Majuro Airfield was originally established by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service in 1942. The island was captured on 31 January 1944 during Battle of Kwajalein by the V Amphibious Corps'Marine Reconnaissance Company and the 2nd Battalion, 106th Infantry Regiment who found it to be unoccupied. The 100th Naval Construction Battalion began to improve the airfield creating a coral-surfaced 5,800 feet (1,800 m) by 445 feet (136 m) runway covering most of Delap Island. By mid-March the airfield was in limited operation and by 15 April the airfield, taxiways, aprons, housing, shops, and piers were fully operational. The Seabees also constructed roads and causeways linking Delap to the adjacent islands. The carrier replacement plane pool was subsequently located at Majuro and a new 4,000 feet (1,200 m) by 175 feet (53 m) runway was built on Uliga Island and a two-lane causeway connecting Uliga and Delap was constructed. An 800 feet (240 m) by 150 feet (46 m) apron was cleared and paved adjacent to the main runway to facilitate transport operations.[3]
Vought F4U-1A/D Corsair fighters warming up at Majuro
Postwar
The airfield was reduced to inactive status on 1 January 1947 and disestablished on 1 June 1947.[4]
In the postwar period the airfield continued to serve as the airport for Majuro, however by the mid-1960s the runway surface was deteriorating and it was becoming unsuitable for use by modern aircraft, so it was decided to relocate the airport to its current location west of Rairok and to utilize the area on Delap for industrial, commercial and residential development.[5]Marshall Islands International Airport opened in 1972 and Majuro Airfield ceased operation.
