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 70th FS 1942    David Paulley 1982   Yoji Sakaida 2007 |
Location Lat 17° 45' 19S Long 177° 26' 36E Nadi Airfield is located north of Nadi on Viti Levu Island in Fiji. Also known as Viti Levu Airport, Nadi Airport or Nadi International Airport. Often misspelled "Nandi Airfield". Construction Built prewar, during the war this airfield had a single 5,000' runway. Wartime History During the Pacific War, Nadi Airfield was used on the aircraft ferry route from Hawaii to Australia. Aircraft would next fly to Canton Airfield. Many of the USAAF units on Fiji were under the direct command of the US Navy (USN). On August 24, 1943 on her South Pacific tour, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt lands at Nadi Airfield and tours Viti Levu Island and departs the next day. Allied units based at Nadi U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) Task Group 8.9 (B-17) Canton January 21-23, 1942 New Caledonia 70th PS / 70th FS (P-39s) Hamilton arrives January 29, 1942–December 1942 Guadalcanal 11th BG, 431 BS (B-17) Hickam arrives July 24, 1942–December 5, 1942 departs Espiritu Santo 5th BG, 394th BS (B-17, B-24) Hawaii Dec 5, 42 - June 28, 43 Guadalcanal 5th BG HQ (B-17s) Hawaii Dec 25, 1942 - ? 5th BG 394th BS HQ (B-17) Hawaii Dec 25, 1942 - ? 7th BG, 86th BS (B-17 air echelon) Hickam departs February 10, 1942 - ? 7th BG, 88th BS (B-17 air echelon) Hickam departs February 12, 1942–February 20, 1942 to Townsville 7th BG, 22nd BS (B-17) Jogjakarta Feb 14 - Feb 20, 1942 Townsville 38th BG, 70th BS (B-26) ? - Jan 9, 1943 Guadalcanal returns Feb 4, 1943 347th FG, 68th FS (P-39, P-38) Guadalcanal April 12, 43 - Feb 4, 44 Bougainville 18th FG, 70th FS (P-39) ?–April 6, 1943 departs Guadalcanal 42nd BG HQ USA April 22, 1943–June 6, 1943 departs Guadalcanal 42nd BG, 390th BS (B-25) New Caledonia April 23, 1943–May 11, 1943 departs Guadalcanal Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) No. 15 Squadron (P-40) NZ March 1943–April 14, 1943 departs Espiritu Santo Today Still in use today, known as Nadi Airport or Nadi International Airport. Airport codes: ICAO: NFFN and IATA: NAN The airport has two runways. The first runway is oriented 20/2 and measures 10,739' x 150' surfaced with asphalt. The second runway is oriented 27/09 and measures 7,007' x 150' surfaced with asphalt. Michael Claringbould adds: "There were two runways at Nadi. The second one was just west of the main one today. there are still remnants of it there, but I have not seen them. the area is now an Fiji-Indian village." References Fiji Airports - Nadi Airport official website Contribute
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