NAF Midway Islands

NAF Midway Islands

Located approximately 1000 miles northwest of Honolulu, Midway Islands is near the end of the Hawaiin chain of Islands. It is the site of one of the turning points in the Pacific war. The Battle of Midway took place from June 4th to June 6th, 1942. As long as the Navy was stationed on the Islands a carnival was held each year to celebrate this event. During the time that I was stationed on NAF Midway Islands we were caretakers who waited for special operations to take place. When this happened we were inundated with P-3C's. Twice each week we were resupplied with either a USAF C-141A or C-141B. As you look at the photos you will notice that there is a difference between the two. The C-141B was slightly longer and had inflight refueling capability. Every two weeks the Coast Guard would RON with a C-130 on their way to Kure Island, a small Loran facility 60 miles away. I would board the C-130 and travel with the crew to Kure. That was an interesting experience as the island had a 3000 foot coral strip with no overrun. You either stopped at the end of the strip or went into the water. The photographs in this series shows the two types of aircraft familiar on Midway as well as a couple of shots of a USCG C-130 coming into the coral strip at Kure. Midway is home to thousands of birds. The Albatross (Gooney Bird) is the most notorious and makes landings and take offs rather interesting. On one trip from Midway to Kure we took three Gooney hits taking out two antennas and putting a hole in the leading edge of the wing large enough to get head and shoulders in!

If you are a flightsimmer you might want to take a quick trip from Midway to Kure and back. Use a C-130. The standard approach to Kure is to come in high and then almost dive to the end of the runway in order to deal with the wind currents prevalent there. Since the runway is short start reversing the props just before touchdown and go heavy on the brakes. Taking off is done by standing on the brakes and bringing the engines to full military power. When the bird begins to shake and rattle a bit let the brakes go. After speed builds it takes a pretty good haul on the yoke to get rotation. Have fun and good luck.

Though this chart indicates and airfield on both island the one on Eastern Island has not been used for years. It was the active field during the Battle of Midway. The area inside the breakwater on the upper right side of Sand Island was first used by Pan Am for their "Clipper Ships." Their was a hotel and other facilities for the passengers overnight stay. This area was used by the Navy for their seaplanes prior to and during WW II. The old seaplane hangar is still standing.

Kure Island is a "what you see is what you get" type of place. An antenna for the LORAN facility, a few buildings where the small USCG crew live and work. Have you ever heard the term "isolated duty?!" Oh yes, many birds and quite a few Hawaiian Monk Seals are there.