The Construction of Airfields during the New Georgia Campaign

122 Pages·2015·0.37 MB·English

by  Joseph Christopher Zimmerman

East Tennessee State University
Digital Commons @ East
Tennessee State University
Electronic Theses and Dissertations Student Works
8-2008
The Construction of Airfields during the New
Georgia Campaign of 1943-44: Lessons Learned
by the United States Naval Construction Battalions.
Joseph Christopher Zimmerman
East Tennessee State University
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Zimmerman, Joseph Christopher, "The Construction of Airfields during the New Georgia Campaign of 1943-44: Lessons Learned by
the United States Naval Construction Battalions." (2008).Electronic Theses and Dissertations.Paper 1987. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/
1987
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The Construction of Airfields during the New Georgia Campaign of 1943-44:
Lessons Learned by the United States Naval Construction Battalions

_____________________

A thesis

presented to

the faculty of the Department of History

East Tennessee State University

In partial fulfillment

of the requirements for the degree

Master of Arts in History

_____________________

by

Joseph C. Zimmerman, PE

August 2008

_____________________

Dr. Ronnie Day, Chair
Dr. Stephen G. Fritz

Dr. Henry J. Antkiewicz

Keywords: World War II, Pacific, New Georgia, Seabees, Naval Construction
ABSTRACT

The Construction of Airfields during the New Georgia Campaign of 1943-44:
Lessons Learned by the United States Naval Construction Battalions
by
Joseph C. Zimmerman, PE

Prevalent depictions of United States Naval Construction Battalions (Seabees) were engendered
by John Wayne in The Fighting Seabees and the musical, South Pacific. While capturing the
ingenious determination that birthed their motto ‘Can Do’, these incomplete pictures don’t
portray the complexity of construction under combat conditions in a harshly unforgiving and
demanding environment.

The Seabee’s first combat landing was New Georgia. In six months, these battalions built five
airfields, granting Allied forces air superiority over the Solomon Islands and Rabaul. Battalion
records stored at the Naval Facilities Command Archives, Port Heuneme, California, combined
with documents from the National Archives, provided source materials.

This thesis examines the construction operations undertaken at New Georgia that were the
proving grounds from which future construction methodology stemmed. This campaign
tempered the men, techniques, and equipment necessary for Pacific construction. The true heart
of the Seabee’s was forged by the lessons learned at New Georgia.

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Copyright 2008 by Joseph C. Zimmerman All Rights Reserved
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank Dr. Ronnie Day for all the help and encouragement he has provided
me during this long process. I would also like to thank Carol A. Marsh, Staff Historian, at the
Naval Facilities Engineering Command Archive and Seabee Museum at Port Hueneme,
California for all the assistance she provided during my archival research in September of 2002.
Last, but certainly not least, I thank my wife, Katherine D. Zimmerman, for all the love and
assistance she has provided me while working on this endeavor. She has been the best research
assistant anyone could ask for.
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CONTENTS

Page
ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................... 2
COPYRIGHT ........................................................................................................................ 3
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................... 4
LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................ 8
Chapter
1. INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................... 9
The New Georgia Campaign in the Solomon Islands................................................ 9
The Solomon Islands............................................................................................ 9
The New Georgia Group...................................................................................... 10
The ELKTON Plan.................................................................................................... 11
Operation CARTWHEEL.................................................................................... 11
TOENAILS.......................................................................................................... 13
Seabees, Acorns, and Cubs........................................................................................ 15
2. SEGI .............................................................................................................................. 18
Segi Plantation Airfield.............................................................................................. 18
Segi Landings ...................................................................................................... 18
The Organization of the 47th NCB ...................................................................... 19
The Reconnaissance of Segi Point ...................................................................... 20
Construction - Segi Point - June and July 1943......................................................... 23
Construction - Segi Point - August 1943................................................................... 27
Construction - Segi Point - September 1943.............................................................. 30
Construction - Segi Point - October 1943.................................................................. 32
Construction - Segi Point – November 1943 through January 1943......................... 35
Segi Point Airfield - Conclusion.................................................................................... 36
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Chapter Page
3. MUNDA ........................................................................................................................ 39
The Munda Point Airfield and Naval Base ............................................................... 39
Rendova Landings 30 June – July 1943 ............................................................. 39
Munda Field - Japanese....................................................................................... 42
The Plan for Munda............................................................................................. 45
Construction at Munda – August 1943...................................................................... 47
Construction at Munda – September 1943................................................................. 50
Construction at Munda – October 1943..................................................................... 52
Construction at Munda – November 1943................................................................. 55
Construction at Munda – December 1943................................................................. 59
Construction at Munda – January 1944..................................................................... 60
Construction at Munda – February 1944................................................................... 61
Construction at Munda – March 1944....................................................................... 62
Opening of the Munda Bar – August 1943 - May 1944............................................ 64
Munda – Conclusion.................................................................................................. 67
4. AUXILIARY FIGHTER FIELDS ................................................................................ 69
Ondonga .................................................................................................................... 69
Plan for Ondonga ................................................................................................ 69
Ondonga – September 1943 ................................................................................ 69
Ondonga – October 1943..................................................................................... 71
Ondonga – November 1943 ................................................................................ 72
Ondonga – December 1943 Onward.................................................................... 73
Vella Lavella ............................................................................................................. 74
Vella Lavella – August 1943............................................................................... 75
Vella Lavella – September 1943.......................................................................... 76
Vella Lavella – October 1943.............................................................................. 77
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Chapter Page
Vella Lavella – November 1943.......................................................................... 78
Vella Lavella – December 1943.......................................................................... 79
5. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................. 82
The Lessons Learn by the Seabees in the Solomon Islands ...................................... 82
The Lessons from the Japanese.................................................................................. 83
What the Seabees Learned about Themselves........................................................... 85
What the Seabees Learned about Equipment............................................................. 87
The Lessons of Supply and Transportation............................................................... 88
The Move Forward.................................................................................................... 91
WORKS CITED.................................................................................................................... 93
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY........................................................................................ 108
VITA ..................................................................................................................................... 120

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LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
1. August Equipment Status 47th NCB........................................................................................28
2. Projects Completed by the 47th NCB at Segi...........................................................................37
3. Manpower for Munda Aviation Projects – November 1943...................................................56
4. Equipment for Munda Aviation Projects – November 1943...................................................56
5. Material Quantities for Barakoma Airfield, Vella La Vella....................................................80

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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
The New Georgia Campaign in the Solomon Islands
The Solomon Islands
In the years prior to 1942, the Solomon Islands were virtually unknown to the American
public and, for all practical purposes, to the United States military. This situation changed in
1942 with the battle for Guadalcanal in the southern Solomon Islands. The battle for the
Japanese-built airstrip, renamed by the United States Marines as Henderson Field, engaged
American public attention as the only United States combat advance in the South Pacific during
that year. As a result, Americans learned a whole new lexicon of names and phrases, including
“The Slot”, “PT-109”, and “Seabees”. The battle for that jungle airfield also set the tone and the
purpose for the subsequent Allied military activities in the Solomon Islands and in the Southwest
Pacific Theater of operations. The objective of these military operations was the capture or
construction of airbases, including ones on New Georgia, for the sole purpose of advancing
Allied Air Power to neutralize the Japanese base at Rabaul in the Bismarck Archipelago, the key
to Japanese power in the South Pacific.
The Solomon Islands themselves form a double chain of parallel islands running
southeast from the Bismarck Archipelago toward the New Hebrides Islands for approximately
six hundred miles from 5° to 11° south of the Equator. The navigable channel formed by the
double row of islands – the New Georgia Sound - became know as “The Slot”. The islands are
volcanic in origin with steep mountainous interiors covered with dense jungle and surrounded by
extensive coral reef systems. Flat and cultivatable ground on these islands is rare and in the
1940s these spots were the locations of the native population administrative centers or the
location of plantations owned and operated by a variety of European companies or Christian
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