Evening star., 1935-06-07
AIR BASE NOW
RISING AT PEALE
Future Travellers May Gaze
. Across Lagoon, Famed
Il by Ocean Breeze.
BY JUNIUS B. WOOD.

WAKE ISLAND. June Two
wa8ks ago Peale Island from any
eMSation higher than its stunted trees
was a perfect outline, in solid green,
of swimming seal with long, flip
per-Ike fin extending into the Ia
goon separating it from Wilkes Island.
Today Peale's green sides are SCARED
with straight paths cut across its
narrow waist from the blue lagoon to
the ocean and there are cleared
squares on the lagoon side where
buildings are rising.
Pan american Airways has a site
about in the center of the island,
with 1000 feet of frontage or either
shore and 1.500 feet across one end
and 1900 feet across the other, or,
roughly, an area of rs acres. The ocean
frontage faces northeast. the lagoon
frontage southwest.
Changing the site from Waye- washed
wilkes Island, which the My orig
inally allotted, to the higher Peale
Island also made impossible the ar
rangements of buildings specified on
the ideal architects map drawn in
New York office 5000 miles away
That alone meant more than merely
moving so many checkers-it meant
the rebalancing of loads of electric
transmission lines consideration of
the lengths of water pipe available
and many other details.
The expedition engineer worked
nights at that job, for it had to be
finished, submitted to New York by
wireless. studied there and approval
radioed back before the first brush
cutting machete could be swung. 1t
will be several years. possibly many,
before the Wake Island airport equals
those in the Caribbean Sea. with their
roof-garden restaurants. white Stucco
buildings tall palms and tropical
foliage, but such luXurieS could hardly
be expected where only a few weeks
ago was the most lonesome and desc
late spot on the globe.
However, enough has already been
done to enable the observer to visual
1ze what this airport is going to be-
and the penciled plans made here tell
the rest.
Native Foliage Preserved.
The buildings face the lagoon,
where, after a long ride over the
changeless ocean. future travellers from
America and Asia can sit, cooled by
southern breezes. and dreamily con-
template the fleeting tintS of the rip
pling water in the big lagoon. with
its gayly colored fishes darting amid
coral spires, with white beaches and
green fringe on the other side of
the atcll and the red sun dropping
into the unending ocean beyond
Coconut palms, bamboo and other
tropical plants have already been
brought to the island. but as much as
possible of the native foliage will be
left standing.
From low-tide line on the beach a
coral shingle extends back 80 feet
until the 9-foot level is reached. For
20 feet more. to the 13-foot level,
rocks are piled loose as a breakwater.
Then comes 200-foot-Wide strip of
lawn and shrubbery. next a 20-foot-
wide roadway for vehicles, then an
other 50-foot strip of lawn, and finally
a 6-foot concrete footpath. All these
stretch across the entire 1000 feet
of frontage.
Two Piers to Be Built.
About in the center, roughly across
the broader strip of lawn, will be
2o-foot-square platform, with an
open pergola in the center, for idle
hours From this a 6-foot-wide pier
extends 300 feet into the lagoon. The
clipper planes can refuel at the end
of the pier. There will be another
and wider pier. with concrete land
ing platform, farther to the northwest
for handling freight and docking the
planes.
A 60-foot-wide promenade extends
from the pergola platform across the
island to the ocean, roughly bisecting
the settlement Looking down at this
Is radio receiving station, 100 feet
to the right and so feet behind the
footpath, while farther to the right
are the airport managers residence
and, finally, the hotel, all overlooking
the lagoon. Farther back, surrounded
by trees and out of sight, though not
out of sound of the waves, are the
fight personnel's sleeping quarters.
and considerably farther, at least
quarter mile from the lagoon, is
radio sending station.
incidentally, the airport manager
alone is provided with individual
sleeping quarters and can bring his
wife and family, if he is domesticated
to that extent.
On the left of the promenade the
airport operations Office has the same
position as the radio receiving station
on the right. Farther to the left and
100 feet behind the footpath are the
kitchen and mess hall, and, finally,
an abutting concrete landing plat
form, machine shop and servicing sta
ton. Behind the airport Offices and
opposite the flight personnel quarters
are the staff personnel living quarters.
Similarly, extending back of the line
of the mess hall, but each separated by
100 feet, come the refrigeration plant
and the Chinese workers living quar-
ters.
"A power house, with two generators
for light and power, is so feet behind
the machine shop. Two windmills
will supply brackish water. In addi-
ton. steel tanks of 10000 gallons ca
pacity will be suitably located to store
rain water for drinking and cooking.
Farther removed. about three-eights
of a mile from both the radio receiv-
ing station and the radio sending sta
ton, will be located the radio direction
finder to guide the planes flying to
Wake Island.
(copyright 1875 by the North American
NewSDaOpr Alliance Inc