AMERICAN ENGINEERS DIG CORAL FOR AIR STRIPS ON 1E SHIMA American aviation engineers operate coral pits on the 1e Shima, ...

AMERICAN ENGINEERS DIG CORAL FOR AIR STRIPS ON 1E SHIMA American aviation engineers operate coral pits on the 1e Shima, a small island adjacent to Ikinawa, main island in the Ryukyu (Loochoo) chian, as construction work goes ahead full speed on new air strips and taxiways for planes of the Allied Far East Air Force to use in their operations against Japan. When organized resistance ended on Ikinawa, which is 375 miles (600 km) from Japan, and several islands nearby has been taken, U.S. Army engineers and U.S. Navy Seebees (construction battalions) had already started to make those areas valuable bases for Allied planes.