Santo International Airport

Coordinates: 15°30′21″S 167°13′17″E / 15.50583°S 167.22139°E / -15.50583; 167.22139
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Santo International Airport
AMSL
184 ft / 56 m
Coordinates15°30′21″S 167°13′17″E / 15.50583°S 167.22139°E / -15.50583; 167.22139
Map
SON is located in Vanuatu
SON
SON
Location of airport in Vanuatu
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
12/30 6,523 1,988 Asphalt
Sources: World Aero Data,[1] Great Circle Mapper [2]
Pekoa Airfield
New Hebrides Islands
Coordinates15°30′18.12″S 167°13′11.07″E / 15.5050333°S 167.2197417°E / -15.5050333; 167.2197417
TypeMilitary Airfield
Site information
Controlled byUnited States Army Air Forces
United States Navy
Conditionabandoned
Site history
Built1942
Built bySeebees
In use1942-5
MaterialsCoral
31st Bombardment Squadron
from Pekoa Airfield, Espiritu Santo, flying over Rendova, Solomon Islands 5 October 1942 after a raid of Japanese-held positions on Gizo Island.

Santo International Airport is an airport in Luganville on Espiritu Santo in Vanuatu (IATA: SON, ICAO: NVSS). The airport used to be called Santo-Pekoa International airport until it was renamed in the Vanuatu AIPV amendment released on 16 June 2021.[3] Airports Vanuatu Limited provides aviation services for the airport.

History

World War II

The 7th Naval Construction Battalion arrived on Santo on 11 August 1942 to begin construction of more extensive

pierced steel planking over a coral base, and built taxiways, revetments, and miscellaneous structures.[4]
The completed airfield was operational in December 1942 and was known as "Bomber Field No. 2" or "Pekoa Field".

The

Thirteenth Air Force was based at Pekoa from 13 January 1943 until 20 January 1944 when it moved to Carney Airfield on Guadalcanal
. Units assigned were:

  • Headquarters, XIII Bomber Command, 13 January-20 August 1943
  • Headquarters, XIII Fighter Command, 22 January–December 1943
  • 5th Bombardment Group
    , 1 December 1942 – 19 August 1943
  • 11th Bombardment Group
    , 22 July 1942 – 8 April 1943
  • 18th Fighter Group
    , 11 March-17 April 1943
  • 4th Reconnaissance Group, 23 January 1943 – 6 May 1944
  • 403d Troop Carrier Group
    , 13 September 1943 – 30 August 1944

As the war moved further north, Pekoa Airfield was closed on 8 February 1945 and all traffic routed to Palikulo Bay Airfield.

Postwar

Luganville Airfield was used as a civilian airstrip until the early 1970s, however as it was on higher ground it was often clouded in and so it was decided to move all operations to the former Pekoa Airfield/Bomber Field No.2 which became Santo-Pekoa International Airport.[5]

Of the four wartime airfields on Espiritu Santo: Turtle Bay Airfield, Palikulo Bay Airfield, Luganville Airfield and Pekoa; Pekoa is the only wartime airfield still in use.[citation needed]

See also

References

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

  • Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History.
    ISBN 0-89201-092-4
    .
  • Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.
    OCLC 72556
    .
  1. ^ "Santo Pekoa Intl". World Aero Data. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ^ Airport information for Luganville, Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu (NVSS / SON) at Great Circle Mapper.
  3. ^ "AIRAC AIP Supplement" (PDF), Vanuatu AIP AIRAC, Vauatu AIP, 16 June 2021, retrieved 25 March 2022
  4. ^ 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. p. 228.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. ISBN 9780958665728
    .

External links
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