Kaneohe Bay | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

December 7, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

NAS Kāneʻohe Bay

Dec. 7, 1941 will always be remembered as a “Day of Infamy,” after the devastation of Pearl Harbor. However, some may not be aware of the events that occurred that fateful morning on the other side of the Koʻolau Mountains.

Ten months after being commissioned, US Naval Air Station – Kāneʻohe Bay was one of the first locations on Oʻahu to be attacked by Japanese forces.

Minutes prior to its attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese Navy bombed NAS Kāneʻohe Bay.

The attack on Kāneʻohe was designed to disable the military’s long-range reconnaissance capabilities by knocking out the PBY Catalina seaplanes stationed there.

Navy Lieutenant Fusata Iida was the flight leader of carrier Soryu’s squadron of 12 Japanese dive-bombers who came off the seaward side of the peninsula during a 10-minute strike on the base.

Of the 36 PBY Catalina “flying boat” seaplanes, including those moored in Kāneʻohe Bay, 27 were destroyed and six others were damaged.

Only the three Catalinas that were out on patrol escaped attack. However, departing Japanese Zero aircraft attacked those three; one returned with 81 bullet holes in it.

The first Japanese aircraft destroyed in action during the December 7 attack were shot down at Kāneʻohe.

During the attack, Lt. Iida’s plane had been hit and was leaking fuel, when he apparently used it to make a suicide attack. (Before taking off, he had told his men that if his plane was badly damaged he would crash it into a “worthy enemy target.”)

He signaled that the rest of the planes should return to the ship and pointed to the ground, indicating that he would attempt to crash his plane into a suitable target.

Missing valuable targets, Iida’s plane crashed into the side of a hill on the base.

Navy Lt. John W. Finn, aviation chief ordnanceman, is credited for shooting down the Japanese Zero. During the attack, Finn left his quarters to man a .50 caliber machine gun mounted in a parking ramp. While doing so, he sustained multiple wounds. His actions earned him the Medal of Honor.

A second wave of bomber planes came approximately 20 minutes later and dropped more bombs. One of the hangars (now Hangar 102) received a direct hit during this attack and exploded.

The second attack is credited for most of the casualties (due to bomb fragments.) The Kāneʻohe raid killed 18 U.S. sailors and one civilian; 65 were injured.

Iida was buried at the Heleloa burial area, near the mass burial site of the 18 Sailors. (The remains of each were later disinterred and returned to their respective homes in the US and Japan.)

A stone and cement marker with bronze plaque, located along Reed Road, marks the approximate crash site. The Iida marker may be the only marker on a US military installation dedicated to an enemy soldier.

Representatives of several Japanese organizations regularly gather to remember Iida with a solemn ceremony and to honor the 19 who died there.

Of the artifacts surviving from pilot’s crash site, a helmet believed to be Iida’s was returned to his relatives at a ceremony at MCB Hawaiʻi in 1999.

There were a total of nine Zero pilots and aircraft lost during the attacks on December 7, 1941.

Three pilots were lost during the first wave attack, Takashi Hirano, from the carrier Akagi along with Kaga-based pilots Seinoshin Sano and Toru Haneda, did not return.

Six Zero fighter pilots were lost in the second wave attack, including Lt. Fusata Iida, Shun-Ichi Atsumi and Saburo Ishii, all members of the same element from the carrier Soryu.

In addition, Shigenori Nishikaichi, from the carrier Hiryu, crash-landed and was killed on the island of Niʻihau. Ippei Goto, along with his companion from the carrier Kaga, Tomio Inenaga, went missing in action. Information and photos summarized here are primarily from Marine and other military sources.

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John Finn defending Naval Air Station Kaneohe Bay on Dec. 7, 1941, entitled 'The Warriors of Kaneohe'

John_William_Finn-wearing_Medal_of_Honor

Cars that were strafed by Japanese aircraft pictured at Naval Air Station (NAS) Kaneohe, Hawaii

Lt Iida enroute from the factory to deliver his A6M2 model 11 to China in early 1941 flying past Mount Fuji

Sailors at Naval Air Station (NAS) Kaneohe, Hawaii, attempt to salvage a burning PBY Catalina

The Japanese officer, Lt. Iida, shot down in the attack, is buried with military honors near Kanehohe bay

Burial Ceremony for 18 Sailors Killed in Attack

Unabarakai_Association,_Japanese_Aircraft_Impact_Site-Commemoration

November 1, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kualoa Airfield

O‘ahu used to be nearly twice as big as it is now. (Thompson) The Island consists of two major shield volcanoes: Waiʻanae and Koʻolau; the eroded remnants of which are the Waiʻanae Range and the Koʻolau Range.

Waiʻanae is the older of the two (breaking the ocean surface ~3.9 to ~2.8 million-years ago) and makes up the western part of O‘ahu. Koʻolau volcano started as a seamount above the Hawaiian hotspot around 4-million years ago. It broke sea level some time prior to 2.9-million years ago.

Mokoliʻi (Chinaman’s Hat) and Mokuoloe (Coconut Island) are erosional remnants of the bedrock Koʻolau basalt; Kapapa and Kekepa (Turtleback) Islands are of limestone; and Ahu O Laka Island is a sand bar that is uncovered at low tide. (Moberly)

Kualoa is an ancient Hawaiian land division (ahupua‘a) at the north end of Kāne‘ohe Bay, windward O‘ahu. The ahupua‘a extends from the coast to the top of the nearly vertical, fluted mountain behind.

Kualoa is important as a symbol of sovereignty and independence for O’ahu, its role as a place of refuge, its role as a place where sacrificial victims for religious rituals were drowned, and its history as a sacred residence of chiefs.

In modern time, Coast Artillery existed as a distinct branch within the Army since 1901 and as a combatant “line” arm after 1920. Its stated mission was to protect fleet bases, defeat naval and air attacks against cities and harbors, undertake beach defense while acting as army or theater reserve artillery, and provide a mine-planter service.

Prior to WWII, Oʻahu defenses were divided between Pearl Harbor and Honolulu Harbor; however, with more military facilities being constructed on the island, the coastal defense program also expanded.

The area of Kualoa Regional Park has been modified in the past as a result of different land uses. Prior to World War II the lands were part of the sugarcane plantation of Kualoa.

The lands were converted to a fighter airfield during the World War II period, and reverted to grazing use after the war. The City and County of Honolulu condemned the land in the 1970s and converted it into a park.

Behind the beach at Kualoa Beach Park and running into the Kualoa Ranch property was a temporary facility used for a World War II airfield.

Kualoa airfield was evidently constructed during the early portion of WWII (maybe around 1942) and probably used as a satellite field for units assigned to Bellows Field, and was used mainly for training.

The earliest depiction of the field which has been located was a May 10, 1942 photo of Kualoa Field, which showed the field as having a single north/south runway.

It was depicted as having a single 6,500′ (north-south) runway. No evidence suggests that Kualoa was ever paved.

The entire runway was formed of pierced steel planking. The steel planking makes a strong case that the military had no plans to keep Kualoa open any longer than it was needed.

The road to Ka‘a‘awa and farther up to the north shore crossed over Kualoa’s runway, so the cars would have to wait whenever an airplane took off.

A row of revetments for protected aircraft parking was along the west side of the runway.

In about 1944, construction project ‘302’ was started for Kaneohe’s 3rd battery. It had two 6-inch guns, built at the northern reaches of Kāneʻohe Bay. Local engineers modified the conventional plans to fit local geographic conditions.

The battery was not named until after the end of the war (it was later named, Battery Cooper (after Avery J Cooper)) and it served for about 5-years as part of the World War II-era coastal defense program.

The 28th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, operating P-38, F-4 and A-24 aircraft was stationed at Kualoa between October 9, 1944 and May 8, 1945. The 18th Fighter Group, operating P-40s, also was stationed there briefly.

Since Kualoa Field had been constructed on land that was not owned by the military, it was returned to its original owners after WW2.

The Kualoa Airfield was closed at some point between 1944-1947 (as it was labeled “Kualoa AAB (Closed)” on the 1947 Hawaiian Islands Sectional Chart.)

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Kualoa Airfield by Chinaman’s Hat with P-38 in camouflage revetment.

28th_Photographic_Reconnaissance_Squadron_-_F-5_Lightning

Kualoa Airfield by Chinaman’s Hat with P-38 in camouflage.

B-17, LB-30 and B-18 aircraft on field.

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B-24 Liberator Bomber at Kualoa airfield

Orlando, Fla. – Barely visible beneath the wings of a Lockhead P-38 Lighting are the deadly bombs with which this multi-purpose plane can blast enemy troops, ships and gun emplacements. As shown in recent demonstartions at the AAF Tactical Center, Orlando, Fla., the Lockhead P-38, now being used as a fighter-bomber, is capable of carrying bomb pay loads up to 2,000 pounds, thus affording the Allies another potent weapon for use against Germany and Japan in coming offensive.

April 11, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Nuʻupia Pond

Mōkapu Peninsula was divided into three ahupua‘a – Kailua, Kāne‘ohe and He‘eia – these were extensions of the ahupua‘a across the large basin of Kāne‘ohe Bay.

The original name of the peninsula “Moku-Kapu” was derived from two Hawaiian words: “moku” (island) and “kapu” (sacred or restricted.) “Mokapu” is the contraction of “Moku Kapu” which means “Sacred or Forbidden Island.”

In ancient times, three ponds separated Mōkapu Peninsula from the rest of Kaneohe: Nuʻupia, Halekou and Kalupuhi Fishponds, they date to between 1300-1600 AD.

Prior to Polynesian settlement, the ponds were thought to be either a shallow open channel between Kāneʻohe and Kailua Bays, making Mōkapu an island, or an embayment off Kāneʻohe Bay with Mōkapu connected to Oʻahu by a thin coastal barrier dune.

In either case, the Hawaiian settlers used this shallow open water area by subdividing it into several fishponds and a salt-making area, separated by hand-built coral and rock walls.

The ponds were later subdivided by Chinese fishermen who leased the ponds to raise mullet and milkfish; over the years there were up to 18 ponds.

Some of the old dividing walls still remain their shape, but now there are eight ponds: Nuʻupia Ekahi, Nuʻupia Elua, Nuʻupia Ekolu, Nuʻupia Eha, Halekou, Heleloa, Paʻakai and Kaluapuhi.

Late-19th and early 20th-century cattle grazing over most of the Mōkapu Peninsula contributed to erosion and sedimentation, and creation of extensive mudflats.

The ponds are generally referred as Nuʻupia Ponds and are an important site for native and migratory waterfowl, shorebirds and seabirds.

Night heron, koloa, coots, stilts, moorhen, pacific golden plovers, black noddies, great frigatebirds and a large variety of migratory shorebirds, waterbirds and seabirds all utilize the wetland area. Wedge-tailed Shearwaters use the dune areas adjacent to the wetland.

Under military use since World War II, Nuʻupia Ponds became critical stilt habitat that aided their recovery from near extinction. Habitat loss and hunting throughout Hawai’i reduced stilt numbers to about 200 birds statewide by the early-1940s.

A ban on hunting prior to World War II permitted the partial recovery of the population and a high of 128 stilts was recorded in 1948 at Nuʻupia Ponds. There was also a period in late-1957 and early-1958 when, for unknown reasons, no birds were found.

Stilt populations on Oʻahu, including those at Nuʻupia Ponds, have shown a steady increase coincident with active habitat management since the 1980s. About 10 percent of the approximately 1,500 Hawaiian stilts native to the state are found here.

Red mangrove seeds first entered in the area in the early-1970s through culverts connecting the pond complex to adjoining bays. By 1974, the mangrove trees had become a pest species. Mangroves cover intertidal soft substrate in most of the tropics, but are not native to Hawaiʻi.

Red mangroves were first introduced to Hawaiʻi from Florida in 1902 to mitigate erosion after the destruction of coastal vegetation on the island of Molokai by humans and livestock.

In response to that, the Marines turned a nuisance into a training operation.

The 30-year-long Mud Ops exercise has Marine vehicles plowing a checkerboard mosaic of mud mounds surrounded by protective moats of water, providing cover from predators, controlling invasive plant growth and providing birds better access to nesting and feeding grounds.

Today, the ponds are part of the 482-acre Nuʻupia Ponds Wildlife Management Area within the Marine Corps Base Hawaiʻi.

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This circa 1940 shows Nuupia Ponds and the Naval Air Station at the bottom left. USMC photo.

Mokapu_USGS_Quadrangle-Mokapu-Kailua-1928-(portion)

Mokapu-(Kailua_Side)-UH-Manoa-2444-1952

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Marine-Mud_Ops

Marine_Mud_Ops

March 3, 2019 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Kāne‘ohe Bay Dredging

The earliest modifications to the natural marine environment of Kāne‘ohe Bay were those made by the ancient Hawaiians.

The construction of walled fishponds along the shore was perhaps the most obvious innovation.

The development of terraces and a complex irrigation network for the cultivation of taro no doubt had an effect on stream flow, reducing total runoff into the Bay.

In general, however, it can be stated that these early changes did not greatly modify the marine environment that existed when man first arrived in the area.

However, dredging in the Bay did.

Records of dredging permits issued by the Army Corps of Engineers began in 1915.

Almost all of the early permits were for boat landings, piers and wharves, including the 1,200-foot wharf at Kokokahi and the 500-ft wharf at Moku-o-Loe (Coconut Island) for Hawaiian Tuna Packers (in 1934.)

Although some dredging was involved in the construction of piers and small boat basins, probably the first extensive dredging was done in 1937 when 56,000 cubic yards were dredged “from the coral reef in Kāne‘ohe Bay” by the Mokapu Land Co., Ltd.

The great bulk of all reef material dredged in Kāne‘ohe Bay was removed in connection with the construction at Mokapu of the Kāne‘ohe Naval Air Station (now Marine Corps Base Hawai‘i) between 1939 and 1945.

Dredging for the base began on September 27, 1939, and continued throughout World War II. A bulkhead was constructed on the west side of Mokapu Peninsula, and initial dredged material from the adjacent reef flat was used as fill behind it.

In November 1939, the patch reefs in the seaplane take-off area in the main Bay basin were dredged to 10-feet (later most were taken down to 30-feet.)

Other early dredging was just off the northwest tip of the peninsula, near the site of the “landing mat” (runway.) The runway was about half complete at the time of the Japanese attack on December 7, 1941.

It appears that a fairly reliable total of dredged material is 15,193,000 cubic yards.

(Do the Math … Let’s say the common dump truck load is 10 cubic yards … that’s a million and an half truckloads of dredge material.)

During the war there had been some modifications of the ponds on Mokapu Peninsula, but the shore ponds around the perimeter of the Bay were spared.

However, from 1946 to 1948 (mostly in 1947) nine fishponds with a total area of nearly 60 acres, were filled, eight of them located in Kāne‘ohe ahupua‘a in the southern portion of the Bay.

In the Great Māhele, Hawaiian fishponds were considered private property by landowners and by the Hawaiian government.

This was confirmed in subsequent Court cases that noted “titles to fishponds are recognized to the same extent and in the same manner as rights recognized in fast land.”

Many of the filled fishponds were developed into residential uses (I’ll have more on fishponds in general and some specific ones in future posts.)

There are now only 12 walled fishponds remaining of the 30 known to have once existed in Kāne‘ohe Bay and a number of these have only partial remains and are not immediately recognizable as fishponds.

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Kaneohe_Bay_Dredging-1941

Mokapu-Peninsula-before-MCAS-dredging-1938.

Dredging Kaneohe Bay-1942

Kaneohe_Bay-Aerial-(2277)-1968

Kaneohe_Bay-Kailua-Aerial-(2096)-1976 – areas with partial dredging

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March 9, 2017 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Moku Manu

About 2-million years ago, much of the northeast flank of Koʻolau volcano was sheared off and material was swept onto the ocean floor (named the Nuʻuanu Avalanche) – one of the largest landslides on Earth.

The Pali is the remaining edge of the giant basin, or caldera, formed by the volcano. Mōkapu Peninsula (where Marine Corps Base Hawai‘i is situated) is evidence of subsequent secondary volcanic eruptions that formed, among other features, the islet of Moku Manu.

The majority of seabird-nesting colonies in the main Hawaiian Islands are located on the offshore islands, islets and rocks. Many of these offshore islands are part of the Hawaii State Seabird Sanctuary System.

These sanctuaries protect seabirds, Hawaiian Monk seals, migrating shorebirds, and native coastal vegetation. These small sanctuary areas represent the last vestiges of a once widespread coastal ecosystem that included the coastlines of all the main Hawaiian Islands. (DLNR)

Hawaiian seabirds today are subject to a number of threats to their survival, including predation by introduced mammals, habitat loss and degradation, and human impacts by people trespassing in seabird nesting areas.

Moku Manu (Bird Island) is three-quarters of a mile off Mōkapu Peninsula. It’s aptly named; it has the most diverse and one of the densest seabird colonies in the Main Hawaiian Islands. The state designated it the Moku Manu State Wildlife Sanctuary. (DLNR)

It is home to Uʻau Kani or Wedged-Tailed Shearwater, Noio or Black Noddy, Noio kōhā or Brown Noddy, ʻOu or Bulwer’s Petrel, Koaʻe ʻula or Red-tailed Tropicbird, ‘Ewa ʻEwa or Sooty Tern …

… ʻIwa or Great Frigatebird, Christmas Shearwater, Pākalakala or Grey-backed Tern, ʻā or Masked Booby, ʻā or Brown Booby, ʻā or Red-footed Boobies and various common shorebird species. (DLNR)

Moku Manu is protected as a state seabird sanctuary like its neighbors to the south, Manana, Kāohikaipu, and Mōkōlea Rock. “It is prohibited for any person to land upon, enter or attempt to enter, or remain in any wildlife sanctuaries …” Regardless, landing by boat is nearly impossible due to the lack of a safe beach.

The island is actually of two parts; the main western one is about 18 acres in extent and the smaller outer part is about three acres.

It has a relatively flat top, averaging about 165 feet in height but running up to 202 feet. The cliffs of Moku Manu drop directly into the sea around more than half of the island.

Moku Manu is perhaps the least accessible to humans of any of O‘ahu’s offshore islands. This fact seems to explain to an important degree the breeding of several species there that do not nest on any other of Oahu’s offshore islands.

Due to the challenging accessibility onto the island, it is rarely visited by unauthorized persons and not often by others (it is prohibited by law to go onto the island without a permit.)

During the last century or more, when the bird populations of more accessible offshore islands were depleted by man, and domestic plants and mammals sometimes introduced, Moku Manu remained relatively free from such influences.

The much longer canoe trip (there are no beaches near the head of Mōkapu Peninsula opposite Moku Manu,) the rough channel, and the uncertainty of being able to get on the island must have combined to keep even the old Hawaiians away much of the time. (Richardson & Fisher, 1950)

I grew up on Kaneohe Bay (on the other side of Mōkapu Peninsula from Moku Manu. No one sailed in our family. Except, as a pre-/early-teen, we did get a car-toppable Sunfish that I used to sail by myself in the Bay, usually in the main basin of the Bay.

However, one day I cruised to Coral Island, then ventured a bit more out the Crash Boat Channel to Turtle Back. And, from there, in the distance, I saw another target, Moku Manu.

After a while, and about halfway to Moku Manu, I realized this was probably not a good idea; folks at home thought I was leisurely cruising in the Bay, now I was in blue water, well outside the Bay.

No one knowing, no life jacket, no radio … a kid with no brains. However, the challenge was there and I eventually circled the island, and its birds, and safely headed home.

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