Henderson Field (East Midway)

Henderson Field (Midway) Naval Air Station Midway Islands
Coordinates	28°12′39.78″N 177°19′43.00″W
Type	Military Airfield
Site information
Controlled by	United States Navy United States Army Air Forces
Site history
Built	1941
In use	1941-1945

Henderson Field (originally known as Naval Air Station Midway Islands) on East Midway Island is a former World War II airfield in the Central Pacific. The airfield was abandoned after the war.

History

See Also: Battle of Midway

The Midway Islands are best known as the location of the pivotal battle of the Pacific Theatre of World War II. Henderson Field was built in 1941. It consisted of a seaplane facility on Sand Island & a landplane airfield on Eastern Island. The Eastern Island airfield initially comprised three runways, 2 hangars & a barracks.

Midway was shelled by a Japanese destroyer on the same day as the Pearl Harbor attack, and was shelled by a submarine several months later.

During the climatic Battle of Midway in 1942, the Japanese were so sure of their victory that they deliberately spared the runways of Eastern Island for their use after the capture of the island. That didn't happen, due to their overwhelming defeat in the waters surrounding Midway.

Aircraft of the Navy, Marine Corps & Army operated from Eastern Island, and helped to turn back the Japanese Fleet. The Marine Corps had nineteen SBD Dauntless dive-bobmers, seven F4F Wildcata, seventeen Vought SBU Corsair Vindicators, twenty-one F2A-3 Brewster Buffalos, and six Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bombers.

B-17s during the Battle of Midway

B-17E of the 72d Bomb Squadron, 5th Bomb Group which took part in the Battle of Midway, 1942

Eight [[B-17}B-17E Flying Fortress]]es of the 431st Bomb Squadron (11th Bomb Group) were deployed to Midway on 29 May 1942 and were joined by nine more the next day from the 42d Bombardment Squadron along with five B-26 Marauders (three from the 11th Reconnaissance Squadron (22d Bomb Group) and two from the 69th Bomb Squadron (38th Bomb Group)). The Marauders were equipped to drop torpedoes and were under the command of Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander in Chief, Pacific. In addition, B-17Es of the 3d and 72d Bomb Squadrons (5th Bomb Group) were sent to Midway in preparation for the battle.

Because of the threat of a dawn attack on Midway, searching planes were sent out as early as possible each day - usually about 0415. To safeguard them from destruction on the ground and to have the striking force instantly available, the B-17's took off immediately afterwards. They remained in the air for about 4 hours, by which time the progress of the search and the reduction of their fuel load made it safe for them to land. The four B-26's, the six TBF's, and other planes remained on the ground but fully alert until the search had reached a distance of 400 miles.

Nimitz, believed that the enemy planned a rendezvous about 700 miles west of Midway and ordered that this area be searched by B-17's on May 31st and June 1st, if possible. This was done with negative results. On June 2d a B-17 without bombs searched 800 miles to the west without making any contacts. These searches were conducted in part by two groups of six B-17's flown in from Hawaii on May 30th and 31st, respectively. Consequently their crews were in the air about 30 hours in the 2 days before actual combat, and, in addition, serviced their own planes.

On June 3d the usual search was made. At 12:30 hours 9 B-17Es left Midway in search of the Japanese invasion fleet, which had been sighted by a PBY an hour earlier only 700 miles away with was ordered to attack this "main body." This Japanese force, consisting of 2 or 3 heavy cruisers and about 30 other ships, including destroyers, transports, and cargo vessels, had evidently been moving toward Midway since the morning contact. At 16:25 the fleet of 26 ships was spotted 570 miles from the island. Six B-17Es of the 431st, along with three B-17Es from the 31st attacked in three flights of three from altitudes of 8,000, 10,000, and 12,000 feet respectively. hits were scored on several Japanese vessels, with one heavy cruiser, one transport and three other ships left burning, however antiaircraft fire, although consistently behind the planes, was so heavy that it was considered unwise to stay to observe results.

On the night of 3 June, an additional seven more B-17Es from the 42d Bomb Squadron arrived on Midway to reinforce the heavy bomber contingent. At 04:15, 14 B-17s left Midway shortly after the patrol planes had been sent out. They were proceeding to the west to attack the enemy forces sighted the preceding day when a message was received in plain language telling of the discovery of the enemy carrier task force on bearing 325° from Midway. Climbing to 20,000 feet, the Fortresses changed course to find the carriers. The enemy force was located at 0732, but the carriers, circling under a cloud formation, were not found till 0810. The B-17's had skirted the fleet and approached from the northwest; i. e., from the stern of the targets. They attacked by flights, two elements concentrating on each of two carriers and a single element on a third. Antiaircraft fire was heavy and found the altitude, but was generally behind. The Japanese fighters did not dare press home their attacks, which were ineffectual. The results of this attack were reported to be three hits on two carriers. Probably two of these hits were on the Soryu, which may have been the carrier left smoking by the Marine SBD's only a few minutes before.

A second group of eight B-17Es launched from Midway on 5 June attacked a Japanese task force 130 miles from the island and claimed hits on two large warships. A third group of six B-17s clamed hits on a heavy cruiser 300 miles from Midway. The last strike made by Seventh Air Force aircraft in the Battle of Midway was by five B-17Es attacking a heavy cruiser 425 miles from Midway, in which one B-17 was shot down, although all of the crew but one was rescued. Another B-17 was lost due to running out of fuel.

Between 3 and 5 June, Fifth Air Force B-17s flew 16 attacks totaling 55 sorties from Midway. However eventually it was determined that none of the heavy bombers actually hit a target. The B-17's were far more suited to high altitude bombing, hitting stationary ground targets, not in an attack mode, attempting to hit moving targets.

After the battle

After the Battle of Midway, the airfield on Eastern Island was named in honor of Major Lofton Henserson, who perished in the battle. The airfield on Eastern Island was abandoned after the war. The P-40 Warhawk-equipped 73d Fighter Squadron (18th Fighter Group) was assigned to Henderson Field after the battle to provide air defense. It remained until January 1943 when it returned to Hawaii.

Henderson Field today

East Island has been abandoned since 1970. Today, the original runways, buildings, bunkers and other wartime remnants still stand. Bomb craters and long strings of strafing bullet marks from Japanese Zero fighter aircraft still stitch across runway aprons and building faces, evidence that Japan brought the battle onto Midway's shores.

See also

• USAAF in the Central Pacific

References

 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 0892010924.
• www.pacificwrecks.com