# Butaritari Airport > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Butaritari_Airport > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Butaritari_Airport.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butaritari_Airport > Source revision: 1331989515 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (April 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Airport in Butaritari, Kiribati Butaritari Airport IATA: BBG ICAO: NGTU Summary Location Butaritari, Kiribati Elevation AMSL 5 ft / 2 m Coordinates 03°05′11″N 172°48′41″E / 3.08639°N 172.81139°E / 3.08639; 172.81139 Interactive map of Butaritari Airport Runways Direction Length Surface ft m 07/25 3,500 1,067 Asphalt Source: World Aero Data [1] **Butaritari Airport** ([IATA](/source/IATA_airport_code): **BBG**, [ICAO](/source/ICAO_airport_code): **NGTU**) is an airport on [Butaritari](/source/Butaritari) in the [Pacific Ocean](/source/Pacific_Ocean) island nation of [Kiribati](/source/Kiribati). ## History Butaritari Atoll Airport was built in Kiribati during [World War II](/source/World_War_II) by the United States after seizing the island from the Japanese. Construction lasted approximately one month, from November 20 to mid-December, of 1943. During the war, the airport was known as *Makin Airfield*, *Butaritari Airfield*, *Antakana Airfield*, or *Starmann Field*. The airfield was the base of operations for the [United States Army Air Forces](/source/United_States_Army_Air_Forces) [Seventh Air Force](/source/Seventh_Air_Force) [41st Bombardment Group](/source/41st_Bombardment_Group) which flew four squadrons of [B-25 Mitchell](/source/B-25_Mitchell) medium bombers. Missions from the airfield were flown against Japanese shipping, bypassing islands in the [Marshalls](/source/Marshall_Islands) and [Caroline Islands](/source/Caroline_Islands). In addition to the 41st, the 43d Fighter Squadron ([15th Fighter Group](/source/15th_Airlift_Wing)) flew [P-39 Airacobras](/source/P-39_Airacobra) and the 531st Bomb Squadron ([380th Bombardment Group](/source/380th_Bombardment_Group)) flew [A-24 Dauntless](/source/A-24_Dauntless) light attack aircraft from the airfield in late 1943 and early 1944. The Americans pulled out at the end of 1944, abandoning the airfield. After the war, the airfield was turned into a commercial airport. ## Airlines and destinations Airlines Destinations Air Kiribati Makin, Tarawa ## See also - [USAAF in the Central Pacific](/source/United_States_Army_Air_Forces_in_the_Central_Pacific_Area) - [Naval Base Gilbert Islands](/source/Naval_Base_Gilbert_Islands) ## References - Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-89201-092-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-89201-092-4). - Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. [*Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II*](https://web.archive.org/web/20161220180455/http://media.defense.gov/2010/Dec/02/2001329899/-1/-1/0/AFD-101202-002.pdf) (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-405-12194-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-405-12194-6). [LCCN](/source/LCCN_(identifier)) [70605402](https://lccn.loc.gov/70605402). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [72556](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/72556). Archived from [the original](http://media.defense.gov/2010/Dec/02/2001329899/-1/-1/0/AFD-101202-002.pdf) (PDF) on December 20, 2016. This article incorporates [public domain material](/source/Copyright_status_of_works_by_the_federal_government_of_the_United_States) from the [Air Force Historical Research Agency](https://www.afhra.af.mil/) ## External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Butaritari Atoll Airport](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Butaritari_Atoll_Airport). v t e USAAF Seventh Air Force in World War II Previously: Hawaiian Air Force (1940-1942) Airfields Hawaii Bellows Hickam Wheeler Okinawa Ie Shima Yontan Pacific USAAF in the Central Pacific USAAF in the Southwest Pacific Units Commands VII Bomber VII Fighter Wings 7th Fighter Groups Bombardment 5th Bombardment 11th Bombardment 30th Bombardment 41st Bombardment 307th Bombardment 494th Bombardment Fighter 15th Fighter 18th Fighter 21st Fighter 318th Fighter 508th Fighter Troop Carrier 419th Troop Carrier Squadrons Reconnaissance 28th Reconnaissance 41st Reconnaissance 43d Reconnaissance Transport 9th Troop Carrier 311th Troop Carrier 316th Troop Carrier Night Fighter 6th Night Fighter 548th Night Fighter 549th Night Fighter United States Army Air Forces First Second Third Fourth Fifth Sixth Seventh Eighth Ninth Tenth Eleventh Twelfth Thirteenth Fourteenth Fifteenth Twentieth This article about an Oceanian airport is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. - [v](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Oceania-airport-stub) - [t](/source/Template_talk%3AOceania-airport-stub) - [e](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Oceania-airport-stub) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Butaritari Airport](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butaritari_Airport) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butaritari_Airport?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.