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  4. SAIPAN 2012

MAY 14, 2012: AS LITO FIELD JAPANESE BOMB BUNKER AND POWER PLANT

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Prior to WWII the airport which is now referred to as Isley Field and Saipan International Airport was As Lito Field. The Japanese, as a condition for being granted Saipan by the League of Nations, had promised to never construct any developments which could be used for war. So, when they started construction of As Lito Field, they told the rest of the world that they were putting in a baseball diamond for the locals to use for sports. I guess they could have stored a lot of baseballs in here!
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Prior to WWII the airport which is now referred to as Isley Field and Saipan International Airport was As Lito Field. The Japanese, as a condition for being granted Saipan by the League of Nations, had promised to never construct any developments which could be used for war. So, when they started construction of As Lito Field, they told the rest of the world that they were putting in a baseball diamond for the locals to use for sports. I guess they could have stored a lot of baseballs in here!

aaacontroltowerbombstoragebuilding

  • Prior to WWII the airport which is now referred to as Isley Field and Saipan International Airport was As Lito Field. The Japanese, as a condition for being granted Saipan by the League of Nations, had promised to never construct any developments which could be used for war. So, when they started construction of As Lito Field, they told the rest of the world that they were putting in a baseball diamond for the locals to use for sports. I guess they could have stored a lot of baseballs in here!
  • Actually, this was their primary bomb storage bunker, holding 2,000 pound bombs. The straight track you see extending out the top of the doorway is a rail used to roll the bombs into and out of storage.<br /> <br /> To the left of the left-hand doorway, you can still see the camouflage pattern of the paint.<br /> <br /> Across the room you can see a lighted candle and some other recently-left Japanese offerings.
  • Here you get a better idea of how this place was built, and how the track allowed maneuvering of heavy explosives.
  • Looking back out the doorway we just came in. You needn't worry about anyone closing those huge steel doors: All the hinges are rusted solid and are totally immovable.
  • Untitled photo
  • Anti-aircraft gun, with Isley Field control tower in the background.
  • Just a few hundred feet from the bomb storage bunker are the remains of the old Japanese power plant.
  • Probably a bustling hub of activity in its heyday.
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