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  USN 1945  George White Oct 1945  Kline 1945  U.S. Army June 21, 1946 |
Location Lat 11° 2' 0" N Long 125° 43' 0" E Guiuan Airfield is located at an elevation of 7' above sea level to the east of Guiuan (Guian, Guinan) in Eastern Samar Province on Samar Island. Pronounced "Giwan". Also known as "Samar Airfield" or "Samar Field". Still in use today as Guiuan Airport. Borders Leyte Gulf to the west. Construction Built by the U.S. Navy (USN) 42nd Naval Construction Battalion (42nd NCB) "Seabees" with a pair of parallel runways surfaced with crushed coral oriented ENE to WSW. The bomber strip measured 7,000' x 150' with a 500' overrun at each end. The fighter strip measured 7,000' x 100'. The runways had lights on poles. Minor repair facilities were available at the airfield plus accommodations for transient crews, fuel and oil, tank truck delivery and major repairs available. Wartime Usage This airfield was used by American fighters and bombers from three branches of service: U.S. Army Air force (USAAF), U.S. Navy (USN) and U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) fighters and bombers. On January 24, 1945 during take off FG-1 Corsair 14095 piloted by 2nd Lt. Karl Berth from VMF-222 blew a tire, lost control and crashed into a revetment. As ground personnel raced to rescue the trapped pilot, the plane caught fire and the ammunition exploded resulting in 13 killed and 50 wounded. American units based at Samar U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) VMO-251 (F4U Corsair, FG Corsair) Guadalcanal first USMC squadron to operate from Guiuan VMO-212 (Corsair) check history MAG 14 arrives January 2, 1945 under operational command of 5th Air Force between Februay 2-12, 1945. VMF-212 (Corsair) Nissan arrives January 8, 1945–June 7, 1945 departs Kadena VMF-222 (Corsair) Nissan arrives January 14, 1945–May 22, 1944 departs Okinawa VMF-223 (Corsair) Nissan arrives January 1945 Okinawa U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) 22nd BG, 408th BS (B-24) Angaur arrives January 14, 1945–March 13, 1945 Clark 22nd BG, 2nd BS (B-24) Angaur arrives January 20, 1945–March 14, 1945 Clark 22nd BG, 33rd BS, HQ (B-24) Angaur arrives January 21, 194–March 12, 1945 Clark 22nd BG, 19th BS (B-24) Angaur arrives January 27, 1945–March 15, 1945 Clark 5th BG, 23rd BS (B-24) Pitu arrives February 20, 1945 5th BG, 394th BS (B-24) Pitu arrives March 2, 1945 5th BG, HQ (B-24) Pitu arrives March 5, 1945 2nd CCG, 6th CCS (C-46) Biak arrives March 8, 1945 5th BG, 31st BS (B-24) Pitu arrives March 17, 1945 5th BG, 72nd BS (B-24) Pitu arrives March 20, 1945 Today Still in use today as Guiuan Airport designated a small airport with a single runway oriented 25/07 measures 6,870' x 148' surfaced with asphalt. Airport code: ICAO: RPVG. References Airdromes Guide Southwest Pacific Area - 1 July 1945 Corsair page 90-91 Thanks to Tony Feredo for additional information Contribute
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