Some Mililani folks might be surprised to learn they had bombers and fighters in their backyard during World War II.

And by backyard, I don't mean nearby Wheeler Army Airfield. They were closer than that.

Kipapa Airfield was south of Mililani Golf Club, between Meheula Parkway and Hokuala Street, said Dave Trojan, who has done a lot of research on aviation history in Hawai'i and elsewhere.

The area is full of homes now.

Trojan has some of the history of Kipapa Airfield on the Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society Web site at www.hiavps.com/index.html.

B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators — two of the better-known bombers of the era — were based at the runways that were cut out of the sugarcane, according to Trojan.

A host of other aircraft were also based there, including B-18s, P-70s, F-5s, B-26s and P-40s.

Late in the war, the 7th Air Force, 549th Combat Training Squadron flew one of the more unique aircraft of the war out of Kipapa, the P-61 Black Widow night flighter, Trojan said.

The Black Widow was the first U.S. military aircraft designed specifically to use radar.

Trojan, who retired from the Navy in 2000 after 21 years, said Kipapa Airfield was developed sometime after the start of the war. The site was picked because it could accommodate two 5,000-foot runways.

One of those runways extended all the way to Kipapa Gulch, he said.

During the war, the airfield saw little use by the Navy because carrier aircraft were constantly deployed, and the Army Air Corps became the principal user.

According to Trojan's research, Kipapa Airfield was a major transit point for units heading overseas.

Eventually, there were three major runways with taxiways and support buildings. The nexus of the two main runways was at what is now Mililani District Park.

Trojan said nothing remains of Kipapa Airfield that he's aware of, and he should know. He, too, lived in the area.

"I lived literally a block from the airfield myself, and I was surprised (by the history)," he said.

Trojan now lives in Arizona, but he hasn't left aviation history behind. A couple of days ago, he was at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, looking for some planes that crashed in the 1950s.

IN BRIEF

NAVY TO UPGRADE SURVEILLANCE AIRCRAFT

The Navy on Friday finalized a plan to replace all but three of the 27 aging propeller-driven P-3C Orion surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft at Kane'ohe Bay with 18 P-8A Poseidon multi-mission jet aircraft based on the Boeing 737-800, but with strengthened wings, weapons systems and added fuel tanks.

The move to Poseidon surveillance aircraft will result in fewer airplanes and personnel at the Marine Corps base, slightly more noise, and an investment of $147.5 million for infrastructure upgrades.

The Navy said it wants to begin replacing the Orions in its fleet no later than 2012 and have the process completed by 2019.

A recent environmental impact statement for the basing also said the aircraft mix at Kane'ohe Bay eventually will include 36 MV-22B Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft — which take off like a helicopter and fly like a plane — that will replace older CH-53D Sea Stallion helicopters.

ISLE SOLDIERS WITNESS HISTORY IN IRAQ

Schofield Barracks soldiers with the Stryker brigade in Iraq were participants in a bit of history recently as Iraqi flags were raised at facilities that have transitioned from U.S. authority to Iraqi authority as part of a new security agreement.

Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment "Gimlets" watched as members of the Iraqi National Police raised the Iraqi national flag over Joint Security Station Aqur Quf, west of Baghdad, on Monday.

Under the security agreement, all combat operations are now combined operations between Iraqi and U.S. forces. The ceremony represented the first time the Iraqi flag has been flown over the post in five years.

Similar ceremonies were held at other outposts.

At Joint Security Station Sab al Bour, northwest of Baghdad, the Troop B "Bountyhunters" of the 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment gathered for a ceremony commemorating the event on Tuesday.

The honor of raising the flag was given to a man who spent 13 years in prison under Saddam Hussein's regime for refusing to join the Baath party.

Iraqi police from the Mushada police force raised the Iraqi national flag over Joint Security Station Mushada, also northwest of Baghdad, on Thursday.

Hawai'i soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment "Golden Dragons" took part in that ceremony.

Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com.