Maloelap Atoll

Micronesia (Marshall Islands)

Maloelap Atoll

Maloelap's Taroa (Tarawa) Island was the main Japanese airbase in the eastern Marshalls during WWII, and most visitors today come to see its rusting war relics. There are numerous twisted wrecks of Zeros and Betty bombers, plus pillboxes, an airfield, anti-aircraft guns and a Howitzer on wheels. The majority of the relics are buried now under a thick canopy of jungle foliage, but a few islanders are willing to guide visitors to the sites, so ask around if you're interested. Off Taroa's lagoon beach, the Japanese freighter Toroshima Maru lies half submerged in the spot where it was hit by US bombers. It's been pretty well stripped, save for its periscopes, mast and a few live depth charges. If you swim around it, keep an eye out for the grouper (a type of sea bass) that's said to be as large as a human. Oh, and watch out for sharks, too. History
We do not know when the first people came to settle on Maloelap Atoll, but a date around 500 B.C. can safely be assumed. At the time of contact with Europeans Taroa was inhabited. Chamisso (1816) describes the island as not well populated compared to other islands in the atoll. Purchasing the Marshall Islands from Spain in 1885, the Germans developed Jaluit as a central place. On Maloelap only a trading station was established; the first Christian Church came in 1896. The local affairs were left with the traditional leaders. At the beginning of WW I in 1914 Japan took over the Marshalls. Between the wars
After the capitulation of the German Empire in 1918, the newly formed League of Nations gave all former German possessions north of the Equator to the Japanese Empire for administration. The Japanese established a centralised district administration in Jaluit. The internal affairs of Maloelap Atoll were left to be handled by a local atoll headman set up by the Japanese. The Taroa Airbase
In the late 1930s Japan began to develop a military infrastructure and fortifications in its Marshall Islands possessions - contrary to the Covenant of the League of Nations. Taroa during World War II
In order to create a suitable defense system at its perimeter, the Japanese navy decided to develop some of the atolls of the Marshall Islands into bases for seaplane, naval surface units submarines, and, with the advent of long-range land-based bombers, as airfields. Taroa was to become a major airbase. The development of Taroa base began in December 1939, when a battalion of Japanese prisoners was drafted for the construction of the airfield.

The Japanese constructed an airfield with two runways (4800' + 4100'), two hangars and a service apron. At the beginning of the US bombing a third runway had been begun. By end of 1943 there was a total of 380 buildings on Taroa (with >=490,000 square feet floor space), 80 of which had a floor space greater than 50 feet square. It had several power stations, a command centre, an air operations centre, fuel farms (35,000 gals.), a pier for larger ships, several ammunition bunkers, a large barracks area, and an extensive workshop area. The garrison had an extensive road network serviced by over 70 vehicles. There were two radar sets (range 50 miles) on island, giving the air wing some 10 minutes warning. During the war two squadrons of planes were stationed here many of which were destroyed on the ground. A large number of plane wrecks, mainly Zero-fighters (Mitsubishi A6M) and Betty-bombers (Mitsubishi G3M) are scattered about on the island. The perimeter of the island, especially the ocean side, bristled with guns, which were a mixture of British and Japanese manufacture: 8 6" and 2 12cm coastal defense guns, 4 6" howitzers, 5 127mm dual purpose guns, 69 anti-aircraft guns and an assortment of small guns. Between Feb. 1942 and Aug. 1945, US aircraft dropped 3543t of bombs and US ships shot 453t of shells onto Taroa. While the first attacks were carrier-based and irregular, daily attacks were started after Majuro and Kwajalein had fallen to the U.S. At the same time, all supply lines to Taroa were cut off, and the Japanese garrison was left to starve. Of the originally 3097 strong Japanese garrison (1772 Navy, 368 Army, 957 civilians) only 1041 (34%) survived. Several Marshallese were also killed. The survivor rate for Maloelap is the worst of all bases in the Marshalls. Death occurred from air raids, diseases, accidents, and suicides, but mainly from starvation. Tours and sights
The Taroa of today is the result of dramatic alterations caused by people: the natural primary forest of the island had been cleared by the first Marshallese settlers and replaced by breadfruit trees and taro pits to provide food. During German and Japanese times most breadfruit trees were replaced by coconut palms to produce copra. The final transformation came with the base development, when all trees in the centre were felled to allow for runways, roads, barracks etc. Today these areas are largely overgrown with scrub and low but very dense bush. To some extent this impedes a visitor's progress and it can be tiring for children. Thus it is recommended that you follow a guide. An island-style lunch will be provided at the school house between noon and 1pm. Thus the day falls naturally into two major tour options. We recommend that you make use of tour 1. More intrepid visitors should use tours 2 or 3 in the afternoon which will give you more detail. If you intend to go on extended tours it is advisable to bring along some water as it may get hot.