Japanese air attacks on the Mariana Islands 27 in preparation for operations against Japan itself. The USAAF bases in the Mariana Islands were within range of a number of Japanese air bases in the Pacific. These included Wake Island to the east, Truk and the Gilbert and Marshall Islands to the southeast, Woleai to the south and Yap to the southwest. To the north the Japanese had air bases in the Nampo Shoto chain of islands and Bonin Islands, which included three airstrips on Iwo Jima. Several of the minor islands in the Mariana chain also remained in Japanese hands, and there were airfields on Rota and
Rhode Island World War II Army Airfields number of airfields in a support roles. At the end of the war, the airfield was returned to service as a state airport, instead of being retained as a United States Air Force installation that could have been a front-line base during the Cold War. There is the possibility that a few of the temporary buildings that were used survive today, and are being used for other purposes. First Air Force Rhode Island World War II Army Airfields During World War II, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) took control of Hillsgrove State Airport (now T.F. Green Airport) in