[Milsurplus] Information needed.

Hubert Miller Kargo_cult at msn.com
Thu Oct 19 23:52:34 EDT 2017


Here is what I learned from 
http://aviation.hawaii.gov/airfields-airports/maui/maui-airport-puunene/
The Puunene Airport, civilian airport, was constructed from 1939.  And quoting:
"The construction of the airport had been approximately 90 percent completed when the Army and Navy took over the airport on December 7, 1941 and consisted of two runways, each graded 4,500 feet by 500 feet and paved 4,500 feet by 200 feet.  The armed services added greatly to the facilities of the airport, and as Naval Air Station Puunene, the airport served as a principal carrier plane training base.
Immediately after December 7, 1941, the military took control of all air fields in the Territory and began the expansion of Maui Airport at Puunene.
The demands of the war were such that the Navy found Puunene inadequate for the aircraft carrier training requirement and it was necessary to establish another large air station on Maui. Accordingly, a site was chosen near the town of Kahului and, after purchase of some 1,341 acres of cane land, construction was started in 1942 on what was to become Naval Air Station, Kahului. This facility later became known as Kahului Airport under the jurisdiction of the Hawaii Aeronautics Commission.  NASKA became operational in late 1943.  Air crews were trained at both Puunene and NASKA."

So, Naval Air Station Kuhului ( NASKA ) was a field 3 miles outside Kuhului town. Both Army and Navy apparently had their hands in the field at Puunene.
After the war, the Puunene airfield was smaller and less convenient. The NASKA operation was closed by the Navy and became Maui's airport; Puunene Airport itself 
closed 1955. 
The 1944 Pacific charts show for Maui, two field towers, NASKA at Kuhului  and MIKE tower at Puunene.  No actual calls are given; this strikes me as kind of an odd 
point, but I see in this chart, callsigns are the exception. 
Here's an anomaly for you: Honolulu Naval Air Station is listed with callsign KVM - not a Navy 'N' call. 
My money is on the wager that KMZR was the callsign of the joint Army-Navy operation at Puunene Field, and that this key was the personal tool of the individual, 
who worked the HF communications there. I will take a guess that actually very little CW was used at these fields, maybe more by the Navy, for their training on 
scout plane procedure. 
BTW, the facilities chart lists ONLY  6970 kHz for both Maui fields; also 140.58 VHF for both. 
-Hue 


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