Motobu Airfield is a World War II airfield on the Motobu Peninsula of Okinawa, near the East China Sea coast. The airfield was deactivated after 1945.

History

The airfield was built in April 1945 by the United States Army Corps of Engineers and United States Navy Seabees as a combat airfield to support the Army and Marine Corps ground forces during the Battle of Okinawa. It had a 7,000' x 100' single runway and was used as the support field for Headquarters, Fifth Air Force and its subordinate commands on Okinawa from August through October 1945 until they moved to Honshu, Japan for postwar occupation duty.

Units assigned Headquarters, Fifth Air Force*, August 4 – September 25, 1945 Headquarters, V Bomber Command*, August–October 1945 Headquarters, V Fighter Command*, August–October 1945 Headquarters, 308th Bombardment Wing*, June 16 – September 22, 1945

.* Assigned to nearby town of Hamasaki and used Motobu Airfield for air operations.

Headquarters, 3d Bombardment Group, A-20 Havoc, August 6 – September 8, 1945 8th Bombardment Squadron, August 7 – October 26, 1945 13th Bombardment Squadron, August 7 – October 10, 1945 89th Bombardment Squadron, August 6 – September 8, 1945 90th Bombardment Squadron, August 6 – September 8, 1945

Headquarters, 380th Bombardment Group, B-24 Liberator, August 9 – November 28, 1945 528th Bombardment Squadron, August 8 – November 28, 1945 529th Bombardment Squadron, August 18 – November 28, 1945 530th Bombardment Squadron, August 10 – November 28, 1945 531st Bombardment Squadron, August 15 – November 28, 1945

Headquarters, 22d Bombardment Group, B-24 Liberator, August 15 – November 23, 1945 2d Bombardment Squadron, August 18 – November 23, 1945 19th Bombardment Squadron, August 14 – November 23, 1945 33d Bombardment Squadron, August 15 – November 23, 1945 408th Bombardment Squadron, August 21 – November 23, 1945

Headquarters, 417th Bombardment Group, A-20 Havoc, August 17 – November 1, 1945 672d Bombardment Squadron, August 17 – November 3, 1945 673d Bombardment Squadron, August 18 – November 4, 1945 674th Bombardment Squadron, August 15 – November 1, 1945 675th Bombardment Squadron, August 17 – November 5, 1945

In addition to the Army units, several Navy aviation squadrons used the airfield. Its postwar use is undetermined. Today, parts of the runway can still be seen on aerial photography.

See also Naval Base Okinawa

References

Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. .