French Frigate Shoals (166.280W 23.867N) is an almost uninhabitable atoll of the Hawaiian chain located about halfway between Oahu and Midway. It consists of a small, crescent-shaped island on the northeast side of a shallow lagoon dotted with some 16 islets. The most imposing feature is La Perouse Rock, a sea stack some 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 110 feet tall.
An emergency landing strip was built here during the war by dredging sand and coral onto one of the islets, Tern Island, and capping it with concrete. The strip looked very much like the deck of an aircraft carrier when seen from the air.
Japanese Flying
Boat Operations. The Japanese
twice attempted to reconnoiter
and bomb Pearl Harbor using large flying boats refueled from
submarines at French Frigate Shoals. The first attempt, on 5 March 1942
by two H8K Emily flying boats,
encountered heavy overcast, was unable to observe the harbor, and dropped its bombs at
random. They exploded harmlessly in the hills behind Pearl Harbor.
The second attempt was to have taken place in June 1942 as part of the Midway operation. It was foiled when Nimitz, tipped off by the code breakers, ordered a seaplane base set up at the atoll. This prevented the refueling rendezvous and left the Japanese guessing that the American carrier forces were still in port.
References
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia (c) 2006, 2008 by Kent G. Budge. Index