Ridge repulsed an attempt by the Kawaguchi Force to penetrate the Henderson Field perimeter. (OpHist, v. 1, pp. 306 -308).
1942 4 Oct HAWAIIAN ISLANDS: The Headquarters Squadron, Marine Air-craft Wing, Pacific, arrived at Ewa. (FMFPac, p. 34).
1942 9 Oct GUADALCANAL: Marine Fighter Squadron 121, commanded by Major Leonard K. Davis, and the rear echelon of the 2d Marines, 2d Marine Division, arrived on the island. (OpHist, v. 1, p. 326; Williams, p. 58).
1942 14 Oct GUADALCANAL: Japanese night bombers struck Henderson Field damaging 42 of the 90 operable planes and causing heavy casualties; air operations were moved to Fighter 1. Later, Japanese cruisers bombarded the field, while six transports, carrying Lieutenant General M. Maruyama, 2d Division, moved to Tassafaronga. (OpHist, v. 1, p. 327).
1942 5 Oct GUADALCANAL: SBD's of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, supported by planes from Espiritu Santo, attacked the Japanese force unloading troops and supplies at Tassafaronga. About 3,000-4,000 men of the 230th and 16th Infantry Regiments as well as 80% of the ships' cargo were taken ashore before the Japanese were forced to flee up Sealark Channel; these troops, the last the Japanese were able to land before their concentrated attack on Henderson Field, brought the Japanese strength on the island to about 20,000 men. (OpHist, v. 1, p. 328).
1942 5 Oct Lieutenant General H. Hyakutake, commanding the Japanese forces on Guadalcanal, ordered his 2d Division to attack Henderson Field and tentatively set the assault for 18 October. (OpHist, v. 1, p. 329).
1942 16 Oct GUADALCANAL: Marine Aircraft Group 14 relieved Marine Aircraft Group 23 as the administrative and maintenance agency at Henderson Field. Its commander, Lieutenant Colonel Albert D. Cooley, was named to head an Air Search and Attack Command organized to control all bombing reconnaissance and rescue operations on the island. (OpHist, v. 2, p. 458).
1942 25-26 Oct GUADALCANAL: Japanese destroyers harassed U.S. shipping in Sealark Channel and beach positions of the 3d Defense Battalion at the same time that Japanese bombers attacked Henderson Field. An assault against the south flank of the Lunga Perimeter defended by the 1st Battalion of the l64th Infantry, USA (rein) was repulsed. A second Japanese attack, south of Hill 67 in the 2d Battalion, 7th Marines' zone penetrated the Marine line but was later driven off by elements of the 2d Battalion joined by a company of the 5th Marines. The Japanese force withdrew inland. (OpHist, v. 1, pp. 333, 355-357).
1942 31 Oct-1 Nov GUADALCANAL: Parts of Marine Scout-Bomber Squadron 132 and Marine Fighter Squadron 211 arrived at Henderson Field. (OpHist, v. 1, p. 343).
1942 4-5 Nov GUADALCANAL: The 8th Marines arrived with its supporting 1st Battalion, 10th Marines (75mm pack howitzers). The 1st Battalion of the l47th Infantry, USA, Carlson's Raiders, the 246th Field Artillery's Provisional Battalion K, USA, and Seabees landed at Aola Bay, about 4O miles east of the Lunga River, to construct a new airfield. (OpHist, v. 1, pp. 342, 343).
1942 15 Nov GUADALCANAL: ComAirSoPac designated Henderson Field and Fighter 1 a Marine Corps Air Base, and Colonel William J. Fox became base commander. (OpHist, v. 1, p. 362).
1942 25-26 Oct GUADALCANAL: Japanese destroyers harassed U.S. shipping in Sealark Channel and beach positions of the 3d Defense Battalion at the same time that Japanese bombers attacked Henderson Field. An assault against the south flank of the Lunga Perimeter defended by the 1st Battalion of the l64th Infantry, USA (rein) was repulsed. A second Japanese attack, south of Hill 67 in the 2d Battalion, 7th Marines' zone penetrated the Marine line but was later driven off by elements of the 2d Battalion joined by a company of the 5th Marines. The Japanese force withdrew inland. (OpHist, v. 1, pp. 333, 355-357).
1942 31 Oct-1 Nov GUADALCANAL: Parts of Marine Scout-Bomber Squadron 132 and Marine Fighter Squadron 211 arrived at Henderson Field. (OpHist, v. 1, p. 343).
1942 4-5 Nov GUADALCANAL: The 8th Marines arrived with its supporting 1st Battalion, 10th Marines (75mm pack howitzers). The 1st Battalion of the l47th Infantry, USA, Carlson's Raiders, the 246th Field Artillery's Provisional Battalion K, USA, and Seabees landed at Aola Bay, about 4O miles east of the Lunga River, to construct a new airfield. (OpHist, v. 1, pp. 342, 343).
1942 15 Nov GUADALCANAL: ComAirSoPac designated Henderson Field and Fighter 1 a Marine Corps Air Base, and Colonel William J. Fox became base commander. (OpHist, v. 1, p. 362).
This effectively moved the Pacific War much further out into the Pacific and provided some relief to Ewa Field and Hawaii of an imminent Japanese air attack. However total air defense of Ewa Field was continuing to expand and the construction of the hard concrete dome revetments continued, even after NAS Barbers Point was put into operation in 1943. Major Army AA expansion continued around MCAS Ewa during 1944. Only President Roosevelt's visit in 1944 provided some sense that Hawaii had some increased security from Japanese attack.
1942 2 6 Dec GUADALCANAL: Brigadier General Francis P. Mulcahy, Commanding general of the 2d Marine Aircraft Wing, relieved Brigadier General L. E. Woods as Commander, Aircraft, Cactus Air Force. "(OpHist, v. 1, p. 362).
1943 9 Feb GUADALCANAL: Major General Alexander M. Patch, USA, commanding the XIV Corps, announced the "Total and complete defeat of the Japanese forces on Guadalcanal.." (OpHist, v. 1, p. 371).
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