U.S. Air Force, Navy Restore Historic WWII-Era Airfield in the Pacific

Tinian airfield was used as a launching point for B-29 bombers targeting Imperial Japan, including the 'Enola Gay.'

Kimberly Johnson

Friday, March 07, 2025 at 11:04 AM ET

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Edited By: tccjeremy

Boeing B-29 ‘Enola Gay’ on Tinian in the Mariana Islands. [Credit: U.S. Air Force]

Key Takeaways:

U.S. military engineers are restoring North Field Air Base on Tinian, a historic World War II airfield, through a $409 million, five-year project to reclaim it from jungle growth.
The refurbished airfield will serve as an alternate location for flight operations in the Indo-Pacific, enhancing operational resilience and providing a backup to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.
Tinian's airfield, once the world's largest and a critical B-29 launch point in WWII, is being reactivated to support the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command's Agile Combat Employment (ACE) doctrine for projecting power from dispersed locations.

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U.S. Air Force engineers, U.S. Navy Seabees, and U.S. Marine engineer teams have reclaimed a historic World War II airfield from jungle growth in the Western Pacific for use for operations for American forces throughout the Indo-Pacific.

The airfield at North Field Air Base on the isle of Tinian is being improved as an alternate location for flight operations at nearby Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, should the primary airfield become unsustainable in a time of war, according to Pacific Air Forces (PACAF).