Baker Island, UM 🇺🇲 Closed Airport
UM-0007
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- ft
UM-81
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Loading...GPS Code: Not available
Local Code: Not available
Location: 0.192639° N, -176.478889° E
Continent: OC
Type: Closed Airport
Keywords: BAR PBAR
Baker Island Army Airfield (UM-0007) is not a civilian airport and, therefore, has no traveler reviews or experiences available. Baker Island is an uninhabited atoll designated as part of the Baker Island National Wildlife Refuge, with highly restricted public access. Entry is typically limited to scientists and educators with special use permits issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The former World War II runway on Baker Island is currently overgrown with vegetation and unserviceable, meaning it does not support active air traffic. As such, there are no commercial flights, terminal facilities, security procedures, or transportation connections for civilian travelers to experience or review.
Due to its status as a remote wildlife refuge with an unserviceable airfield and strict access controls, there is no public information regarding traveler sentiment, terminal amenities, security wait times, or transportation for Baker Island Army Airfield (UM-0007).
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| Designation | Length | Width | Surface | Status |
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Circa 1946
Post-World War II military drawdown and strategic obsolescence. The airfield was constructed as a temporary forward operating base during the Pacific War. With the end of the war in 1945, the strategic need for an airfield on Baker Island ceased to exist. The garrison was withdrawn, and the base was abandoned as it was not economically or logistically viable for civilian or peacetime military use.
The airfield is completely abandoned and in a state of ruin. The site is now part of the Baker Island National Wildlife Refuge, which is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The island is uninhabited, and public access is heavily restricted, requiring a special use permit. The outline of the runway is still clearly visible in satellite imagery, but it is severely deteriorated, overgrown with vegetation, and littered with debris, making it completely unusable for any type of aircraft. Some remnants of WWII-era equipment and structures may still exist on the island.
Baker Island Army Airfield was a key strategic asset during World War II. Constructed in September 1943 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, it featured a single, hard-surfaced runway measuring 5,463 feet (1,665 meters). The airfield was primarily used by the Seventh Air Force as a staging point for attacks on Japanese-held islands, particularly in the Marshall and Gilbert Islands. It hosted B-24 Liberator heavy bombers of the 30th Bombardment Group and P-40 Warhawk fighters of the 45th Fighter Squadron. A notable historical event occurred in August 1944 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt visited the island and its garrison while on a tour to review the progress of the war in the Pacific. Prior to the war, in 1937, a rudimentary landing strip was cleared on the island in preparation for Amelia Earhart's world flight, as it was a planned refueling stop, but she disappeared before reaching it.
None. There are no known plans or prospects for reopening the airfield. The island's status as a protected National Wildlife Refuge, its extreme remoteness, lack of fresh water, and harsh environment make any form of redevelopment economically unfeasible and environmentally prohibited. Its purpose was exclusively military and temporary, and no modern strategic or commercial need exists for an airfield at this location.