The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia
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U.S. National Archives. Via missingaircrew.com |
Woleai (143.91E
7.376N) is an atoll in the
central
Carolines.
It is about 7 miles (12 km) long and 4 miles (7 km) wide. The Japanese had built an airfield
here with a 3,290' (1000 meter) runway, and there was a decent anchorage in the western end of the lagoon.
The island was scheduled to be invaded on 15 July 1944, to help cover the lines of communication from the Marshalls to the Marianas. However, these plans were abandoned in March 1944. Instead, the atoll was heavily attacked by aircraft from three carrier groups returning from a raid on Palau, on 1 April 1944, and was then bypassed by the Allied counteroffensive.
References
Morison (1953)The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2008-2010, 2013 by Kent G. Budge. Index
