Yandina Airport (Yandina Airport)
Yandina Airport is an airport on Mbanika in the Solomon Islands.
The 33rd Naval Construction Battalion arrived on Banika Island in late February 1943 and commenced construction of a fighter airfield. By 13 April a basic airfield known as Airfield 1, Renard Airfield or South Field was usable. The 35th Battalion took over construction and by mid-May had completed a coral 3100 ft by 150 ft runway. By the end of June a taxiway, two warm-up areas, 60 ft by 450 ft, and 25 revetments had been completed and work had commenced on lengthening the runway to 6000 ft to make it usable by medium bombers. The 33rd Battalion had also erected an aviation-gasoline tank farm of eight 1,000-barrel tanks, together with piping and fittings. Enemy bombing on June 25, 1943, caused considerable damage to the Tank Farm. One tank was set on fire and was completely destroyed; three others were punctured by shrapnel. The piping was also damaged. Repairs were completed in five days. Gasoline service to the airfield was maintained without interruption.
USAAF units operating from the base included: US Navy operating from the base included:
* 67th Fighter Squadron operating P-39s from 23 January-15 August 1944
* VB-140 (PV-1) (Lockheed Ventura Bombing Squadron)
* VB-148 (PV-1) (Lockheed Ventura Bombing Squadron)
The 33rd Naval Construction Battalion arrived on Banika Island in late February 1943 and commenced construction of a fighter airfield. By 13 April a basic airfield known as Airfield 1, Renard Airfield or South Field was usable. The 35th Battalion took over construction and by mid-May had completed a coral 3100 ft by 150 ft runway. By the end of June a taxiway, two warm-up areas, 60 ft by 450 ft, and 25 revetments had been completed and work had commenced on lengthening the runway to 6000 ft to make it usable by medium bombers. The 33rd Battalion had also erected an aviation-gasoline tank farm of eight 1,000-barrel tanks, together with piping and fittings. Enemy bombing on June 25, 1943, caused considerable damage to the Tank Farm. One tank was set on fire and was completely destroyed; three others were punctured by shrapnel. The piping was also damaged. Repairs were completed in five days. Gasoline service to the airfield was maintained without interruption.
USAAF units operating from the base included: US Navy operating from the base included:
* 67th Fighter Squadron operating P-39s from 23 January-15 August 1944
* VB-140 (PV-1) (Lockheed Ventura Bombing Squadron)
* VB-148 (PV-1) (Lockheed Ventura Bombing Squadron)
IATA Code | XYA | ICAO Code | AGGY | FAA Code | |
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Telephone | Fax | ||||
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Map - Yandina Airport (Yandina Airport)
Map
Country - Solomon_Islands
Flag of the Solomon Islands |
The islands have been settled since at least some time between 30,000 and 28,800 BCE, with later waves of migrants, notably the Lapita people, mixing and producing the modern indigenous Solomon Islanders population. In 1568, the Spanish navigator Álvaro de Mendaña was the first European to visit them. Though not named by Mendaña, it is believed that the islands were called "the Solomons" by those who later received word of his voyage and mapped his discovery. Mendaña returned decades later, in 1595, and another Spanish expedition, led by Portuguese navigator Pedro Fernandes de Queirós, visited the Solomons in 1606. Britain defined its area of interest in the Solomon Islands archipelago in June 1893, when Captain Gibson, R.N., of HMS Curacoa (1878), declared the southern Solomon Islands a British protectorate. During World War II, the Solomon Islands campaign (1942–1945) saw fierce fighting between the United States, British Commonwealth forces and the Empire of Japan, including the Battle of Guadalcanal.
Currency / Language
ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
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SBD | Solomon Islands dollar | $ | 2 |
ISO | Language |
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EN | English language |