Tinian

Tinian ( /ˈtɪniən/ or /ˌtiːniˈɑːn/) is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands. It is perhaps best known for being the base from which the United States launched their atomic bomb attacks on Japan during World War II.

Tinian is about 5 miles (8 km) southwest of its sister island, Saipan, from which it is separated by the Saipan Channel. It has a land area of 39 sq.mi. (101.01 km²). Together with uninhabited neighboring Aguijan Island (2.74 sq mi, or 7.09 km²), it forms Tinian Municipality, one of the four constituent municipalities of the Northern Marianas. The total area of the municipality is 41.74 sq mi (108.1 km²). Tinian's largest village is San Jose. The island has a variety of flora and fauna, as well as limestone cliffs and caves. There is also a variety of marine life and coral reefs surrounding the island. Its clear, warm waters are ideal for snorkeling and scuba diving, as well as sport fishing.

Tinian has two gas stations and a casino, The Dynasty, which includes a luxury hotel, shops and restaurants and is adjacent to Tachogna beach and Taga Beach. The village of San Jose has several smaller hotels and restaurants and bars. The airport is small and serviced by two airlines, Freedom Air, which operates daily scheduled flights, and Star Marianas Air, which operates by charter. There is also ferry boat service twice daily between Tinian and Saipan. The island also has the only intact Shinto shrine on the Mariana Islands.

Much of the local economy is dependent on tourism. The largest employers on the island are the government and the casino. As of March 2006, the island has plans to put in four new casinos. The 2000 census showed a population of 3,540 for the island.

House of Taga (Mariana Islands)

The House of Taga is a Latte stone site, one of the largest such structures in the Marianas. The stones are quarried limestone, each approximately 20 feet (6.1 m) in length. Of the twelve large Latte structures, only one is still standing.

West Field

Airfield construction was originally built by the Japanese, and built with two parallel runways. It was repaired by the Americans, and then called West Field.

West Field, Tinian, 8 July 1945

When the United States turned the entire island, excepting its three highland areas, into a 40,000-personnel installation, Navy Seabees (107th NCB ) laid out the base in a pattern of city streets resembling New York's Manhattan Island and named the streets accordingly. The area south of West Field was developed from the main Japanese installation at Sunharon. This was nicknamed "The Village" because its location corresponded to that of Greenwich Village. A large square area between West and North Fields, used primarily only for the location of the base hospitals and otherwise left undeveloped, was called Central Park.

Post World War II, West Field was Tinian's airport called Gurguan Point Airfield; and today is Tinian International Airport.

North Field (Tinian)

This North Field (Ushi Point Airfield) is not to be confused with the prior name of Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.

The Japanese had constructed three small fighter strips on Tinian but none were suitable for bomber operations. Under the Americans, nearly the entire northern end of the island was occupied by the runways, nearly 11 miles (18 km) of taxiways and the airfield area, designed to accommodate an entire 313th Bombardment Wing of B-29 Superfortress bombers.

Enola Gay dropped Little Boy.

It was from Tinian that the bombers from the 509th Composite Group carrying the atomic bombs Little Boy and Fat Man were launched against Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The bomb had been delivered to the island by the USS Indianapolis on July 26, 1945.

North Field is where the remains of the US bomber base and Atom Bomb Pits, as well as the remains of Japanese fortifications, can be found. There is a memorial on the old airfield at the loading pits, which had been filled in for safety. Both pits were recently reopened in conjunction with the 60th Anniversary Commemoration of the Battles of Saipan and Tinian. Originally, the pits had been constructed to load the large bombs, since each bomb was too large to be loaded in the conventional manner. The planes were maneuvered over a pit with their bomb bay doors open to facilitate loading.