| French Frigate Shoals Airport | |
| Icao: | PHHF |
| Faa: | HFS |
| Type: | Private |
| Owner: | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |
| City-Served: | Tern Island (Hawaii) |
| Elevation-F: | 6 |
| Elevation-M: | 2 |
| Pushpin Map: | USA Hawaiian Islands |
| Coordinates: | 23.8697°N -166.2847°W |
| R1-Number: | 06/24 |
| R1-Length-F: | 3,000 |
| R1-Length-M: | 914 |
| R1-Surface: | Coral |
| Footnotes: | Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1] |
French Frigate Shoals Airport is a private use airport on Tern Island in French Frigate Shoals, a coral atoll, in Hawaii, United States. It is owned by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, as part of the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge.
Although many U.S. airports use the same three-letter location identifier for the FAA and IATA, this airport is assigned HFS by the FAA but has no designation from the IATA (which assigned HFS to Hagfors Airport in Hagfors, Sweden[2]).
The airfield was completed in 1943 by the Seabees from the Naval Base Hawaii, and used from that time into the 21st century supporting a wide variety of activities at the French Frigate shoals. During WW2 the airstrip provided an emergency landing for various aircraft, including a twin-engine transport aircraft that was close to ditching in the ocean with over 30 passengers but was able to land safely at the airport.
Previously, only seaplanes landed at the French Frigate shoals lagoons or it had to be visited by boat.
French Frigate Shoals Airport has one runway designated 06/24 with a coral surface measuring 3,000 by 200 feet (914 x 61 m) at an elevation of six feet (2 m) above mean sea level. The runway is closed, except for emergencies, or with prior permission from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
During World War 2, the facilities included a barracks, radar tower, and fuel tanks as well as others buildings to support operations there.[3] The station had parking spaces for 18-22 small aircraft at that time, and was a refueling stop between Midway and Hawaii.[3]
The Seabees in 1942 constructed the airfield. They built a 3100feet x 275feet runway and a ramp area sufficient for 24 single-engine aircraft, dredging coral to expand the island. Of the 27acres area of the expanded island, the airfield took up . The Navy designated this airfield as Naval Air Facility French Frigate Shoals, an auxiliary of Naval Station Pearl Harbor. The 1946 Aleutian Islands earthquake generated a tsunami that swept clean Tern Island, and the Navy closed the naval air facility.
During WW2 reconnaissance flights were flown from the base each day.[3]
In 1944, a Curtis Commando with over 30 Marines lost one engine, and had to conduct an emergency landing at the airfield.[4] The aircraft was losing altitude with one engine out, and was down to an altitude of about 200 feet when it was near.[5]
In 1952, the United States Coast Guard built a Long Range Navigation (LORAN) beacon tower on the island alongside a 20-man supporting facility. The Coast Guard used the airfield for a weekly mail-and-supply flight. The Coast Guard installation continued in operation until 1979.[6]
After WW2 until the 1960s it was also used for flights for commercial fishing.[3]
In 2009 the islands were evacuated during the approach of Hurricane Neki by landing a USCG C-130 on Tern's coral airstrip.[7]
In 2010 there were 11 flights to the French Frigate Shoals airstrip.[8]
Many aircraft had to land at the airstrip during WW2 such a need for fuel, mechanical issues, or bad weather.[4] Types of aircraft that landed at the base during the war include:[4]