Maloelap Airport
Encyclopedia
Maloelap Airport is a public use airport
located on Taroa Island in Maloelap Atoll
, Marshall Islands
. This airport is assigned the location identifier
3N1 by the FAA
and MAV by the IATA
.
of 4 feet (1.2 m) above mean sea level. The runway
is designated 04/22 with a turf
surface measuring 3,500 by 150 feet (1,067 x 46 m). There are no aircraft based at Maloelap.
, Taroa Airfield
was a major Japanese
airbase approximately three miles long and one mile wide. The airfield was Japan
's easternmost airbase of the War. Heavily bombed during the war, it was a favorite target for bombers from Makin Airfield, Tarawa
and Abemama
. Remnants of the airbase, defenses, and battles can still be found on the island; about 1,200 feet from the southwest end of the airport lies the wreck of the Toreshima Maru, a Japanese supply ship sunk in December, 1943.
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
located on Taroa Island in Maloelap Atoll
Maloelap Atoll
The Maloelap Atoll is a coral atoll of 71 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its land area is only,. but that encloses a lagoon of . It is located north of the atoll of Aur...
, Marshall Islands
Marshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...
. This airport is assigned the location identifier
Location identifier
A location identifier is a symbolic representation for the name and the location of an airport, navigation aid, or weather station, and is used for manned air traffic control facilities in air traffic control, telecommunications, computer programming, weather reports, and related services.-ICAO...
3N1 by the FAA
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
and MAV by the IATA
International Air Transport Association
The International Air Transport Association is an international industry trade group of airlines headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where the International Civil Aviation Organization is also headquartered. The executive offices are at the Geneva Airport in SwitzerlandIATA's mission is to...
.
Facilities
Maloelap Airport is at an elevationElevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....
of 4 feet (1.2 m) above mean sea level. The runway
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...
is designated 04/22 with a turf
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
surface measuring 3,500 by 150 feet (1,067 x 46 m). There are no aircraft based at Maloelap.
History
During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Taroa Airfield
Taroa Airfield
Taroa Airfield was a major air base approximately three miles long and one mile wide on Maloelap Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The airfield was the most eastern Japanese air base of the Second World War...
was a major Japanese
Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service
The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service was the air arm of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II, the organization was responsible for the operation of naval aircraft and the conduct of aerial warfare in the Pacific War.It was controlled by the Navy Staff of the Imperial Japanese Navy and...
airbase approximately three miles long and one mile wide. The airfield was Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
's easternmost airbase of the War. Heavily bombed during the war, it was a favorite target for bombers from Makin Airfield, Tarawa
Tarawa Atoll
Tarawa is an atoll in the central Pacific Ocean, previously the capital of the former British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. It is the location of the capital of the Republic of Kiribati, South Tarawa...
and Abemama
Abemama
Abemama is an atoll in the central part of the Kiribati Group located 152 kilometres southeast of Tarawa and just north of the Equator.- Geography :...
. Remnants of the airbase, defenses, and battles can still be found on the island; about 1,200 feet from the southwest end of the airport lies the wreck of the Toreshima Maru, a Japanese supply ship sunk in December, 1943.