World War II The
Seabees of the
40th Naval Construction Battalion arrived on Santo on 3 February 1943 and were tasked with building a third bomber field in dense jungle to the west of Luganville. By July the Battalion had completed a by coral runway, with of taxiways and 75 hardstands. Additional facilities constructed included a tank farm of six 1,000-barrel steel tanks, two truck-loading stations, two repair areas, fifteen by arch-rib warehouses, one by hangar, eighteen quonset huts for living quarters, six mess halls, and all necessary utilities. of two-lane access and supply roads, were cut through dense jungle.
VP-44 operating
PBY-5s operated from Luganville from 11 March 1944 until 15 June 1944 when it moved to
Nissan Island.
VMF-323 was based at Luganville from 29 October 1944 until 23 February 1945 when it moved to Okinawa.
No. 30 Squadron RNZAF also operated from the base in February 1944 before moving forward to
Piva Airfield.
Postwar NOB Espiritu Santo disestablished on 12 June 1946. ==See also==